"Hey! Why did you stop so suddenly?" Edgar shouted toward the carriage driver.

"Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear the monster outside?" Oliver replied.

"You said I’m deaf!?" Edgar’s veins bulged from anger.

"Enough! Let’s go outside and see what’s happening." Waine immediately jumped out of the carriage, and the others, including Oliver, followed behind him.

"Uuuu! Uuu! Uuu!"

All of them raised their heads and saw a giant winged chimpanzee leaping from one tree to another above them.

"A chimpanzee? Hahaha! That thing looks hideous." Barid laughed mockingly at the monster.

However, Oliver did not find it funny at all. Because with his Overlord Eye, he already knew exactly what that monster was.

<Pantrok>

It was a Pantrok, a Rank-B rogue boss.

"Puii! Puii!"

Suddenly, it spit it saliva. It travel in a very high speed. Oliver and others manage to evade it.

BOOM!!

The saliva blast a tree behind them, leaving a large hole on the bark before it collapse on the ground.

"What the hell with that spit?!" Ingram said.

"Be careful, that thing is a rogue boss!" Oliver shouted.

"Don’t say something so obvious. Of course we know it’s a boss monster," Waine answered arrogantly before stepping forward and preparing for battle.

"Everyone, get ready to fight. You, village boy, protect the carriage and the driver. That’s at least something you can do. I don’t want us walking all the way to the city," Waine ordered.

"Fine," Oliver replied lazily. He himself had no intention of fighting.

The reason was simple. He could easily defeat the rogue boss monster by himself. One blast from Nyx would be enough to shatter that creature into pieces.

What he intended to do now was observe the abilities of his group members. He wanted to see whether their skills were truly as impressive as their arrogance.

"Come to me, Razormaw!" Waine shouted.

<Razormaw>

"Appear, Thorntailis!" Ingram called out.

<Thorntailis>

"Jump in, Croakzar!" Barid shouted confidently.

<Croakzar>

"Come out, Tuskgorath!" Edgar roared.

<Tuskgorath> 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Four monsters appeared in front of them, each one looking menacing and powerful.

’Hmm...not bad. All of their monsters are Rank-A. Quite decent for people of their status.’ Oliver deduced after scanning them with his Overlord Eye.

The carriage driver trembled in fear behind Oliver, while even the horses had become restless and anxious.

"Don’t worry, okay? Everything will be fine," Oliver reassured the driver as he gently patted the horses to calm them down.

After that, he shifted his focus toward Waine and the others.

Waine currently underwent a Partial Form transformation. His arms were now covered in sharp mantis-like blades filled with thorns. Even his lower body had partially transformed as his legs bending into the form of a mantis.

The next second, the folded legs suddenly launched Waine high into the air toward the Pantrok above the trees, with his monster following closely behind him.

He tried to slash the boss, but the creature managed to evade at the last second.

Waine then landed on a nearby tree before using it as momentum to launch himself back toward the boss once again. This time, both he and his monster managed to slash Pantrok just as it landed on another tree branch.

"Uuuu!" Pantrok screamed in pain as a large wound appeared across its body.

However, it quickly retaliated. The monster spat multiple streams of saliva toward Waine, but his swift movements allowed him to evade every attack with ease.

"Thorntailis! Use Thousand Needles!" Ingram shouted.

His monster immediately raised its tail before firing toward Pantrok. Thousands of sharp needles shot through the air at incredible speed, striking Pantrok all over its body.

As Pantrok tried to shield itself from the incoming needles, Croakzar suddenly appeared beside it.

"Croaak!"

Croakzar’s mouth swelled up before it released a thick purple mist that completely enveloped Pantrok.

A few seconds later, Pantrok screamed painfully as it thrashed around while clutching its neck. The poisonous mist rapidly spread through its body, disrupting its entire system before the monster finally fell from the tree onto the ground below.

"Tuskgorath. You know what to do," Edgar said calmly.

His monster immediately sprinted at incredible speed toward the fallen Pantrok.

Bang!!

Tuskgorath’s long tusks struck Pantrok midair, instantly carrying the monster forward while smashing through multiple trees before finally coming to a stop.

By the end of the attack, Pantrok was barely alive before finally dying moments later.

’Ahhh, what a pity. If I had dealt the final blow to it, I would’ve surely gotten Tamer Coins or skill card. But if I did that, I’d probably be labeled as a kill stealer.’ Oliver thought inwardly.

All of them looked quite satisfied after defeating the boss monster.

"Huh! So easy. But at least I got to warm up a little before the real thing." Waine said as he reverted back to his original form.

"Nice combo, everyone! Even though this was our first battle together, our coordination was pretty good. This mission will be a breeze, hahaha!" Edgar laughed proudly.

All of them then turned their attention toward Oliver, who had been standing beside the carriage the entire time.

"Did you see that? That’s how you deal with a boss monster, village boy!" Ingram said smugly to Oliver. Oliver merely rolled his eyes before casually climbing back into the carriage.

Soon, the group resumed their journey. Fortunately, after that, they encountered no more monsters and safely arrived at Hazelbrow City.

---

Inside the castle of Hazelbrow City, a group of nobles had gathered within the large dining hall. However, each of them looked anxious and restless.

"Hey, what are we supposed to do now? The Count seems to have noticed our trade," Sir Chabot said nervously. He was one of the most influential nobles in Hazelbrow City.

"I don’t know... This must be because of that idiot Gilles. He must’ve told them everything after getting caught," Sir Wigan said while scrambling his hair in frustration.

This was the last situation they ever wanted to be involved in. If they were exposed, their noble titles and status would be stripped away, and they would spend the rest of their lives rotting in prison.

"Aish! Where the hell is Helton!? He’s the one who requested this emergency meeting in my castle!" Lord Bolton slammed his hand onto the table angrily. He was the mayor of this city.

All of them had been involved in this illegal trade for many years already, and it had made them far wealthier than most nobles in the city. But this issue risked them losing everything they had built over the years.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound echoed throughout the room.

The windows burst open forcefully as a swarm of cicadas flew inside and scattered across the hall before gathering together on the ground. From within the swarm, a figure slowly emerged.

"My apologies, my lords, for arriving late." Lord Helton said with a mischievous smile.