Ancient trees blotted out the sky, their thick canopies trapping the air in a damp, fetid haze of rot. Shana, Feto, and Sean moved through the eerie Bearwood with cautious, agile steps, like forest spirits. Six eyes scanned every direction, alert to the slightest rustle of leaves or snap of twigs.

"Feto, your silver shield's too conspicuous—cover it with your cloak, or we'll be exposed." Sean whispered.

"If I cover the Silver Round Shield, my reaction time will slow." Feto clearly refused to comply.

"Our top priority now is reconnaissance, not fighting!" Sean stopped, crouching beside an old tree before lying flat, pressing his right ear to the ground. "Do as I say!"

"I'm a guard, not a scout." Though Feto grumbled, he lowered his right arm, his left casually covering part of the shield's surface.

The witch and guard knelt behind Sean. Shana poked Feto's waist softly. "You're a Golden Guard now—why not get a new shield? Like the Golden Knights, with golden armor and a golden shield? That'd be so cool!"

"Those fancy things mean nothing." Feto said. "This Silver Round Shield was forged by the Silence Elder of Silver Hour Village in the Western Marches. It bears an ancient Western Marches curse that blesses me through every watchful night."

Wow, you're so down-to-earth! I like that! Shana smiled. "When I first came to Shield Fort, some people said you were stuck-up. But after these days with you, I see that's not true at all."

"Misunderstandings. I'll explain when we have time." Feto pressed a finger to his lips, signaling silence.

"Quiet! A large pack of werewolves is approaching!" Sean leaped to his feet, his voice low and urgent. "Climb the trees!" He launched himself upward, grabbing a thick branch with his right hand and kicking off to land silently on the treetop.

Impressive moves! Shana thought, secretly cheering at Sean's sharp agility. She exchanged a glance with Feto, and they both jumped. The witch tapped her toes lightly against the trunk a few times before soaring to the top of the tree.

Compared to climbing the steep Wolfblade Peak, scaling trees was child's play!

Shana crouched on the treetop, taking in the scene below. The half-crescent blood moon's eerie glow filtered through the leaves, painting the moss-covered forest path in crimson. Sounds echoed from deeper in Bearwood, and figures flickered into view.

Something's definitely going on! Shana grew even more admiring of Sean. When she'd met Broken Sword yesterday, she'd thought he was arrogant and hard to get along with, so she'd matched his attitude with her own "respect for respect" stance. But now, she realized his arrogance was earned.

He'd sensed the werewolves from this far away—even with her ten magical skills, she couldn't do that. She'd heard fox clans had a spell to detect movement within a hundred miles; did Sean know that spell?

As Shana's mind wandered, the figures in the depths of Bearwood grew clearer. They were werewolves! Black werewolves mounted on black warhorses, packed so tightly they stretched beyond count. Their wolf blades glinted cold, catching the dappled crimson light to form a chilling sight.

So many werewolves! The Great Wall Legion had broken Wolf Fort—why was their army still so strong? Shana looked at Feto in confusion, and the guard wore the same shocked expression.

"We have to get back to the Great Wall immediately! The main werewolf force is hiding in Bearwood!" Shana whispered to her companions.

"Why don't you yell a little louder?" Sean snapped.

"What's the big deal? They can't hear us from this far!" Shana muttered.

No sooner had she spoken than a cold, invisible dread washed over her. Danger!

"Watch out!" Sean shouted.

From the darkness, a flash of cold light shot up like a wraith, piercing toward the witch's hiding spot on the treetop. Shana's pupils contracted, but her body froze—she couldn't react, couldn't even reach for her poison.

Clang!

In the nick of time, her vision blurred, and Feto was in front of her. His Silver Round Shield caught the werewolf's fatal strike perfectly. Even so, the force sent him crashing into Shana's arms. She felt as if struck by lightning, and both of them fell from the treetop.

In her daze, Shana felt warm, strong arms wrap around her, steadying her reeling mind. Feto… She opened her eyes to see Feto holding her, and her heart fluttered with sweetness.

But then, the werewolves chased after them, their claws swarming down like a storm. The witch tried to reach for her poison, but it was too late…

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A longsword sliced through the flurry of claws, positioning itself before them to clash with the wolf paws over a dozen times. Feto set Shana down safely, and she stepped back, finally seeing their attacker.

The werewolf was tall, with two prominent, crisscrossing scars on its face. Standing between them and the beast, locked in combat, was Sean the Broken Sword.

Sean swung his longsword, parrying each claw strike. Shana stared in awe—she'd never seen such skilled swordplay. He truly had a right to be arrogant! No one in Mandala Palace could match him in swordsmanship!

