Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

"Joan, you came just on time! I don't think we could have defeated him, even if the two of us worked together," said Polly. Her eyes were flickering excitedly. She knew she was not strong enough to kill Anthony alone though she really wanted to. So she was just happy to see Joan come here.

"Are you guys all right? You look a bit weird," Joan asked them, as she turned to look more closely at Zachary and Polly. Suspiciously, the two of them tensed almost at the same time.

"No!"

"Yes!"

Polly and Zachary answered in chorus, but their answers were out of sync. Polly grimaced at their dissonant answers, while Zachary remained impassive.

Meanwhile, Joan was surprised to hear two different answers. She immediately narrowed her eyes at them, and turned to Zachary who replied positively. "Tell me what happened. Did you get hurt?"

"No, it's not me. It's her," Zachary replied at once as he pointed at Polly, who glared at him in return.

"Me? Don't talk nonsense!" Polly immediately denied but refused to meet Joan's eyes.

"I think you have to quit the strength contest right away," said Zachary seriously all of a sudden.

"What? No way! I will not quit unless I am eliminated!" Polly protested. There was no way she would give up, not when she believed that she could still fight.

"If you don't quit, Anthony might take revenge on you," Zachary insisted. His eyes narrowed in concern, as he wondered what sinister plan Anthony would come up with this time.

"That's none of your business," Polly huffed at him.

"How could it be none of my business? Have you forgotten what happened before? Do you want that kind of thing to happen again? Of course, I don't mind it. I'm just worried that you may not want that," said Zachary with a wicked smile on his face, his eyes fixed on Polly.

Polly was rendered speechless. Zachary's concern was reasonable because she also believed that Anthony wouldn't give up that easily, and he was probably planning his revenge at that moment.

"Look, guys. I don't know what happened before, but I think Harley is right. You'd better quit the strength contest, just to be careful. I also think that Anthony will come for you, and if he hurts you, Pollard would be furious," Joan said. She thought that Anthony was fighting with Zachary because of Polly, but the truth was that Anthony was just using Polly to threaten Zachary, and in fact, Anthony had almost succeeded.

"No, Joan! How could you support his proposal?" Polly complained when she heard Joan agree with Zachary, a sullen look etched on her face.

"I'm just telling the truth. It will be difficult for you to pass the strength contest at this rate, especially since you are being targeted by a troublesome character like Anthony

hest. His face was serious and calculating.

"All I want is the egg of this treasure beast. As for the rest of the treasures and the beast itself, they will all belong to you," Joan said earnestly.

"What if we only find the beast's egg?" Zachary asked. Of course, he wasn't stupid to promise his cooperation without a guarantee. What if there wasn't any treasure except the egg?

"Then I will give you the beast's egg," Joan answered without hesitation.

"Great! It's a deal," Zachary replied energetically.

"Then, let's go and get started. We're not the only ones who want to find that treasure beast. Many disciples at the premium stage of King Level are also searching for it. After all, it's a treasure beast with the ice element. You should know how valuable its egg is," said Joan.

Zachary shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything more. Without further fanfare, the two of them set off and headed for the depths of the Beast Valley.

Just as Joan had said, disciples at the King Level were scattered in Beast Valley, and they were beginning to advance into its depths. They, too, were looking for the treasure beast with the ice element.

However, it wasn't easily found. Even the Imperial Level warriors of the Shura College, who frequently searched for it in Beast Valley, got nothing in return.

Besides the rare beast, there were other martial beasts at the premium stage of King Level that loitered in the depths of Beast Valley. If weak people entered the valley, they would never be able to get out alive.

Despite that danger, there were still fearless disciples at the premium stage of King Level that gathered in the depths of Beast Valley, and all of them wanted to give it a try. They thought that, maybe, they would be lucky enough to survive and locate the treasure beast with the ice element.