Calm nodded in agreement. He turned and pointed at the weapons scattered all over the snow, then roughly counted the number of corpses, analyzing in a heavy tone:
“Judging by this setup, there were no fewer than ten victims. Their weapons are scattered everywhere, with almost no trace of concentrated resistance. The locations where everyone fell are not far from each other, which clearly means they were ambushed simultaneously from different directions.”
“To defeat a team of over ten people so quickly is absolutely impossible for a few scattered Shadow Wolves. This is at least a sizable pack.”
Porter squatted down and removed a leather belt from the waist of one of the corpses. After a moment of thought, he said:
“If there were Class holders among these people... then the number of Shadow Wolves that attacked them is likely no fewer than ten.”
“Or... a new Shadow Wolf King has been born in the forest.”
The snowy field was dead silent, save for the wailing of the cold wind blowing through the dead branches.
Porter slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and continued in a deep voice:
“If a new Shadow Wolf King has indeed appeared, the safety of the forest's outskirts will be drastically reduced.”
Beside him, Calm lowered his voice and added, “Under the leadership of a Wolf King, the pack's actions will be more coordinated, and their attacks will be more unified...”
“And because of this, a Shadow Wolf King is far more formidable than ordinary unique magical beasts.”
The other team members around them exchanged glances. Aside from shock, their expressions grew even more solemn.
No one raised any objections. The scattered weapons on the snow and the corpses that had fallen almost simultaneously silently validated the deductions of the two Brass Rank experts.
Meanwhile.
Matthew fell into deep thought, musing to himself, Could that gaze from before have come from the Shadow Wolf King?
Thinking of this, he felt it was highly likely.
When those few Shadow Wolves had hunted Dawson's group earlier, their cooperation had been practically seamless, completely unlike the hunting of ordinary beasts.
At first, he had thought it was just because Shadow Wolves were highly intelligent. Now, it seemed more like the empowerment of a newly born Wolf King...
This was actually not hard to understand. Just like when a leader emerged among humans, their overall mobility and organization would also be significantly enhanced.
As for why the Wolf King had not shown itself back then, Matthew speculated that it might not have been present at the scene. Otherwise, with his strength at the time, he probably would have been forced to run for his life.
Or perhaps, the Wolf King had only just advanced to a unique magical beast and still needed time to stabilize its power and recuperate.
This possibility also indirectly explained why conflicts and friction near Oak Village had been steadily increasing lately.
As he was immersed in his thoughts, he suddenly felt a faint gaze land on him.
Matthew instinctively looked up, meeting the gaze of Instructor Calm, who was looking over.
Clearly, Calm had also thought of Dawson's group's prior encounter. At this moment, the two of them were thinking the exact same thing.
The wind also seemed to sense a certain unease. Its wailing grew sharp, whipping up fine snow dust that swirled through the woods.
The light grew scarcer, and the low-hanging clouds seemed to press down on the treetops.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, making the occasional snap of a dry twig sound exceptionally abrupt and startling.
This snowy forest, which had originally been merely cold, now felt shrouded in a hair-raising atmosphere of being quietly surrounded by invisible hunters.
“We shouldn't stay here long,” Porter's voice broke the oppressive silence, decisive and firm.
Calm immediately nodded and made a simple hand gesture to all the team members.
Without any hesitation, everyone quickly focused their minds, gripping their weapons tightly and forming a tight defensive formation.
They spoke no more, their footsteps making sharp, slightly frantic crunching sounds on the snow as they quickly retreated out of the forest along the tracks they had made when they entered.
The group's figures soon blended into the gray-white woods, leaving behind only a silent mess and a deepening chill that seemed to seep into their bones, lingering in the forest for a long time.
...
Stone Mill Village.
The afternoon sun pierced through the clouds, casting blurry shadows on the snow-covered village road.
Matthew walked out of Instructor Calm's house, a heavy cloth bundle now in his hand.
Before they parted, Instructor Calm had insisted on stuffing ten pounds of giant bear prime magical beast meat into his hands, saying it was a recognition of his recent performance and would also help him consolidate his physical foundation.
Matthew was indeed lacking magical beast meat.
Daily training consumed an immense amount of energy, and ordinary food was hard-pressed to replenish that pure vitality.
Unable to decline, he could only accept it solemnly, keeping this favor in mind.
Carrying the meat, he walked quickly toward his small cabin, thinking about what he had seen and heard in the forest just now.
Based on his deductions, it was highly likely that a new Shadow Wolf King had been born, making the forest much more dangerous.
But Matthew was not too worried.
Resource-wise: He now had nearly forty pounds of prime magical beast meat as resources, which could better support his training and increase his strength without needing to risk entering the forest to hunt.
Safety-wise: Instructor Calm had mentioned during their conversation earlier that this Shadow Wolf King should have only just advanced, as the previous Shadow Wolf King had already been hunted down once before.
The new Wolf King needed time to stabilize its power and recuperate. Unless it received extra nourishment, it would take at least half a year or so to truly grow.
If there were Silver Rank experts, they could even take this opportunity to eliminate it in one fell swoop.
However, that was not Matthew's concern.
A moment later.
Returning to his cabin, Matthew placed the cloth bundle on the table. Without worrying about anything else, he first deftly gathered some firewood.
The fire quickly flared up in the hearth, casting flickering light across his face. The heavy piece of giant bear prime meat in his hand still carried a fresh, gamey scent.
As he added water to the pot, he couldn't help but wonder, “Just how much life energy can I absorb from cooking this unique magical beast's meat?”
Although it was the meat of a unique magical beast, the yield was simply too massive. A single one weighed at least a hundred pounds, which was equivalent to ten Shadow Wolves!
Therefore, Matthew couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about the quality of this magical beast meat.
“I hope it surprises me...”
White steam gradually rose from the rim of the pot. Matthew chopped the magical beast meat into chunks and put them inside.
Matthew stared at the boiling meat chunks in the pot, his mind already spinning with calculations:
Once he tasted this half-pound of magical beast meat, he would have a clear idea of how to distribute it in the future.
The white steam rising from the pot's rim carried the unique, rich aroma of the prime magical beast meat, slowly drifting through the room.
However, it would still take some time to stew. He might as well take advantage of this time to practice his combat techniques outside.
And consume some life energy along the way.
Perseverance was Matthew's style.
Having made up his mind, he stood up and went outside. Drawing the shortsword from his waist, he took a deep breath, calmly fell into a stance, and began to practice 【Melting Slash】 with absolute focus.
Rate on N.U.
