'Sorry, but your request is impossible to grant,' The Spire said after it heard what William had to say. 'Even if I agreed, we will gain nothing from it aside from the hostility of the other creatures in the Enchanted Forest.'
'How about I add this to the equation?' William showed something to the Spire that made its eyes widen.
'... Well, with that then your request doesn't sound too bad,' the Spire admitted. 'However, it is still not enough. Although it will give me some advantages, my herd will still have to risk their lives, no? This is something I cannot accept.'
'True.' William crossed his arms over his chest. He understood that the overprotective Guardian really cared about its herd. This was something that William admired and he didn't want to make things difficult for it.
'Then how about we change the conditions a bit?' William proposed.
'What do you have in mind, Shepherd?' the Spire inquired.
'How about we do this instead…'
-----
Contrary to what the instructors had expected, the majority of the candidates didn't choose to wait for the last day of the competition. Some of them formed parties and hunted down those who had less numbers than them.
Even Drake and Spencer had a hard time fighting them off. Although they were stronger than the candidates, fighting against six of them at the same time still posed problems for them. Since there was no hope of victory, they chose to decisively retreat.
Ironically, these two boys met when the sun was about to set. Both of them vowed to fight against each other the moment their paths intersected, but right now, they were not in the mood for a battle.
Both of them had suffered some injuries due to the united front of some of the students that formed teams. There were even teams that formed alliances with each other which made the slaughter of their rivals one sided.
In the end, the two decided to form a non-aggression pact with each other due to their current circumstances.
"I didn't think I'd see the day when the two of us needed to fight side by side," Spencer spat on the ground in annoyance.
"Do you think I want to either?" Drake snorted. "The weaklings really know how to band together. It's so annoying to deal with them."
"Then, what should we do? The way things are going, we won't stand a chance even if the two of us team up together."
"I'll think of something. For now, let's just rest. I am tired from all that running."
Spencer nodded his head. They were not in the condition to fight with anyone at the moment. After drinking some healing potions, the injuries in his body were healed, but his exhaustion still remained.
-----
Somewhere in the forest…
A beautiful girl with long black hair leaned against the tree branch as she surveyed her surroundings. The bow and arrow in her hands rested over her lap. As soon as she felt that something was amiss, she would immediately take her battle stance and notch her arrow on her bow.
Her name was Priscilla. She was the archer who attempted to kill William when the competition had just started. On the back of her hand, red numbers appeared forming the number 30. Yes, she had killed 30 candidates all by herself. Although she was still far from her goal of a hundred, she was not in a hurry to hunt for more.
Right now, she was resting and conserving her strength. Night had just fallen, and it would be too dangerous to move around in the darkness.
It was then when she felt the forest start to vibrate. She immediately stood up on top of the branch as she extended her senses to investigate what was happening around her. The ground, the trees, and even the wind seemed to tremble.
Priscilla knew that this was not a good sign, so she climbed to the top of the tree she was resting in and erased her presence. She had a feeling that this was going to be a long and dangerous night.
-----
"Conrad, with this you are only a step away from becoming the Head Prefect," a boy wearing glasses flattered the boy who sat on a log in front of the campfire.
"It's still too early to say that we've already won the battle," Conrad replied. "We should only let our guard down once the announcement has been made."
The boy named Conrad had very sharp features. His eyes were like those of a hawk, but that didn't affect his good looks. His reddish brown hair, and hazel eyes, made him a very attractive boy. Born in a family of Marquees, Conrad had known at an early age that he must grasp every opportunity that would enable him to become stronger and increase his rank.
His first step was to become the Head Prefect and use his position to form connections with "profitable partners" that would help him rise up in the ranks of nobility. He was not satisfied with being the third son of his family.
He wanted his own lands, authority, and power. Because of this, he had polished his social skills and managed to convince these people to work under him. On the back of Conrad's right hand was the number twenty.
His subordinates had helped him deal the last blow to the candidates so that their points would belong to him. The number of people in his party was ten. Right now, they were the biggest faction within the Enchanted Forest, and a favorite of some of the instructors in the Martial Division.
As he was talking, one of his subordinates stood up and scanned the surroundings.
"Did you hear that?" a chubby boy with dark-brown hair asked as he continued to remain vigilant.
"I didn't hear anything," the boy wearing glasses replied. "Why? Is there something wrong?"
"I heard distant rumblings coming from the center of the forest," the chubby boy replied absentmindedly. "If my hunch is right, something is happening and it is definitely something big."
Everyone in Conrad's group stared at the chubby boy with serious expressions. They didn't doubt his warning because the chubby boy was an excellent scout. He was always the first person in the group to detect the position of the students that they had hunted down earlier in the day.
"Do you think it poses a threat to our group?" Conrad asked. His hazel eyes looked at the chubby boy and waited for his answer.
"My hunch tells me that it is so," the chubby boy replied. "I'm afraid that we need to increase the number of the night watch just to be on the safe side."
"Very well." Conrad agreed. "We will follow your advice."
Conrad was about to say more when he heard a scream in the distance. The sound of beast roars and howls followed suit as the scream died down like a fleeting dream.
The entire group immediately stood up and readied their weapons.
"Dave, take us immediately to a place that you deem as safe!" Conrad ordered.
"I'm afraid that it's already too late." The chubby boy licked his lips as he scanned his surroundings. "There is no more safe place inside the Enchanted Forest."
-----
Another loud scream pierced the night and all the remaining candidates felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. The number of screams were becoming more frequent and each scream was laced with fear and desperation.
Drake and Spencer were running in the opposite direction of where the screams were coming from. They knew by instinct that those poor souls had encountered a tragedy and it was not caused by human hands.
"I've heard in the past that the Beasts inside the Enchanted Forest would occasionally attack the students that appeared inside it," Spencer said as he continued to run. "However, this is something unheard of!"
Drake gritted his teeth as he forced his legs to keep pace with Spencer. He was more of a fighter type, and specialized in strong attacks instead of mobility, so he was having trouble with being forced to run for long periods of time.
"This is no longer a raid that we can handle on our own," Drake replied with a grim expression. "This can already be compared to a Beast Tide!"
As Drake finished his sentence, the loud howls, roars, and shrieks of the creatures in the Enchanted Forest reached their ears. Another scream resounded in the forest, but it was soon snuffed out like a dying flame.
This night is no ordinary night. For this was a night where everything was going to come to an end.