That's right—it was our old friends, the Wolf Demons.

  And the moment Caius saw the pack of them, he immediately knew: there was a Slaughter Wolf Demon nearby.

  That severely injured mercenary must have taken on a scouting mission, ventured deep into the forest, and ended up crossing paths with a Wolf Demon hunting squad.

  He definitely hadn’t come alone, but now, it looked like he was the only one still breathing.

  He probably had some means of survival—or maybe the Wolf Demons were toying with their prey and hadn't killed him outright. That delay was the only reason he was able to escape this far.

  The Wolf Demons chasing him now were clearly out for the kill.

  Which meant Caius had to keep him alive. Only by hearing from him exactly where he’d encountered the Wolf Demons could Caius narrow down the location of the Bloody Lands.

  With that thought, Caius gestured for the little Catgirl to back away. Gripping his warhammer tightly, he stepped forward.

  He had to finish this fight quickly.

  Wolf Demons showing up here meant they could be anywhere—and Little Swan still hadn't returned. If she ran into them too, things could turn bad fast. He had to find her.

  “Alright, you mutts! I’m on a schedule—come get me, all at once!” Caius walked up to the wounded mercenary, tossed him a bottle of intermediate healing potion—no need for the guy to bleed out and croak—then turned toward the oncoming threat.

  Four Wolf Demons.

  No Slaughter Wolf Demon in sight yet. These must’ve broken off from the pack during the chase.

  A single Gold-ranked mercenary wouldn’t require the Slaughter Wolf Demon to get involved.

  Good. Four Gold-tier Wolf Demons—this wouldn’t take long.

  Sensing Caius’s provocation, the four Wolf Demons lunged without hesitation, completely ignoring the one their companion who’d been sent flying by his hammer just moments ago.

  Truly vile creatures.

  Caius’s expression twisted coldly—he didn’t hold back. With one mighty swing of his warhammer, he crushed the skull of the first Wolf Demon to leap at him.

  The remaining three immediately scattered, unwilling to clash head-on. They encircled Caius, looking to flank him and launch a sneak attack from behind.

  But how could they hope to match Caius in speed?

  Moments later, the ground quaked as he brought down the hammer, killing the last of them.

  “Hey! Still breathing?” Caius looked toward the injured mercenary.

  The man had downed the intermediate healing potion and was looking slightly better, though his broken leg remained motionless.

  Healing potions could mend muscle and internal injuries, but damage to tendons and bones was another matter—it would take time.

  “Th-thanks…” the mercenary said weakly, pale as a ghost. He leaned against a tree, wrapping a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding. The will to survive was still there, burning.

  Caius stepped in front of him and asked, “Where did you run into the Wolf Demons?”

  The man’s eyes widened in fear. “Our whole squad’s gone… I’m the only one who made it out. They’re monsters… they’re like devils, they—”

  Smack!

  A sharp crack echoed as the mercenary’s head jerked to the side. Stunned, he held his cheek and stared at Caius in a daze.

  Caius had slapped him.

  “You with me now?” he asked.

  The mercenary nodded, trembling.

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  “Then spit it out. Where the hell did you run into the Wolf Demons? Did you see the Bloody Lands or not? I don’t have time for your sob story,” Caius growled.

  Shrinking back, the man hurriedly answered, “In… in the Great Rift region! We didn’t find the Bloody Lands, but there were Bloodfish nearby!”

  Caius nodded. Bloodfish were low-tier Bloody Creatures; they couldn’t stray far from the Bloody Lands. So odds were, the Bloody Lands were somewhere near the Great Rift.

  That was enough.

  Without another word, Caius turned and started heading in the direction Hilda had gone.

  The mercenary blinked, then panicked. “Wait, don’t leave me! I’ll pay you! Just get me out of here!”

  “I’ll give you everything! My gear, my gold, just please—don’t leave me here!”

  Caius just waved him off. “Not interested.”

  And with that, he walked away without a glance back.

  The mercenary pleaded behind him, but all he saw was Caius vanishing into the night. His begging turned into a stream of curses—at Caius, at the Wolf Demons, at himself.

  He should never have come here.

  Once Caius was gone, the forest grew silent again.

  The mercenary stared into the surrounding darkness, heart pounding. At any moment, it felt like a Wolf Demon might lunge out and tear him to pieces.

  Fear clung to him like a shroud, pushing his survival instincts into overdrive. Gritting his teeth, he dragged himself up, inch by inch, dragging his broken leg toward the edge of the forest.

