Chapter 103 Sand Bandits

"A Heaven Rank Soul Beast has such precious materials it would be a waste not to extract them. I will inform the Academy to send over a Hunting Team to take care of it," Headmaster Blake suggested as he observed the massive bird. "You can simply pay them a percentage and keep the rest money for yourself."

"Alright, you can contact Captain Jack to send the team over," Number One replied as the girls helped him up. "There are also hundreds of Black Vultures that we killed which can also be extracted. They are still Earth Rank after all."

Captain Jack didn't cause him any problems and was quite chill to work with so it didn't hurt to stay loyal. It felt like he had his own team to clean after him but he didn't think they minded. Money was still money in the end.

"Yeah, I was about to mention that too," Headmaster Blake nodded and walked away to make the call.

"What about the rest of the students?" Number One questioned Darius who has been staring at him this whole time. It was clear what he wanted to know but Number One didn't have anything to say.

"I placed a formation barrier around them to make sure they are safe before we rush to help you," Darius replied calmly while peeking at Number One's back. "Are you sure you are good? We just saw your broken spine poke through your back and now you are acting as if nothing happened."

"My bones started healing after being put in the right place. I took a Body Revitalizing Pill before the fall," Number One explained and didn't offer any other response before he walked towards the White Vultures' head. He knew the girls wanted to discuss it with him but securing the Blue Soul Crystal was a priority.

Stealing loot was quite common in the world of Cultivation so they couldn't wait for too long. If they happened to be spotted by some bandits or a hunting team from another Academy, they would immediately become a target.

"I guess we won't be able to extract its organs," Number One commented as he witnessed the destruction he caused. The White Vulture's torso was all blown away and the edges were burned to crisp.

The White Vulture might have great defenses on the outside but on the inside it was defenseless. It was a shame to lose the Soul Beast's heart which could sell for a lot of money but Number One was satisfied with the instant reward instead. He pulled out a hunting knife and began pulling out the palm-sized Soul Crystal in the beast's forehead.

Although Number One never tried to extract the beasts, he was quite proficient in taking out the crystals. Back in the day, he didn't even have a Storage Ring so he only focused on the most valuable parts.

"Hey…" Luna muttered next to him as he focused on cutting the flesh. "I wasn't serious when I said I hate you. I was just mad that you would hurt yourself on purpose once again."

"I know," Number One informed with a smile. "It's a normal reaction after seeing your man in such a state but you should get used to it. I will definitely get hurt again in the future so hopefully, it doesn't bother you later on. Don't let emotions cloud your judgment."

"That's a stupid mentality," Luna replied with a roll of her eyes. "You should aim to never get hurt. If you relied on us more, we would all be fine by now."

"I already have plans to work on that," Number One nodded as he finally pulled away the blue crystal and kept it in his Storage Ring. "Let's go, we can collect more Orange Crystals until the Hunting Team arrives."

Headmaster Blake seemed to hear them as he reacted immediately, "Darius, you can tag along with them. I will stay here and protect the caracass. There can still be Sand Bandits in the area so be careful. Someone killed them to lure the Black Vultures to us so they might also be watching."

The presence of Rose was hard to hide as it was clearly a set up so Number One took the responsibility. "The person responsible is already gone. They are not big fans of mine so they orchestrated this trap to kill me. I already warned you beforehand."

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"Why would someone do that instead of attacking you personally?" Headmaster Blake questioned speechlessly but Number One only shrugged.

"They are scared of Legendary Alchemist so they want to make my death look like an accident. They tried many times but they failed every time," Number One explained as his shiny wings covered his back. "We will handle whatever comes our way so don't worry. Treat it as good practice."

Headmaster Blake stared at him speechlessly but Number One didn't stay for more questioning. They flew away towards the rest of the group only to frown at the numerous figures working on extracting the Black Vultures. They wore the same outfits as the corpses from before which exposed their identity.

"The audacity!" Darius commented angrily while pulling out his Soul Hammer. "They came just to steal our loot."

Sand Bandits completely ignored the group of students protected by a barrier and began pulling out Orange Soul Crystals one by one all around the place. There were close to fifty of them which made the stealing more efficient.

"Wait," Number One paused Darius while pulling him away from sight. "Let's wait until they are done and then kill them. They should have a hideout nearby so we can just follow them and collect everything with no effort."

"What if they get greedy and attack the students?" Darius questioned with raised eyebrows. "The barrier is great against Soul Beasts but it can be easily destroyed by Soul Artists."

"That's not really an issue. You can go in and scare them away when they try anything and leave the rest to us," Number One suggested while beckoning the girls to follow him. He was already thinking of how to practice teamwork with them and didn't expect to have an opportunity this soon.

"Us? Will you let us help you this time?" Luna questioned as soon as they circled around and found a spot to watch the scene from a distance. "Don't think I will be as kind as Nami. I will call you out if you act stupid again."

"He already knows," Nami defended calmly and suggested another perspective. "If anything, we should focus on getting even stronger to the point we can keep up. Why should we force him to slow down for us? Even though it was safer to group up and finish the beast together, it's not entirely his fault."

Luna tried to find an argument but Nami only took Number One's hand into hers and added, "The reason why I am not mad is because I know he cares about us as much as we do for him. We want to help him but he wants to protect us too. He will risk his life to end the danger and keep us safe. I don't like it but we can't expect him to change his habits with a snap of his finger. He knows what he needs to fix and we can only get stronger to give him more choices."

"I just need to learn how to trust your abilities more but it comes with practice. We can do it together," Number One commented as he rewarded Nami with a kiss and reached for Luna. "I am glad that you call me out when I act wrong, so don't stop. I will improve."

Luna nodded in understanding and pouted while grabbing his hand. "I just don't want to see you hurt… I never cared this much and it's painful to see."

"Mhmm, I understa—" Number One nodded only to be cut off by the sounds of commotion. Darius seemed to have acted already which forced them to move.

"Let's reset the bet from before and try again," Number One suggested as they followed after the Sand Bandits who all scattered above the pillars.

"I thought we still won but I didn't even count," Luna replied in an improved mood. "Now that we have human opponents it should be much easier."

It was actually quite easy to follow the group of Sand Bandits since their wings couldn't be slower. Number One's group used the stone pillars as cover and they trailed the bandits all the way to the nearby mountain range.

"There are more of them than I expected," Number One muttered as they landed at the base of the mountain and saw tens of bandits observing the sky from their viewing spots. "That's quite the operation they have here."

"Most of them were either yellow or orange Talents," Luna pointed out quietly as she landed next to him and Nami. "We can just go inside and eliminate them."

"Are you fine with killing though? I can handle most of it if you want," Number One pointed out before they began. "You might have no issues killing Soul Beasts but it's human life you are taking here."

Number One was sure the two of them had no experience in killing but they didn't seem to show any reaction.

"They are Bandits who steal and kill. I don't feel bad killing scum," Luna replied confidently and Nami nodded as well. "If they had a chance they would kill us too."

It was a pleasant surprise and Number One kissed them both for good luck as he led the way. "We were supposed to train our teamwork so let's not face them all together."

"What else do you have in mind?" Nami asked curiously while they sneaked behind the last pillar of the grove.

"Wouldn't our cooperation improve if we can kill them all without anyone noticing?"