The sun was shining brightly, and the city gates were teeming with people. At a glance, he spotted Balin by the guard post, overseeing the changing of the guard. His stout and burly figure, clad in the heavy guard uniform, stood like a reliable iron statue in the sunlight.
"I’m here," Yggdrasil said as he walked up to him, a smile on his face. "Ready to head out."
"Mmm," Balin grunted in response, a warm smile instantly breaking across his face. He looked Yggdrasil up and down, checking his gear. "Decided on a commission?"
"A gathering quest," Yggdrasil answered. "Just picking a few Frost-star flowers in the hills to the southwest. Very simple."
Hearing that it was just a flower-picking task, Balin visibly relaxed. He reached out to adjust Yggdrasil’s slightly crooked cloak collar, offering yet another reminder: "That's good. No picking fights, no reckless magic, and don't go crawling into any strange holes you find. Do you hear me?"
His tone sounded exactly like an overprotective father worrying about a child going on a long journey.
Not far away, Balin’s subordinate, Holl, stood with his mouth agape, watching the scene in disbelief. He had never seen his iron-blooded, hard-as-nails Vice-Captain show such a... tender and mushy expression.
Yggdrasil was amused by Balin’s nagging. He reached up and took Balin’s hand—which was still fussing with his collar—into his own palms. "I know, I know, my dear Vice-Captain."
Balin huffed, but he squeezed Yggdrasil’s hand back even tighter, his coarse thumb lightly stroking the back of Yggdrasil’s hand. "Be careful on the road. Come back early."
"I will," Yggdrasil nodded. He leaned in and gave Balin a quick kiss on his bearded cheek before turning and stepping through the city gates with a light, brisk pace.
Balin instinctively touched the spot where he had been kissed. He stood there, watching Yggdrasil’s back until it completely vanished at the end of the road before finally withdrawing his gaze.
"Vice-Captain."
Holl, stifling a laugh, jogged up to Balin’s side and nudged him with his elbow. "Was I seeing things just now? I thought I saw a bear in heat nagging his little honey pot."
Balin’s face instantly turned a deep shade of crimson. He glared at Holl, trying to maintain a stern facade. "Your night patrols for this month are doubled. Now, get back to your post!"
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"Yes, sir!" Holl ran off laughing. Balin watched him and shook his head helplessly, but the corner of his mouth—an arc he didn't even notice—had already betrayed his mood.
Walking across the sun-drenched fields, Yggdrasil felt exceptionally lighthearted. He leaned down, finding several Frost-star flowers glowing with a faint blue aura along the forest's edge. He carefully dug them up, roots and all, and stowed them into his spatial storage. However, as he focused on his search, the atmosphere around him suddenly changed.
The air grew heavy. The sunlight felt as though it were being shielded by something, and the chirping of insects in the forest gradually died away. Yggdrasil straightened up, his brow furrowed, his hand instinctively gripping the heavy two-handed battle-axe on his back.
In the next moment, a low, faint growl echoed from the depths of the woods. Several shadowy figures lunged out, occupying positions to his front and sides, surrounding him.
They were "Shadow Wolves"—creatures covered in dark grey manes, their eyes flashing like blood-red rubies with primal malice. Their movements were silent and swift.
Yggdrasil immediately stepped back, summoning his axe as mana flowed into his palms. His gaze remained steady; he quickly confirmed that at least three Shadow Wolves were encircling him.
The three wolves gave him no room to breathe. The one in front let out a low growl as a feint, then lunged. Simultaneously, the two wolves on his sides struck like black lightning, launching a lethal pounce from his blind spots!
"Earth Wall!" Yggdrasil slammed his left hand onto the ground. Two thick rock walls erupted from his sides, precisely blocking the claws of the flanking wolves!
Thud! Thud! Two dull impacts sounded as the rock walls cracked, but they successfully bought him time. Ignoring the feint from the front, he ducked low, using his rounded belly as a pivot. He swung his massive axe with a sudden, violent spin, the blade trailing wind pressure and thunderous light in a crescent arc!
"Thunderous Whirlwind Slash!"
The wolf performing the feint hadn't expected its target to ignore it; while still in mid-air, it was struck square in the waist by the berserk blade. It let out a howl and was sent tumbling away. However, the two wolves from the sides had already adjusted and pounced again. Yggdrasil lunged forward, his axe sweeping upward from below, using the flat of the blade to block one wolf’s claws. Meanwhile, his other hand condensed a high-intensity sphere of lightning, blasting it directly into the other wolf’s chest.
"Thunder Blast!"
The impact of the explosion sent the wolf reeling back, electric arcs dancing across its body as it whimpered in pain. Seizing the opportunity, Yggdrasil kicked off the ground, his stout and burly body slamming into the wolf he had been blocking like a cannonball. The wolf was sent reeling by the sheer force transmitted through his belly, losing its balance instantly.
"It’s over!" Yggdrasil roared, his axe coming down in a decisive cleave to end its life.
The last remaining injured wolf saw that things were going south. It let out an unwilling growl and turned, vanishing into the depths of the forest. Yggdrasil did not give chase.
He stood his ground, chest heaving heavily. He looked at the twitching corpse of the Shadow Wolf, then at his own sleeve, which had been torn by the wind from a claw strike. His expression grew incredibly grim.
"Shadow Wolves..." He recalled the monster bestiary he had happened to browse in the Guild’s archives. The information in his mind contradicted the creature before him.
"The bestiary says these monsters are supposed to inhabit only the dark forests of the far north... Is it common to encounter them in the outskirts of Kagurem?"
He took a deep breath, collecting the claws of the two dead wolves as proof of subjugation, and prepared to return to town immediately.
"Regardless, I’ll report this to the Guild once I’m back."