"I was attacking this hill?" Sahar Khara frowned in confusion, gazing at the hill to sense the familiar flames burning on it. He also noticed the hole mentioned by Teto, observing the impression formed at the bottom of the cave, seeing that it looked similar to him.
There was also a faint layer of soil coating the edges of his clothes, the soil texture being the same as that within the cave.
"Hmm?" He frowned after a while, taking out a Magic Tool that he used to communicate with the Talon Secret Organisation, watching a portal appear before him as he entered it to leave the place.
Once he left, the trio sighed visibly; Teto said in a hurry, looking at Horan, "Please bring us somewhere far away from here. There's a good chance the Saint might return."
"Alright." Horan sighed as he grabbed hold of Teto and Gehera, condensing a gigantic magic circle as immediately after, they turned into a bolt of lightning and entered the clouds above, travelling from one cloud to another, vanishing from the region.
A few seconds later, Sahar Khara returned, sporting a solemn expression as he probed the place, failing to sense the three individuals, "They are tricky."
Sighing after a while, he retreated into the portal to vanish once again.
"Huff…puff!" Horan gasped for breath, exhausted as they had travelled for more than two hundred kilometres in a matter of seconds. It drained his mana severely.
Slumping on the ground now that they had arrived at safety, Horan began to recover his mana reserves, staring at Teto to ask, "So, you are in possession of a Pseudo-Relic."
"I'm not sure if you could call it a Pseudo-Relic." Teto smiled awkwardly, "This is a Magic Tool that we inherit through our bloodline. And it is passed down from one generation to the next."
"It's not a Pseudo-Relic?" Horan was shocked, exclaiming in response, "Using it, you were able to retaliate against a Saint. How come it's not a Pseudo-Saint."
"But, you should have noticed that the Saint wasn't even scratched by the stack." Teto laughed awkwardly, "It is only effective against Pseudo-Saints at most. Beyond that, it's useless."
"And, the retaliation attacks can only be aimed at the attacker. Otherwise, without this limitation, it would have been worth the effort to make it a Pseudo-Relic." Teto sighed in disappointment, saying after a couple of seconds, "But at least, I can buy time with this."
"I see," Horan nodded, frowning as he said, "Why the heck can't I remember anything that happened during the battle?"
"Maybe there was a formation or something there to keep strong people at bay." Teto said solemnly, pointing at himself and Gehera, "The two of us can perfectly remember everything. So, it should have only been put in place to deter strong enemies."
"It makes sense since the Saint can't even remember us, even though he was the one trying to attack us."
Since the Saint was stronger than Horan, he also lost more memories. When thought in this line, Teto's words made perfect sense.
'So, Grandmasters and below aren't even a threat to whatever was happening there.' Horan thought, sighing as he let go of the matter.
This was how one could survive for long in this dangerous world. If there was a baffling mystery before them, avoiding it was the best course of action. After all, there were too many secret organisations in the world, working on plans both small scale and large scale.
Poking their nose in such matters would only reduce their lifespan.
For a moment, Horan entertained the thought that Teto was part of a secret organisation too. But he didn't feel any ill feelings towards that.
After all, the goal of each secret organisation was different. There were good, bad, and neutral secret organisations, each working towards their respective agendas.
There was even a secret organisation that secretly helped sick people get back to full health. No one even saw the people that healed others. They came like the wind and went like the wind.
They neither took any money nor sought fame, acting like spectres as they healed any and all injured.
There were countless such secret organisations. After all, there were many eccentric individuals among the strong.
And considering Teto's behaviour, if he was part of a secret organisation, it might be one of such decent organisations.
Horan prided himself in his ability to judge people. And this was precisely why he forged a decent relationship with Teto.
"How much distance is left to our destination?" Horan looked at Gehera.
"Let me check." Gehera took out a map of the Xetuka Kingdom as her eyes swirled with mysterious runes. Mana gushed out of her hand and poured into the map before soon, three figures were highlighted at a particular location—It was them.
Gehera then focused on the destination, stating after making a brief calculation, "There are around 270 kilometres left to our destination."
"Are there any Magic Beasts nearby that we can use as our mounts?" Horan asked next, "Using my powers, I can temporarily bring them under my control."
"There are many…around us…" Gehera paled in response, hurriedly looking around as her figure shuddered, "We've barged into a Magic Beast territory."
"What type of Magic Beast?" Teto asked, grunting as he wasn't able to use one arm that was charred black.
"T-This…!" Gehera was stunned once she expanded her senses, staring at the figure of the Magic Beast situated the closest, trembling in fear, "It's t-the G-Golden Elephant Herd!"
"Golden Elephant Herd?" Even Horan failed to keep his cool any longer.
After all, the Golden Elephants were one of the stronger Magic Beast races, naturally endowed to reach the Grandmaster Stage upon adulthood. And the chief of each herd was a Pseudo-Saint.
As each herd reached around two hundred in numbers, they were a terrifying force to reckon with.
After all, even if Magic Beasts were weaker than humans, their sheer numbers were alarming, especially considering a herd composed of two hundred Grandmasters.
Kraaaaauunnn!
A majestic trumpet resounded through the region as trees were mowed down. A behemoth of a creature, standing four metres tall and weighing more than thirty tonnes walked out, making a path of its own through the region, with each of its footsteps forming large imprints on the ground.
A gust of air blew out of its trunk as its reddish eyes glared at the trio.
