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Chapter 102: Revealing the Cards

At dusk, at the mouth of a certain canyon in the Beast Forest, the seven-member team of youngsters pitched camp in an open space and sat around the bonfire, nibbling on the rations they had brought from outside.

The mood felt a little heavy, and the members kept glancing at Ashura, conscious or not, while they waited for his answer.

Ashura also chewed on plain dry rations, and this time in the forest he had chosen not to cook.

First, the party moved very quickly and everyone was tired after a day of fighting Beasts, and second, none of them had Academy Points to pay him, which left him unmotivated to prepare meals.

On top of that, there was a real food-vacuum beside him… at Rock’s pace a whole greenwood savage bull would barely feed him alone.

In his previous trips into the Beast Forest, the big fellow Rock had slain only low-tier Beasts for cash; without even a decent weapon he could not defeat anything above Tier-3, and he had always sold the Beasts instead of eating them, just to buy enough grain to keep from starving.

Tagging along with young master Ashura this time was a windfall for him: not only was his spatial pouch stuffed with rations, but all the low-tier Beasts the team killed along the way were disdained by the others and roasted haphazardly into his stomach, to the point that even his frame looked a size broader.

Ashura watched Rock wolf down those pitch-black chunks of meat, greasy mouth and not even a pinch of salt, and could not help shaking his head with a wry smile.

Then, noticing the teammates who were half-consciously staring at him, he realized it was time to lay his cards on the table.

He therefore smiled and said, “Everyone, relax; we are not in any danger right now, and by now we know each other fairly well. I happen to know of an injured Beast ahead that we can kill; does that interest you?”

The few teammates seemed to breathe out slightly at those words, and their expressions eased. Especially the fire-element Magician Gais, who elegantly raised the rum before him for a sip and asked casually, “An injured Beast? What kind of Beast?”

Ashura answered, “A fully grown Tier-6 Beast… the Red-Lotus Serpent King.”

“Pfft… ” The rum Gais had just swallowed sprayed out before it reached his throat, and he did not even care that it splashed onto Jella.

He shouted, “What? A Tier-6 Beast? The Red-Lotus Serpent King? Are you crazy? Do you want us dead?” The others also stared at Ashura in shock.

Ashura frowned in annoyance and said, “Why are you yelling? Do you want to call every Beast around? Mind your mage manners! I already said it is a wounded Red-Lotus Serpent King; I’m the one who injured it. Would I mention it if I weren’t somewhat confident?”

The group were even more astonished after hearing that… Ashura could actually wound a Red-Lotus Serpent King?

That was a Tier-6 Beast; if any of them had faced it, would they have dared to strike first?

Seeing the looks they gave him, Ashura felt secretly pleased. He had bragged a bit: although he had blinded one eye of the Red-Lotus Serpent King, that result came from his academy squad working together to pin it down.

Since cultivating the Yellow-Tier Martial Technique “Z-Slash,” his combat strength had risen sharply, yet he was still not sure he could finish off that Red-Lotus Serpent King.

Even so, if he did not say this, probably no one would risk their lives with him; the opportunity was rare, and he wanted to try… at least take a look at the Serpent King’s condition before deciding.

Gais clearly lacked such resolve; cursing under his breath, he stood up to leave.

After a few steps he found no one following him; even the girls, though grim, were not as panicked as he was, and he glanced at the pitch-black Beast Forest where one could not see one’s hand.

Gais sulkily walked back to the fire, grumbling, “Are you all insane? You really plan to go die with this guy? I suspect he wanted to lure us here from the start, and we’ve all been tricked!”

“Tricked you how? Have I made you suffer on this road? I admit I came here on purpose because I know the place. I am only asking for your opinions; if you don’t want the risk, I won’t force you, so why are you shouting?” Ashura interrupted Gais impatiently.

At that moment Clay spoke up beside them, “Ashura, could you tell us the details? We hope you’ll give us the truth so we can choose.”

Ashura nodded slightly and replied, “No problem; here’s what happened…”

He then explained the situation with the Red-Lotus Serpent King to the team, merely saying he had been with another squad rather than the Saint Gobban Academy team.

After hearing him, they looked at one another and dared not decide lightly. Ashura swept his gaze around and said, “There’s no rush. I’m not certain I can kill the Serpent King either; I just want to find it and judge from its condition.”

“You don’t need to give me an answer tonight; sleep on it, talk among yourselves if you wish, and let me know tomorrow morning.”

No sooner had he finished than a pleasant female voice rang out, “No need to wait until morning; I’m willing to enter the canyon with you to look for that Red-Lotus Serpent King. But let’s be clear: if we find it uninjured or in good shape, I won’t stick around and die with you.”

Ashura stared in surprise at the tall, wavy-haired blonde beauty whose height nearly matched his. Christine had made a deep impression on him along the way.

She seldom spoke, but she acted decisively, and her Stage-2 Grand Martial Master strength was outstanding; although this was her first time in the Beast Forest, she showed no mercy when killing Beasts.

Her proud figure kept drawing Ashura’s furtive glances, and when she caught him she would glare warningly.

Ashura had even noticed that although Clay was the older brother, the siblings often let Christine make the decisions.

He never expected Christine would be the first to volunteer for this life-or-death venture.

Sure enough, as he anticipated, once his sister spoke, Clay nodded and said his decision was the same: he would accompany Ashura in to assess the situation before deciding.

Christine said earnestly, “Everyone, if we manage to kill the Red-Lotus Serpent King in the canyon, I hope you’ll let my brother and me have the beast core. We can pay its full value in gold coins and even forgo the loot from the Beasts we killed earlier.”

Her words made the others even more puzzled, and no one immediately agreed, so Christine realized she also had to lay her cards on the table.

She explained, “My brother and I are here to complete our family’s trial. The level of Beast we can slay will determine our aptitude and courage in the clan’s eyes, and they will assign us a contracted mount accordingly.”

“Mounts are vital to us knights, so a beast core that proves the Beast’s level is extremely important to us, and that’s why we’re willing to take the risk and fight.”

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