Theo lightly touched his cheek, where blood still dripped slowly. He knew that invisible arrow was just a warning, or to put it bluntly: he would be dead if Ryel truly wanted it.

  Theo suppressed the lingering unease. He whistled, notifying Al to return to high-altitude reconnaissance position according to plan.

  By now Liam had probably succeeded... touching the wound lightly once more, or not.

  Theo quickly applied healing essence to the wound, seeing the bleeding begin to stop. He withdrew from the oak canopy, waiting for Liam.

  Not long after, Liam ran back, his left shoulder noticeably displaced. Theo frowned, eyes immediately shifting from vigilance to concern:

  "You're injured?"

  Liam smirked, sweat soaking his forehead:

  "Just dislocated shoulder, will heal fast. What matters is I wounded Ryel. He's truly terrifying, Theo."

  Theo didn't answer, eyes seriously focused on his friend's shoulder joint. He went behind Liam, quickly examining. Knowledge of bone fracture treatment from 250 ACP surged powerfully in his head, resolving the joint dislocation like a veteran orthopedist, without a moment's hesitation.

  Theo spoke while rapidly adjusting Liam's shoulder joint. A small "click" sounded.

  "I know."

  Ryel being wounded with paralytic essence would slow the pursuit group, even make them lose the two's trail. Theo took a deep breath, tension temporarily easing.

  Though Monarch was very strong, it truly couldn't endanger the three remaining Night Hawks members. From equipment to coordination, even magic, all were too elite.

  And this was only 3-star. Theo couldn't help pondering: what would 5-star be like?

  Theo wanted to rely on Monarch attacking them to supplement intelligence. He signaled Al overhead, and the Pidgey immediately directed him toward the three remaining people.

  Theo wanted to perfect his intelligence but still ensure escape speed. He discussed with Liam splitting into two routes. Liam would go to the three others' area to investigate, precisely determining who they were. With his speed, Liam would catch up to Theo easily while still ensuring safety with Shadow Step.

  Theo continuously instructed Liam, voice serious:

  "Just confirm who the three people are then leave immediately. Must not have any complacency or curious lingering."

  Liam nodded. Though his left shoulder still throbbed lightly after the joint manipulation, the adrenaline from the ambush had drowned the pain, replaced by excitement and cold confidence.

  He completely trusted his Remnant Wind and Shadow Step abilities, believing they could turn him into an invisible phantom amid the chaotic battlefield about to erupt.

  Liam explosively accelerated, expertly using Shadow Step and Remnant Wind to separate from Theo. In his heart, this mission wasn't just gathering information, but also verifying his own limits before real predators.

  Liam lunged forward, figure gliding through treetops. The shoulder joint had been returned to proper position, no longer an obstacle at all.

  Before long, he approached the edge of the battle area.

  Explosive sounds immediately assaulted his ears—Monarch's furious "ROAR" tearing through space, mixed with the harsh clang of metal collision and continuous spell activation sounds.

  This wasn't just a battle—it was a forge.

  Liam forced himself low, utilizing every shadow and broad trunk. Shadow Step operated not just based on light and darkness, but also transformed the entire natural environment, including enemy vision, into perfect camouflage.

  Amid the mad chaos of battle, the subtlety in his movement became exponentially more effective.

  He found a dense fern thicket, about 30 m from the battle's epicenter. From here, Liam could observe through leaf gaps, feeling the scorching heat from spell explosions and the thick fishy scent of beast blood.

  His eyes pierced through the thin mist veil, locking firmly on three figures fighting:

  Torvin (frontline, metal armor, double-bladed battle axe). His entire body stained blood-red under magical light, roaring fiercely when activating Blood Frenzy to endure terrible impacts from the magical beast.

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  Sable (outer circle). She used absolute speed, appearing and vanishing like a phantom, continuously occupying space, pressing the giant magical beast into a passive position.

  Ronan (coordinator, long spear). Standing at flank position, creating main pressure with storm-like continuous thrusts. He maintained combat rhythm, supporting Torvin.

  Monarch—the giant black panther—was truly terrifying, but Liam recognized this battle had reached its end. Monarch was being cornered, its speed gradually losing advantage.

  Monarch delivered an extremely powerful swipe at Torvin. The ear-splitting "BOOM" nearly made Liam lose orientation. Torvin indeed was a defensive/siege master: with just his hammer blade, he sent the giant panther's front paw flying.

  But clearly this was just Monarch's feint.

  It didn't hesitate at all. Exploiting the opening when Ronan supported Torvin thinking it attacked directly, the magical beast became like a nightmare. In just 1-2 seconds, it had escaped the Night Hawks trio's encirclement. Sable couldn't react in time either.

  Then it ran South like mad. Where Liam was hiding.

  Liam's heart stopped.

  All his instincts activated. Shadow Step knowledge appeared clearly. Liam held his breath, Remnant Wind technique naturally and powerfully employed. He glided obliquely 2 m under the ancient tree's shadow, just out of Monarch's sight, just out of the three Night Hawks' sight.

