Valley and Wolf

Early the next morning.

The snow had stopped, but the wind was still biting, whipping up snowflakes that stung my face.

As dawn broke, the three followed the Village Chief out of the village and into the snow-covered mountains and forests.

The mountain path was difficult to traverse; a single step could sink the snow up to one's calves. But Frieren walked steadily, her silvery-white figure almost blending into the snow. She seemed very familiar with the path, occasionally stopping to scan her surroundings with her emerald eyes, discerning her direction.

Lowell followed behind her, hands in his pockets, walking leisurely as if he were taking a stroll rather than climbing a mountain.

Fern walked at the back, her pale purple eyes warily scanning her surroundings. The snow reflected the faint sunlight, a blinding white expanse in her field of vision.

They hadn't walked far.

A small group of white shadows appeared on the leeward side of the hillside ahead.

They resemble goats in shape, but their fur is pure white, almost indistinguishable from the snow. Only their curved black horns and reddish eyes indicate that they are not docile animals.

About a dozen were munching on the exposed, withered roots of grass beneath the snow.

Hearing footsteps, they all raised their heads, their scarlet eyes fixed on them.

"It's a 'Snowhorn Goat'," the Village Chief whispered.

She hid behind a rock, only half her face showing. "There have been a sudden increase in them lately. They're very fierce; they gore people with their horns, and they run very fast."

Frieren stopped and glanced at it.

"Fern."

"Yes, Lady Frieren."

Fern stepped forward and raised his staff.

There is no complicated starting move.

A condensed white light shone from the tip of the staff.

The next second.

"Whoosh--!"

Countless magic circles lit up, and countless fine beams of Ordinary Attack Magic, like a sudden burst of rain, tore through the cold air and shot towards the herd of Snowhorn Goat!

The beam is precise, swift, and has almost no gaps.

Just as a Snowhorn Goat raised its front hoof, a beam of light pierced through its head.

The other beams of light tried to scatter, but more beams covered all the space they could dodge.

"Pfft--"

A series of soft, muffled thuds, like pebbles being dropped into thick snow, filled the air.

The white monsters didn't even have time to scream before they froze, then collapsed silently. Their crimson eyes quickly dimmed, and their black horns pierced the snow.

It all happened in just a few breaths.

Silence returned to the hillside, broken only by the sound of the wind whistling through the snow.

A dozen or so white monster corpses lay in the snow, then slowly dissipated.

Lowell lowered his hands, which had been in his pockets, and clapped softly.

"Clap clap clap."

The applause was clearly audible across the open snow-covered field.

"Not bad, not bad," he said with a smile, "Your Ordinary Attack Magic are getting faster and faster. Like Gatling. In the world of magic, speed is the only thing that can't be broken, and you're starting to get into that mindset."

Frieren clapped her hands too, her emerald eyes looking at Fern, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Mmm, Fern is great."

Fern lowered his staff, his expression unchanged, only exhaling a soft breath of white air.

"... I have a feeling," she whispered, her pale purple eyes sweeping over the two adults clapping, "That you're praising me so much just so I can do my part to deal with the monsters, while you two can slack off and relax."

Lowell laughed, walked over, and patted her on the shoulder.

"How could that be? This is for your own good. I'm an adult, and adults always do things 'for your own good.' How could I possibly harm you?"

He pointed to the body dissolving in the snow.

"You can improve your skills by fighting these things. But for me and Frieren, dealing with them is as natural as breathing; there's no point in honing our skills. So, of course, you should do it."

Fern thought for a moment and nodded.

"Hmm, that makes sense."

She looked at the area where the demons had disappeared, and then gazed at the distant mountains and forests shrouded in wind and snow.

"However, there are so many monsters here. It's already quite dangerous being so close to the village. Why not post a quest and find some adventurer teams to deal with them?"

The Village Chief, who had been hiding behind the rocks, peeked out, his pink hair speckled with snow.

"Although we would also like to issue a commission..."

She blinked and looked at Lowell.

Lowell spoke with a somewhat distant emotion in his tone.

"But after all, Himmel was a 'brave warrior,' a hero."

Fern: "?"

She looked at Lowell, her pale purple eyes filled with clear confusion.

"What... does this have to do with Himmel being a hero?"

Lowell smiled, offered no explanation, and simply turned to continue walking up the mountain.

"Let's go, we're almost there."

Frieren followed.

Fern glanced at the Village Chief's expectant face, then at the backs of the two adults who seemed to have said nothing at all, and swallowed his questions, quickly following after them.

The higher you go, the steeper the road becomes, and the stronger the wind gets.

After passing through a forest of dead trees covered in ice crystals, a dark cave entrance appeared ahead.

The entrance to the cave was small, but it was very deep; looking inside, all one could see was an impenetrable darkness.

Scattered on the snow at the cave entrance were many huge, messy claw marks, as well as fragments of bones from some unknown animal that had been gnawed on.

"This is it." Frieren stopped at the cave entrance, her emerald eyes gazing into the darkness. "The 'Mountain Lord,' and... the sword, should be inside."

