"Maybe. They are." Max nodded and then turned to Belen and sternly said, "Belen, we will have to use the sparrow if we want to avoid unnecessary trouble."
They should've used the sparrow after reaching the periphery of the forest to travel ahead, but Belen requested to wait until tomorrow morning because it hadn't recovered enough to fly after burning its blood essence to resist the slave seal yesterday.
Belen sighed and nodded, "Alright." She also knew they had to use the sparrow if they wanted to 'bandits' laying in wait in the valley.
Although she hadn't noticed them herself, she had no doubt that they were indeed there. Why was she sure, you ask? It's because she trusted Max wholeheartedly and knew he wouldn't speak carelessly.
She sent a strand of Mana into her pet storage ring and took out the crimson colour sparrow that had its eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
Feeling that it was out of its 'home', it opened its eyes. Seeing Max and Leticia staring at it, the sparrow panicked and hurriedly hid behind Belen.
Belen glanced at Max and said, "Please let me talk to it for a moment."
"Hmm. Try to hurry. We just need to cross this valley. You can let it rest until tomorrow morning." Max nodded. He could also see the bird wasn't in condition to fly right now so he didn't want to force it since Belen cared for it.
…
"They are here, young master." As soon as Max's group entered the valley, one of the two Elders, who was a thin, wrinkled old man, immediately notified Jack.
"Elders, get ready. As long as they enter your hundred meters' range, attack that bastard with all of your might. Even if he is a three-star mage, after getting hit by your attacks unprepared, he should be severely injured if not dead outright. Not to mention he might not be a three-star mage." Jack ruthlessly ordered.
Then a lecherous glint flashed in his eyes as he ordered, "As for the two girls with him, don't kill them. I'll have some fun before killing them. Unfortunately, that seductive beauty isn't with them or it would've even more amazing."
"Yes, young master." The Elders nodded. Their eyes also flashed with lustful light and after they exchanged glances with each other, they turned to Jack.
However, before they could say anything, Jack scoffed, "What? You also want to play with them?" He knew these two old men, despite being more than sixty years old, were very perverted.
The Elders coughed dryly before shamelessly nodding, "We old men will be grateful if young master can give them to us after you are done with them."
Jack felt disgusted inwardly, but didn't show it on his. No matter what, they were his protectors and his only support until he became the three-star mage himself. Until then, he had to indulge them.
Moreover, he didn't really care what happened to the girls after he tasted them so he nodded, "Alright. You can have them after I'm done with them."
"Hehe, thank you, young master." The Elders licked their lips evilly and laughed.
"Hm?" Suddenly, the thin old man narrowed his eyes toward the entrance of the valley.
"What is it?" Jack asked.
"They have stopped at the entrance." The elder said. A moment later, he saw Belen take out red sparrow which caused him to frown.
"Young master, it seems they knew that we are waiting for them and trying to fly over the valley on their flying mount."
"That's not possible! There is no way they know this." Jack resolutely shook his head.
"Perhaps they are wary of the bandits." He guessed.
"Young master, what should we do now?" The second old man asked.
"Do what? Let's go and kill him." Jack snickered and waved his hand.
Whoosh!
A black winged hawk appeared in front of them with a whooshing sound. It was his slave beast. However, because it was stronger than him, he wasn't able to perfectly control it. So, if there was no need, they usually refrained from using it.
"Let's go." He jumped on its back before indicating them to climb up too.
After that, they flew toward Max's group, which was only ten or so miles away from their current location.
…
While Belen was communicating with the red sparrow, the system's voice rang in Max's ears, [Be careful, kid. They have noticed you guys and heading towards you.]
"Damn it!" Max cursed silently and then forced himself to calm down and asked in a low voice, "Can you tell how strong they are?"
[Two are mid-stage three-star mages, while the other one is only a high-stage two-star mage. As for their flying mount, it seems to be a peak two-star beast.] The system answered.
Hearing this, Max's expression became ugly.
Boom!
His three-star Mana surged out and enveloped his feet. Grabbing Belen and Leticia by their waist, he hastily said, "The enemy is here. Hurry and put away the beast."
Saying this, he didn't wait a second more and charged out of the valley. Fortunately, as soon as Belen noticed him releasing his aura, Belen knew they were in trouble and didn't have time to convince the bird, so she had already moved to store it in the spatial ring.
Whoosh!
Within a few seconds, Max had charged out of the valley since they were only at the entrance.
Although he knew he wouldn't be able to escape their pursuers since the enemies were on a flying beast while he was on foot, he didn't want to be ambushed in the narrow valley where his maneuverability would be restricted quite a lot. That's why he charged out of the valley and came into the open ground.
He glanced ahead and saw the forest. He wanted to go back there so he could use the forested terrain to make it difficult for the pursuers to chase them on their flying mount.
Chii!
However, he had barely run for five miles when he heard a piercing noise coming from behind his back.
Reflexively, he jumped to the side, barely dodging the projectile, which struck the ground and created a two feet deep hole.