White Gorge IV

Freya bit her lip as she watched the wolves gather in the canyon, then suddenly scatter to reveal what lay at the center. It was several wolf corpses piled atop one another, with signs of a fierce battle scattered across the surrounding snow. This had been arranged beforehand to ensure that Marquis Yuxi would enter their optimal range.

After discovering the corpses, Yuxi indeed slowly walked over. Four giant wolves, each as large as a heavy warhorse, surrounded him. They were the Ghosts of winter lands that often appeared in folk tales—the offspring of Echisis, the Pale Children, creatures far more terrifying than winter wolves in this forest.

"Are you confident?" Blund asked after seeing Yuxi crouch beside the corpses and begin examining them. He let out a sigh of relief and turned his head.

"We can give it a try," Rolo replied.

After that brief exchange, the swordbreak knights made their final adjustments. They took a deep breath and held it, keeping their bow hands steady as they slowly drew their bows to full tension. The bows creaked. Most bows suitable for Gold Rank strength were Magic Bows. Only composite bows treated with laws such as Reinforcement and Toughening could withstand a hundred times the strength of an ordinary person. Even so, every draw still wore down the bow's service life—and that wear was irreversible. In Eluin, Magic Bows on the market could cost as much as seventeen thousand torls apiece. Even those crafted by masters in royal workshops usually lasted no more than a hundred shots. Each draw was practically the same as throwing away an equal weight of gold coins.

The canyon was still windless, and Yuxi remained completely unaware. Yet some innate sensitivity to danger made him raise his head. That tiny movement seemed to tug