Inside the forest, Jack was losing his hair out of impatience. He and Cooper had been waiting for more than nine hours!
Jack was initially very excited and couldn't wait for Lyria and Livy to appear, but no matter how long he waited, neither girl ever appeared!
And so, with each passing minute, he grew more restless and became more frustrated.
Jack and Cooper were currently standing very close to the border of the forest while also staying completely hidden. Cooper had chosen this place so he could observe from which direction Lyria and Livy were entering the forest.
Cooper was also impatient. He wanted to deal with both girls quickly so he could relax. After all, this mission was risky for them as well, and the sooner it ended, the better it was for them.
They had also made thorough plans on what needed to be done after getting Lyria and Livy to sign the scrolls.
Jack would order both Lyria and Livy to stay within the orphanage for a year or so, and only after Bella Noll died would he marry them. Both girls' ages would also be at an acceptable age for marriage by then.
If Eric managed to return, then those girls could also backstab him by bringing him to a hidden location where he—Cooper—would be there. And then, he would take his sweet time torturing the brat for at least a few weeks for the hatred of making him lose his right wrist.
If Eric had truly died within the forest, as they had suspected, then although it was a pity, it was also a perfect end for an orphan swine to be eaten alive by wild beasts.
All plans were set, but neither Lyria nor Livy had entered the forest yet!
Cooper turned back toward Jack and heard his mumbling.
"Patience... Patience... Patience is the key..."
His poor nephew kept murmuring the same words for the last few hours.
Cooper could only feel pity for Jack.
After waiting for another hour, finally, both girls' shadows were seen approaching the forest.
Cooper's eyes shone brightly. He quickly whispered to his nephew, "Jack, they are here."
Jack immediately yelled out in excitement, "Really?!"
"Quiet down, you fool!" Cooper bellowed in a controlled tone.
Thankfully, there was no one in the vicinity, so no one had heard Jack's immature yelling.
Cooper didn't wait for Jack to respond and conveyed, "Let's go deeper into the forest."
Jack wasn't happy with Cooper's suggestion, but he still had some sense, so he reduced his volume and asked, "Uncle, why? You can easily take them out within seconds!"
Jack was really impatient, and after waiting for so long, his chance was finally here! And now, Cooper was suggesting such stupid things—how could he tolerate this?
Cooper suddenly felt his good nephew wasn't as capable as he used to think, so he started walking deeper into the forest and spoke without turning back.
"Those two girls can survive within the forest for two days straight, which means they have some capability. We are at the border of the forest—even if they cannot escape, if they scream that they're being attacked, we will be the first to be suspected, as we are currently missing from home. If Jarvis or Bella Noll sends someone to check on us, we are finished! Even my wife won't survive! Do you want to die so badly? Wake some sense in you, Jack! What about your patience? Just wait for another hour, and I promise both giant girls will be yours!"
Jack blushed. He felt he was truly being silly for doubting his uncle's decisions.
He nodded and apologized, "I'm sorry, Uncle; we were so close to success that I lost my patience. Can you track their position after they enter the forest?"
Cooper waved his hand dismissively. "That is not at all a problem. Who do you think I am? I have already seen from which side they are entering and can easily track them with the clues they leave behind. And due to the rain a few days ago, it's even easier to track."
"As long as I can find them, I can easily sneak up to them and knock them down one by one. What you need to do is stay further back and stop them if any of them tries to escape."
Cooper looked behind and reminded, "Be ready to pass my sword if I need it."
Jack was carrying two weapons: his own blade and Cooper's long heavy sword, which was hanging on Jack's back.
Jack didn't like Cooper's words. He didn't want Cooper to injure his wives, so he asked hesitantly, "Uncle, do you really need a weapon to deal with them? They're just mortals!"
Cooper was getting annoyed with his nephew's stupid questions. He glared and spoke in a heavy tone, "Jack, don't question me when we're in the forest. I don't need my sword to deal with those girls. I need it in case some beasts arrive and I need to deal with them swiftly."
In truth, Cooper was taking caution in case either Lyria or Livy tried to do something unexpected. If such a situation arose, he might need to kill one or both of them, but Jack would definitely resist, so he refused to elaborate.
Jack relaxed. "I see... But why don't you carry it with you, Uncle?"
Cooper nodded. Finally, a proper question—though it was still stupid, at least Jack had made some progress.
