[As you fall back, you quickly notice that the wolves are hesitant to approach, until one of them steps forward provocatively. It is nearly twice the size of the others.

Taking into account Master Brightflame’s words from earlier in the day, you make a guess that it emerged because it thought that the martial elder was challenging it.]

“A wolf king,” Master Brightflame muttered as though he was spitting poison.

Lem felt a shot of fear run through his body.

Was the martial elder afraid?

His simulated self turned and tried to see the expression on Master Brightflame’s face. Because he was standing behind the martial elder, he had a bad angle, but he still thought that Master Brightflame appeared calm.

Why did he utter his words with such displeasure?

Lem thought he understood.

It was likely that the martial elder had realized that intimidation tactics would no longer work. He had an obvious desire to avoid conflict, but it was no longer possible in this case.

Lem felt a rush of confidence.

It felt good to have such a strong combatant on his side. Even in front of a group of wolves, he held the upper hand.

Lem watched carefully. He was aware that conflicts involving the martial elder could begin and end in a split second.

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[“A wolf king,” the martial elder mutters, and you glance over.

You see that Master Brightflame’s face is still calm and feel relieved, thinking that the martial elder was still in control of the situation.]

The violence erupted in a heartbeat.

The wolf king charged forward in a blur. Even with his enhanced senses, Lem was barely able to keep track of it.

The world seemed frozen.

Bang!

Before Lem could process what had happened, the wolf king had fallen on the ground, with Master Brightflame appearing by its side.

A long gash was striking along the side of the wolf, spewing bright red blood onto the forest floor. The solid pink of organs and intestines slowly fell out of the inert corpse.

The surrounding wolves were silenced at once and they scattered even quicker than they had the first time. There was no yipping or howling. They all deserted the scene at top speed, disappearing into the forest.

Lem was stunned.

Once again, the martial elder had moved so quickly that he had not seen any of his actions, only the end result. It appeared that no matter how hard he focused, it would be impossible to make out any of the martial elder’s movements.

What was worse, he was sure that Master Brightflame had not even attacked with his most powerful move.

From his title of ‘Brightflame’ and the explosion he remembered from their first interaction, he was sure that the signature ability of the martial elder involved fire in some way.

Unfortunately, he had never seen it in action, so he could only speculate.

His thoughts began to wander.

If an expert of the Second Stage of Spirit Refinement was only this powerful, how much stronger were the top experts of the forest?

They had the ability to make Master Brightflame feel utterly powerless, as Lem did before the martial elder.

What did this amount to?

How powerful was the Bone Blood Goliath really?

Could he level an entire mountain with a casual gesture?

It was impossible to understand from Lem’s perspective.

No feat seemed too large, and no means too extraordinary.