Chapter 419: Prosperity Ranking - 1

While Lily was lost in her thoughts, all 10 daggers were collected by Leo and Kaelion. For a moment, the ongoing territory bounty was forgotten as Lyra and Uraan also came over to watch.

"Come on, at least you should have left one for me. I really needed that 100,000 AC," Uraan said, his tone carrying exaggerated sorrow at the lost opportunity.

Lyra gave him a questioning look, clearly doubting his sincerity, but Leo voiced it plainly.

"I wasn’t planning to intervene if you hadn’t turned and started to run," Leo said in a flat, unbothered tone.

"Cough... you shouldn’t make false statements. I was just luring them to a perfect place."

Leo shook his head slightly, not pressing further, fully aware that Uraan was just playing around.

"Should we address the main problem? How the hell were they inside your territory, and you didn’t realise it?" Kaelion asked, his voice turning completely serious as he directed the question at Uraan and Lyra.

"Forgive them, K. These people bypassed even our security. This must be the hand of a Demon King," Katherine said as she and Brant appeared behind the group without a sound.

Uraan and Lyra immediately bowed in greeting before the discussion resumed.

"Alright, these daggers will be taken by us, and we will try to locate their origins. It’s not safe in your hands." Saying that, Brant stored them away.

After that, Leo asked the question that had been lingering.

"Professor, how would these daggers be able to kill us inside the academy? Those demons looked very confident even when we had the life bracelets on."

"It’s a soul attack. Though you’d have been transported to the temple before your real death, the attack would continue devouring your soul until you perish. It would cling to you like a curse, perpetually corroding your soul. And yes, since this attack carries the imprint of a Demon King, it won’t be easy to remove." Then, as a slight relief, Brant continued,

"But since it wasn’t the king personally that cursed you, and instead used a weak medium like this dagger, you would have been saved by us. However, the damage to the soul would still remain, and the Demon King would know about your location any time."

Leo nodded, his expression unchanged, but his thoughts shifted as he glanced toward Kaelion.

Did the Demon King personally curse him? Is that why he isn’t healed yet? Leo considered the possibility that the same Demon King behind today’s attack was also responsible for Kaelion’s curse.

At that moment, Lily took out an oriental dagger—the same one Nord Birel had used to leave permanent scars on challengers—and handed it to Brant.

Brant examined it for a few seconds, his fingers tracing its surface before he spoke.

"It’s weak. It will only work on 2-star or lower individuals, lasts for a few days, and is made solely to inflict permanent scars if not treated quickly. Not particularly dangerous—so it can be used inside the academy... especially on people that have wronged you." He paused slightly, then added, "But for petty challenges? Hmm. The Birel family, was it? Looks like they have some answers to give."

He dismissed the dagger and handed it back to Lily, clearly leaving it in her possession for ’special situations’.

"Well, forget about this event and focus on your territory bounty. This was just surface-level sabotage. You will face more difficult attacks in the future, and we won’t always be there to ensure your safety." With that, Brant and Katherine disappeared as quietly as they had arrived.

Yet, they remained alert.

"Have the other academies been informed about the situation? We don’t want any damage. Here, we had Leo, Lily, and K, who were capable of protecting themselves. Maybe students of Valencrest Royal Academy and Velerath Grand Academy will also be fine, but others won’t. Tell them to conduct a thorough check of the freshmen before it’s too late."

Katherine nodded.

"Thankfully, it was Leo—the first person to have a bounty across all academies—or else the damage would have been inevitable."

Down below, another discussion broke out.

"Come on, strike me, send me to the temple. My people would be waiting," Uraan urged.

"Don’t want to. Just walk away like Marco," Leo replied, already heading deeper into the territory.

"Oh, come on. You killed both of my beasts—it’ll take ages for me to return. And my people mostly consist of beastmen; others might bully them in my absence." Uraan remained adamant about receiving a finishing strike.

But suddenly, a prickling sensation ran across the back of his neck. The fine hairs on his skin stood on end from static electricity as—

In the next instant, he found himself inside the temple, warm blood trickling down from behind his neck.

"Revenge for touching her... maybe?" Uraan muttered as a healer quickly began treating him.

Back at Leo’s territory, Lyra sheathed her rapier, her gaze sweeping across the land. Sensing Lily approaching from behind, she spoke while turning.

"I am curious, how did you acquire so many skilled arche—"

Before she could finish—

In the next moment, Lyra appeared beside Uraan, her vision spinning slightly as blood seeped from her neck, cut nearly a quarter through. It was quickly patched up.

Uraan burst into laughter upon seeing her, already certain who was responsible.

Lily calmly stored her sword back into her spatial ring.

"You don’t need to know unnecessary things..." she said, her tone indifferent as she walked past, following Leo and leaving Kaelion behind.

"What do I even do now?" Kaelion muttered, watching the two figures depart.

Aside from the Demon attack, this Territory Bounty had turned out to be a surprisingly boring day.

With nothing else to do, he moved toward a Golem Construct Statue Leo had created earlier and began examining its inactive frame.

"You sent Nyxa somewhere?" Lily asked as she caught up to Leo.

"Yes. Seems like a herd of bison is migrating nearby. I want to capture a few for milk supply. It’s been ages since I had anything made from milk."

A clear spark of excitement lit up Lily’s eyes.

"That’s great. I know a few recipes you might like."

Leo nodded, already looking forward to trying them.

"By the way, what about Aelwen—the elf who was sent back to the temple? Should I tell Brok to fetch her?" she asked.

"No. Brok isn’t allowed to help us in any way—not even for retrieving the defeated ones. I guess I’ll tell Kaelion to bring her back. There’s nothing special to do anyway." Saying that, Leo promptly messaged Kaelion.

Within the next minute, the spirit Skyweaver—Tempest—was seen soaring into the sky.

"He even took Miho with him..." Leo muttered, noticing two figures riding along its back.

"She said Aelwen would feel more comfortable with another girl," Lily added, having just received Miho’s telepathic message.

And just like that, the day came to an end.

Not a single person had managed to breach more than 50 meters into the territory.

Ting!