Hours after their encounter with Intermediate Archmage Roc, Vicente's party had

arrived at the Qilin Tribe and gained entry after proving to be friends with the dragons, elves, and Roc.

With the Dragon Amulet and the 6th stage Roc's feather, the three companions were welcomed by the Qilin Tribe and invited to enter their village and meet the elders.

Vicente, Victor, and Elmo now faced the three strongest of the Qilin Tribe, Intermediate Archmages, creatures with the body of a deer, the tail of a lion, and the hooves of a horse. The Qilin's heads resembled those of dragons, with horns on their foreheads. Their skin was covered with colorful scales that made them unmistakable.

Each of the race's creatures had visual peculiarities that, after some time of observation, would be enough for anyone to be able to distinguish several of them. The three individuals in front of Vicente, Victor and Elmo, one female and two males, were quite special, their bodies as large as those of ordinary elephants.

However, knowing the three in front of them were friends from allied tribes of the Majestic Treefrog Grove, none of the three Qilins tried to frighten these visitors. Lying on the ground in front of a fire on this quiet evening, they were interested in hearing what the outsiders had to say.

After the three visitors' initial explanations about their time in the Elves Tribe, the Dragon Tribe, and their meeting with Intermediate Archmage Roc, Vicente spoke about the situation on the continent.

"... Now, we are on the verge of a new prime point in the disaster. With the end of the reclusion of the elders of the vampire coalition, it is likely they will return to hunting human specialists in a short time." Vicente said in a deep, solemn tone.

"Their original plans didn't foresee this. After the initial slaughter immediately after The Purification, as they grew stronger, they would at most manage the lands dominated by their minions.

But with the human resistance and the strengthening of many cities during the crisis, as well as my actions, it is very likely that once Demien awakens, a new wave of hunting will intensify, and more magicians like Victor and me will become victims.

At that time, the continent might fall completely under vampire control and Demien might advance to the Advanced Archmage level."

The three Qilins looked at Vicente with grim expressions, not liking what they had heard. However, knowing what they knew and sensing Vice's sincerity, they couldn't help but fear it was all true and would happen soon.

"The continent has only declined since we lost our connection to the Upper Continent." The only female there shook her head as she closed her eyes, feeling that the Majestic Treefrog Grove beast coalition's greatest fear was going to happen in this generation. They had tried almost everything to stop the threat that the existence of the Upper Continent's native beings posed to the stability of the Polaris Realm. But after failing at almost everything, they had reached a point where they could only choose to fight to avoid the worst-case scenario.

"Now, our plan is to strengthen young Vicente. If he can become a Beginner Archmage with 6 pentagrams in each of his magical forms, he'll be strong enough to finish the vampires." Elmo said to the beasts in front of him.

"By then, the continent will breathe. Even if he can't solve the entire crisis caused by The Purification, he can at least give us a chance to restore order to the Polaris Realm."

"Your plans are reasonable." The oldest of the three Qilins said. "Now you're going to The Ivory Desert to get his next pentagram?"

"As soon as we leave the Majestic Treefrog Grove, we'll go to The Ivory Desert to hide near the place where this pentagram will appear." Victor nodded in agreement.

"So you want allies to help keep this young man alive? I think we can do that, right?" The other man looked at the tribal elder and the woman to his right.

"Hmm, I think Tenglin might be a good fit for this group. He's close to being promoted to the Intermediate level. If he can fight vampires and taste enemy blood, he'll surely reach that level in less than three years." The woman over there said as she looked at her two companions.

"Tenglin is a good choice. He's brave and not afraid of the dangers of war. This could be a chance for us to help the Majestic Treefrog Grove alliance in this new hope and still strengthen a prominent junior." The elder agreed, seeing this as a chance for them not only to fight the vampires but also to strengthen his tribe in the face of disaster.

The Majestic Treefrog Grove offered many opportunities. But for beings who had lived there since their origins, most of those opportunities had already been exhausted, and just staying in the area could take a long time to make progress.

Tenglin was the closest to advancement among the tribe's Beginner Archmages, while the Intermediate Archmages would have little chance to improve by traveling with Vicente.

"If you accept Tenglin into your team, he will help you a lot on this journey. We personally can't move. Although we have no agreements with the vampires, we are their guardians and have to protect the tribe. Said the youngest of the three Intermediate Archmages of the Qilin Tribe.

All the strongest in Majestic Treefrog Grove were being watched by the coalition of vampires and monsters. It would be almost impossible for any intermediate or Advanced Archmage in the area to escape unnoticed.

However, this wasn't the case for Beginner Archmages. With around 300 such creatures in the entire region, the vampires and their monsters could hardly keep an eye on them all and prevent some of them from joining Vicente's group.

"We certainly accept the help of any member of the tribe, elders." Vicente said as he thanked the Qilins for their offer. "I promise that as long as he's by our side, we'll do our best to work together and share opportunities according to our affinities.

I can't guarantee that everyone will return alive at the end of this journey, but we will fight for it until we can no longer fight."

The Qilins nodded to Vicente, aware of the risks. But beasts were even more decisive

than humans when it came to situations and opportunities, so this wouldn't prevent an agreement between them.