After Ao and Arlan explained how Krune's personality works, Lofa finally woke up from her dreams. One can't blame her though, that was a perfect Damsel in a distress situation. So she really got somewhat emotionally affected. Let's not forget here that Lofa is a woman, after all.
Lofa took a look at Krune, who was cleaning the cooking tools as if nothing had happened. Now that she paid more attention, he really didn't seem like he was bothered by anything that happened before. Not to mention, she can see that Krune isn't human, so it would be weird if he got interested in her all of a sudden. She then looked at Ao and Arlan and asked.
"Is he always like that?"
Arlan hasn't known Krune for long, so he refused to answer. But Ao was different.
"Yeap! That's the Krune I've always know. But you don't need to worry. If he says he will do something, he definitely will keep his words."
Lofa then took a deep breath and nodded. Now that she was back to normal, she remembered that she hasn't talked with Ao and Arlan yet about going together with them.
"Sorry for becoming a burden for you two too. After what I've seen, I know very well that I'm not as strong as you three. So I will try to keep out of your way as much as possible and help when possible."
Arlan and Ao nodded, now that it came to it, they might as well go to the very end. Ao was especially at easy with this. In the past, he was just an ordinary cultivator who liked swords. His future prospects weren't that big to start with. It only changed after he met Krune. So he can understand how Lofa feels at the moment.
Krune finished cleaning and asked everyone.
"Alright. Have you all recovered already?"
Ao and Arlan nodded. They didn't use too much energy like Krune to start with.
"And what about your Tribulation Lightning? Is it recharged already?"
Krune shook his head.
"It will take some time, but other than that, my spiritual energy and injures are done with. Also, I haven't used all of it last time, so I still have enough for average level battles. Not to mention that we are going to spend some time to reach the other side, so it will definitely be recovered by then."
Lofa finally thought back to the battle against the fire eagle, at that time, she really did feel the power of the Tribulation Lightning. But only now did she remember that it shouldn't have been there.
"Right! What is that Tribulation Lightning? How can you manipulate it?"
Ao and Arlan looked at Krune; he is the one who can use it after all.
"Well, it's not like a big secret or anything. As you probably already know, universe foundation cultivators and demon beasts need to pass through a Heavenly Tribulation after the foundation is created. I just so happened to keep some of that lightning with me, that's all."
It indeed isn't a big secret. There is no doubt that all the elders already noticed that in the last Mercenary Selection. Cultivators or demon beasts capable of using Tribulation Lightning power aren't exactly unheard of. It's just that they are scarce. Not to mention that as a member of the Mercenary Guilds Alliance, it's an excellent thing for them.
Lofa was even more amazed by Krune; she couldn't help but think that this demon beast in human form is capable of everything. She wanted to ask what race Krune was from, but she remembered that it is a taboo question for those who are hiding it. Tasier and Drorne only kept using their original forms because they can't transform while into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Krune's group left soon after. They immediately proceeded to the other half of the testing location. On the way, they encountered two different teams and one more territory boss. But it wasn't anything hard to deal with, and they still were able to get another black token. It's just that Krune noticed the decline of contestants and couldn't help but comment.
"I wonder how many teams are still remaining."
Lofa was part of an average team, so she had a better picture of the situation.
"My team had encountered quite a few groups with no black tokens. Usually, they attacked straight away. I think the problem was when two teams without black tokens met each other. They couldn't tell if the other side really didn't have a black token or not, so they could only force their way. In the end, even more blue tokens were used because of that."
Ao agreed with Lofa.
"The initial plan was for our planet to go through this test alone, not to mention that there wasn't supposed to be any tokens to be acquired. So our world was supposed to let the first 400 contestants pass the first phase. But now I doubt that even half of that number will finish this."
Arlan and Krune also thought the same thing. The three phases of Martial Gathering might not even happen anymore.
The time passed, and a few days later, they traveled around 70% of the way.
"Let's stay around here for a while and see if we can catch some other teams."
That was the plan to start with, so they immediately began to act. There are still two weeks remaining for the end of the first phase, which is more than enough for them to arrive at Ravil City. It turns out that their plan worked, they really found a lot more teams that were making their way to the final line. Unfortunately, they got another problem now.
"The majority of the teams we encountered are forming alliances of four or more groups. We can't deal with so many top contestants like this. Not to mention that they all seemed to know about us already. There is always someone in their group keeping Divine Sense active, so approaching then without being noticed is also hard."
It was true. The main problem was that continuing alone would be too dangerous due to the teams without tokens. That's why so many alliances were made after more than half of the time passed.
Also, the Shield and Sword freaks tag was weighting a lot now. Usually, if such an alliance saw a group with only three and noticed that they have tokens through using their own, they would immediately attack. But because they are known now, no one wants to risk getting separated while pursuing those three individually.
As for Lofa, she usually stays behind before they start an attack against another group. That was the best solution to deal with her lack of combat prowess compared to them. Not to mention that the luring plan that they tried to use before needs speed as it's base, and she couldn't keep up with their pace since she isn't a wind or lightning specialized cultivator.
Krune and the others pondered a bit decided to give up team hunting for now.
"I don't think we are behind in tokens gathering, but to be sure, let's try to catch some Core Formation Realm bosses spatial rings. Considering that they usually have a lot of subordinates, there is a good chance of finding one or two with more than a single black token. After all, they could simply overwhelm those alliances with their companions."
Arlan and Ao nodded. It was their best course of action at the moment. Not to mention that they are confident in escaping in case things go south. Krune opened the map for everyone to see and looked at the areas controlled by Core Formation Realm cultivators and demon beasts.
"The closest one is the shadow leopard territory. Want to try this one?"
Ao shook his head.
"Let's choose the sky tribe instead. It's been a while since we fought cultivators. Demon beasts aren't as good for swordplay training like humans."
Arlan immediately nodded, because of the alliances, they hadn't fought many cultivators lately.
"Very well, the sky tribe it is."
Lofa also heard their conversation and asked them expectantly.
"Is there something you need my help this time? I'm sure there is something. Right?"
Other than help Krune with cooking, she hasn't been able to do anything else for them. Lofa couldn't help but feel like a useless person. It was an unbearable feeling for her who always thought to be a genius back in the Makui Planet.
Ao and Arlan immediately turned their heads away. She then looked at Krune with shining eyes. Krune saw that and felt helpless. He then gave Ao and Arlan a side glance as if asking for help.
"Isn't it a beautiful day outside, Arlan?"
"It certainly is, Ao."
"Then, let's go take a look!"
"That's a great idea!"
The two of them gave a mocking smile to Krune and left right after.
Krune saw that and almost fainted.
'Traitors!'
He looked back at Lofa and started to think hard. Usually, he would have rejected her just like before, but Krune couldn't help but feel that he is treating her like people treat the wisps. Useless for anything else than cultivation. It made him struggle with his decision.
Suddenly, Krune's eyes lit up! He then looked at Lofa as if she was some kind of treasure.
"I know exactly what you can help us with!"
For some reason, Lofa felt like she made a mistake by asking him.