Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!

"Wendy is not here, and even Nox. Where did those two run off to?" Hans, who was in charge of looking after the participants for the upcoming tournament, felt a massive headache as he watched over the group of kids that would be participating in the tournament in the Armstrong duchy.

The ones present at this moment were Chris Cole, Nyx, and Rab Damian. Since the worry of a beast tide had been dealt with, most of the towns had focused their attention on the looming tournaments that would determine the fate of their town. Slowly, they were even making their way to the Armstrong duchy.

The only group that had yet to make any move was the Cromwell barony. All of this was because the two star dark horses that shouldered half of the responsibility for this tournament were nowhere to be found.

Hans' face was filled with worry as he turned to Celine, who was standing beside him. "Have you heard any news from Wendy?" he asked, a trace of hope entering his voice.

Celine, the town healer, nodded faintly. "Yes, she wrote to me a few times." As she said this, a parchment materialized in her grasp, and she proceeded to hand it over to Hans, who unfolded it unhurriedly. With furrowed brows, he began to read.

_Mom, I'm fine in case you're worried about me. I'm currently away carrying out a mission for the Academy… will return before the tournament starts. Don't miss me too much. Love you, your one and only daughter, Wendy._

Hans folded the letter and gave it back to Celine, his expression filled with confusion as he muttered in a low voice, "Strangely, even little Nox said the same thing." Then his eyes narrowed slightly as a wild thought, one he didn't think was too far-fetched, appeared in his mind. "Could it be that they're in the same place... I mean, they all seemed to be saying the same thing."

"What if their letters have been intercepted?" Gordon chimed in, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "For all we know, it could be the doing of the other barony or..." The sky briefly turned dark due to the change in weather, casting a dark shadow on Gordon's face. "The doing of the Armstrongs... perhaps they've noticed those two's potential."

"I doubt that's the case," Celine shook her head in denial. "I know my daughter's writing very well. I don't know about little Nox, but I'm very certain she's the one, and that carefree tone... it's only her."

"Hmm, alright..." Hans nodded. "We'll head to the duchy first and wait for their arrival... hopefully, nothing bad happens to them."

"Do you think something happened to Nyx?" As they walked towards the carriage parked at a distance, there were some armored Awakened on both sides of this carriage, a necessary arrangement by the barony to fight against beasts and protect themselves in case things went south inside the Armstrong duchy.

Serena who had dicided to accompany them flicked her hair backward, causing several boys to gasp in amazement. Most of them were around the age of 10-13. Their feelings were starting to develop more and more. In a pleasant voice, the others could never get enough of, Serena spoke: "Nox is perfectly fine... he's very strong, you know. He's probably training and preparing for the tournament."

"That's some confidence there," Cole, the pyromancer and the personal student of Nathan, commented with a chuckle as he teased. "It's as if you're there with him... could it be that you guys are actually connected somehow?"

Serena's face immediately turned a shade of red as she stammered incomprehensibly. "N-no, we're not connected in any way... at least not the way you're probably thinking... we just have a friendly connection."

Everyone present paused and stared at Serena, their gazes seeming to say, "Who are you deceiving? Could you be even more obvious?"

"My stupid brother is fine." Nyx's cold voice cut through the conversation. "You guys don't have anything to worry about... what we should be thinking about is how to crush the bastards from the Armstrong duchy."

As they watched Nyx board the carriage, the others couldn't help but nod their heads in agreement and step inside the carriage. There were over ten carriages, one of them for the participants, while the others were for the few citizens who wanted to watch the tournament. Almost all of them wanted to attend, but they couldn't really abandon the town.

Because of this, the likes of Elvin and his strike team had decided to stay behind and watch over the town. Even though there was peace now, who knows when something terrible would happen.

Fortunately for the rest of the town, Nathan had promised them the event would be transmitted from the Armstrong duchy for them to watch. Though it wouldn't have the same feeling as being present, they were happy.

Soon, the carriages began to move in a straight line. The Awakened kept their vigilance and rode ahead on the backs of powerful-built horses to deal with bandits or beasts.

Above them, Doombringer soared, casting a shadow over the other carriages like a divine guardian. The kids felt safe in the presence of the powerful wyvern, though some of them wished a beast would show up for them to deal with. Their young blood was always pumping for a fight.

Watching them, the Awakened who had experienced life couldn't help but shake their heads. Well, the children couldn't really be blamed... once upon a time, they were also like this, hot-blooded, but the reality of life in Eos had long humbled them.

Before night arrived, the carriages neared the walls of the Armstrong duchy. It was the first time most of the kids were going out of the barony, and they were fascinated by the sheer size of the walls and the towering buildings that peeked through them.

In front of the gate, there were several more carriages lined up, entering one after the other. Soon, it reached the Cromwell Barony's turn.