Chapter 04 - Attack

The two people continued to walk their way inside the forest, one middle-aged man wearing armor and the other whose appearance was like a porcelain doll. They're like a good pair of father and daughter strolling at the park, not in the dangerous Mystical Forest.

There was a long silence between them, and it was the Duke who first broke it.

"By any chance, do you often visit this forest?"

"It's been a while since the last time I came here," Louise responded.

"Then, do you know where and how we can find my guards? Do you think that they are still alive?"

"Well, that is something that I can't guarantee." She answered matter-of-factly, "For your additional info, living humans are not welcome here. So, don't get your hopes high."

Both of them came to a stop when they heard growled nearing them.

Duke Gerald subconsciously held the handle of his sword. He knew that he was not as strong as a mage and the animals in this forest were monsters that could kill you instantly with just a slight mistake from your end.

He looked to his right, where Louise was, and noticed that she casually picked up a branch that looked like a walking stick. She also looked at him. Then, as if reading his question, she answered.

"It's for my self-defense."

The Duke was dumbfounded. How could a walking stick become a weapon? But when he remembered that he was talking to a powerful mage, he relaxed a bit. She was traveling in this Mystic Forest as if it were her courtyard without being harmed. In addition, he witnessed earlier how she could quickly subdue attacks that were even impossible for him.

They both prepared for the attack. Gerald and Louise could see many red eyes glowing like a laser whose eyeing them from the darkness.

"Good. At least, we will not waste time looking for these dogs." The young mage spoke.

The wolf figures, whose size was like lions, slowly walked towards them, ready to strike at any moment. These were the same monsters whom the Duke encountered when they first entered the forest.

The one leading the pack, which seemed to be the leader, looked at them. Then, it bared its fangs as if telling them that their life was within its grasp. Afterwhich, it signaled to the other two wolves by his side to charged towards them.

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The two wolves jumped, bearing their fangs, but before they could get near, a walking stick slashed as fast as lightning as if an expert swordsman was displaying its prowess.

Before the Duke could react, the two wolves who had just attacked earlier were forced backward, hit the nearby trees, and fell to the ground, heavily injured. Not only the Duke but also the pack of wolves were stunned at the turn of the events.

They all stared at the smiling culprit whose now placing her 'weapon' on her shoulder.

"My..my..apologies. I was a little bit shocked by the attack and subconsciously slashed my walking stick. I didn't mean it." She sighed and continued her speech, "This is one of the reasons why I hate dealing with these monsters. We came here to talk terms, and you suddenly launched an attack. You will not blame us for defending ourselves, right?"

The Duke and the wolves looked at the girl grinning towards the pack leader as if she was specifically talking to it.

"Grrr..." the leader released a provoked sound.

"Why are you angry?" Louise taunted him, "It's not like we asked them to attack us."

Then both saw another wolf jumped towards them without warning again.

The mage shook her head when she saw this, "Hard as a nut, aren't we?"

Louise threw the walking stick she was holding, and it passed towards the attacking monster that evaded it. The animal landed on the ground, but its right eye had an apparent wound on it. Everyone followed the stick that passed like an arrow earlier, which was now stabbed on one of the trunks.

Then all of them saw the other fallen branches of trees floated in the air, covered by a bluish aura.

"If you don't want to talk terms, I won't force you. By the way, I quickly get nervous, especially when someone makes a surprise attack," the girl casually added while smiling, "Sometimes I hit off the mark. Who knows? Next time it might be straight to the heart."

She waved her hand, and all those tree branches earlier flew like an arrow targeting the packs. The other wolves jumped to dodge it, but the others were unlucky to get injured.

"This will not end here." Her tone was gentle, but her eyes were emotionless and cold. "Again."

Another fallen branch of trees rose from the ground and attacked the pack. This series of events repeated for almost ten minutes, but the wolf leader had no intention of backing out. Instead, he continued to command his underlings to attacked them. This time it targeted the Duke, who was standing not far from Louise.

Duke Gerald was nervous, but he was not planning to back down either. Instead, he grabbed his sheath and pulled out his sword to prepare for the strike. This would serve as another life and death battle for him, and he would be lying if he said that he was not scared.

"No need to bother," The young girl spoke.

She spread her five fingers, and the attacking two wolves froze in the air.

"Let me tell you something that I hate." She closed her fingers into a fist, and everyone witnessed the two animals being choked in the air, "I hate those who attack the weak and resort to this kind of petty tricks."

She again waved her hand, and those monsters were thrown on the ground, gasping for their breath.

All of them, except the leader, shrunk from fear. The Duke didn't even notice that his mouth was slightly open from the shock.

Louise placed her hand at her back and slightly tilted her head, "As I said, I don't want to attack the weak. So, I will give you a chance."

All of the wolves placed their attention towards their leader, waiting for him to speak.