The rich, tantalizing aroma of roasted meat spread silently on the evening breeze like an invisible yet irresistible signal. It pierced through the invisible barrier around the Small Courtyard and mingled with the air of the Primordial Wilderness night, steeped in primal desire. To the beings of the Primordial Wilderness, accustomed to raw flesh and blood, the aroma was a strange and unfamiliar stimulus. The complex fragrance of fats and Protein, released and transformed by the flames, held an indescribable magic.
Chen An was completely unaware of it. Immersed in the satisfaction of his harvest and full meal, he sat beside the kitchen stove and slowly gnawed on the last rib, roasted until crisp and fragrant, in the flickering firelight. Steam rose from the boiled well water, mingling with the scent of meat and filling one corner of the Small Courtyard with a rare warmth. He had even luxuriously used a broad leaf to hold some hot water, taking small sips and savoring the warmth soothing his stomach.
However, this tranquility was soon shattered.
At first, it was merely a subtle intuition. The regular ebb and flow of various Demonic Beasts roaring and running outside the courtyard seemed to develop a slight irregularity. Then, heavy footsteps filled with oppressive force came from the distance, drawing closer toward the Small Courtyard. The footsteps kept a steady rhythm, each one seeming to land on a drumbeat, carrying the unquestionable confidence of a predator.
Chen An slowed his chewing, his ears instinctively pricking up as the muscles throughout his body tensed slightly. He set down the bone in his hand, quietly rose, and extinguished the brightest flames in the stove, leaving only a few embers to maintain a faint glow. Like an alert rabbit, he silently moved to the door of the main house and nervously peered outside through the half-closed crack.
The moonlight was obscured by thin clouds, leaving the area outside the courtyard dim. Only blurred outlines could be seen. But the approaching footsteps and the strong, nauseating stench of blood and musk that accompanied them had already clearly announced the arrival of an uninvited guest.
It was here!
A huge black shadow appeared like a ghost in the open ground outside the courtyard gate, stopping precisely near the invisible boundary where the giant python had halted before. By the faint starlight and the dim glow of the embers, Chen An could barely make out its appearance.
It was a wolf-shaped Demonic Beast as large as a powerful ox! Its entire body was covered in coarse, stiff, dark-cyan fur that gleamed with a metallic chill beneath the moonlight. Its head was enormous, its muzzle protruded, and its mouth was packed with interlocking fangs as white and sinister as daggers. Drool dripped from the corners of its mouth, corroding the earth into small wisps of white smoke. Most unnerving were its eyes. They were neither ordinary green nor yellow, but a fiery crimson burning with savagery and hunger, like two lanterns from hell, fixed intently on the courtyard—or more precisely, on the source of the roasted-meat aroma that had not yet fully dispersed in the direction of the kitchen!
The smell of roasted meat brought it here! Chen An's heart sank as he cursed himself for his carelessness. The sense of smell of the beings in the Primordial Wilderness far exceeded his imagination.
The Green Wolf lowered the front half of its body. A suppressed growl rolled from its throat like distant thunder. Its crimson gaze swept across the courtyard before finally settling on the kitchen. It seemed puzzled. Why would such an enticing aroma come from this seemingly unprotected Small Courtyard, while it could not sense the powerful pressure of any living being?
Tentatively, it took one step forward.
Just as its forepaw was about to cross that invisible boundary—
"Hum..."
An extremely faint tremor rang out, yet it seemed to reverberate directly in the depths of the soul. It was not a sound so much as the soft hum of spatial laws.
The Green Wolf seemed to slam into an invisible, unbreakable elastic wall. Its massive body abruptly halted, and its forward momentum came to an abrupt stop! For the first time, a humanlike expression of astonishment and disbelief appeared on its ferocious face.
"Roar—!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence came an enraged bellow! The rolling sound waves made the wooden planks of the courtyard gate tremble slightly. It was completely enraged. In this region, when had it ever suffered such an invisible obstruction?
