With his perception, Luis easily located all the monsters in the area. He also found a grey smaller-sized Veno Bat, which was probably the said C-Rank monster of this Zone. However, he could feel it. That monster's strength was not enough to threaten him. He was certain that he and Cobert could deal with it just fine by revealing a little more strength than usual.
Rather, he was much more interested in the trap prepared by Kress and the person behind him. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary through his perception. So, he could only wait for the right time.
By doing so, he was by no means being reckless. Instead, he had ample countermeasures to deal with most difficulties. If worse comes to worst, he could just reveal his Space element and hide inside the Pocket Space.
Of course, if possible, he preferred the easier method. That is to avoid the trouble. But his instinct was telling him that this so-called trouble might be of benefit to him.
This is one of the reasons why he didn't let Kress and his team get eliminated and played along for a while.
"We are here!"
With Kress' words, all the footsteps stopped and the members of Kress' team crouched down.
"Where is the Golden Slate, Mr. Kress?" Bonnie asked.
"It's inside that cave. On top of that nest." Kress solemnly pointed at the dark cave, whose entrance had purple twisted vines surrounding it, giving off an eerie feeling. The cave was full of purple haze, which seemed highly toxic. If not for the gas masks they were wearing. They might die before they could even approach the cave.
Luis and Cobert had already confirmed that Kress hadn't lied to them. There really was a Golden Slate placed on top of a huge nest along with a couple of purple eggs. However, the cave had hundreds of Veno Bats guarding it. The difficulty level for obtaining the Golden Slate was too high.
'Hmm, so they will sneak attack us after we enter that cave, right?'
Cobert's blank eyes passed over Kress and his team. Then fell on Luis. He noticed Luis had a thoughtful expression as stared at the nest with scrutiny.
'I wonder what he has in mind.'
Contrary to Cobert's imagination, Luis' attention wasn't on the golden slate. Rather, he was speechless, looking at the Veno Bats' eggs.
{Lily! Aren't Bats' mammals? Why can they lay eggs?}
{What are you talking about, Master? Veno Bats are monsters! Of course, they will lay eggs! It's basic common sense.}
{No, it's not!}
{Um, Master. Should I conduct a full-body scan for you? Maybe someone has cast a de-buff magic on you that decreases intelligence.} Lily suggested hesitatingly, her voice full of concern for him.
The corner of Luis' mouth twitched, and he sighed helplessly.
{Bonnie, don't show it on your face. Try to talk inside your mind.}
Upon seeing her nod in understanding, Sufi released her mouth and gave Luis an annoyed look. To which he reciprocated with an innocent shrug.
{How can you talk inside my mind?!}
{Skill. I'll explain it later. For now, listen to what I have to say... Cobert, use your Mist Phantom Skill to create a phantom clone to follow us, while you hide outside.}
Cobert's eyes contracted in shock. He never expected Luis to be familiar with his moves, even though he hadn't shown it before him.
'How far has he investigated me?'
This realisation made his back shiver, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
{Can you?}
Cobert came back to his senses and gave a stern nod.
No matter what, since he is already working for Luis as a part-time mercenary. There's no need to worry too much. At most, he would be exploited a little more.
Luis wasn't aware of Cobert's restlessness. He explained his plan and everyone's roles. Then started acting.
"Mr. Kress, will you and your team follow us inside?" He asked with a faint smile.
"No, Mr. Luis. Our deal was just to bring you here. We don't have the strength to follow you further," Kress said, trying his best to express his sincerity. Only he knew how tense he was inside. Worried if Luis would ask his team to follow them. If so, then their plan might fail.
However, nothing he was worried about happened. Luis agreed with his proposal without much hesitation.
"Well, fair enough." Luis rubbed his chin in thought, then nodded. "Since that's the case, we'll go inside first. Let's meet again if we have a chance."
As he watched them leave, Kress was surprised, and a moment later, a mocking sneer appeared on his face.
'Ha! What an idiot! What top-ranking student? No matter how strong he is. Wasn't he easily fooled by me, the great Kress?! Once they get inside, even if they don't die. They are going to be crippled for life!'
Kress took out a purple stone from his pocket and crushed it.
"Let's go, guys, our work here is done!"