  Elsewhere, Caius and Kiki were racing through the woods.

  The night was deep and murky. Tracking Hilda by her trail under these conditions was nearly impossible.

  Fortunately, Little Swan had actually listened to him—she’d left marks on the trees. They were faint, but distinct enough for Caius to follow.

  Before long, Caius realized he was looping wide around Mirror Lake. It seemed Little Swan had been scouting in circles, conducting a sweep.

  But then he reached a river valley—and spotted several Wolf Demon corpses.

  His heart sank.

  He approached one of the bodies and examined the wounds.

  Those sword cuts... they were from Little Swan.

  Caius swore under his breath.

  Why didn’t that girl return the moment she ran into danger?

  Then again, he could guess—she was probably engaged in pursuit or caught in a fight that led her astray. Maybe she’d gotten lost.

  Thankfully, although she hadn’t left more deliberate signs, the aftermath of battle was more than enough to follow. Caius pressed forward, quickening his pace.

  “Little Swan… you better not get yourself killed…” he muttered, speeding up.

  …

  “Die!”

  A fierce cry rang out—and the head of a Slaughter Wolf Demon flew into the air.

  Hilda landed hard, stumbling as she gasped for breath.

  Twelve Wolf Demons. One Slaughter Wolf Demon. All slain!

  She’d done it.

  She’d really gotten stronger.

  Even though she looked a mess, a triumphant smile spread across her face.

  But it didn’t last.

  She steadied herself and looked around.

  She was completely lost. The night was dark and heavy, with no distinct landmarks in sight. Even if she had a map, it would be useless—she had no idea where she was.

  As expected, she was lost again.

  A bit dejected, she muttered, “Big dummy must be freaking out…”

  Then she slapped her cheeks lightly, as if to pep herself up, murmuring to herself, “Come on, pull yourself together. Stay calm. Find a way to reunite with that big dummy!”

  Her magic power was nearly depleted. Fortunately, unlike last time, she had brought more potions.

  She downed a bottle of magic potion and a stamina potion, giving herself a quick recovery, then began carefully navigating through the forest.

  She couldn’t stay near that spot—no way. The corpse of the Wolf Demon was bound to attract more bloody creatures.

  Still, she didn’t go far. Instead, she marked her path along the way, eventually finding a well-hidden large tree and nestling herself within the canopy.

  Little Swan was clever. She believed that Caius would definitely come looking for her. That meant she couldn’t run around blindly.

  Caius was strong. She trusted he could follow the signs and the traces of battle she’d left behind and find her. All she had to do was stay hidden and wait.

  Most importantly, she could still smell blood in the air—faint, but undeniable. It matched the description she’d read in the books.

  There was always a scent of blood near the Bloody Lands. The closer you got, the stronger it became.

  She knew she was terrible with directions. If she ran around aimlessly and accidentally wandered into the Bloody Lands, she’d be facing far more than just a dozen Wolf Demons.

  She’d be up against thousands of bloody creatures.

  So she had to stay calm. No panicking. No wandering.

  Waiting here for Caius was the best course of action.

  They were friends—he would find her.

  She believed it with all her heart.

  So she waited. And waited.

  She waited until the deepest hour of midnight… but Caius still hadn’t shown up.

  Could it be… that he wasn’t looking for her?

  No. No way. Something must’ve delayed him…

  Hilda couldn’t help biting her thumbnail as she thought.

  Bloody creatures were more active at night. That was probably why she’d run into them earlier—perhaps the Bloody Lands had expanded again, extending their territory. She just happened to stumble across some while scouting.

  If that was the case, Caius could’ve encountered them too.

  That’s it!

  Caius must’ve run into trouble on his way to find her. He was probably delayed by an attack from bloody creatures.

  He had to be on his way—but something happened!

  The thought immediately made Hilda anxious. She began to worry about Caius and Kiki.

  Caius was stronger than she was, sure. But worrying was only natural.

  She hesitated, unsure if she should go look for him.

  But she was hopeless with directions… What if Caius couldn’t find her and she got herself even more lost?

  At that moment, she truly hated how directionally challenged she was.

  Just then, a loud crash echoed from far away, followed by a faint but unmistakable roar.

  Hilda’s eyes lit up.

  She may be a hopeless navigator, but if she had a definite direction—she could follow that.

  Without another moment of hesitation, she bolted toward the source of the commotion.