When Hao Ren arrived at Rudolf III's special reception room, he saw that there were two other people besides the king. One was Grand Duke Rune, while the other was a mysterious woman named An who stood like a shadow behind Rudolf III, her entire body shrouded in darkness.
The atmosphere in the room seemed a little strange—not oppressive or anything like that, but simply strange.
"You were looking for me?" Hao Ren asked as he sat down in his seat and looked curiously at Rudolf III.
The king nodded. "We received some news from the southern front. You might... be interested."
"News from the south?" Hao Ren was stunned. He had just been about to say that the war front of some native kingdom had nothing to do with him, but he vaguely guessed the truth a moment later. "Wait, have you found a clue about the person I'm looking for?"
The king did not answer immediately. Instead, he seemingly brought up an unrelated matter. "Recently, a force composed of a huge number of magical beasts and demi-human races suddenly rose in the south. It is known as the 'Beast Tide.' It first appeared on a floating island outside the Southern Border of the Kingdom, then flew across the Sea of Karnos by unknown means. After landing in the Southern Forest, it continued moving northward. You should already know that a powerful Chaos Storm erupted in the southern part of the continent, but that Beast Tide was not annihilated by the Chaos. Instead, it recruited nearly all the surviving demi-human tribes in the Black Forest. A few days ago, it finally reached Black Raven Stronghold on the border and fought the Chaos Blades on the Great Wasteland. As a result, Black Raven Stronghold was saved, and with the assistance