The blue sky was dotted with white clouds, stretching on endlessly as far as the eye could see.
Along a straight road, a clear, winding brook flowed gently. Through the almost transparent water, white pebbles and small green fish were clearly visible.
"This is the Pear-Corridor. Once we pass through here, we'll reach our destination—the entrance to a secret realm in Mara Canyon. And it only takes a single day, plenty of time for us to take it easy! Should we stop and rest a bit?"
George consulted the yellow parchment map in his hand, then pulled out a compass-like device to check their bearing before turning back to address Leilin and the others.
"Stop? Why stop? Since we're so close to the destination, wouldn't it be better to just rest when we get there?"
Xirui shot George a sharp glare.
This kind of thing had happened many times within the team already. Every time George made a suggestion, Xirui would fiercely rebuke him, and most of the time George would meekly back down.
Watching it all play out, even Leilin had gotten used to it.
Perhaps only a woman like this could tame a playboy like George? Anyway, Leilin had a feeling George rather enjoyed it.
As for Besta, this woman had been very quiet throughout the journey, hardly offering any opinions. If she weren't the only Third-Rank Apprentice in the Wetland Garden team, she might truly have been forgotten.
"Fine! Fine! Then we'll keep moving!" Sure enough, after hearing Xirui's voice, George immediately raised his hands in surrender, making Leilin roll his eyes inwardly.
Then, Leilin looked with some apprehension down the other fork in the road.
With his current level of Spiritual Power, Leilin could clearly sense that not far away, another small team of
And judging by their speed, they would likely meet Leilin's group very soon.
These apprentices' strength was clearly one or two levels above George's team. Leilin even sensed the fluctuation of a Magical Item on their leader. Though it was only a low-grade Magical Item, it was still quite valuable.
At the apprentice level, only true genius apprentices or heirs of major families possessed Magical Items. The combat power of such apprentices was absolutely top-tier among the Third-Rank; apart from official Wizards, they feared no one!
After about three minutes, Xirui's expression also changed.
"Careful! Banban has detected
As the team's long-range attacker, Xirui was also responsible for lookout duty. Banban was a variant owl she kept, capable of sharing a certain field of vision with her within a specific range.
"
George's face darkened, and he cursed viciously: "Damn! Hope my luck isn't that bad! Alert!!!"
Encountering unfamiliar
Hearing George's order, Besta and the others clearly understood the danger. The few apprentices immediately gathered their horses together, forming a simple magical defense formation. Their proficiency suggested they had practiced this specifically before.
While the apprentices waited tensely, a cloud of dust in the distance grew closer and closer.
Clatter-clatter!!!
With the sound of hoofbeats, a five-person team appeared within Leilin's view.
At their head was an apprentice wearing white robes with a broad, giant sword strapped to his back. The Magical Item fluctuation Leilin had detected came from that giant sword.
"Such a large Magical Item... that's quite interesting!" Leilin stroked his chin.
Generally, Magical Items were relatively small due to the precious materials required. A Magical Item this large, even if only low-grade, was something Leilin was seeing for the first time.
Upon seeing the distinctive mark of the giant sword, the three apprentices from Wetland Garden, led by Besta, first looked puzzled, then cried out in unison:
"It's James! Senior James!!!"
"Oh? Apprentices from Wetland Garden?" Leilin glanced at the three apprentices who had already broken from the defensive formation of their own accord to greet the newcomers.
Besta's face, in particular, wore a charming smile. Enhanced by her astonishing beauty, this smile made the few apprentices behind James momentarily lose their wits.
"Click-click!"
Amidst the synchronized sound of reins being pulled, the leading knight raised a hand, and the five apprentices dismounted in perfect, almost military, unison.
"Are you... apprentices from the Academy?"
The leader, James, was a tall white male, a head taller than George, with blue hair and a bright red blood mole in the center of his brow.
"Yes! Senior James, we once met at a reception hosted by Professor Cleartino..."
Alexander and Lana, upon seeing this influential figure from the Academy, could barely speak, simply standing with their heads bowed behind Besta.
Besta, however, appeared very enthusiastic, chatting with James and occasionally gesturing towards Leilin and George.
About ten minutes later, James approached George and Leilin.
"George! And this is Xirui, is it?"
James lifted his chin slightly, his eyes filled with an indescribable arrogance: "Besta has already told me about your situation. As repayment for your assistance to her, I will permit you to follow behind us and travel to Mara Canyon together..."
James's expression was supremely condescending, as if bestowing a great favor.
"Senior James is one of the top ten combatants in the Academy's rankings! With him here, our safety along the way is completely assured!"