The burly man's words left Bob speechless. He refrained from further speech and stood by, coldly observing as the two delicate young girls were led away by the two brawny men.

Despite the pleading look in his daughter's eyes as she gazed at him, and despite still regarding himself as her father in his heart.

"Bonnie, I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here..." Lila sobbed, whispering an apology to Bonnie in a low voice, seeing that her father was reluctant to come to their rescue.

She was now filled with profound remorse. Had she known such a thing would occur, she would never have invited her friend along...

Whether Bonnie heard her friend's apology or not, she remained unresponsive, merely trembling and crying instinctively.

"Grr..."

A low growl, reminiscent of a fierce dog, echoed, causing all five individuals present to freeze in their tracks simultaneously.

The two burly men instinctively turned their heads and beheld a sight that filled them with abject horror, causing them to loosen their hold on the girls, enabling the two to break free.

Deep within the hazy forest, the outline of an astonishingly large beast was starkly clear. Its single eye, emitting an eerie glow, stared at the two men with palpable malice, as evidenced by the growl, which served as a warning similar to that of a fierce dog.

Although the two men were underworld ruffians with blood on their hands and had heard tales of magical beasts, the experience of facing one in person was entirely different from what they had imagined. The sense that their lives were no longer fully within their control sent shivers coursing through their bodies.

Bob, too, caught sight of the beast's form. His lips quivered, and his crotch became damp. Immediately thereafter, he let out a terrified shout,"My God! Stay away!"

The moment the shout rang out, Bob took off running. The two burly men, as if jolted awake from a dream, also fled at full speed, no longer paying heed to the purpose of their journey.

Since breaking free from their restraints, Lila and Bonnie had clung tightly to each other, not daring to look at the surrounding environment. They only heard the shouts of the three men.

They knew something had transpired to instill fear in the three men, but they were too afraid to look up and confirm.

After a few seconds, it was Lila who summoned the courage to slowly lift her head. There was no one else around except the two of them. She attempted to look in the direction from which the growl had originated, but there was no sign of anything amiss there either.

"W - we should go, Bonnie. Get up quickly." She exerted herself to help her terrified friend to her feet, patted the dust off her friend's skirt, and then her own. Only then did they proceed towards Dude Town, on high alert.

...

Inside the room.

Glen was in the process of packing his things, preparing to take the beast into the deep forest surrounding Bayek Town to hunt, with the intention of selling the catch in Dude Town.

This was the temporary means of income he had devised.

Just as he finished packing the tools, he suddenly heard a faint noise outside the room. Glen set down his belongings and opened the door.

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The beast's fearsome visage appeared outside the door. Its single eye fixed on him, and thick saliva dripped down in a steady rhythm.

"What's the matter?" Glen inquired, raising an eyebrow.

The beast licked its snout, opened its large mouth slightly, and emitted a series of unintelligible whines. It was both remarkably human - like and comical.

Surely, others would be unable to understand what it was trying to convey, but Glen could.

"Are you saying that those two girls encountered three men outside who intended to harm them, and you scared the three men away?" Glen ventured to put into words what he thought the beast meant.

Finally, he slightly narrowed his eyes and murmured in a low voice, "Under normal circumstances, few people would come to this area, and it's rather coincidental that they managed to block Lila and the others... Their target was likely either Lila or Bonnie. Oh well, as long as they're unharmed, that's the main thing."

Looking up, he saw the beast still in place, gazing intently at him. Glen was somewhat perplexed, but noticing the eagerness in its eyes, he paused briefly in his speech and said, "You've done a remarkable job."

Upon receiving the praise, the beast immediately manifested an extremely excited state, bounding around Glen's front yard like an exuberant canine, leaping and prancing about.

This transformation left Glen quite astonished. He hastened to tell it to halt, lest it damage his yard.

So, this is the kind of beast you are... Glen, grasping the beast, was rendered speechless.

The earlier commotion might have alerted some neighbors, for Glen felt several pairs of eyes fixated upon the place.

He merely cast a casual glance at the house from which one of the gazes originated. Subsequently, he issued an order to the beast to wait for him outside the town. After it departed, he went to retrieve the tools he had prepared earlier.

Inside the second - floor window of a two - story house, a puppet donning a blue vest let go of the corner of the curtain. The room once again lapsed into dimness, illuminated only by the faint candlelight on the table.

"That new neighbor is far too noisy. He'll disturb Aina," the puppet uttered in a strange voice, devoid of any intonation.

"Parindus, you're being overly stingy. It's dreadfully dull here. Wouldn't a bit of liveliness be a welcome change?" Another voice emerged, equally lacking in intonation, yet it was a charming female voice.

"I'm showing concern for you, my dear sister. I can't bear the thought of anyone harming you again. This is something I simply cannot countenance," the puppet in the blue vest advanced towards the wooden table, its joints emitting a creaking sound as they rubbed.

"No one here will harm me. You're making a mountain out of a molehill, Parindus. We ought to attempt to step outside. When the master crafted us, surely he didn't envision us becoming recluses!" The other puppet, with distinct female characteristics, approached the candlelight, revealing her form.

In comparison to Parindus, the puppet in the blue vest, Aina was evidently more lifelike, bearing a closer resemblance to a human. With delicate features, flowing blond hair, and an exquisitely tailored dress, she resembled a princess straight out of a fairy tale, a testament to the care lavished upon her by her creator.

"Aina, I'm well - aware that you've grown weary of this existence over the years. However, until we receive news of the master, it would be prudent for us to avoid showing ourselves to outsiders," Parindus continued to persuade, his tone this time betraying a palpable sense of earnest entreaty.

"How on earth can we expect to hear from the master if we remain cooped up in this enclosed space? Even if news of the master is circulating out there, how could it possibly reach us here? You blockhead!"

Aina's words left Parindus at a loss for a retort.

Observing that her brother was rendered speechless, Aina softened her tone and whispered, "My dearest brother, the master might already be scouring the land for us. Even if we don't go in search of her, we should at least take a stroll around the vicinity to gather information. If we keep holed up here, I might as well start growing mushrooms on my body..."

Parindus was on the verge of saying that their bodies couldn't grow mushrooms, but deeming the discussion futile, he relented and said, "Very well, but you may only wander around the immediate area. Under no circumstances are you to venture any further."

"I love you, brother!" Aina's lips planted a smacking kiss on Parindus' face.

...

Outside the town.

Glen rode upon the beast, navigating through the dense forest. Ever since his arrival, he had noticed an abundance of animal footprints and droppings in the vicinity, so he surmised that hunting shouldn't prove too arduous.

With his werewolf constitution, no scent in the air escaped his nose. At this moment, he was tracking a herd of wild boars. He had committed their scent to memory from a previous encounter, making the search relatively effortless.