Stephen sighed helplessly, feeling like he was nothing compared to Fane. "How strong do you think their king is? Will you be a match against him?"
That was what Stephen was most worried about. They might be able to take care of the beasts should there not be an overwhelming number of them; they were only concerned if they could stand against the king.
That was because Stephen had no way of knowing how strong that king was. He did not know if their strongest fighter, Fane, would be able to stand up to him. If he could not, then the king would kill all of them if it decided to attack.
Just thinking about it terrified Stephen. He never expected himself to end up being in such a terrible situation. They thought that their biggest enemy in the Demon Spirit Kingdom would be Fane, yet in a twist of fate, Fane became their pillar of hope, and their opponents became the beasts they thought were mere prey!
Fane sighed. Not being the one to exaggerate the truth, he said slowly, "I don't know. All we know right now is that this king exists, and we don't know anything else about it. I don't know if I'm a match for him either.
"It's because I don't know that I brought all of you here. Everyone should be on their guard, or the situation will only get worse!"
Everyone nodded, but their expressions did not improve at all.
Cloud shot Fane a meaningful look. Even if he knew that it was best not to cause any trouble at that moment, he was just too worried.
He leaned over and said, "What do we do if we notice them coming? Are we going to retreat or fight them before we leave?"
Fane frowned, thinking for a moment before he answered, "It depends on the situation. We'll see how many there are."
After he said that, Fane looked into the skies. He saw that there were no clouds at all and continued, "Don't just pay attention to the ground; look up as well. The moment you notice any lower-leveled beasts flying over, take them down at once. Don't let them off! We can't let those beasts report on our situation!"
Everyone nodded. They suddenly felt like they were surrounded by problems everywhere.
Rudy whispered to Fane, "If we can't hold this place, are we going to retreat into the fog? I feel like it's even more dangerous!"
Fane turned to look at the end of the canyon. It was shrouded with the fog, obscuring their sights.
Fane said seriously, "If there's nothing else we can do, then that's our only choice. Make sure you follow me closely then. We were sent everywhere in the Demon Spirit Kingdom except for the fog. It means that place is problematic!
"I'll have some people check to see if it's poisonous. If it's not, we'll be able to enter. Even if it might end up being more dangerous, it's not like we have a choice."
Rudy's expression darkened as his heart started to beat rapidly. A tremendous sense of danger enveloped his body. He looked at Fane helplessly. After a long time, he said, "Let's hope we'll never meet that king."
Fane smiled and patted Rudy on the shoulder, not saying anything.
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