300 years ago, Celtic Forest.
“Are you resentful? When you beasts attacked passing merchants, why didn’t you think you would one day face the fate of being slaughtered?”
The silver-haired Hero slowly stripped the pelt from the Silverback Magic Wolf.
Their fur felt quite good; it would be perfect for making a coat.
Behind him, a massive wolf covered in scars glared at him. All of its kin had been slaughtered by him.
Even though its strength was equal to a King-level Intermediate expert, it found itself completely unable to resist this human.
“Beyond this forest lies the Demon King’s Castle. If you all had been more well-behaved recently, you might have survived — heh… who told you to provoke me?”
*Roar!*
The last surviving leader of the Silverback Magic Wolves let out a loud roar.
A giant Ice Cone shot down toward the Hero. He raised his hand and struck; a Golden Sword Qi sliced through the Ice Cone and landed on one of the wolf’s eyes.
Blood splattered as it wailed. At that moment, fear took over its every sense.
The wolf fled deep into the forest without looking back. It was like that 300 years ago, and it was the same now.
It would never forget that man’s face!
—
Without realizing it, One-Eye felt that it had traveled far from that place.
This was the core of Celtic Forest. Aside from the Hero Party of the past, no other humans had ever set foot here.
It lay on the grass, panting, its eye filled with constant terror.
Various magic beasts surrounded it, sending waves of concern.
One-Eye and its pack had always maintained the balance of the forest, protecting this land from external interference.
Even after losing all of its kin, it still upheld this philosophy.
However, recently, a human legion had broken in and begun hunting without restraint.
While past adventurers had hunted, many had also died here, making things somewhat even.
But this group was different; they were numerous, well-trained, and ordinary magic beasts were no match for them.
So, One-Eye decided to overcome the shadows of its past and lead all the magic beasts to drive the humans out of this forest, killing every single one of them!
But now, it had encountered that nightmare again.
*Whoosh!*
Just then, Qiaolin’s figure appeared.
“It seems this place hasn’t changed much compared to 300 years ago.”
Qiaolin scanned the surroundings. His appearance caused the magic beasts present to act as if they were facing a great enemy.
How did this human get here?!
“Long time no see, One-Eye. Though, I was the one who gave you that name without permission,” Qiaolin said, raising his hand in greeting.
Soon, a magic beast tried to attack him, but a low growl from One-Eye stopped it.
In its eyes, this black-haired young man appeared to be that same silver-haired, blue-eyed young Hero.
“What are you here for? Do you want to kill us again? This time, it was you humans who started the trouble! Of course we will fight back!”
One-Eye communicated with Qiaolin via Telepathy.
“What? Are you saying the residents of Lin City harmed you? That’s impossible. They aren’t adventurers; they only enter the forest to hunt animals or gather fruit and herbs.”
There were currently no reports of Lin City residents being killed by magic beasts.
Qiaolin had long suspected the magic beasts were only causing minor injuries intentionally to scare them.
He asked this because he wanted to understand what exactly was happening in the forest.
“We have no intention of harming those people in the human settlement. They are all familiar faces; we even know some of them,” One-Eye said.
“Recently, a large number of adventurers have come into the forest. They have been killing and capturing indiscriminately, injuring thousands of our companions! All armed humans will face our retaliation!”
‘A large number of adventurers…’
Qiaolin carefully considered One-Eye’s words. They were magic beasts, and there were things they had never seen before, so their choice of words was surely imprecise.
Qiaolin suspected a group of people had attacked many magic beasts, provoking public anger.
They certainly weren’t adventurers, because adventurers never moved in such large groups when executing commissions.
The largest party Qiaolin had ever seen consisted of only fifteen or sixteen people.
Causing trouble for thousands of magic beasts was beyond the control of a civilian armed force like adventurers.
“Was it an army? But where did an army come from?”
Qiaolin didn’t think for long. He had come here alone for more than just understanding the truth behind the beast attacks.
He looked up and took a step forward. One-Eye immediately became alert.
“Don’t worry, One-Eye. I’m not here to harm any of you this time.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I’m here to help you,” Qiaolin smiled faintly.
“Back then, you were heavily wounded by my Holy Sword. Not only did your strength decline, but your realm was also sealed, making it impossible for you to grow for the rest of your life. That is the power of the Holy Sword. I’m here now to help you recover your strength.”
“Would you really be so kind? You slaughtered my kin yet deliberately left me alive. Did you foresee today and come to pity me? Truly a despicable human!”
“My behavior was indeed despicable back then, but I won’t regret my actions. Your pack harmed too many innocent people. Even if I hadn’t acted, misfortune would have eventually found you.”
Qiaolin opened his palm, and a golden sphere of light slowly rose, flying toward One-Eye’s wound.
The scar over its eye began to disappear rapidly.
Simultaneously, One-Eye’s power surged violently, and its body began to expand further.
*Awoo!*
It let out a resonant howl that echoed through the entire Celtic Forest!
—
Adventurers who were still fleeing were knocked over by the sound waves, including Aurora’s party, who had gone ahead.
They had encountered a small group of magic beasts during their withdrawal, but luckily they had managed to break through.
Now, they were blown away by the sudden surge of sound waves, and magic beasts surrounded them once more.
*Thwack!*
“What exactly happened?”
Just as they were confused, a magic beast pounced, only to be impaled by a spear thrown from a distance.
“Soldiers, attack!”
“Charge!”
A squad of soldiers appeared out of nowhere and wiped out all the magic beasts surrounding Aurora’s group.
“You are…”
“Balta Kingdom, Black Fang Legion.”
—
With its old wounds healed, One-Eye was back at its peak. It hadn’t expected that the person who had once severely injured it would be the one to heal it today.
“What are your intentions? Now, I could level that human settlement to the ground, and you can’t stay here forever!”
“Hahaha, you magic beasts are quite straightforward. You’re right; I won’t be here forever,” Qiaolin said.
“The reason I restored your strength is because I hope you will leave this place. You’re far too powerful for this forest now, and you’ve completely broken the balance. Back then, your pack could still restrain you, but as a lone wolf, you are completely unrestrained.”
“Go to the Northern Ice Plains. There are still a few packs of Silverback Magic Wolves there.”
Qiaolin knew that an uncontrolled Level 7 magic beast staying here was a constant hidden danger.
Even if its power couldn’t threaten the Demon King’s Castle, if it were to go on a rampage, Lin City would be the first victim.
Qiaolin knew the nature of Silverback Magic Wolves all too well.
Once they recognized a certain rule, they would not hesitate to find a way to eliminate anything that broke the balance, even if it was themselves.
One-Eye — or rather, its eye was now fully healed — stared at Qiaolin with its dark gold eyes.
After flickering a few times, it slowly closed its eyes as if in compromise.
“The next time we meet, I will definitely have my revenge.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”