Jiaoqiu sucked in a cold breath, his hands stiff and icy, his teeth chattering faintly beyond his control.
This was the war leader of the Borisin wolf-pack tribes from seven hundred years ago—Hoolay!
Hoolay turned his massive head, his blood-red gaze sweeping over the kin around him dressed as Cloud Knights before finally landing on Mudu, who was commanding them up ahead.
He bared his teeth, revealing crisscrossed fangs, and asked in a hoarse voice born of long imprisonment, his disgust undisguised:
"Who... are you?"
Mudu hurried forward a step, bowed his head deeply, and said with respect and urgency in his voice, "Great Wolf Lord, I am the counselor Mudu! After years in hiding, I have come here today to break the seal and welcome your return to freedom!"
Hoolay's nostrils flared as he sniffed the scent on Mudu's body, and the revulsion in his eyes grew even stronger. "Dulan's whelp... Why are you wearing the stinking hide of a foxian?"
Mudu shuddered and quickly explained, "Wolf Lord, please see clearly! The Xianzhou Luofu is heavily guarded, especially this Prison of Deep Seclusion. Those without Xianzhou blood and specific official posts can hardly approach its core. To reach this place smoothly, we had no choice... no choice but to temporarily wear the hides of these 'wretched beasts' as disguises. It was truly unavoidable. I beg your forgiveness, Wolf Lord!"
Hoolay let out a muffled cold snort from deep in his throat, making the air hum and tremble.
He paid Mudu no further attention. His gaze was like an icy razor as it scraped over Xueyi and Jiaoqiu, who had been cornered, then swept across the Ten-Lords Commission judges on the ground.
"Seven hundred years of imprisonment... and this is the trash you sent to 'guard' me?" Hoolay's voice suppressed