The Village Chief hid behind a larger rock, only his eyes showing, and nodded vigorously.

"That's right! It's been lingering here lately! We don't even dare to go near it!"

Lowell walked to the cave entrance, squatted down, and carefully examined the claw marks.

"Hmm, it's quite big."

He stood up and brushed the snow off his hands.

"Let's go in and say hello."

Fern gripped her staff tightly and stepped to the cave entrance first. A soft glow emanated from the tip of her staff, dispelling the darkness ahead. She stepped aside to let Frieren and Lowell go first.

The cave was more spacious than I had imagined.

The passage wound downwards, with thick layers of ice clinging to the rock walls. The temperature was even lower than outside, and breath turned to frost.

I walked about several dozen steps.

The view ahead suddenly opened up.

A huge natural cave appeared before us. Countless icicles hung from the cave ceiling, and the ground was covered with pebbles. In the deepest part of the cave, a faint metallic reflection, different from the icy light, could be seen.

But at this moment, what attracted everyone's attention was the enormous figure in the center of the cave.

It slowly rose from the shadows.

Its entire body was covered in long, silvery-white fur, which shimmered like moonlight in the dim light. It was enormous, comparable in size to a small house. Its head was raised, and its scarlet eyes shone like two ominous lanterns in the darkness.

Its majestic figure, domineering aura, and the faint, chilling winds surrounding it all indicated that it was no ordinary demon.

Lowell looked it over, his eyes widening slightly, a mixture of surprise and admiration on his face.

"Oh! This is..."

He touched his chin.

"Andrius, the King Wolf of the North Wind... No problem, the Northern Countries naturally belong to the North Wind... and are also the King Wolf..."

He paused, his gaze lingering for a few more seconds on the long, silvery-white fur and scarlet eyes.

"But... tsk. Although it doesn't have the cool crescent moon markings, the fur color, the eyes, the aura... it's more like Sesshomaru in his Sesshomaru..."

He muttered to himself and nodded.

"That's kind of cool. It really is kind of cool."

Frieren glanced at him, her emerald eyes saying, "Here we go again."

"What is this? Talking nonsense again."

She stepped forward, looked up at the huge Silver Wolf, and spoke in a calm tone, as if stating something trivial.

"New here, huh? No wonder I don't recognize you. You've only been here for less than eighty years, and you've already made this your territory."

Before she finished speaking, she was already slightly levitating, her staff raised, and magic began to flow.

Clearly, they don't intend to say much more.

"Wait, wait, wait," Lowell quickly interjected.

Frieren paused, turning her head to look at him.

"He's so handsome, go easy on him. Maybe we can exchange blows?"

However, the giant wolf, which Lowell called "Andrius," did not seem to have any intention of communicating.

Lowell hadn't finished speaking.

King Wolf Andrius eyes suddenly flashed with a fierce light!

"Awoo--!"

A deafening wolf howl echoed through the cave, sending icicles crashing down the rock walls!

Its massive body transformed into a streak of silver lightning, charging towards Frieren at the forefront with the force to crush everything in its path! Its giant claws tore through the air, creating wind pressure as solid as ice blades!

Too close, too fast!

Frieren didn't seem to intend to dodge; she simply blinked.

Just before the giant claw was about to strike her—

"Buzz!"

A honeycomb-shaped, semi-transparent Defensive Magic circle unfolded without warning half a step in front of her. The light was solid, and the structure was complex and precise, steadily blocking the fatal blow that was enough to shatter rocks.

"Clang--!"

A deafening roar, like metal clashing, echoed through the cave!

The wolf king's claws slammed into the defensive light shield, creating a visible ripple of icy blue magic! The shield trembled violently, but remained unmoved, firmly isolating all impact and chill from the outside.

Fern stood to the side and slightly behind Frieren, his staff held horizontally, his pale purple eyes calm and undisturbed, only a few strands of hair on his forehead fluttering gently from the wind pressure.

"Well done, Fern."

Frieren's voice came from behind the light barrier, her tone carrying a sense of taken-for-granted approval.

She turned her head and looked at Lowell.

"So, Lowell, what do you want?"

Lowell watched as the wolf king, blocked by the Defensive Magic, frantically tore at the light barrier with its claws, making a teeth-grinding sound, and then looked at its beautiful silver-white fur.

"Ugh, really, such a bad temper."

He sighed, raised his right hand, and gently clenched his fist in Wang Lang's direction.

Suddenly, countless almost completely transparent, hair-thin magical threads appeared in the air. As if they were alive, they instantly intertwined into an invisible net, precisely wrapping around the wolf king's limbs, torso, and neck!

Wang Lang's frenzied movements suddenly froze.

It tried to struggle, but the threads, though seemingly thin, were incredibly strong, digging deep into its thick fur, binding every inch of its muscles and the flow of magic. No matter how it roared or twisted, it could not move forward an inch, firmly fixed in place, only able to let out a low, unwilling whimper from its throat.