Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Evan kept shooting the magical beasts and killed around eighty monsters since the start. However, he felt that everything really took his stamina. Not only did he need to avoid all the attacks, but he also needed to keep running at full speed and aiming at them as accurately as possible.

Unlike Isabelle or Tasha, he had nothing to show in terms of marksmanship, including experiences.

"It has been almost one and a half hours since the start of this operation. Where is exactly the captain?" Evan screamed while moving a bit closer to the first depot. His bullets were almost empty, so he needed to get the ammunition he left in the first point.

As for the leader monster that had been chasing him was a Darwin Fox. If not because he kept shooting this animal, he might be able to wipe the rest of the magical beasts.

Using its speed, the Darwin Fox managed to keep his attention on him, allowing the others to attack Evan.

However, Evan started getting the hang of its movements, so he began creating the perfect plan to make a surprise attack.

Still, it was easier said than done. The fox might not be moving with life on the line, but the rest of the magical beasts were hindering his movements.

And the situation turned even worse when he saw numerous monsters coming to him in unison.

"Oi?! This is going to kill me." Evan screamed in despair, making the fox find the chance to strike him from the side.

It was at this time Evan actually smiled as if his plan had succeeded.

As soon as he sensed the small incoming object from the side, he turned around and shot immediately without aiming. If everything was according to his plan, the small fox should be right where he stopped.

"Spot on!" Evan grinned as he stopped right when the aim was on the fox.

Bang.

Because of the sudden increase of swiftness, the fox could only block the attack with its paw, sacrificing one of them to save his life. At the same time, the power of the bullet sent him flying.

Evan continued to smile when he saw a flash coming from that direction as well.

"Go!"

…

A few minutes ago.

"Huft." Kai started panting after everything was over as he looked at the magical beasts that kept going in Evan's direction. They would soon arrive at his place, so he didn't have the time to wait for long.

After catching up his breath, he used his Sound Blast to run as fast as possible, only to find Evan was surrounded by many beasts and barely pushed them away with his pistol.

Without wasting a single second, Kai instantly leaped toward the leader, the Darwin Fox that was trying to hunt Evan down.

"Ha!" Kai slashed his sword forward, albeit was avoided by the Fox.

"I thought you left first with the reason to let me grow or something."

"Sorry. There was another group coming for you and the one that brought these magical beasts. Well, they had three intelligent beasts too, so it took longer than he expected." Kai apologized while making his way toward Evan to cover him.

Evan also supported him, so they could regroup. "You sound like you have experienced something dreadful earlier."

"I was almost dead, you know." He let out a long sigh.

Evan then realized Kai's burned hand. "I see. I can understand that. I will heal you later, but our priority is…"

"Yeah. Follow me. We are breaking through first to regain our ground." Kai nodded as he finally arrived before him before leaping again in another direction, trying to breakthrough. "Let's go."

Evan nodded and aimed the gun toward the magical beasts behind them, slowing them down to not stop them from breaking through.

As soon as they were outside the encirclement, Kai positioned himself between Evan and the magical beasts.

"The fox is hiding behind a magical beast. There might be a chance you are getting attacked, so be careful."

"Roger." Evan nodded.

The two then began their last killing spree that lasted for around twenty minutes before they managed to annihilate every single beast.

After that, Kai leaned back a nearby tree before falling on his butt, panting. "This is harsh. To think I will be this exhausted after just a few hundred beasts. Have I become weaker?"

"No, no. I think it's due to the difference that the magical beasts have this time."

"True enough. They tried to drag me down together but failed to do so." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "If we were fighting against beasts like this in the future, we would need to be extra careful."

"I agree. It's tough because you can't predict what kind of move they will make. Unlike the usual fighting style, they don't fear death, and their attack patterns are diversified since they can kill me in many ways just like that. It scares me to see how a desperate person comes at me in the future." Evan let out a long sigh.

"Anyway, we have finished here. After scanning this place, I don't think we need to help the army to do their job."

"We can go home then?"

"Yes. And don't forget we will spar. All of you are going to fight me." Kai smirked. "I am looking forward to it."

"I don't know why you are so excited, but I guess it's fine. I just want to make sure you are able to cut down your girls." Evan glanced at him with a serious expression.

"If it were just a simulation world, I wouldn't have any hesitation. If it were real, I would have no hesitation as well, but it's them who stabbed me instead of me stabbing them." Kai smiled. "As for you, I will mutilate you… Just kidding."

"Don't say a scary word like that. I know you will do it." Evan tried to retreat as if he was scared of him.

"Haha…" Kai laughed out loud. "I think the pain is not there anymore. You can finish the rest of the treatment on the way. For now, let's get all the supplies first before returning to our camp."

"Sure." Evan nodded before rising back.

…

Unbeknownst to them, there was a woman leaning on a tree while closing her eyes as if she was waiting for someone. Not long after that, a shadow appeared in front of her, and it turned out to be a walking shark.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" She glanced at the shark with an innocent look.

"As soon as you returned after that war, you immediately came to the land again and taught all those magical beasts. At the same time, to think that you have started teaching every single intelligent beast, I am wondering whether you are sure to let them die just like that."

"Of course not. The ones who died in this place were sacrificial pawns. They were necessary to understand one thing."

"One thing?"

"That human… No, I should call him by his name at this point, I guess. What I have learned during this meeting is Kai Carter's weakness." She smirked as if she thought something crazy.

"His weakness? Does he hold that much value?"

"You have been in slumber this whole time, so you don't know our current plan yet. However, you know his value, right?"

"His ears. The ears that can hear anything."

"Yes. Humans are classifying it as a hearing enhancement, but they never know the real worth of that hearing ability. For a person having that ability, he holds three fates. The first is to lay low so we don't take advantage of his ability. The second is to surrender and swear his loyalty to us. The third is to die."

"But there is the fourth one…" The shark narrowed his eyes.

"What is it?"

"He is the one who has the last laugh. In other words, we lose."

"Are you on our side or on the human's side?" She narrowed her eyes.

"I am on your side, of course. And please call me a realist instead. I am always considering the worst possible thing that will happen in case everything fails." He let out a long sigh.

"…" The woman looked at him for a few seconds before putting down the matter. "Either way, with the information rally by the magical beasts, we can get the report from them, including how he reacts. After all, he is not really chasing those who stay underground. As long as we send everything to the underground first and have them send the information, he won't know it's us."

"I agree. By the way, are you planning to take him down right now? We might be able to meet him and capture him since there are only two of them. And his teammate has healing magic instead of space magic, I think this is the best chance to get him," The shark asked politely.

"No. He already has a suspicion about this, so the moment we enter his hearing range, he is going to retreat. Don't forget the fact that he can remember someone's heartbeat. And he will surely recognize mine. As for you… I don't think you alone can catch him since he is so slick."

"Is that so? Either way, we have finished our original goal, so I guess it's fine. This kind of thing is possible only because they have defeated the spider too…"

"Yeah. Unbeknownst to them, because they kill that spider, everything in this area is easier to control. Besides, he has killed many of us as of now, so I will try to get some hostages first to make him fall into despair."

"That is a bit hard, don't you say? His family is well protected while those who are on the battlefield are great fighters on their own."

"It's fine. This is a long-term plan, and we also have our spies on their side. We can try to build up a little bit until the time comes." She smiled. "For now, let's return. I have gathered enough data."

"I understand."

The two then disappeared.