Red Hawk

After a while, the knights killed the black tiger while receiving some minor injuries.

Following their successful hunt, they didn't stop and continued exploring the forest. They encountered a few more beasts who were mostly one-starred, while some were comparable to novice mages. They hunted them with much effort.

After hunting for a few hours, they reached the inner periphery of the outer area of the forest. By now, all of the Knights, Max, and Lilly were exhausted.

Emily ordered them to rest there and quickly grill some meat to fill their stomachs and replenish their energy.

They chose to grill their first prey, which was the red-striped black tiger. Its meat was highly nutritious and contained a very good amount of mana.

..

"Screech!"

Just as they finished eating and wanted to venture into the inner region of the forest, a shrill cry resounded in the area.

As they looked toward the origin of the sound. They were dumbfounded at the sight of a huge bird with a wingspan of eight to ten meters. It was a red hawk. Its beak was sharp like a blade, and its feathers were glistening red.

"Shit! A two-star beast." The knight cursed in horror after recognizing the avian beast.

"A two-star beast? Our luck is terrible to encounter this beast." Another knight said, in frustration.

"It should be fine. Lady Emily is also a two-star mage." Said the other one.

After hearing the knights and seeing their horror-filled faces, Max instinctively looked toward Emily. She wasn't panicking, but her face was grim, with a frown adorning her sharp eyebrows. Seeing this, Max didn't know whether he should feel reassured or panicked.

However, seeing her usually indifferent face made him grim. He felt anxious, but because she wasn't panicking, he also felt that he should be safe.

Just then, a middle-aged knight asked Emily. He was considerably calmer. "Young miss, it's a two-star beast and also an avian one. How should we deal with it? Now that it has seen us, it won't let us escape."

Emily looked at everyone and said, "Don't panic. I'll handle this beast. You guys should be ready to assist me if I ask you to do so. Second, protect your young master at all costs. If something happens to him while I'm busy fighting it, I'll be the one to kill you all." Emily warned in a harsh tone.

"Yes, Miss!" Every knight felt a chill run down their spine and shouted in unison.

Max felt touched to see her care for him. At the same time, however, he felt embarrassed for being so weak that he needed a woman's protection.

Screech

The beast screeched again and dove down toward them.

Emily unsheathed her silver sword, which was only three feet in length and also very thin.

"Wind slash!"

With a shout, she slashed at the beast. A sharp gust of wind in the form of a slash was fired from her sword.

Feeling the threat from the slash, the red hawk swiped its talons and shattered the slash easily.

Then it swiped its talons in Emily's direction. It was the same move as Emily's but with double the power. Just like Emily, it could also control the wind element.

—

—

At the same time, a smaller red hawk also arrived and dived towards Max and the others. Following this, a fight started between the knights and the second red hawk. Fortunately, this hawk was only a one-star beast.

Although it was only a one-star beast, it was very swift. It could easily dodge their attacks while inflicting their own. It was only a matter of time before the knights and Max were killed at this rate. Seeing this, Emily lost her composure.

Phew!

"Eight directional wind slashes!"

She took a deep breath and slashed eight times in a row. Each slash was stronger than her previous attack.

Two of her slashes destroyed the red hawk's attack, while the remaining six attacked it from different directions and targeted its talons and neck.

Bang!

Following a bang, its talons and neck had a deep cut, from which blood started raining down on the ground.

Screech

The red hawk shrieked in pain and flapped its wings rapidly before flying away.

Emily didn't stop it from leaving. In fact, even if she wanted, she couldn't have stopped it because it could fly. She glanced at the other red hawk, who also flew away, seeing the stronger one retreat in defeat.

Emily walked straight to Max and stared at him up and down. She sighed in relief after not seeing any injuries.

"Emily, are you okay?" Max asked Emily, who was panting heavily.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I used up most of my mana." After speaking, she took several deep breaths to calm her breathing.

"We should return now. It appears that not only the number but also the power of these beasts has grown. We are only in the outer region, yet we encountered a two-star beast. That normally shouldn't be the case," Emily said in a grim tone.

She wasn't afraid to face any two-star beasts, as she was capable of fighting them alone and possibly killing them too. But that will take a lot of time. 

Normally, a one-star beast, a two-star beast, and so on are stronger than mages of the same level. But as mages are versatile in nature, beasts of low ranks can't easily win against them in a fight. Some talented mages can even kill them.

"Yeah, let's return." Max nodded. Although he liked adventures, it didn't mean he couldn't realize that the situation was very dangerous for them right now.

"Let's go." Saying this, Emily walked towards the exit of the forest. The rest of them followed.

After walking for more than two hours without stopping and killing some beasts on their way out, they reached the area where two knights were guarding their horses.

Max was exhausted and panting heavily after walking this much. He was being supported by Lilly. His left arm was draped over her shoulders.

Every knight looked at him with eyes filled with disdain. But they didn't say anything, as he was one of their young masters, and Emily seemed to care for him a little too much. She killed one of the knights who angrily rebuked Max for walking slowly. After that, none dared to say anything.

"Let's rest for a bit before going," Emily ordered.

Everyone sat down to catch their breath. Emily walked up to him and gave him a round yellow pill.

"Take this. It will help you recover your stamina."

Emily, can you give one to Lilly too? She is also exhausted after supporting me all the way here." Max asked her, as Lilly was also a little out of breath.

Emily looked at Lilly, who was sitting by his side, for a second, as if thinking about something, before giving her one pill too.

—

—

After resting for half an hour, everyone sat on their horses and rode to Garfield Manor.

Max, the same as the previous time, was sitting behind Lilly. He was exhausted, so he simply rested his head on her shoulder while his hands went around her slim waist.

As the horse was running, Max and Lilly were rubbing against each other thanks to the horse.

Soon his 'little brother' was aroused and started poking in her back. Max grabbed her waist and made her sit on his lap. He could feel his little brother between those two perky mounds'.

Lilly shuddered at this and unconsciously wanted to put some distance between them, but Max wouldn't let her.

He then whispered in her ear, "Stay like this until we reach home."

"Mhm..." Lilly nodded and stopped her resistance.

All the way home, he could feel her warmth, which aroused him further. Lilly, on the other hand, also had her breathing intensified.

When they reached their manor, Max let go of her and whispered, "Go and take a bath and come to my room."

"Y-yes, young master." Lilly nodded while her cheeks were a little red.

"Good! And bring me something to eat too." Saying this, Max went to his room.