"I am doing a sneak attack, and since killing is not the goal, I need to hold back my strength while making it swift. Carrying that heavy sword while doing a sneak attack—don't you think that's stupid?"
Cooper, as a 'Warrior,' wasn't terrible at sneak attacks, but that didn't mean he had trained himself to be a sneak expert. He needed to be as lightweight as possible during sneaking.
Jack nodded while practicing his mantra—'Patience is the key'—in his heart.
After some time, Cooper stopped and started tracking Lyria and Livy's steps while Jack followed further behind him.
After finding both girls, Cooper first made sure there were no townsfolk nearby in case Lyria or Livy screamed out. Once certain, he started thinking about which one to attack first: the lavender-haired girl or the dark brown-haired one.
Even he—an early middle-aged man who was also married—couldn't help but be mesmerized by Lyria and Livy.
Both girls were jewels and diamonds by themselves—extremely beautiful with great figures for their age—but their heights were too huge, even for him, who was just below six feet.
After quietly observing Lyria and Livy from behind, Cooper noticed that the shorter dark brown-haired girl was like a leader among them—extremely cautious and careful. Taking her out wasn't difficult for him, but there was a small chance his sneak attack might fail due to her cautiousness.
So, Cooper decided it was better if he took down the lavender-haired girl first, who lacked the necessary vigilance and was walking without even glancing at her surroundings, as if her only goal was to keep moving forward.
Cooper followed both Lyria and Livy and waited for a clearing without trees or bushes.
Cooper wasn't an expert in forest maneuvering, so although he was confident he could catch the dark brown-haired girl, he also didn't want to risk it.
After a while, when both Lyria and Livy were passing by a plain area with no trees around for a dozen meters, Cooper didn't hesitate. Like a falcon, he drove straight forward, using a tree branch as his springboard—he didn't even touch the ground—and flew straight toward Livy's neck, hidden behind her long lavender hair.
Livy, who was walking beside Lyria with a gap of about a meter between them, suddenly bent forward from her waist without even registering what she was doing, and at the same time, with her right foot, she kicked straight upward toward the diving Cooper's lower jaw.
Cooper, still airborne, widened his eyes with shock and dread. This level of reaction and instinct was something even he—an early-stage Rank 1 Warrior—couldn't pull off!
Cooper, Jack, and just about everyone in Ringwood Town didn't know that both Lyria and Livy were extreme experts trained to a terrifying level by Bella Noll.
Even the orphanage workers didn't know just how strong Eric, Lyria, or Livy were.
Just because they were trained by a powerful Mana Wielder didn't mean everyone had the capacity to become monsters capable of counterattacking a sneak attack from a Warrior without even looking.
Among the three, Livy had far greater mastery when it came to reaction and counterattack.
If Cooper had attacked Lyria, his chance of success would have been much higher—but still not by much, because Cooper was still underestimating both Lyria and Livy's true capabilities, expertise, and just how high their stats were compared to normal mortals.
Eric, Lyria, and Livy's stats were actually very close to an early-stage Rank 1 Warrior, though still lower. Also, Cooper might not have trained like Eric, Lyria, or Livy, but he had trained for a long time, so his stats were higher than those of a newly evolved early-stage Rank 1 Warrior.
Cooper could see the power of Livy's kick and understood that even with his warrior's constitution, it was enough to knock his teeth out, as the lower jaw wasn't some tough bone in humans—so unless he protected his jaw with additional Mana, he was bound to get injured.
Cooper was thoroughly shocked by Livy's strength and flexibility. Jack didn't even come close to this level of physical stats and expertise! What kind of talent was this? It was too ridiculous!
He had no additional time to think and swiftly used his Mana to guard his lower head and neck.
BANG!
Cooper was shoved upward by the kick, and with his initial momentum, he flew and knocked into a tree five or six meters in front of Lyria and Livy.
Lyria swiftly unsheathed her dagger from her waist.
She knew their enemies were mostly wild animals, and fighting bare-handed was foolish, as they had thick skins and hides—so she took out her dagger even before checking who their enemy was.
When Livy and Lyria finally recognized their attacker, both their faces paled—with horror and hatred.
They remembered the middle-aged bastard who had nearly taken Eric's life back when they had just arrived at the orphanage. They remembered his name—Cooper Eldridge. The second Mana Wielder of the Eldridge family!