The Wolfswood.
Beneath a Sentinel Tree with gray-green needles, Garon drew his bow and arrow, keeping the arrowhead trained on a mottled fawn grazing ahead.
"Thwack!"
The bowstring quivered, and the arrow flew.
The fawn raised its head in alarm, but it was too late—
The sharp arrow pierced its neck with unerring accuracy.
The mottled fawn staggered a few steps through the dappled shadows, then collapsed helplessly to the ground.
"Good shot!"
Jon immediately cheered from beside him. Garon smiled and shook his head. "It's just a little deer. Nothing special."
"But..."
Garon lowered his bow and glanced around. Frustrated, he said, "The Wolfswood is usually full of animals, but we've been wandering around for ages. How have we only found one fawn?"
"Could the king and Prince Joffrey have hunted them all?" Jon wondered. "Garon, should we go farther in?"
Garon peered into the depths of the Wolfswood. Shadows filled the woods, concealing countless dangers.
The Glovers had lived in the Wolfswood for generations, so Garon knew well how treacherous this forest, which had stood for thousands of years, could be.
If they ventured any farther, they were certain to run into some large animal like the Direbear.
He shook his head slightly. "There's still plenty of time. Let's look around nearby."
"The Wolfswood is huge. I refuse to believe our luck will stay bad forever!"
Garon turned to Roger. "Bring the fawn along. Let's go!"
Roger nodded and told his men to carry away the fawn in the distance.
Jon had no objections, and the group continued hunting.
But unexpectedly, after another half hour of searching, they still hadn't found a thing.
It was as if some enormous beast had claimed this area as its territory.
Just as Garon was about to return to camp and take a look, a piercing scream shattered the forest's silence.
"What was that?"
Jon froze.
Roger had already crouched down and pressed his palm to the ground. The tremor beneath it made his pupils contract.
"Lord Garon, a large beast is charging through the forest!" He abruptly looked up and pointed into the depths of the Wolfswood. "The noise came from the north!"
"Could the king and Lord Ned have startled something up ahead?"
One of the Deepwood Motte soldiers nearby couldn't help but whisper his guess.
Garon and Jon exchanged a glance, their faces darkening at the same time.
"Let's go! We need to see what's happening!"
Garon ordered grimly. If the king and Ned died in the Wolfswood, they would have a serious mess on their hands.
The group didn't dare delay.
Led by Roger, they hurried through the shadows between the trees.
Soon, Garon spotted three fleeing knights of House Lannister and a blond boy—Joffrey!
"Prince Joffrey!"
Jon cried out softly and instinctively started to call them over, but the beast charging through the forest mist made his blood run cold.
A nightmare of a Giant Bear charged forward, smashing through trees. With one swipe of its paw, it sent a Lannister knight who had fallen behind flying aside.
"Thud!"
The knight's chest caved in, and he died instantly.
The two remaining knights, grieving for their fallen companion and knowing they couldn't outrun the Giant Bear, shouted, "Prince Joffrey, run! We'll stay behind and hold it off!"
Terrified, Joffrey didn't look back. He ran for his life.
But the two screams behind him made his whole body tremble.
His running feet suddenly twisted out of control, and he fell flat on the ground.
"Ah—!"
Joffrey screamed in terror and scrambled forward on all fours.
Meanwhile, Jon was growing frantic in the distance.
"Garon, what do we do now?"
"If Joffrey dies here, Lord Ned won't be able to answer to the king!"
Garon's gaze turned distant. For a moment, he was tempted to stand by and do nothing, but reason told him he couldn't abandon Joffrey.
His thoughts raced, and in the blink of an eye, he made a decision.
"Jon, Master Roger, find people nearby and bring them here to help!"
"I'll lead the Giant Bear away!"
"What?" Roger exclaimed in shock. "Lord Garon, that's a Giant Bear!"
Garon took out his bow and reassured them. "Don't worry. I know the terrain, and I'm fast."
"That bear won't catch me anytime soon. Just hurry and get help!"
Garon acted at once. Jon and Roger gathered men and split up, searching for the other hunting parties.
By now, Joffrey was too weak to crawl, and the Giant Bear had caught up to him.
But the bear didn't kill him right away. Instead, it approached at a leisurely pace, as if toying with its prey.
It stood nearly a yard at the shoulder, its brown-black fur caked with blood and mud. Its amber eyes fixed on Joffrey, and its enormous paw was about to come down.
In the blink of an eye!
Garon steadied his breathing and drew his bow.
In an instant!
The bowstring quivered, and the arrow struck the Giant Bear in its right eye.
"Roar—!"
The wounded bear pawed at its eye and knocked the arrow aside, its blood immediately obscuring the right eye.
It swung around, its savage left eye fixed on Garon.
"Roar!"
The Giant Bear let out a furious bellow, dropped to all fours, and abandoned Joffrey to charge at Garon!
The ground shook. Dead branches shattered.
Garon quickly retreated and fired arrow after arrow, but the Giant Bear's thick fur deflected them all.
Seeing that his bow was useless and the bear was already close, he simply threw it aside and drew the greatsword at his waist, waiting for the bear to charge.
A foul wind rushed over him as the enraged Giant Bear lunged to tear him apart!
At the last possible moment, he dove sideways and rolled.
"Boom!"
The earth shook. The force of the Giant Bear's charge sent him tumbling to the ground, covering him in mud and leaves.
Before Garon could get up, the frenzied bear wheeled around, jaws gaping, and lunged at him again!
Garon could only roll away again, barely managing to dodge. He swung his greatsword experimentally at the thick hide and fat, but only left a few shallow marks.
He drew no blood. If anything, the attack only made the Giant Bear more ferocious.
He dodged a moment too late. The bear's paw grazed his left arm, tearing through his armor and leaving a deep claw mark in his flesh.
This won't work. I need to find a way to restrict its movement!
After dodging again, Garon slammed into an ancient oak and scanned his surroundings.
Suddenly.
When the Giant Bear had charged just now, it had toppled a nearby rotten, hollow Sentinel Tree with a crash. The fallen tree and another living one formed a narrow V-shaped gap, just wide enough for the bear to squeeze through.
"That's the spot!"
The Giant Bear roared and lunged at him again.
A look of determination flashed in Garon's eyes. He dropped into a slide, passing beneath the bear's belly and coming up behind it.
Then he quickly got to his feet and sprinted for the natural trap formed by the fallen tree.
Seeing its "prey" flee, the Giant Bear followed with a roar, charging into the V-shaped gap.
The rotten wood groaned, and splinters flew.
The Giant Bear squeezed its front half through the gap, but its waist was firmly wedged in the narrow space. Its movements instantly became sluggish and clumsy!
Seizing the opportunity, Garon gripped his greatsword with both hands and aimed the tip beneath the side of its neck, exposed as it roared—the vital spot between shoulder and neck, where the heart met the head!
"Schlk!"
The sharp blade pierced fur and flesh, burying itself to the hilt!
Garon leaned down with all his weight, heedless of the scalding, intensely metallic-smelling bear blood gushing over him and soaking him through.
The Giant Bear's roar became a ragged wheeze, its voice replaced by pain and emptiness.
Its massive body convulsed violently. Trapped in the gap and pierced through the heart, it rapidly lost its strength.
Garon held the sword against the fallen tree, enduring its final struggles.
At last, the bear's head drooped, and its body slumped in the gap as blood gushed out, staining the dead leaves red.
The forest held only Garon's wheezing breaths and the distant sobs of Joffrey, who had narrowly escaped death.
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