  An excellent, unbelievably perfect reflex.

  Monarch swept past Liam, its giant body blocking all light. The black panther paused slightly—its keen sense of smell had faintly detected something abnormal in the shadows—but it knew the enemies behind wouldn't give it a chance to investigate.

  It used all its speed, shooting into the deep forest, the commotion stirring an entire area.

  Liam still calmly regulated breathing, entire body pressed flat against the trunk. He knew danger still existed. Just one small sound or hasty movement could lead to detection.

  Behind, the footsteps of three Night Hawks members quickly approached.

  Ronan spoke, still that deep stable voice, carrying some cold harshness:

  "Don't chase. We can't stop that magical beast. More important is we don't see Ryel's appearance. Go check."

  Immediately, Sable, Torvin, and Ronan changed direction, without any hesitation, quickly heading toward where Ryel was attacked and paralyzed.

  As soon as Night Hawks group's footsteps completely faded, Liam breathed out a long breath, as if removing a heavy stone pressing on his chest. He emerged from under the ancient tree's shadow. His forehead soaked with cold sweat, not just from using Remnant Wind, but also from the extreme danger just now.

  His breathing was rapid and heavy, reflecting exhaustion of both body and mind.

  The danger had passed, but tension still remained in every muscle fiber. Liam quickly glanced at the three Night Hawks' movement direction, then accelerated maximally to catch up with Theo.

  Though Theo ran ahead, thanks to Al doing reconnaissance, he generally still knew his friend's position and condition. Before long, looking at Al's flight trajectory, Theo confirmed Liam was safe and approaching him. Theo signaled Al, requesting the Pidgey fly lower to guide Liam to his position.

  Taking half an hour for Liam to arrive, Theo said nothing, just nodded once very firmly, eyes quickly sweeping Liam's shoulder to check the wound, as an implicit way of confirming everything was fine.

  Realizing Liam had completed the mission and both needed to regenerate energy after the tense action sequence, Theo decided: they would rest 15 minutes before continuing preparations for the final battle.

  Regrouping with Liam under a safe oak canopy, Theo took out two small ration bags and water. These were special cakes he'd created, supplemented with electrolytes and nutrition, but easy to digest in just the right amount, suitable for the current situation—time to recover some strength and relax nerves.

  While resting, Liam recounted in detail the risky reconnaissance process and intelligence information gathered. He described the roles and skills of Ronan, Torvin, and Sable.

  Listening attentively, Theo basically confirmed Vesper's (Night Hawks group leader's) complete tactics.

  "Not just pursuit," Theo whispered, voice cold as ice, "but a vise."

  He closed his eyes, visualizing Night Hawks' entire strategic diagram:

  Pursuit Team: Including Ryel, Sable, Torvin, and Ronan. Their mission was continuous chase, creating maximum pressure, or even capture if there was an opening.

  Ambush Team: Including Vesper, Rowan, Boris, and Finn. These four were already waiting at the final destination, where Theo and Liam were forced to run toward.

  A simple but extremely effective tactic, very fitting Vesper's personality. No matter which direction Theo and Liam chose to run, they would be pressed by the Pursuit Team straight into the deadly trap of those seasoned mercenaries.

  "He doesn't want to waste time at all," Theo concluded. "We're not escaping from Night Hawks, we're just fleeing from hunter Ryel, only to rush into Vesper's storm center."

  Theo once again summarized all intelligence in his head. This time, the light of victory had somewhat glimmered, no longer gloomy as before. Successfully cutting off the pursuit group's tail and taking down Ryel had given Theo and Liam abundant rest time to regulate escape pace.

  He calculated: if normally running this 50 km oak forest path, the two would take about 8 hours. But according to Vesper's plan, they could be pressed to the finish in just 6 hours in exhausted condition. Theo narrowed his eyes; a plan flashed in his head.

  Theo quickly discussed the new plan with Liam. He decided to place this tactic's core element on Liam's execution ability. With the just-displayed peak performance—from taking down Ryel to the phase dodging Monarch—Theo completely trusted Liam would execute this plan perfectly.

  Deciding on tactics and division of labor, Theo and Liam began continuing the journey. The 50 km distance truly wasn't significant for them. The real challenge was the four remaining Night Hawks members waiting at the destination.

  "But this battle is also quite worth anticipating, isn't it?" Theo's lips curled in a smile, eyes reflecting surging battle intent.

  The last yellow light of late afternoon was trying to filter through the dense oak canopy, dyeing the forest with a deep orange-red color. The air became quieter and cooler, heralding a long and turbulent night ahead.

  Far away, through the gradually thinning forest, a great silhouette began appearing: the Golden Oak—their milestone and destination. The giant trunk, towering to catch the last rays of sunlight, made its canopy shine brilliant gold, almost glowing in the afternoon light.