With Evan Chu joining the fray, the Sea Dragon Academy students instantly felt the pressure surge. Most had already wanted to retreat, but now terror gripped them completely. The moment Evan arrived, they scrambled to dodge him, letting other attackers swoop in for easy kills. The battle was suddenly effortless—within ten minutes, every enemy was wiped out.
Heavenly Dragon Academy suffered casualties too, but thanks to Evan, the losses were much less than they could have been. Gus Bullard's arm was gashed open and bleeding, yet his face showed not a hint of pain.
"Take care of our wounded brothers. If you’ve got healing pills or wound-closing medicine, don’t be stingy—bring it all out! The more strength we recover, the better our chances of surviving in this place." Evan looked at the victorious smiles on everyone’s faces as he spoke.
The injured were quickly settled, and the rest started cleaning up the battlefield. All the Sea Dragon students’ storage belts were collected—no one tried to pocket anything for themselves. Everyone piled up the spoils together, waiting for Evan to distribute them fairly.
Evan’s performance this time completely won everyone over. Before, when he tamed that eighth-rank flying beast, some thought it was just luck. Now, the strength he’s shown is undeniable fact.
Rhea Yang came over to Evan’s side, eyeing his nearly-healed wounds and asking, "What do we do next? Should we go into the cave? Are your injuries really okay?"
Evan had been thinking about Rhea’s question too. Who could say if there was treasure in that cave—or deadly danger? If it was anything like the Guardian Ground he’d entered with Goldwing, it could be a death trap. He couldn’t gamble his brothers’ lives.
"My injuries are fine—don’t you know who your man is? Anyway, got any good ideas? This place is crawling with danger; we can’t afford to be careless for a second!" Evan said thoughtfully.
A trace of worry appeared on Rhea’s stunning face. Evan’s wounds were deep enough to show bone, but he insisted he was fine—she didn’t believe it for a second.
"Evan, danger and opportunity go hand in hand. We don’t need to send everyone in. Let’s pick a few fast, capable students to scout the cave. If there’s trouble, they’ll have a better shot at escaping. If it’s safe, it can be our base for hunting beasts and rescuing others."
Evan found Rhea’s plan very reasonable. Sometimes a woman’s thinking really is more thorough than a man’s. He decided to go with her suggestion.
Just then, Sterling Yates walked up to Evan and said, "Boss, we took down thirty-seven Sea Dragon Academy students this time. Got thirty-one storage belts—some of them didn’t have any."
"We found 124 Magic Crystals, 63 Starstones—including eleven mid-grade ones. But there’s one thing that really pisses me off: we also found 24 Redshine Stones."
Evan’s expression changed. Twenty-four Redshine Stones meant twenty-four of their students had been killed. Add in the current dead, and that’s more than thirty lost. If he hadn’t shown up, who knows how many more Heavenly Dragon Academy students would’ve been slaughtered? Right now, his biggest worry was Roxanne Lin’s safety. If she’d run into those butchers... Evan didn’t even want to think about the consequences.
"Distribute the Magic Crystals and Starstones to everyone. Also, pick a few quick, capable brothers to go into the cave with me." Evan ordered.
Sterling glanced at Evan and asked, "One more thing—Ryan Ouyang’s awake. Boss, do you want to check on him? He’s still weak and needs some rest."
Evan figured it was better not to see Ryan Ouyang just yet. Someone must have already told him about what happened, and showing up now would only make his wounds worse.
"I’ll hold off for now—let’s wait until he’s recovered. Give the Magic Crystals and Starstones to the brothers first. We don’t need ours yet; we’ll take them after their tasks are done. It’s too dangerous here. The main thing is to get everyone out as fast as possible."
Sterling left right away to carry out Evan’s orders, feeling genuine respect for how Evan treated his brothers.
The metallic stench of blood in the air gradually faded. Evan glanced at the Sea Dragon Academy Honors Class youth he’d knocked out earlier, then immediately asked Luna, "Sister Luna, when will you tell me what that kid knows? And can you check if any of them ran into Roxanne?"
Luna understood Evan’s anxiety better than anyone. "Evan, I’ll give it a try soon. But you have to bring him somewhere secluded—I’m not about to show myself in front of all these students. Even if you’re willing, this young lady definitely isn’t!"
Luna was Evan’s trump card. He hadn’t even told Roxanne Lin about her, let alone anyone else. Besides, Luna’s appearance was way too strange—and her hazy, dreamlike form was something Evan absolutely didn’t want anyone else to see.
"I’ll have someone carry him to a secluded spot. My woman’s body can only be seen by me—if anyone else catches a glimpse, I’ll have to kill them." Evan joked to himself.
"Are you itching for a beating? You want me to be your woman? Wait until you reach the realm I specified, little brat." Luna didn’t sound angry this time—her feelings toward Evan were complicated.
"Gus, get two brothers to carry that kid to a quiet spot—I’ve got questions for him." Evan called out to Gus Bullard nearby.
Evan’s words made Gus Bullard suspicious. His arm was already bandaged as he walked up and asked, "Boss, isn’t that kid already dead? How are you going to question him? Can you raise the dead now?"
Evan found Gus’s words hilarious—this guy never thinks before he talks. But to be fair, the youth was motionless and covered in blood, looking every bit like a corpse. No wonder the students who searched him for a storage belt hadn’t noticed.
"He’s not dead, just unconscious. But after I finish questioning him, he’ll be dead for sure. Heavenly Dragon Academy students don’t die for nothing." Suddenly, a fierce killing intent radiated from Evan, scaring Gus so much he didn’t dare look Evan in the eye.
Soon Evan arrived in a grove about a kilometer away, with the unconscious Sea Dragon Academy youth in tow.
"Evan, you’d better remember—don’t turn around unless I say so, or I’ll make you regret it for life." Luna warned him.
"I know, don’t worry. You can offend anyone, but never offend Sister Luna." Evan thought to himself, reminding himself that sweet words are always best when talking to women—a lesson he’d learned through experience.
A flash of light glimmered between Evan’s brows as a transparent little sword flew out, circled once in front of him, and then slipped behind his back. Right after, a hazy young girl appeared...