Lady Anya directed a cohort of porters, making preparations to depart from the main city and return to Dudd to reunite with her daughter.

  She recalled that a week prior, a man named Glen had sought her out, apprised her of her daughter's circumstances, and declared his intention to eliminate all those within the Punk family who had perpetrated evil deeds.

  Lady Anya found this man strikingly familiar, yet she could not fathom where she had encountered him.

  Nonetheless, she had a profound intuition that he was not given to idle boasting.

  Sure enough, subsequent to their encounter outside the police station, the Punk Count had fallen silent.

  Only yesterday, someone at last detected an anomaly within Punk Manor. It was not until the constables conducted an investigation that a shocking revelation came to light.

  All of the Punk Count's kin, along with a multitude of servants, had met their demise within the manor, their deaths more gruesome than the last.

  The very next day after this staggering news broke, which was the day Lady Anya intended to depart, it promptly claimed the top spot on the newspaper headlines.

  Since the ascension of the fourth king of the Zeon Kingdom up to the present seventh king, there had never been an instance where a noble of viscount rank or above had been so inexplicably eradicated.

  Upon learning of this, the king was incandescent with rage, proclaiming that regardless of the perpetrator, be it an individual or a faction, it constituted a blatant provocation to the Zeon Kingdom. He issued an order to apprehend the culprit forthwith.

  However, even with the intervention of the so - called omnipotent White - Robed Ones, the culprit remained at large. All they could determine was that the murderer was a werewolf.

  Yet, this was far from the outcome the king desired.

  The question of how the murderer had managed to elude the pursuit of so many high - level mages became a topic of intense discussion among the mages in the various magic spires.

  Lady Anya paid little heed to these matters; her sole concern was her daughter.

  "Lady Anya, are you also returning today? We happen to be traveling the same way."

  Glen's voice drew Lady Anya's attention.

  She turned around to behold the man who had slain the Punk family, nonchalantly astride a peculiarly - shaped great deer, positioned outside Lord Rauborn's manor.

  "You... How dare you show your face here? Are you not aware that everyone is searching for you?!"

  Lady Anya was truly confounded by his actions.

  "I am aware, of course. However, I have been engaged in numerous endeavors these past days, sufficient to ensure my evasion. They shall not be able to locate me."

  Glen responded vaguely, for delving into the details would have been beyond her comprehension.

  Although the mages' tracking and divination techniques seemed insurmountable, they were not without their limitations. With a modicum of ingenuity, one could still effect an escape.

  In the course of these days, Glen had made his initial attempt to infect other organisms with his werewolf venom. While several attempts met with success, the resultant beings were merely mindless automatons, destined to become inoperative in due course.

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  Nevertheless, they sufficed as tools to confound the pursuit.

  In addition to this, Glen had implemented other extraordinary measures, successfully leaving the self - assured mages dumbfounded.

  "You..." Lady Anya opened her mouth but struggled to find the appropriate words, ultimately uttering, "I am solely concerned about my daughter."

  "That is commendable." Glen nodded.

  He had long harbored the intention of safeguarding this noble lady on her return journey, thus achieving two objectives simultaneously.

  Should she encounter brigands or the like on the road and perish unexpectedly, it would be a tragic outcome.

  Thankfully, no such misfortune befell her.

  The return journey was uneventful.

  In truth, Pernas was not in Dudd Town. Glen had informed Lady Anya otherwise to assuage her concerns, intimating that Pernas was at a safe distance from the influence of the Punk family.

  Consequently, Lady Anya was overjoyed to encounter her daughter en route.

  The mother and daughter embraced, their tears flowing freely.

  ...

  "Miss Elf, are these all your clansfolk?"

  "Yes, they are."

  "Why have they all flocked to my farm? How are my employees to go about their work?!"

  "I apologize! They will not be idle guests; they will lend a hand with the labor."

  "Very well. I shall reluctantly accommodate you. You shall be responsible for your own sustenance and accommodation."

  Glen regarded the dozen or so forest elves in the farm with a satisfied smile.

  He turned his gaze to Gotaya. The elven maiden had undergone a remarkable transformation, having shed her former petulance and become more reserved.

  Glen's eyes fell upon the unconscious female elf in a white robe, surrounded by the forest elves, and he surmised the reason.

  "Is that your mother?" he inquired.

  Gotaya nodded. "My mother is in this state because of me..."

  Glen was silent for a moment before asking, "So, why bring your mother here? Is this some sort of healing sanctuary?"

  Gotaya saw no reason to conceal the truth and thus recounted the events that had transpired in the tribe.

  Upon hearing her account, Glen was filled with bewilderment. Everything seemed so extraordinary.

  Could the forest truly possess consciousness? Ought I to exercise greater caution when felling trees henceforth? Come to think of it, why would the forest consciousness of Bayek venture so far to rescue another forest? Moreover, the extensive withering of the forest there was highly suspicious. Logically speaking, this was most likely the doing of that High Priest. Well... ultimately, it could be traced back to the elven maiden. I had advised her to return, yet she did not heed my counsel...

  With a myriad of thoughts swirling in his mind, Glen had roughly pieced together the sequence of events.

  "Human! You are the one who detained Gotaya here and prevented her from returning!"

  Gubo approached, addressing Glen in a tone of great indignation.

  Glen turned to the elven maiden. "So, your name is Gotaya."

  The elven maiden clenched her fists slightly. After all this time in each other's company, he had not even troubled to inquire about her name.

  However, she could only blame herself. With her haughty demeanor, it was no wonder Glen had paid her little heed.

  Seeing himself thus ignored, Gubo's face flushed with anger. Elves were inherently proud, and Glen's nonchalant attitude seemed to have struck a nerve.

  He shouted, "I asked you just now! Did you prevent Gotaya from returning?!"

  The elven maiden was on the verge of explaining to Gubo when she heard Glen address Gubo in a tone of icy coldness she had never heard before:

  "Utter one more word, and I shall sever your head."

  Gubo's legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

  He had never been daunted by the fiercest of beasts in the forest, yet now, he was consumed by a bone - chilling terror.

  "How old is he?" Glen asked Gotaya.

  "Approximately three hundred and three years old?" the elven maiden replied in a hushed tone.

  "Having lived for so long, yet his disposition remains akin to that of a fifteen - or sixteen - year - old human youth, impetuous and lacking in forethought. What a waste of such a lengthy lifespan..."

  Glen stepped around the immature male forest elf on the ground, whose complexion was alternating between red and green, and made his way towards the High Priest in the white robe.

  By this time, the available employees, including Ravel, had gathered to watch.

  The reason was simple; the female forest elves in this group were each more beautiful than the last, and the High Priest, in her current state resembling a sleeping beauty, was particularly captivating.

  "Make way, make way. Let me see what the situation is."

  Glen pushed his way through the crowd.

  Only upon drawing closer did he notice that a strange disc - shaped plant had sprouted in the area where the crowd had gathered, and the High Priest lay upon it.