It backed away several steps. Fierce light surged in its crimson eyes, every muscle in its body bulging as its dark-cyan fur stood on end. The next moment, it suddenly exerted its strength and lunged at the invisible barrier like a bolt of cyan lightning, crashing into it with several times more force than before!
"Bang!!!"
This impact was far heavier and more violent than the giant python's earlier strike! The muffled boom seemed to strike solid matter. One could even see extremely fine, nearly imperceptible transparent ripples spreading through the air around the point of impact like waves on water, only to return to calm in an instant.
The Green Wolf's fate was even worse. It seemed to have rammed into an ancient mountain. The enormous rebound sent its entire body tumbling backward uncontrollably, and it landed awkwardly on the ground with a painful grunt. It shook its huge head and struggled to rise, the savagery in its eyes replaced by a trace of uncertainty.
It no longer charged blindly. Instead, it began pacing around the courtyard wall, its crimson gaze sweeping inch by inch across the stone wall, wooden gate, and that incomprehensible empty space like a searchlight. From time to time, it tentatively slashed with its claws, sending fierce claw winds through the air only to cut uselessly several feet from the wall. At other times, it opened its bloody maw and spat out dark spheres of light carrying a corrosive, fetid aura. The spheres struck the barrier and vanished soundlessly, like mud sinking into the sea.
Its attacks came in countless forms, yet without exception, every one of them was easily neutralized by that thin barrier that seemed to separate the world. The barrier did not move at all. Not even a speck of moss fell from the courtyard wall.
Behind the door, Chen An watched with his heart pounding and his palms icy cold. Although he trusted the Safe Zone, witnessing such ferocious attacks being casually blocked still delivered an immense shock to both his eyes and his mind. He gripped the stone axe tightly. He knew it would be useless, but it gave him a faint sense of security.
The Green Wolf's agitation grew stronger and stronger. It could not understand what was happening. The delicious aroma was close at hand, yet remained impossible to reach. The frustration made it increasingly frantic. Its roars grew more shrill one after another, shaking the entire valley as though it were responding.
It began rubbing and ramming its massive body against the trees and rocks near the courtyard wall, sending dust and stones flying as it tried to find a weakness or entrance in the barrier. It even threw back its head and howled at the sky, its voice seemingly carrying a hint of summons as it hoped to attract companions.
However, the only response was the increasingly frenzied howling of other Demonic Beasts in the distance. None of its kind came. In this land of survival of the fittest, its failure and embarrassment might instead attract even more powerful predators.
After nearly half an hour of struggling, the Green Wolf was finally exhausted. It stopped its useless attacks and stood in place, panting heavily, its crimson eyes fixed on the courtyard. Its gaze was filled with unwillingness, confusion, and a trace of... barely perceptible wariness.
It finally realized that this seemingly ordinary Small Courtyard contained a power it could neither understand nor shake. Remaining here would serve no purpose beyond wasting its strength and exposing its weakness.
It let out a low growl filled with resentment and warning, then took one last deep look at the Small Courtyard, as though it wanted to carve this strange place into its memory. Then it turned around and disappeared into the thick night with somewhat unsteady steps.
Outside the courtyard, the Primordial Wilderness returned to its former "normal" clamor, as though that breathtaking battle of offense and defense had never happened.
Leaning against the door, Chen An slowly slid to the ground and let out a long, trembling breath. Cold sweat had soaked through his undershirt. Though danger had passed without incident, the pressure of being fixed in the sights of an apex predator still left him shaken.
He walked into the courtyard and looked in the direction the Green Wolf had disappeared. The night was deep, like the mouth of a giant beast. Once again, he realized just how dangerous the world beyond the courtyard wall was. In the future, he would have to handle the aroma of roasted meat far more cautiously.
At the same time, the absolute reliability of the Safe Zone had been confirmed beyond doubt through this practical test. This gave him a weighty confidence in his ability to survive in the future.
He simply did not know where the defeated Green Wolf would take the news of this "strange Small Courtyard." Perhaps a tiny ripple had already begun spreading silently through the undercurrents of the Primordial Wilderness.
(Chapter Seventeen Complete)
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