Chapter 76

“A prominent beast scholar from the Empire once wrote something like this.”

“A garden is, in itself, a nation. It has territory, its people, and lords governing each region.”

“The reason I don’t call them ‘kings’ but rather ‘lords’ is simple. A king does not serve a king.”

“Other scholars deny my view. They say a garden is a battlefield where powerful creatures check and compete against each other, not a singular nation. The leaders of the packs reign exclusively over their territories, and no higher authority exists to govern them.”

“I know the people of the garden. I have confirmed the lords of the garden. I saw it all with my own two eyes. The only thing I haven’t witnessed and can only speculate about is the existence of a lord.”

“By the time this book circulates, I will likely be embarking on a new journey into the garden. Upon my return, I will reveal the true rulers of the garden.”

Unfortunately, the beast scholar never proved his theory.

The military, having seen the scholar roam the border with dozens, or even a hundred followers, reported to higher-ups, “If he keeps this up, he might provoke the Magical Kingdom. Someone should rein him in.”

The upper echelons of the Empire accepted the request and politely advised the scholar to desist. When he ignored their warnings, they cut his funding completely.

If he had given up then, the scholar might have lived a relatively comfortable life. However, his passion never waned.

He, along with a few apprentices, stubbornly pressed on with the garden expedition and became a meal for a young wolf.

Fast forward about 20 years.

The wolf that devoured the scholar lounged atop a large rock, basking in the sun.

Around the wolf lay the recently deceased corpses of its prey, carelessly strewn about, but not a single other beast dared to covet them.

This was because the wolf was the master of this area.

If it were an ordinary wolf, it would have aged and died by now, but this wolf showed no signs of weakness.

Instead of growing frail, it was two or three times larger than its kin, its muscles taut and its fur shimmering with vitality.

A plant-like vine protruded from around its neck, resembling prominently bulging veins, but the wolf felt no discomfort about it.

This plant was, after all, a sign of ‘something’ that bestowed strength upon it.

The wolf first became aware of ‘something’ the day after it devoured the scholar.

That day, it felt unusually invigorated, capable of running for longer without tiring easily.

A few days later, after hunting another intruder that wandered into the forest, the vitality coursing through its body grew stronger.

Initially, the wolf thought it was merely due to a high-quality meal, but as it accumulated experiences, it began to understand ‘something’.

‘Something’ was the true master of the forest. Perhaps it was the very will of the forest itself.

When the wolf fought against intruders, ‘something’ granted it power.

It grew stronger, larger, and distanced itself from injuries and weakness.

Even the magical powers that were once unfathomable to it became within its grasp.

The wolf revered ‘something’.

It knew that it wasn’t the only one favored by ‘something’, but it felt no resentment.

It merely hoped to face more intruders, thus receiving more grace.

Perhaps that’s why, when a subordinate alerted it to an intruder’s invasion while it was peacefully resting, the wolf felt joy instead of annoyance.

It was just another opportunity to vanquish an intruder and feast upon its blood and flesh.

-Awooo!

With a magnificent howl, the wolf leapt towards the frontline, where its pack was engaged in battle.

Arriving at the frontlines with a movement as swift as the wind, the wolf soon felt a puzzlement.

It had rushed over after hearing news of an invasion, yet it was its subordinates fighting against other animals in the forest.

True, those could be considered intruders, but they weren’t the prey the wolf had anticipated.

Seeing several cheetahs with yellow fur prowling around, the wolf emitted a low growl.

If it were to express the feeling it had in human language, it could be summed up as, ‘Can’t that juvenile manage its underlings properly? Tsk tsk, how pathetic.’

The leader of the nearby cheetah pack, much like the wolf, was also a creature blessed by the forest.

‘Something’ didn’t want blessed beings to fight each other, so it kept a cordial distance until now, but the other side had overstepped.