But the werewolf was holding its own. In the blink of an eye, they'd exchanged over a hundred blows, and Sean had even stepped back three times.

"It's Wolfe the Adamantine Wolf!" Feto shouted.

Shana's eyes widened. She'd heard the name—this was the Wolf King's chief wolf guard, Wolf Fort's greatest warrior, whose strength rivaled a Holy Light Mage. But instead of fear, excitement surged through her. She gripped two poisons in her hands, ready to join the fight! With two poisons in hand, I hold the world! No matter how strong the werewolves are, I, the ten-talented genius magical beauty, am not afraid! This is the perfect chance to earn demon-slaying merits!

Just as she was about to leap forward to help Sean, she noticed dark figures emerging silently from the surrounding forest, encircling them. There was more than just the Adamantine Wolf! She sucked in a sharp breath.

"Retreat!" Sean roared.

As he shouted, three werewolves lunged from the left, right, and rear, their claws streaking like lightning toward the two divine humans. Feto roared, jumping up to deliver a powerful kick to the werewolf charging from the left. His foot hit the wolf's head, sending it flying, then he used the momentum to move to the right, blocking another werewolf's claw with his silver shield. His expression was grim—nothing like his usual gentle self.

Shana twisted her waist, spinning upward to shoot two streams of venom like arrows: one aimed at the werewolf attacking from behind, the other curving around Feto to pour over the right werewolf's head.

The two struck werewolves froze, then let out heart-wrenching screams. They stumbled a few steps before collapsing, the dark green venom spreading over their bodies, eating away at fur and flesh.

"Agh!" A cry came from the front. Shana saw Sean crash into a tree, blood spurting from his mouth. He'd been defeated!

Shana was shocked—then Wolfe charged toward her with thunderous speed. Feto raised his silver shield to block, but Wolfe darted sideways, his claw sweeping around the shield to strike Feto's arm. Feto cried out in pain, falling to the ground.

Wolfe was about to deliver a killing blow to the downed guard when Shana hurled a poison vial at the werewolf. Die! But Wolfe flipped through the air, dodging the attack. Impossible! Shana was even more stunned—this was the first time her poison had missed since she'd begun her witch's journey.

But there was no time for frustration. Wolfe resumed his attack on Feto, while two more werewolves pounced from the left and right. Shana grabbed two more vials, but now there were three werewolves in front of her. Save Feto, or save herself?

She hesitated for a split second—then a searing pain shot through her leg. The werewolf from the left had clawed her. It hurts! It hurts! Shana swung her left arm, pouring a poison over that werewolf's head, then rolled on the ground to dodge the right werewolf's claw. Die!

Even in danger, Shana didn't forget to save Feto. Instead of attacking the werewolf in front of her, she threw the other vial at Wolfe. The poison shot toward his back, but Wolfe seemed to have eyes in the back of his head—he ducked, dodging again. The poison arced through the air, splashing onto the ground and rising in a small cloud of green mist.

Absolutely impossible! Two misses in a row—an overwhelming sense of defeat washed over the witch.

Wolfe turned suddenly, his eyes blazing with sharp fury. He abandoned his pursuit of Feto and turned his killing intent toward Shana. Oh no!

Wolfe charged at her with terrifying speed. Shana tried to dodge, but her injured leg slowed her down. I'm done for! Shana thought.

Then a shout rang out. Sean flew forward, tackling Wolfe's thick legs and bringing him crashing to the ground. Feto also charged up, slamming his knee into the werewolf trying to sneak up on Shana, sending it flying. He hoisted Shana onto his shoulder.

"Retreat! Full retreat!" Sean shouted.

Sharp wolf claws raked across Broken Sword's body, tearing through flesh to the bone with each strike, but Sean didn't seem to feel the pain. His arms locked around Wolfe's legs like iron bands.

"Sean!" Shana screamed.

"Leave me! Retreat! Now!" Sean yelled.

"I'll kill you!" Shana wanted nothing more than to hurl a thousand poisons at Wolfe. "Put me down! I'll kill him!"

"The werewolves are too strong! We can't fight them! Getting the intel back to the Great Wall is our only priority!" Feto held onto her legs tightly, leaping between tree trunks as he fled in the opposite direction.

"Put me down!"

Dozens of werewolves burst from the forest, attacking them together. Feto weaved between the thick trees, evading their pursuit.

"Put me down!"

Shana struggled, lifting her head—and saw a horrific sight. Wolf claws pierced Sean's body. Wolfe tore him in two at the waist, lifting his severed head high.

"Sean!!!"

Tears burst from Shana's eyes. In that instant, she remembered the first words Sean had spoken to her: I'm not in the habit of calling people "Sister", especially girls younger than me.