Clara didn’t hesitate and channeled more power into her paper talismans, hoping that it would knock the Monster unconscious so she could seal it.
Just as everyone thought that they already won the battle, the Manticore’s body turned completely red, and a powerful shockwave burst forth from its body, freeing it from its restraints.
With a roar of defiance, the King Manticore gave the Humans on the ground a sidelong glance before flying to the East with everything it had.
Its enemies had already given it serious injuries, so it decided to escape while it still could.
As a sentient creature who had lived for over two hundred years inside the Domain, it knew when to fight and when to flee.
And with its current situation, it was time to flee.
It didn’t fly toward the Deathseeker Forest, knowing that it was the territory of the Ancient Wendigo.
With its weakened state, King Manticore was certain that it wouldn’t be a match for the strongest Monster in their Domain.
It also didn’t bother heading toward the Harrowing Desert since there was some kind of Law that prevented anyone from flying over this territory.
Left with no other choice, it decided to fly toward the East, heading straight towards Janga Valley.
“Don’t… let it get… away!” Clara ordered as she fell to the ground.
She had overworked herself in her attempt to knock down the monster that was stronger than the reports they received from the scouts of the academy.
Because of this, she was unable to move her body for a short period of time, leaving her completely incapable of pursuing their target.
Cedric glanced at their leader before gritting his teeth.
“Lilian, Marco, protect Lady Clara and those who are seriously injured!” Cedric ordered. “The rest of you, follow me!”
Without another word, he summoned his flying broom and flew after the King Manticore, who was getting farther and farther away with each passing second.
Less than ten Wizards and Witches followed behind him, leaving behind their comrades who were too injured to continue fighting.
They chased the creature for nearly two hours, forcing themselves on in order to not lose sight of it.
In the end, the Manticore could not continue flying and landed on the ground, growling at its pursuers, with its scorpion-like tail, poised to strike.
Cedric and the six other Wizards and Witches who had accompanied him encircled the enemy.
They had taken several Monster Hunt Missions in the past, so they knew that attacking a cornered beast was a very dangerous thing to do.
Monsters who had been pushed into this kind of situation would no longer think twice about their life when attacking and would often prioritize bringing their Hunters to the afterlife with them.
The Hunters and the Hunted stared at each other for a few minutes.
None wanted to make the first move, turning the face-off into a stalemate.
But Cedric knew that this wasn’t the case.
The King Manticore was a powerful Magical Creature.
Although it didn’t have any powerful regeneration abilities, when given time, it would regain its strength to fight or flee.
This was something that he didn’t want to happen, but he also understood that if he made a rash move, it would increase the possibility of higher casualties in their group.
While he was still grasping for straws to find a way to overcome this situation, he noticed four black dots on the horizon, flying toward them from the South.
It didn’t take long before he realized that they were in fact Wizards and Witches that were flying on broomsticks.
“Those uniforms… they are from Brynhildr Academy,” one of the Witches that belonged to Nightfall Academy commented.
Cedric nodded his head in affirmation.
There were three flying broomsticks headed in their direction, but he could only see that there were two riding on one of them.
‘Maybe we still have a chance,’ Cedric thought the moment he recognized who these people were.
Henry, Nicole, Rowan, and Garnet hovered hundreds of meters away from the King Manticore and gazed at the Magical Beast, as well as the students who seemed to be fighting against it.
“It’s Cedric,” Nicole said. “It seems that they have changed their target.”
“This is the King Manticore.” Garnet looked at the monster with awe. “It seems to be seriously injured. But why are they hesitating to give it the finishing blow?”
“It’s because they can’t,” Henry commented. “From the looks of it, the King Manticore ran away after suffering serious injuries. Perhaps the rest of their members are either dead or injured, and only the seven of them are left to finish it off.”
Rowan snorted. “They knew that they would be forced to sacrifice some of their people if they tried to subdue this cornered beast. It seems that they are not ready to face such a consequence.”
Perhaps, hearing what they were talking about, Cedric flew in their direction in order to negotiate.
“Please help us subjugate the King Manticore,” Cedric said. “If you do, Nightfall Academy will owe you a big favor.”
“No,” Henry replied. “Do you think we will help you after what your academy did to Ethan? We still haven’t forgotten the dirty trick you played back then.”
“Trying to seduce my sister?” Rowan scoffed. “Fat chance. You’re lucky that I’m not in the mood to beat you up right now.”
Rowan hated two people the most.
The first one was Ethan.
The second one was Cedric.
Both guys wanted to make his sister their lover. And as a brother, he naturally wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of them.
However, as of late, he had begrudgingly accepted Ethan as a decent suitor for his sister.
He was still not aware that Ethan and Luna had already done the deed. If he knew, he would definitely go to Janga Valley right now and rip the handsome young man to shreds.
Cedric frowned because he couldn’t refute the words that were being said to him.
He was starting to regret his high-handed action back then. But it was already in the past, and he could not turn back time.
“What do you want?” Cedric asked. “As long as it’s within the power of Nightfall Academy, I am willing to seek a compromise.”
Henry and Rowan glanced at each other.
They were confident that if they worked together, they would be able to subjugate the already seriously injured monster with ease.
At the same time, both of them understood that stealing this prey from Nightfall Academy would further strain the relationship between the two academies, and this was something that they couldn’t decide on their own.
Brynhildr Academy already had many enemies hiding in the shadows. They didn’t want to add another academy on their list of enemies.
“You will stay away from my sister, and never talk to or approach her again,” Rowan stated. “Also, Nightfall Academy will compensate us for helping you deal with this monster.”
Cedric frowned.
He was unwilling to agree to this condition, for he was serious about pursuing Luna and making her his lover.
The handsome teenager was confident that, with the help of his family, he would be able to finalize a marriage agreement with Luna’s parents.
He knew that he could simply nod his head now and agree to Rowan’s demands with the intention of going back on his word later.
But he knew that if he did that, he would be branded as a man without honor and someone who shouldn’t be trusted.
This was something that he wasn’t willing to do, especially since he had already decided to make Luna his bride.
“I can agree to the condition of compensation,” Cedric said with a solemn expression on his face. “However, the first condition must be changed. Although I admit that what I did was wrong, I only did it because I am serious about pursuing a relationship with Luna.”
“Don’t casually call my sister using her first name,” Rowan growled. “You’re not that close.”
Henry rested his hand on Rowan’s shoulder, telling him that he mustn’t lash out at Cedric.
The Head Prefect of Dud Manor knew that Rowan was a siscon, and anything related to Luna was like his reverse scale.
“Please change the condition,” Cedric stated. “I am even willing to apologize to Ethan for what I did. So, let’s negotiate.”
The students of Brynhildr Academy looked at Henry and waited for his decision.
But before the Head Prefect could even say anything, several more Wizards and Witches appeared on the horizon.
These Wizards and Witches numbered more than thirty.
And just by looking at their uniforms, the students of Brynhildr Academy understood that they were part of their rival academies who wished nothing more than to end their lives while they were still inside the Legacy Domain.