The newcomer wasn’t particularly burly, but he carried a spear larger than himself. His upright posture, much like his weapon, somehow inspired respect and admiration.
Among those present, he was surely the most elegant man; his acrobatic leap carried him from a distant tree to a graceful landing on a high rock. He wore full-body armor made of polished bronze.
He wasn’t alone.
Several people arrived with him, and a few more were hidden among the trees, choosing not to reveal themselves until the right moment.
"Celestial Lance Guild," whispered the leader of the Order’s members in surprise.
Even though they wore no guild insignia—such as uniforms or guild crests—it was impossible for him not to recognize them. Especially that guy who stood out as soon as he arrived...
"Martin Lawrence."
Martin looked at the man and laughed. "So you’re the leader, huh? Why don’t you call your superior? Tell him we’re here specifically to see him."
"You’re not worthy of seeing our lord!" roared the opposing leader.
"Heh. Or is he not worthy of seeing us?"
"How dare you insult him!"
Martin shrugged and looked around. "A familiar scent and a guy who, even though he sees the danger, still isn’t running away... This reminds me of that moment, kid." Martin glanced to the side and, between a large tree, managed to make out a mask hidden behind the trunk.
"My dear friend Gio, you’re still just as good with that sense as I remember."
The man behind the log was, of course, Gio, who was asking Valia what on earth she had done to trick that guy so thoroughly.
Then he discovered that what Scarlett had told him was true. These cats have an ability called "Flatter," which allows them to "coax" humans into doing whatever they want, without the humans even realizing it. It’s a passive ability unique to cats, also called "Cajole."
It’s almost like an illusion or seduction ability, but in cat form. That’s why she said she was a specialist in negotiations—not because she could actually negotiate, but because her scent could induce others to do what she wants.
It was thanks to that that he was finally able to understand why this girl’s clan is called "Addictive Whisper"...
On the other hand...
Zaid hadn’t expected this guy to decide to reveal their hideout, but he laughed and walked out with Alice following behind him.
"I’m still too weak to take on these things, you know? It’s an honor to see you again, Elder Martin."
"Weak? I think you can actually handle this just fine." Martin laughed. "Anyway, it’s not that hard. They’re just little fry from the Order—nothing worthy of our attention."
The opposing leader frowned and glared at Zaid with hatred. "We hired you, and you even got paid. Aren’t these your friends? Why do you still want to attack us?"
Zaid raised an eyebrow, confused. "My friends? Do I look like I belong to such a big guild? I don’t even have a real team to go on missions with."
"You..."
"True." Zaid tossed the debit card at him from across the room. "Thanks for the 6 million; I’m sure it’ll be a big help from now on. I mean... I’ve never seen that much money in my life."
"Bastard..." The opposing leader crumpled his debit card in his hands. Hatred welled up in his throat, but he managed to swallow it down hard and looked at Martin Lawrence. "Anyway, I just need to kill them all."
His teeth creaked under the pressure he applied, and the hatred in his gaze became evident. "Martin Lawrence is a great genius, but he’s young. Your strength is no match for mine. As for your mercenary friend... hmph." The leader didn’t want to keep talking because he couldn’t let Alice get away, and even though she and Gio were still there, who knows how much longer they’d be?
They have the ability to trick the mind!
Maybe they weren’t even there...
Martin saw the leader’s sword coming toward him and simply laughed. "Do you really think I’m that weak?"
He thrust his spear forward, and it collided with the sword, causing it to ricochet before continuing on its path toward the chest. The blow made the bones rattle and burst blood vessels in the shoulder, shaking his opponent.
"Don’t forget who I am, kid. Lawrence isn’t someone you can make fun of."
The superiority Martin displayed in that moment far exceeded anything Zaid had seen before.
’He’s not Rank D... At least Rank C.’
To be so young and already at Rank C...
Martin Lawrence, the young genius of the Celestial Lance Guild and a member of the Lawrence Family.
Zaid had to give credit not only to his name, but also to his true talent.
Zaid’s eyes widened when he noticed that everyone was starting to move, so he decided to lend a hand.
The Guild’s superiority was such that none of the Order could hold their ground, and those who had been hiding among the trees, waiting for their chance to strike, ended up fleeing in terror. They realized that without the Red Lord, they couldn’t win.
As soon as the fight ended, Martin wiped the blood from his face and looked at Zaid. "Comrade Gio, you did a great job!" he shouted.
However, his shout reached no one.
"And Gio?" He looked around, searching for him.
"He’s not here?"
"What the hell?"
"That guy is really slippery."
"Shall we go after him, young lord?" One of his subordinates approached and whispered to him.
"You don’t need to go after him. He’s a good guy."
The man persisted. "But he knows who we are, young lord."
"And even though he knew, he didn’t stay." Martin looked at his subordinate. "Tell me, how many people are there in this country—or even on this continent—who might not know our name?"
"Not many, sir."
"And he, despite having the opportunity to reveal himself to Celestial Lance, chose to leave." Martin smiled slightly. "I think he’s an interesting fellow."
His subordinate nodded. In a way, it made sense. They both spent a full minute in silence, until Martin broke it.
"I heard that the Three Villages of the Ancient Temple have been getting a lot of attention recently. What happened?" he asked.
"Ah, sir, it’s because that bastard was spotted there, and your people might have fallen under his influence."
Martin frowned. "The Eighth Light of the Crucible, The Shadow of the Eighth Day. Tsk, what a troublesome guy."
"Haha, his strength isn’t that high, but that ability is practically a trap."
"Well, leave that to whoever’s in charge of it. I’m more interested in what’s happening on that mysterious mountain that changes location every day," Martin said, pulling out a helmet matching his armor and putting it on.
He rarely wore it.
His subordinate nodded. "The Moving Mountain. A stupid name, but an interesting situation. Getting there is difficult since it’s not within our area."
Martin pulled something else out of his pocket and held it up. "See this? I’m a mercenary now."
It was his Gold-Rank badge from the mercenary guild. He only needed one mission to gain entry into that curious place. He was ready.
---
After evading detection by the Celestial Lance Guild group and stealing a few things along the way, Zaid and Alice reunited with Joe and his group... but in a peculiar way.
They were ordered to evacuate the forest immediately, so everyone obeyed.
Once outside, the situation turned out to be worse than they’d imagined.
Originally, 11 classes had entered, totaling 250 students.
Only 180 came out.
Seventy students died... or more, because some were seriously injured and it was unclear whether they would survive.
The teachers were in shock. They couldn’t believe something like this had happened, and as they gathered information, they realized they had been attacked by some dangerous organization.
Of the remaining teams, almost none were intact. In fact, only three teams were complete, among which Joe’s team stood out—not only were they all there, but they had also managed to rescue two more people.
Alice and Erick, Zaid’s roommate.
The teachers remained silent for more than five minutes, trying to process the situation.
Among the many teachers, one stepped forward to speak.
Professor Lois, one of the leading figures in today’s academic community.
"This is the first time so many have died during academic exams... the situation is shocking. I don’t even know what to say."
"I’ll speak with the directors about this, but they’ll be asking each of you for your accounts. So be prepared."
"As for the exam..." He looked at them one by one. "It cannot be canceled or postponed despite this. Any group that has completed even one of the three required exams, please step forward when I call your name."
Contrary to low expectations, many of the groups completed Trials 1 and 2, which involved killing F- and E-Rank beasts. Few completed the D-Rank trial, and among those few was Zaid’s group—to many, it was a surprise that such a weak guy was still alive.
However, of the 180 students, where were Jackson and Luke?
Professor Robinson had also disappeared...
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