A narrow path was sandwiched between towering cliffs, and even though it was daytime, the surroundings felt somewhat dim. This time no one spoke, for fear that the powerful hearing of the Evil Entity might pick up their voices and be lured over. All three suppressed their inner feelings of unease.

I tried to hold hands with them as much as possible, as if by doing so, the unease lingering in my throat could be endured.

The surface of the mountain walls was dotted with patches of blue light, which might have seemed beautiful if not for the current situation. Now, I could only perceive that glow as something ominous. The air inexplicably felt damp, with warm wind blowing against us.

"How far have we come…" I gasped, but although the surroundings remained unchanged rocky walls, there seemed to be something akin to the Evil Entity, resembling an approaching storm, in the distance.

We exchanged glances, then started to run, but it felt like a type of storm we had never encountered before.

If that was indeed the case... the humanoid machine types like the Phantasmal Gods would not work, but as long as we could contact the teachers, everything would be fine.

"What's that?"

Suddenly, a strange sound similar to an electric meter seemed to be coming from somewhere, but upon closer inspection, it was not emanating from me.

"Big brother, the sound seems to be coming from the bushes over there, should we go check it out?"

"…Fine, but be careful, and don't get too close to me right away."

I had to admit that Yass's hearing was sharp, but even so, the tension remained high, for the other party was the highly intelligent Evil Entity. Or perhaps encountering some operational machinery at this time... it just didn't feel right!

However, upon closer inspection, the peculiar communication device was significantly different from military ones. Certainly not something that could be operated by children.

"Let's fiddle with it a bit."

"No, in case it gets damaged…"

Before I could stop him, Kael's fingers had already tapped the control panel, causing it to light up.

"See, it's working smoothly!"

Kael patted his nose proudly, but then the light on the panel suddenly disappeared, and the machine fell silent.

"Well? Does it still not work? Then, let's try the method my dad taught me…"

Kael said, clenching his fist.

"Stop! Hey!"

Yass and I quickly grabbed his hands from both sides, though I was not entirely sure, Yass knew what Kael's 'mom's method' entailed.

"Don't do it, that method will definitely break it!"

"No, whenever there was an issue with the TV at home, dad would solve it this way. If you don't believe me…"

Despite Yass's good intentions, Kael was still a bit dissatisfied, eventually just huffing and retracting his fist.

"So, what do you suggest we do?"

Kael even started to sulk with us…

But now the only viable option was... it truly was troublesome; compared to so-called humanitarianism, I now regretted taking on this job, for if not taking it on, it would have been no more than a punishment of isolation, right?

"Let's keep moving forward, now that we have a tool, there might still be people nearby."

Although Yass's words made sense, still...

"But whether it's a human remains to be seen!"

This time it was Kyle's turn to mock Jas, but it made sense. Just now they could see the 'plight' of others, and there might be corpses or even more terrifying monsters awaiting discovery.

Although the road was still very difficult to traverse, the hope of encountering people nearby gave them new strength.

They crossed the muddy road, leaped over rocks, and continued forward.

"Um, what do you think this is?"

After passing through a tunnel-like cave, the group discovered a glowing stone suspended horizontally in front of them.

The faint golden orb was roughly the size of a grown man's fist, resembling a ball formed by gathering water together. The thing was slightly swaying in the air.

"It can be confirmed that it's not a monster, because it hasn't attacked us."

"Don't touch that thing!"

Before Kyle and I could stop her, Jas's palm had already touched the glowing orb.

Suddenly, the cold wind became even more biting, and the sky darkened as dark clouds gathered.

Drip-drop rain turned into a downpour in an instant, and the glowing ball darted away like a startled cat to a faraway place.

Helpless against the pouring rain, we hurriedly turned around and ran back towards the cave behind us, the only place where we could seek shelter.

"Now I know how to go back, but..."

"Even if we know the right direction back, what about this chaotic space? Aren't we all just going to ignore it?!"

I scolded Jas who was about to give up, but she just

"Since touching that ball made it rain, I think if we touch it again, the rain will stop."

"...That's unlikely, right? I mean, who's going to make it stop?"

