The wild instincts of the magical beasts caught the scent of death on the blood-soaked boy.
He wasn't prey. He was a predator more terrifying than they were!
In just a few dozen breaths, more than twenty Demon wolf corpses already lay on the ground.
The remaining Demon wolves had grown noticeably hesitant. They circled at the perimeter, no longer daring to approach lightly.
Leaning on his broken dagger, Long Xuanye's chest heaved as he gasped for breath.
The loss of blood was making his vision go dark in waves.
Yet a trace of a smile crossed his face.
He charged toward the pack!
The wolves stirred and retreated step by step!
Schk!
With his left arm, Long Xuanye drove the broken dagger into the throat of the last Demon wolf to leap at him.
Warm Wolf blood splattered across his face.
He didn't wipe it away. He just grinned, baring teeth stained red with blood, and laughed.
His laughter was hoarse and unhinged, like a demon crawling out of hell and shrieking.
There was hardly a patch of unbroken skin on his body. He looked like a tattered sack soaked in blood, barely staying upright by leaning on the half of his weapon still in his hand.
But his eyes shone with a frightening brilliance.
The dozen or so surviving Demon wolves faltered.
For the first time, their ghostly green eyes showed an emotion called fear.
The human boy before them wasn't prey.
He was a monster! A madman!
They hunted to fill their bellies, to survive.
But this boy relished battle, relished the bloodshed of trading his life for another's!
"Awooo..."
The Alpha Wolf let out a low, mournful whine, tucked its tail between its legs, and was the first to retreat.
With their leader setting the example, the remaining Demon wolves fled as if reprieved. They turned and dragged their wounded companions into the depths of the forest, not daring to look back.
The pack had withdrawn.
Long Xuanye's taut nerves finally relaxed, and pain swept through his body like a tide.
[Host is on the verge of their limits and has completed the choice. Claim the reward and awaken now?
A line of pale golden text appeared in his mind.
[Warning: Host is in extremely poor condition. Forcing an awakening may damage your foundation. It is recommended that you wait for a suitable opportunity.]
Long Xuanye's awareness passed over the warning. He chose "No" without the slightest hesitation.
And so, the Innate Inner Spiritual Power that represented his talent remained at "99."
He slowly turned and looked toward the figure curled up beneath a tree not far away.
Saint Cai'er was using all her strength to drag her frail body toward him, inch by inch.
Her knees and palms had been rubbed raw by the rough ground, but she didn't notice.
Her gray eyes were fixed on him. Tears streamed down like beads from a snapped string, cutting two clear tracks through the dust on her little face.
At last, she reached him.
Her little hand trembled as she raised it, wanting to touch his bloodstained cheek, yet afraid of hurting him.
Long Xuanye looked at her. His body had reached the absolute limit of its weakness, and the world before his eyes was spinning.
But a thought surfaced in his mind.
I worked so hard to fight like this. If I just say, "I can't go on," when I'm finally done, won't that be stupid? Where's the impact in that?
He forced down the metallic taste rising in his throat and managed a gentle smile.
He reached out with the hand that was still more or less intact and gently stroked the top of Saint Cai'er's head.
"It's all right now."
"I'm here."
Those six short words struck Saint Cai'er's heart.
Her whole body went rigid.
She wanted to cry, but her tear ducts had long since run dry. She could only open her little mouth and make two hoarse, breathless sounds. Not a single tear came.
She desperately clawed at her throat, trying to say something, anything—even a single word.
But the curse of muteness was like an invisible shackle, choking off her voice.
Before awakening her Inner Spiritual Power, her life had been happy and complete. She had been the cherished jewel in everyone's palm.
After awakening, she lost everything. Abandoned and exiled, she was left in a world that had turned gray.
But today.
Through the mottled shadows of the trees, she saw a boy.
A boy covered in blood, just as wretched as she was.
Yet he smiled and gave her a hug.
He had pierced her darkened world.
Long Xuanye could no longer hold on. His vision went black, and he fell backward, stiff as a board.
Saint Cai'er instinctively threw herself beneath him, using her frail body as a cushion.
She clutched the unconscious boy in her arms, using the very last of her strength.
Her little face was filthy, and her skirt was in tatters. Yet the boy's face was reflected in her gray eyes, lending her a kind of shattered beauty.
All she could do was hold him and weep soundlessly.
Just then.
A faint sigh sounded through the forest.
The White-robed figure silently appeared beside them, like a ghost.
The White-robed figure lowered his gaze to the boy lying in a pool of blood, his expression complicated.
At his feet lay the corpses of dozens of Demon wolves, every fatal wound terrifyingly precise.
This wasn't a battle. It was a slaughter in which each side had fought to the death.
The boy's combat skills, his fearsome disregard for death, and his unwavering mind, which had kept him fighting even on the brink of death...
In hundreds of years of life, the White-robed figure had never seen such a terrifying prospect.
The boy hadn't even awakened his Inner Spiritual Power yet.
As long as his talent wasn't too poor, he would surely become the sharpest sword in humanity's campaign to strike back against the demons!
While his thoughts churned, a pure, boundless aura erupted without warning beside him.
He whipped around.
A faint silver radiance shone from Saint Cai'er, and a sacred, imposing aura soared into the sky.
Holding Long Xuanye in her arms, with tears and gratitude intertwined, she had unconsciously formed a deeper resonance with the legendary Reincarnation Sacred Sword.
"This... This is..."
The White-robed figure's breath caught, and a jubilant light burst into his eyes.
"Saintess Your Highness! You..."
He stepped forward excitedly and bowed. "Your Highness, please set the boy down first. You bear a great responsibility. I must treat you before anything else."
At his words, Saint Cai'er's frail body shuddered, and she clutched Long Xuanye even tighter.
She raised her head. Something in her gray eyes was breaking, while something else was gathering strength.
A layer of hazy gray mist silently covered her eyes. The world before her was rapidly losing its color and light.
She opened her mouth. A painful rasp came from her throat, as if sandpaper were grinding against her vocal cords.
But she still summoned all her strength and forced three words through the throat bound by the curse.
"Don't... touch... him."
The White-robed figure froze.
Then the light in Saint Cai'er's eyes turned completely to lifeless gray. She stared at the White-robed figure and spoke each word slowly.
"Don't touch him!"
Before you continue