Four days later...
After leaving where they had fought two kinds of snakes and the Gorgons group, Minos' group quickly made their way back to the city of the Nine-Tailed Foxes.
After accomplishing their objectives in this area and preparing to flee to the core of the Phoenix Territory, they moved without much difficulty and reached the main area of Emlyn's tribe this morning.
Upon entering this territory, they attracted the attention of some of the tribe's elders as they stood next to a Gorgon and a Nine-Tailed Fox that had been banished from the tribe.
However, since Bella and Blake had already told the elders that Minos was a great friend of the race, no one stood in their way, even though they found his two new companions strange.
So they entered the city of the Nine-Tailed Foxes in the early afternoon!
...
As they entered the headquarters of the Nine-Tailed Fox Tribe, Minos' group split into three.
Two of these groups rushed to search for their crewmates to reunite them as soon as possible.
About three weeks had passed since the group's arrival in this tribe, so most of their people should already be waiting for Minos' return to continue their journey across this continent.
Meanwhile, the third group went to the core of this tribe to say goodbye and to pick up the newest addition to the crew, Bella.
Arriving at the tribe's main building, Minos, his wives, and the two new crew members caught the attention of the main elders before they even entered the building.
Titus' aura was well known among the strongest of the tribe, while the feeling that a Gorgon exuded was not easy to ignore.
"Minos, I feel you're going to get us into trouble with this," Blake said when he saw the two creatures standing next to Emperor Stuart.
Minos smiled bitterly at the sight of Blake and the other high-ranking elders of the tribe.
Then he said. "Elders, if any Gorgons visit you in the next few days, don't hesitate to tell them where we have gone. There's no need for you to try to protect us. Just say that we passed through here on the run and that we were heading north."
Minos didn't want to make trouble for this tribe. But since he had acted against the Gorgons and would certainly be pursued, it was almost certain that those creatures would pass through this tribe.
To avoid the worst, he preferred that this tribe didn't try to protect him.
The chances of the Gorgon Tribe taking strong action against these foxes were slim. But that didn't mean that there wasn't a risk that they would harm this group.
Bella heard it and sighed, seeing that the search for Titus had led to trouble.
"Sigh... Your group is bigger and more dangerous, but your chances of survival on this continent have diminished." She commented to Minos without blaming the young human for getting involved in problems that could spread to her tribe.
Blake said. "Young Minos, don't worry about us."
"Yes, we'll be fine. You're the one who has to worry about getting into trouble with this tribe."
"Be careful..."
Several elders said things like that before Minos thanked them for their understanding and concern.
After that, they said goodbye to the elders before all the foxes wished Bella a safe journey, hoping they would hear from her again one day.
A few minutes after the group had arrived, they left with Bella to go to the meeting place with the rest of the group.
Halfway there, Bella spoke to Titus after a long time without doing so.
"You've aged more than I expected." She said as she looked at the man with white hair and wrinkled skin who was currently in his humanoid form like her.
"You do very well for your age, Bella. The perks of leading a tribe, I'd say." Titus said in a sarcastic tone.
"If you hadn't done what you did, you might have been the one to enjoy those benefits, Titus." She said, looking him in the eye. "Don't act like I've been unfair to you. You've caused us more problems than benefits."
"Tsk!"
"Haha, looks like even the foxes in your tribe can't tolerate you, Titus," Dunyxa said, laughing at the old man's predicament.
He looked into the face of this Gorgon, who at the moment had an item that prevented her from looking people in the eye and vice versa.
But that didn't stop her from knowing what was around her. With the soul sense that living beings had after they reached the 8th stage, even a blind person could use that part of themselves to map their surroundings and get a clear idea of what was around them.
With this, such a Gorgon wasn't limited to the point where she couldn't walk on her own even though she had a high-level item blocking her eyes.
"Titus, your life is really..."
Just as Dunyxa was about to say something, Minos suddenly gave her an ugly look that made her stop what she was about to say.
"Keep your opinions to yourself. I don't want to hear arguments in my group." He said, making it clear to these individuals that there were rules in their group.
Minos was the leader, and he decided how things should be. As part of the team, they had to follow his orders or be asked to stay behind!
Danyxa said nothing when she heard this, while the other two remained silent.
After about half an hour, their group saw the last members of the North Sea-bound crew arrive at their rendezvous point.
Seeing Emlyn and Kyla, as well as the mermaids, mermen, Krakens, and the Arctic Whale, Minos announced to everyone there: "We have enemies who can reach us and threaten us if we're not quick enough. Then we'll head for the core of the Phoenix Tribe immediately!"
Hearing that, most of those people didn't worry too much since they were on this journey to venture out and face trouble. But Emlyn and Kyla were worried.
"What enemies?" The older of the two asked.
She and her daughter wanted to stay with this tribe for a few more days, as they were determined to return with Minos to the Black Plain Empire, their current home. So, all their time in this place was valuable to both of them.
Hearing this, Minos looked at his old partner and said. "Two tribes of snakes and the Gorgons."
Gulp!
"Then why do we have a Gorgon in our group?" One of the two Krakens asked as he looked at the level 89 woman.
"She's a traitor to her tribe. She's also on the run." Minos didn't give too many details, just showing the group the bare minimum to understand Danyxa's presence there. "Anyway, she knows this tribe and how they'll track us. With her help, we might be able to reach the Phoenix territory before trouble catches up with us."
With these words, he answered the main doubts of his people.
With three new group members, Minos' party set off from the Nine-Tailed Fox city, heading north from that coastal area toward the central-southern part of the Continent of Beasts, where the Phoenix Tribe's territory lay.