"Kyle can do it, anyway, you're already covered in mud."

"Don't just say things randomly! Wasn't it Jas who caused this rain?!"

Just as I was about to stop these two bickering kids, I suddenly remembered something that my father had told me.

"Evil Entities are also sentient beings, they are the ones who can best understand the unique substance of human souls."

If we don't stop the rain soon, it will be disastrous!

I made up my mind and ran out of the cave.

However, the uneasy atmosphere made me stop in my tracks, and I slowly began to retreat.

"Oh no!!!"

Just as I stepped out, within ten meters ahead, several dynamic black figures were moving constantly in the rain and mist, with several different-sized shadows following behind.

They all had webbed forelimbs with sharp claws.

Just the thought of being caught by those things made every hair on my body stand on end.

Suddenly my legs wouldn't cooperate, and my body collapsed, leaving me sitting and shuffling backward.

Even though I thought, 'I have no power right now' and 'I must escape quickly,' I just couldn't get up.

Then, a horrifying scream came from behind, the loudest scream from Jas who had noticed the presence of the Evil Entities.

If only that scream could scare the monsters away... impossible right?!

I actually had a glimmer of hope at first, that the actions of those Evil Entities paused, but in this world, there are no Evil Entities scared off by a child's scream.

"Using magic always causes trouble... Damn it, just stay hidden properly!"

As the saying goes, time flies when you’re in a tight spot. The evil entities immediately shifted their focus to Yass. As they drew closer, the darkness around them thickened as if ready to tear Yass apart.

"If we're caught, we'll definitely be killed, right?" I thought to myself.

In a moment of desperation, Yass tightly shut her eyes and instinctively curled up, bracing for the anticipated attack that never came.

Yass cautiously opened her eyes, only to find that the rain had gradually lessened, perhaps due to this reason? The Evil Entities had vanished without a trace. Additionally, the light orb deep in the jungle faintly emitted a weak glow.

"The cause of this weather change was the storm!"

Now I was more certain that it was a powerful evil intent opposing us, a mastermind of storm-level malice!

Could it be our presence that saved us? Evil Entities never attack those with pure hearts like humans and animals. It doesn’t make sense... Why wasn't I attacked?

"Oh, it's the light orb!" Kyle shouted, pointing towards the depths of the jungle.

"Where?"

Following his direction, we saw the glowing orb reappearing.

The airship remained hovering in the air. Perhaps it was summoned by Falshi.

"Hey!" Kyle waved his arms vigorously as he ran towards the glowing orb.

"Can you stand up?"

Yass grabbed my outstretched hand, stood up, and together we scanned the surroundings, but found no other useful traces or remnants of the storm.

"Big brother, hurry, Kyle's disappeared!”

After nodding in response, I also ran towards the glowing orb.

…

Upon being brought back by the airship, Edward entered different rooms to interrogate the captive Imperial soldiers.

"Tell me, where have you hidden the goods, I know it better than anyone, you understand?"

Although he had predicted the outcome, his reprimand and terrifying lecturing were nearly the scariest thing the soldier had experienced.

After the "threat" was lifted, the captive Imperial soldier seemed overly frightened.

"I... I don't understand, I’m not quite sure what you mean?”

"It's okay, I have an hour left to spend with you here, just wanted to ask about how the defense at the Imperial Sil Fortress is arranged?"

"Is that so..." The Imperial soldier promptly divulged the truth to Edward.

Upon investigation, it was revealed that after the construction of Sil Fortress, the Imperial vault used for storing important materials also ended up with the lost shipment.

"Well, well, well, he mentioned that there are less than two imperial legions guarding there. If we seize Sil Fortress, we can get a rich supply of resources!"

"What?" His adjutant couldn't contain himself, "But sir, we have no information about Sil Fortress, not even its location..."

"No!"

Edward waved his hand, interrupting the chief of staff.

"The shipment was intentionally given to the Imperial army. This is what they call not getting the tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den."

Edward is truly a cunning old fox. Even if this fat fish knows it's a trap, those greedy imperial troops won't be able to resist.

"Now...just wait to be caught in the net!"