140 Various Unexpected Events

The plaza in front of the Saigon Town military defense post was once one of the town's most bustling commercial hubs. Since the influx of various refugees into the town, this square had been turned into a temporary shelter, leaving the surrounding area a chaotic mix of people from all walks of life.

When the dust-covered soldiers rushed into the defense post, many individuals with ulterior motives were already lurking outside, waiting for any scrap of news. Before long, similar reports began to leak from the post through various channels. Some were good, some were bad, but collectively, they all pointed toward the same conclusion: the actions of the magical beasts were organized, planned, and premeditated.

This news struck the town like a bolt of lightning, stirring up a massive uproar. A mixture of agitation, indignation, skepticism, and disdain began to brew in every corner of the settlement.

Amidst this fervent atmosphere, Tatu, having changed into plain civilian clothes, appeared so unremarkable as he stepped out of the defense post that almost no one spared him a second glance—with the exception of those whose primary objective was him.

Tatu did not notice—or rather, almost no one noticed—that as he left the post, two figures quietly trailed him, following him all the way to his temporary lodging.

"What now?" a low, gravelly male voice whispered in the darkness. His sinister eyes were fixed on the light filtering through a window on the third floor of the small building ahead, his gaze so cold it seemed to freeze the air.

"Wait." The reply came from a steadier, older male voice, concise and firm.

"Wait again!" The gravelly-voiced man raised his volume slightly, unable to contain his frustration. "We’ve been wasting time here for nearly half a month! If we don’t complete the mission soon, be careful, or the Young Master will send the Death Squad to finish both you and me off!"

"Quiet!" the steady voice hissed. "Do you want to draw the patrols over, or do you want to alert him?"

The gravelly voice fell silent for a moment, though he eventually let out a low, sullen grunt of frustration.

The small, dark alley remained noisy for a short while before settling back into silence. Amidst the stillness, a shadow drifted out from the darkness, expanding from a paper-thin silhouette into a three-dimensional human figure as if inflated by air. It stood where the two men had been and looked up; at that exact moment, Tatu leaned out to close his window on the third floor of the small building.

***

Pedia was busy—extremely busy. Scouts sent out were constantly reporting back, and due to a shortage of staff, the task of vetting and organizing this intelligence fell almost entirely on Pedia alone—though occasionally, his personal guards would assist once they had finished their own assigned missions.

The busy Pedia appeared increasingly cold and stern. The temperature in the room was noticeably lower than usual, so much so that when his guard pushed the door open, he couldn't help but shiver.

The sudden drop in temperature made the guard especially cautious. He stepped into the room carefully and closed the door silently. Before he could even turn around, he heard Pedia’s cold voice from behind: "What is the situation?"

The guard shuddered, immediately turning to respond: "The 'Lone Wolf' has already locked onto two targets. Preliminary backtracking shows they have been trailing him since North Caslo Province; beyond that, all traces disappear."

"North Caslo?" Pedia raised an eyebrow. "If that’s the case, stop investigating. Whose territory is North Caslo? Is the result not already obvious? Have the 'Lone Wolf' recall the men. Don't waste the manpower."

The guard immediately acknowledged the order and withdrew. Once outside, he let out a long breath, feeling as if he had returned to the world of the living from hell. He couldn't help but mutter with a sigh, "The Commander is becoming more and more like the Captain... I never expected this icy temperament to be contagious."

***

On a small ridge, Theresa and her two companions lay prone, feeling bored. Flora made several attempts to move, only to be silently suppressed by Habata each time. Theresa found the interaction between the two quite interesting.

They waited and waited. No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly, Theresa’s expression shifted dramatically. She sprang up and shouted, "Bad news! Those two brats have caused trouble. Run!"

Before Flora and Habata could even understand what was happening, they instinctively followed Theresa and fled. After they had run for about a hundred meters, they suddenly felt the temperature behind them rise sharply. The air seemed to boil, becoming searingly hot, as if a raging fire were burning and closing in on them. The intense heat forced the three to tap into even greater potential, surpassing the explosive speed they had shown while being chased by magical beasts, as they sprinted wildly.

As they ran, their vision blurred, and two fiery red figures streaked past them from behind, surging ahead. Flora caught a glimpse: one of the little creatures was holding something bright red, shaped like a blooming flower, in its mouth. The two little ones flew rapidly, tossing the object back and forth between them like a ball, catching it in their mouths in turns. Judging by their appearance, it seemed the item was so intense that even they could barely handle it.

The three ran for an unknown duration until the heat wave behind them gradually faded. They collapsed, exhausted, onto the ground—or rather, Flora and Habata collapsed; Theresa had been carried by Habata the entire way, otherwise, with her stamina, she would have been dried to a crisp by the scorching air long ago.

"Ther, Ther, Theresa..." Flora gasped, trying to call out Theresa's name, but she couldn't manage a complete sentence for a long time.

Fortunately, Theresa understood exactly what she wanted to ask and confessed directly: "When Little Demon and Little Fox snuck in, they discovered the mineral vein had become a natural furnace. A Void Flame Crane happened to be occupying it, preparing to level up. They crashed in at the perfect time and interrupted the critical moment of the crane's advancement..."

A Void Flame Crane!

Flora and Habata turned pale at the mention—that was a Level 9 magical beast!!!

A Level 9 beast that, if it advanced one more level, would gain sentience and become a super-beast possessing "Domain Power"!!!

This shock galvanized Flora and Habata once more. They jumped up, miraculously finding the strength to continue fleeing. Seeing this, Theresa hurriedly stopped them: "Don't rush, don't rush. The Void Flame Crane is currently very weak; it’s impossible for it to come out and chase us. Don't injure your foundations by panicking."

Upon hearing this, Flora and Habata finally collapsed completely. They stared at Little Demon and Little Fox as if they were monsters—to be able to interrupt the advancement of a Void Flame Crane and escape unscathed... what on earth were these two little creatures?