Owen stared at him for several seconds and chuckled softly.

"Have you ever wondered why they call me the strongest man in Lor, Instructor Alric?" he asked.

Alric clenched his fists. "Honestly, I don’t care to know." His heart began to race.

"Don’t lie just to get along," Owen scoffed and took a step forward. "You lot, who think you’re capable of facing the elders just because you’re considered part of the select group of Elder Aspirants, can’t even begin to understand the level we’re at."

"I’m not interested," Alric growled once more.

"But since I am an Elder and my duty is to instruct the new aspirants, I must teach you a few things. First, dear Human in your Second Evolution, you must know that only those in the Third Evolution are Elders."

"Ha. If you think I don’t know that just because I’m in the Second Evolution, then you’re deluding yourself. But don’t get too confident about my Second Evolution... I’m more powerful than any of your beloved generals. If you think I’m going to fear your Third Evolution just because I’m in the Second Evolution, you’re dreaming." Alric sneered.

Owen burst out laughing. "Of course. If you weren’t more powerful than them, you wouldn’t even be worthy of being part of the Aspirants." Owen lifted his right leg and swung it forward.

"But you’ve misunderstood something. The minimum requirement to be an Elder is the Third Evolution. But even among the Elders, we have distinctions." When his foot touched the ground, his body vanished.

In an instant, he appeared in front of Alric, and his right arm grabbed him by the neck, immobilizing him in a moment and lifting him into the air.

Although Alric tried to do something, Owen’s energy surged over the entire region, causing the beasts and the ground to tremble. The enormous orangutan behind Alric sensed a terrifying energy that made him tremble and drop to his knees in an instant.

"And there I am. Why does everyone fear me, Alric Dorne?" He laughed softly. "Because in this world, few can stand before a true Lord of the Beasts. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the Capital, in Varhat, in the Republic, in the Theocracy, or in the Cursed Lands... Few can oppose my power."

"You..." Alric trembled, and his body felt deathly cold. "You’re a Lord of the Beasts..."

"Good luck in your reincarnation, Instructor Alric Dorne. In your next life, be sure to choose your side carefully." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

From a distance, Edward clenched his legs to stop them from shaking. His whole body was trembling.

The Fourth Evolution... The Lord of Beasts.

The pinnacle of the Kingdom.

He had once heard that there were only four people at that level in the entire kingdom.

The King. The Palace Scholar. The famous Dragon Duke, and the renowned Divine General of the Frontiers, the most powerful figure in the Armed Forces.

’Is Elder Owen also part of that select group? That makes not four... but five.’

Edward watched the bloody scene in which Instructor Alric tried to put up some resistance, but in the hands of a Lord of Beasts, he was practically powerless.

Unlike any of the three previous evolutions, a Beast Lord is someone who has already transcended humanity. He is already in a completely different state.

His blood does not flow the same. His body is not the same. His essence, energy, and life are no longer the same.

’I don’t know if they exist in this world, but in Earth’s fantasy novels, after transcending humanity, you practically reached the status of a demigod.’ Edward swallowed hard.

A demigod...

’I don’t think he is one, but he’s not far off,’ he thought.

There was still a status higher than that of a Lord. The famous Saint.

That would surely be a demigod.

But Owen’s current status was simply too high.

’Thank goodness he’s not an enemy.’ He swallowed hard, but savored the moment.

After a while, Owen dropped the body to the ground and sighed.

"A true genius not only knows how to strike, but also knows how to make strategic moves to win even when at a disadvantage. Not bad, kid. You’ve surprised me. I must say, now I’m truly impressed." Owen smiled and began walking toward the city, caring little about what had happened in this town.

A nest of insignificant little rats would never be of any interest to him.

"Just as expected of Elder Owen. His power... is in a league of its own," Harry said suddenly.

Edward laughed and agreed. "Hehe, I think so too." His heart was racing uncontrollably.

Only now does he realize that one of the most powerful men in the kingdom is right beside him, and that he had him as a teacher for three years... What on earth was that great elder thinking when he decided to take on such a small class?

"Is it true about the missions?" Harry asked suddenly. "Did you really use two missions to trick him like that?"

Edward shrugged. "It’s a lie."

"Huh? Then..."

"Elder Owen used it to trick him. As you said, it’s often necessary to cheat to make someone reveal their true colors," Edward replied.

Harry was taken aback... Had they really managed to fool such a powerful man—so many times?

"Just as I expected of you, Young Master..." Harry swallowed nervously.

He hadn’t known the man was so skilled at so many things.

"Don’t mention it." After making sure no one was around, Edward moved to enter the village again and take a look around.

He found nothing there, beyond everything they had already extracted.

So, he returned to Lor City once more.

He spent a week at the mansion, carrying out various side quests. He leveled up his beasts several times, and his strength skyrocketed again. The problem was that he felt increasingly inefficient.

’I don’t have nearly enough time. I haven’t been able to improve much with my magic, and even though I know more now and have a Rank D spell, it’s almost impossible to focus on anything with so much going on.’ Edward sighed as he paused his morning training to go take a shower.

That morning, some important information had reached him from the academy and from Harry’s spies.

When he came out of the shower, he read the letters and was surprised.

’The work is going great,’ he thought with genuine surprise.

"Sir." Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when a man appeared at one of the windows along the hallway he was walking through.

Edward felt his heart race with fright, but when he saw who it was, he sighed with relief.

"What do you want? Haven’t I told you to learn to play? You’re an assassin spy, and I get that, but..."

"Lord Harry asked me to deliver this to you. That’s why I came." The man leaped out the window. Like a dark shadow, his body strangely vanished and quickly reappeared in front of Edward to hand him a letter.

’Sending one’s Shadow isn’t something that happens often.’ Edward quickly began reading the letter.

His eyes shone brightly when he finished reading it.

’The location of the Red Moon Cave has been found...’ Though perplexed, he smiled.

"Tell your master that I will soon go to see him at that place. Let him remain on constant alert, because that is no ordinary place."

"Yes, sir." The Shadow nodded and returned the way he had come.

Edward quickly entered his current office and began writing a few letters he was going to send.

The first letters were for Aurora and Arnold. Both had been a great help recently. Now it was their turn to undertake what might be their final mission before the fall of the Red Moon Cave.

On the same desk where he was writing the letters lay a stack of scrolls they had collected over time, containing information about the cave.

Since the destruction of that village serving the cave and Alric’s death, a great deal of information had come to light. The fact that another instructor had died in such a short time—and this time, one so powerful—revealed that things were not so simple.

As a result, chaos broke out, allowing his group to gather a great deal of information. The group working for Aurora, along with the group working for Harry, found enough evidence to pin a host of betrayals on this Cave and to identify it as the culprit behind Theodore Ashford’s downfall.

It was important information.

But yesterday’s discovery was even more shocking.

What happened 20 years ago and the momentous event that continued for another 5 years.

More specifically, the mention of the Great Toolmaker and the Dragon Slayer in historical records held by the Red Moon Cave.

That was why, on the last day, Edward had asked them to be more reckless and uncover everything they could about that place.

And now was the time to start moving.

’But destroying this place won’t be an easy task. According to recent investigations, Elder Owen, a Beast Lord who transcended humanity, has been searching for them repeatedly for several years. That means they’re truly dangerous and know how to hide. So I have to be careful.’

’This time, I’ll definitely need direct help.’

That’s why more letters were written this time, and they soon flew off in different directions from the same mansion. He didn’t even plan to keep hiding.

He felt he was close to achieving his goal.