"Did you know?" Adira asked in a solemn tone. "Did you know that monster was lying in wait in front of us?"
The Black Hound also looked at the seven-year-old, who was currently leaning on the wall of the cave with his eyes still closed.
"I did," Thirteen replied.
"And yet, you didn't tell us?" Adira's voice became cold as her eyes bored into the boy, who had dared to attempt such a gamble, betting his and her lives on the line.
"If I told you, what would you have done?" Thirteen asked back in a calm tone.
"I would have definitely not followed you in this suicide mission."
"That's the thing, lady Adira. I didn't ask you to follow me. I was prepared to do this mission alone."
The corner of the Drow's eyes twitched because she couldn't refute Zion's words.
She was the one who had decided to follow the boy, so she couldn't blame him for the turn of events that transpired an hour ago.
The Black Hound, who was too exhausted to do anything, only glared at the boy, who seemed to be the most calm among the three of them.
It was as if the boy didn't think that getting sandwiched between two Overlords, who were having a territorial battle, was a big deal.
Suddenly, the sound of wings flapping reached Adira's ears.
However, she didn't move because there was only one bird who would come to their location.
Just as she expected, Vassago entered the cave and landed beside the seven-year-old, who had also sensed his presence.
The Pocopoco started to make chirping sounds, which annoyed Adira very much.
Clearly, the two didn't plan to let her and the Black Hound understand their discussion.
When the Pocopoco and the boy finally stopped chirping at each other, the Drow wasn't able to sit still and asked what they were talking about.
"What happened?" Adira asked. "Tell me everything."
Instead of answering, Zion raised his hand as if telling the Drow to give him a few moments to organize his thoughts.
What Vassago had shared with him was something he had already considered happening, so he wasn't too surprised when it came to pass.
"When we left the battlefield, the two Overlords fought against each other, with the Hyena suffering a serious injury," Thirteen explained. "However, before the Purple Furred Honey Badger could deliver the killing blow, the Rank 2 Hyenas performed wave tactics, sacrificing themselves to give their Leader time to recover.
"The leader of the Golden-Eyed Hyena has strong regenerative abilities, but it will not be able to heal its injury in a short period of time.
"Because of this, it used its dominion over its Rank 4 subordinates to make them jump into its jaws, so that it could cannibalize them."
The Drow and the Warsor Black Hound were both surprised by this development.
Cannibalism was taboo to most creatures in the world, but there were certain monsters who did it as a last resort.
Adira could tell what the Rank 5 Overlord wanted to achieve when it decided to eat its high-ranking subordinates, but he still asked Zion this question.
"D-Did it make a breakthrough?" Adira asked.
"It did," Thirteen replied. "Not only did it evolve, it has also undergone a mutation. It is no longer a Golden-Eyed Hyena, but a Diabolical Crimson-Eyed Hyena."
"What kind of monster is that?" Adira asked. "And how do you know such a thing?"
Thirteen shrugged. "Vassago told me."
The Pocopoco, who had just been used as a scapegoat, tilted its head to the side because he didn't tell Thirteen anything.
He didn't even know the name of the monster that the Hyena had evolved into.
Vassago only told his Master what the new Rank 6 Overlord looked like, which made the Pocopoco wonder how Thirteen knew what it was.
"The Diabolical Crimson-Eyed Hyena is a black Hyena with two demonic horns on its head," Thirteen explained. "It is a mutant variant among Golden-Eyed Hyenas and one of the triggers for such an evolution is through cannibalism.
"However, this is not an ordinary monster. It is an Overlord, so its power, and ferocity is stronger than that of a normal monster. According to Vassago, the clash between it and the Purple-Furred Honey Badger ended with the Badger fleeing after getting seriously injured.
"If not for the fact that it has just evolved, it might have pursued the fleeing Honey Badger, and dealt it the killing blow. I'm afraid that if it manages to consume its rival's body and Core, there's a possibility that it might even become a Pseudo Rank-7 Overlord, which would be a very terrifying monster."
Adira and the Warsor Black Hound looked at the seven-year-old in silence.
They still couldn't believe that such an event had happened just an hour after they left the scene.
"But, there is one piece of good news," Thirteen said. "Actually there's two. The first one is that after its evolution, the Diabolical Hyena will enter a lethargic phase for a few days to allow its body to adapt to its new form.
"Since the Purple-Furred Honey Badger is also seriously injured, and fled to the Northeast of the Warsor Plains, we don't need to worry about escaping this place alive."
The Drow and Black Hound found this news to be exceptionally good because, as long as those two monsters were out of the picture, there were extremely few creatures that could threaten them as they reunited with their group.
"And the second piece of good news?" Adira asked.
"There is one seriously injured Obsidian Tiger Beetle that is not far from here," Thirteen answered. "Lady Adira, can you please follow Vassago and help capture it?"
The corner of Adira's lips twitched before giving the seven-
year-old a good smack on the head, making the boy cry out in pain.
"You bastard, why are you treating me like some kind of hired thug?" Adira finally snapped after bottling up all the frustrations that she had suffered after joining Zion in his suicide mission. "Do you really think that I'm one of your subordinates that you can order around, huh?"
Thirteen rubbed his head in order to ease the pain of getting smacked by the Drow, who made sure to restrain her strength, so that she didn't accidentally kill him.
"I just think that this is a golden opportunity," Thirteen said in a voice filled with injustice. "Since we have already suffered so much, we should not leave this place empty handed, right?"
Adira snorted, but she also thought that the boy's words were reasonable.
Thirteen came to the Furvus Grasslands in order to capture three creatures.
The Warsor Black Hound, the Obsidian Tiger Beetle, and the Red-Eyed Salamander, who were all Rank 3 Monsters.
After the things that happened on this trip, the boy decided that he had no choice but to abandon his mission to ensure their safety.
However, since one of the monsters on his list was readily available, he thought that it would not be a bad idea to capture it now, while they still could.
As for the Red-Eyed Salamander? The boy decided that it was not worth it to continue risking their lives to find the fire breathing monster.
Although it would have been an important asset for their forging needs, their lives were more valuable in his opinion.
"Fine," Adira clicked her tongue after much deliberation. "Blacky come with me."
The Black Hound glared at the Drow as if telling her "Girl, stop calling me Blacky".
But, since Adira was stronger than it, the Black Hound decided to just obey and get it over with, leaving Tiona and Vassago to look after their master, who still hadn't recovered his vision.
