"What did you just say?"
For a moment, Kyo wondered whether the wind had mangled Joren’s words before they reached him.
"You want me to go back?"
"Now?"
He pointed at the deadly core region beneath them, then at himself, then at Joren.
The look on his face said everything.
Had this kid finally lost his mind?
Joren nodded with complete sincerity.
"Yes, Senior."
"For the safety of Norcrest, and so we can lure those cunning beasts out and wipe them all out at once."
"It would be best if you returned first."
Kyo drew a long breath and fought down the urge to slap him into the ground.
"Joren."
"Do you think I am old enough to be this easy to fool?"
He pulled out a cigarette, failed to light it after several tries, then crushed it between his fingers.
"Last night, you were the one who dragged me out here and begged me to keep watch over you."
"You said you were worried something might go wrong."
"You said there were three Rank Five beast kings and that you needed someone like me to hold the line."
"Fine. I came."
"Now we are standing at their front door. Our pants are already off..."
Kyo coughed.
"Our blades are already drawn."
"And now you want me to leave?"
A laugh escaped him, but there was no amusement in it.
Joren had expected this reaction.
"Misunderstanding. This is all a misunderstanding."
He sighed, wearing an expression of perfect innocence.
Inside, the calculations were rattling away.
A misunderstanding?
Not even close.
This was exactly what it looked like.
He was throwing away the bridge after crossing it.
When he first asked Kyo to come, Joren had only just entered Rank Four. Cheats or not, he had not been confident enough to face three peak Rank Five beast kings alone.
His goal had always been their purple Talents and Bloodstars.
That meant he needed enough strength to kill all three by himself.
Kyo had been insurance. If things went wrong, at least Joren would survive.
But after all the killing along the way, after using [Omniscient Field] to scout and lure out one target after another, the system panel was now packed with purple Talents.
The numbers beside them were just as reassuring.
More importantly, Joren looked into the darkness ahead.
Those three peak Rank Five beast kings no longer seemed like terrifying monsters.
They were walking bundles of experience.
Glittering piles of Bloodstars.
A peak Rank Five beast king should be worth at least five thousand Bloodstars.
Three of them meant fifteen thousand.
And that was not even the best part.
The Talents were.
Every one of those old beast kings possessed genuine purple Talents.
If Kyo stayed and the fighting began, the old man’s temper might get the better of him. One careless swing, and an entire beast king could die before Joren claimed anything from it.
The thought alone nearly gave him chest pain.
Once Kyo started enjoying a fight, no one could stop him.
To prevent such a tragedy, the great expert had to leave.
Preferably very far away.
"Senior, please listen to my excuse..."
Joren paused.
"My explanation."
He cleared his throat and put on a serious face.
"I am not trying to cast you aside after using you."
"Your presence is simply too overwhelming."
"Look around. There is not a single Voidbeast within fifty miles. Even the mosquitoes are afraid to fly."
"At this rate, by the time we reach their nest, those three cunning beasts will have abandoned it and escaped."
"Then Norcrest will be left with an even greater hidden threat."
Kyo snorted.
"Escape?"
"Where could they go?"
"Since I have come this far, I will dig through the earth if I have to and drag them out myself."
His tone hardened, and a sharp gleam passed through his cloudy eyes.
"Joren, do not think I cannot tell what you are planning."
"You want to reenact what happened during the last Beast Tide."
"You want to chase all three beast kings down with your blade, do you not?"
Kyo pointed toward the distant towers wrapped in dark red vines.
"Do you understand what you are dealing with?"
"Three peak Rank Five beast kings."
"Veterans who know the terrain and have fought together for years."
"Even I would pay a price if they trapped me and I refused to use my trump cards."
"And you are only middle stage Rank Four."
"If I leave, what exactly are you planning to beat them with?"
Kyo gave him a scathing look.
"Your dick?"
"If anything happens to you, Manester will skin me, stuff me, and hang me from the city wall."
"So no."
"Either I stay, or the entire army withdraws right now."
There was no room for negotiation in his voice.
This was not only about protecting Norcrest.
It was also about preserving Joren, the one talent they could not afford to lose.
Kyo genuinely feared the kid would push too far and get himself killed.
Joren studied him for a moment.
Talking would not be enough.
The old man looked rough and careless, but when it mattered, he was almost impossible to shake.
"So the real reason you refuse to leave is that you do not believe I can kill all three of them alone."
Kyo rolled his eyes.
"Obviously."
"You have exceptional Talents, but you are still Rank Four."
"If you could break through to Rank Five right here, I would turn around and leave immediately."
"I would even shout go, go, go for you on the way out."
"But that is not possible."
Kyo felt rather pleased with himself.
His reasoning was flawless, and Joren had no answer.
It was always satisfying to watch a favored genius run into a wall.
Do not think I cannot deal with you, brat.
Then Joren smiled.
Brightly.
He rose from the armored vehicle and stretched. A chain of sharp cracks ran through his bones.
"If the only thing worrying you is my realm..."
"Then this is easy."
Kyo paused.
The confidence on Joren’s face made something tighten in his chest.
Whenever this kid smiled like that, someone was about to suffer.
"Easy?"
"What do you mean?"
Joren did not answer at once.
He only smiled as his lazy voice carried across the entire convoy.
"Simple."
"I will break through to Rank Five right here."