As the creature's headless body fell to the ground, everyone in Julian and Minos's group stared at it in silence for about five seconds.
That was a level 5 Rougarou they had killed!
Such a creature would cause trouble even for level 5 magicians.
However, in this battle, some of these men realized the advantage of numbers for the first time. Even though no one in their group had the same power as that creature, they had defeated it in the end.
With the addition of Vice's group, even though that group didn't have anyone of a high level, Julian's team's chances of survival had increased exponentially.
Vice's weapons, as had his and Rory's sneak attack, had been very important. However, the numbers involved in this confrontation justified the human victory in the battle.
When Vicente's men realized how important it was to have several of them and not just the weapons, the teachers in Julian's group finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They were still in that dangerous place. But at least for the moment, the immediate danger to them had passed.
With a deep sigh, the leader of that group, the man with the sword in his hands, looked at Vicente and said. "Thank you for helping us. By the way, my name is Axel Arbour. Those next to me are colleagues from the Rexnelts Academy of Ironcrest."
Vicente looked at the blond man and said. "I'm Cesar Mazzanti. Those on the side are my family companions."
"Mazzanti?" Julian was from Martell Village, and Millfall was the nearest town. When he heard the name, he recognized it immediately. "Are you from Millfall?" He asked, looking at the black-haired man with the mana-distorted voice.
"Yes," Rory confirmed, wondering what their teacher would say if he found out who they were.
But neither he nor Vicente had any intention of revealing their identities.
"Well, you should leave this area. The Rougarou warned others of its kind, so many creatures will come to this place soon." One of the teachers there said, intending to leave to complete their mission.
As much as they had lost one of their companions, they were already very close to the heart of this mountainous area. It would be a tremendous waste of all their efforts to get there if they gave up now.
The danger they would face would be the same whether they continued the mission or tried to return to Ironcrest!
He said. "My group will continue our journey. I hope that the items of our dead companion and these creatures will pay for the help you have given us."
As strange as it sounded, it was common that in situations like this, when a third party got involved in a conflict and saved one side, they would take the belongings of all the corpses in the area.
Vicente looked at the level 5 Rougarou and saw its orange magic pentagram. "Well, that will be enough for us. Unfortunately, I don't know if it's worth the risk of one of my men absorbing this pentagram."
Since so many people had attacked that Rougarou, Vicente didn't know who had killed it.
Given its grudge, it would be quite dangerous for one of his men to absorb it.
He sighed at the thought of losing such a good pentagram.
Julian then asked. "Are you and your group here to hunt pentagrams?"
Rory replied. "Yes. We're going deep into this area to look for essences compatible with us. Ten of us have yet to find our new pentagrams."
It was common for groups like theirs to go together to find pentagrams in regions like this. Not only was it dangerous to travel alone, but it was also tough for one person to face and overcome the challenges that would come with the highest level pentagram they could absorb.
The group of teachers from Ironcrest had already guessed their group was there for this reason and were not surprised by it while they collected the body of their companion, who had died in the previous battle.
As Vicente's men collected the items left behind by such an individual and the valuables in the area, he asked. "What about you? What are you doing here?"
The teachers looked at each other, knowing they shouldn't tell him why they were there, since they were on a mission for the Seidel Magic College.
But that group had helped them; without that help, they would have perished there.
Since these men were somewhat resentful of the mission they had been given, they saw no problem in telling them the basics.
"We were sent here by our academy to check on the appearance of something of value to our superiors. Unfortunately, we don't know the exact location of it. We only know that in the depths of Alpine Woodpecker Forest, there is something of value waiting for someone to collect it." The group leader said, not going into details about what they were after, but not lying.
"Is that so?" Vicente looked at Rory and imagined that the map they held in their hands could be something that would lead them to such a thing.
No matter how old their map was and how recent the mission of these teachers seemed to be, that didn't rule out the possibility that they were connected!
The magic world was extraordinary. The formation of specific resources could be predicted by beings with certain characteristics who passed near the place where some natural things could develop.
Someone who could perceive this could have passed through that area in the past and realized something valuable would one day appear there, then made the map Vicente had in his hand.
Since the magic world was perilous, having relevant information or even skills wasn't everything. One could end up losing their things to stronger ones, and items like the book Vice had stolen from Defiant Tyranny could pass through the hands of dozens of people before being used.
Realizing that their map might lead to such resources, Vice and Rory naturally increased the importance of reaching where their "treasure" was supposed to be.
But before the two sides could say goodbye, Julian suddenly suggested something. "Why don't we unite our groups? We're stronger together, and we can achieve our goals in this area more easily."
Not only the people in Vicente's group but also those in Julian's own team looked at him strangely, for it was neither common nor advisable to join unknown groups in the middle of journeys like this.
The dangers would be great!
But Julian was no fool, nor was he a man who didn't pay his debts. Aware of the dangers of this area for his group and also that the resources left to Vicente's group were not enough to pay for their help, he wanted to unite his group with Vice's.
'That could be good for us. Besides, these individuals can't use what my group is looking for. Even if they are strong enough to turn against us, I doubt they would do so for something that wouldn't serve them.' The leader of that party thought, imagining it wouldn't be so bad.
He said. "What do you say, Cesar? If we unite, you and your group will reach your new pentagrams faster, and my people and I will complete our mission faster. Everybody can win."
