Xander, standing next to the elder, had a frown as well. "It's very likely that a spy has indeed infiltrated them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gotten our route so easily and set up an ambush on the way. They must've been aiming for that thing..."
Elder Simon was furious, slamming his hand on the table. It caused the tea on the table to fall.
"I'll root out those spies for sure this time! Martin hadn't been smart enough to use the last of his strength to send away these three men, they would've died, and no one would've known about what had happened."
Xander nodded before he suddenly thought of something. He said in a low voice, "That Scarlet Blood Crystal-"
The moment he said that, Elder Simon immediately turned his head to shoot Xander an expression to stop. Xander gulped, coughing as he swallowed back those words.
The question was obviously not meant for the three of them to hear. The Scarlet Blood Crystal was in Fane's hands at that moment; both Rudy and Grayson knew.
However, Fane had already warned them into secrecy, and they would not dare to reveal the fact that Fane had already absorbed the Scarlet Blood Crystal.
Furthermore, Elder Simon and Xander did not seem to think that the Scarlet Blood Crystal was with them all this time.
They had hidden the fact that Martin had sent the stone into the vessel with the last of his strength.
They made it seem like it had fallen into enemy hands.
The two of them had dark looks on their faces. The situation had been explained thoroughly and all hints of suspicion were cleared. To begin with, they were not even heavily involved in this matter; they just happened to be dragged into this mess.
Elder Simon and Xander knew very well that Rudy and Grayson would want to head back to their own factions because of what had happened.
Rudy and Grayson stood up together, and the two of them bowed to Elder Simon.
"Elder, what we've experienced... really placed our lives at stake, and it took a terrible toll on us. We no longer want to head to Phoenix Valley and merely want to return to where we-"
Before Rudy could finish, the elder interrupted him," You can't go back. You've already decided to become students of the alliance, so you should stick to your vow. We've already talked to your factions.
"You've gone through the tests, and everything is already set. You can't quit now!"
Rudy and Grayson's eyes widened at those words as anxiety washed over them like tidal waves. They had not expected that their request would be rejected so quickly and without consideration.
Elder Simon was telling them that they could abandon the thought, that it would not be possible for them to head back.
Rudy looked incredibly anxious at that moment as he hurriedly pleaded, "Elder, please! We're genuinely mortified by everything we've been through! The two of us are only at the early stage of the innate level, like mere ants on the side of the road in a fight. We'd die if anyone just blew in our direction. Our lives are incredibly important to us, and we really don't want to go to Phoenix Valley!"
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