When the two Gorgons finally died, everyone who was moving around the outskirts of the now half-destroyed forest area, with several fallen trees and various plant and non-plant creatures turned to stone, stopped.
Realizing that the immediate danger to them was over, the Sages of the group stopped running from the remaining attacks of those Gorgons and breathed more calmly.
"What now?" One of the level 89 mercenaries asked.
"Now we have to leave as soon as possible," Minos shouted for all to hear, speaking in a tone that showed that the death of these individuals had not solved their situation.
"The poison of these creatures can lead members of this tribe to us. Not only that, but this is an enemy mark. Anyone hit by this poison will become a target of the Gorgon Tribe!"
"What? But we didn't absorb the poison!" The level 91 mercenary asked, his cultivation already back to normal, the same for all those who had benefited from Minos' ability in the past few minutes.
The level 91 woman from the Sea Folk stared at Minos, thinking the same as the mercenary.
Although she was from a very talented race and had a lot of knowledge about this world, she didn't know the characteristics of all the races of living beings. Therefore, just like the human mercenary, she didn't know the characteristics of the previous substance.
Minos explained with an ugly expression on his face. "This poison doesn't have to enter our bodies. It can attach itself to our skin on a microscopic level and become an invisible marker that is almost impossible to remove in a short time."
"What? Is that possible?" A level 90 Demigod asked in surprise.
"But you said almost... How do we get rid of it?" The level 91 woman asked.
"By leveling up," Minos said with a bitter smile.
Although it wasn't the most complicated thing in the world, leveling up wasn't easy or quick. As much as he was confident he could do it in a few months, everyone would have to level up for the group to surpass such a mark.
Could they all advance in weeks, the time it would take for the members of this tribe to realize what had happened?
No, so it was practically impossible for them to get rid of it without running into high-level problems!
"Complicated... I won't move on for at least two years."
"My case is worse. I'll need much more time."
Those affected by the poison commented to each other, knowing that as long as one of them was marked, the whole crew would be.
"So where are we going?" Isabella asked, worried about the group's current situation.
Not only had they already provoked two local beast tribes earlier, but now they were involved in delicate problems with another high-level race, one that was very difficult to deal with, by the way.
"Let's go back to the Nine-tailed Fox Tribe, gather our group, and head to the core of the Phoenix Territory." Minos was direct. "The Phoenix are stronger than the Gorgons and are not friendly to viper creatures. We'll be in less danger once we reach that territory."
"Is that so?"
Suddenly, a voice that the people in Minos' group, and even Titus, already knew, sounded in the vicinity of where they were.
Looking in the direction from which they had heard the similar voice, Minos and his group realized that the Gorgon from days ago was there.
"You!"
"Dunyxa!" Titus's eyes widened as he recognized the level 89 creature he had dealt with weeks ago regarding the Gorgon that had caused his group so much trouble.
"Titus... It looks like you were lucky enough to escape death again." She looked at the old fox with mixed feelings.
Dunyxa wanted to take action against Titus and punish him for not keeping his promises. This caused her problems within her tribe and made her a murder suspect.
Now, with what had happened, she was sure that she could never return to her people or she would be severely punished.
Meanwhile, Titus and the rest of the group were in much the same situation as she was.
Feeling the distinct aroma on the bodies of some of the members of Minos' group, she knew what had happened there and that they would be pursued until one side perished!
"Dunyxa, this is all your fault! You're the one who introduced me to that damned Gorgon!" Titus shouted angrily, relying on the group he had gotten to protect him.
"You fucking fox! You're the one who didn't do the job you were supposed to. Now, you are marked, and I've lost everything I own!" She screamed at him, saliva pouring out of her mouth as she showed absolute rage at that creature.
But Minos was in a hurry to get out of there and asked. "What do you want here, Gorgon? We've already killed several of your people. Killing one more won't make any difference to us."
Dunyxa was aware of this and, of course, did not want to make trouble for these creatures.
Their last encounter had been quite different. On that day, she had been confident that they wouldn't attack her, and she hadn't had enough to want trouble with them, even though she didn't know how strong they could be.
But now they had shown themselves capable of threatening her, and they already had their hands dirty with the blood of other members of her tribe.
If she wasn't careful, they could decide to kill her in the blink of an eye!
She said. "We are in the same situation. So, let's unite. You're forming a crew to go to the North Sea, right? Well, I'm here to join your group."
"What?"
"Absolutely not!" Titus shouted as Minos' women looked on in surprise.
Minos narrowed his eyes when he heard that but let the Gorgon explain.
"I can be of use to you. I can help you escape from the tribe and eventually use my powers to your advantage." She said, knowing she had to convince them to accept her into their crew.
Minos then asked her. "Would you be willing to wear a device to cover your eyes? Without it, I won't feel comfortable with someone like you traveling with us."
"I am willing." She clenched her fists, for her eyes were the most important thing she had.
But given the risk of being killed if she stayed on this continent and the risk of dying if she traveled alone, she couldn't negotiate and willingly accepted this condition that would limit her greatly.
Nevertheless, Minos threw her a grade-4 artifact, something that wasn't designed for this purpose but would serve for the time being while they began their escape.
Thus, with two new companions, they left that place and quickly made their way to the city of the Nine-Tailed Foxes!