Some of the仲間 이미倒して드러난 것처럼 땅에 쓰러져 있었기에, 늑대로서도 못 본 척 해줄래야 해줄 수 없는 상황이었습니다.

If scholars were to witness the scene, they would surely be astonished at such humane reasoning.

Grrrr.

As the leader wolf prepared to pounce on the fools encroaching upon its territory, an ominous feeling washed over it.

In an instant, a wicked energy spread like ripples, engulfing the forest.

As soon as dark magic made contact, the movements of the cheetah group engaged with its subordinates suddenly intensified.

Moreover, the bodies of the fallen subordinates began to twitch, raising back up as if life had returned to them.

Gnawed necks, guts spilling from their bellies.

Despite their original incapacitating injuries, they bared their teeth against their foes.

That’s right.

They were aiming for none other than the wolf and its pack.

With the combined assault of the cheetah group and the resurrected wolves, the leader wolf and its subordinates were caught off guard.

Even amid the chaos, the leader wolf managed to crush the skull of a cheetah and snap the neck of what was once a subordinate, but the other wolves fell short.

A tragedy of brutal kin-slaying unfolded, and new corpses piled upon the ground once more.

In response, another wave of dark magic rippled out.

The leader wolf was dumbfounded.

No matter how much it had pounded the corpses, they just kept rising, absorbing the magic from the dark ripples.

How many times did this happen?

In a place so drenched in blood and gore that its original form was nearly unrecognizable, the leader wolf let out a frustrated roar.

Not a single one of its surviving subordinates remained. No, it couldn’t even distinguish which ones were its subordinates and which were the intruders anymore.

Even after cutting off their breath, they arose time and again—its only option left was to dismantle them piece by piece.

No, to be precise, there were some survivors.

The leader wolf scanned the area with its yellow eyes.

Some of its kin, who had opted to hide away from the fight, were watching the leader wolf closely.

This strange ‘intruder’ seemed to avoid those who wouldn’t put up a fight, and the wolves that realized this stood by, watching the leader battle.

In fact, this was an understandable situation and a rather wise decision.

Unless they were blessed beings like the leader wolf with special powers from the forest, wild animals had no reason to take on such an unknown entity nor did they have the strength to do so.

Fighting would lead to futile deaths, only increasing the number of enemies, so their judgment to stay out was sound.

However, the leader wolf had no intention of understanding this.

Crack!

One surviving wolf got swatted by the leader’s paw, tumbling to the ground.

The claws enhanced by magic easily ripped through their skin like paper, spilling their insides.

Crunch, crunch.

The leader wolf feasted on the corpses it had mutilated more than necessary.

With the touch of dark magic on the corpses, it felt a foreboding sense that prevented it from putting them to its mouth, so this was a substitute.

Having filled its belly and looked around, it found that all its surviving subordinates had fled.

The leader wolf didn’t care.

It was strong and could always rebuild its pack.

And to do that, it needed to resolve the crisis that had befallen the forest.

The leader wolf set off on a sprint through the forest.

Its target was the source of the black energy that had been spreading out at regular intervals.

The force that animated the dead, granting no respite.

Something repulsive and filthy was unmistakably lurking there.

The state of the forest was pitiful.

Blood splattered everywhere, and dead animals roamed in packs throughout the forest.

Only a few special creatures, like the leader wolf blessed with power, remained.

It seemed there were a good number of cowardly beings who had given up fighting, but they were no help in this situation.

As it moved forward, the leader wolf suddenly crouched down and concealed its presence.

Finally, the source of the wicked energy came into view.

A twisted, bizarre tree was periodically thumping down against the ground as a black-clad human spoke.

“Long-range control is inconvenient like this. I have to keep supplying additional power.”

A golden-haired human replied, “You’ve been doing that for hours. Are you alright on magic?”

“Eh, about half, I guess?”

“Wow… You still have half left?”

A green-haired human chimed in, “But if we deliver magic to Lord Tin in this way, won’t that solve the supply problem?”