"Not necessarily." The man nervously shook his head.@@@@

    "Actually, I have already sent my people to figure out House Silversword''s stance, but if we can''t bring them to our side, I already have another household in mind. You can leave the North to me, my lord. I won''t fail you as Charles did." He confidently answered.

    Earl Dave smirked. "You surprised me, Lord Kenneth. It seems like you were more prepared than anyone else in this room."

    The earl was satisfied with his performance.

    "In that case, I will leave the North in your hands."

    ***

    The days went by in the blink of an eye.

    The 30th of January came, but there was still no news about the people from the central cities.

    That''s odd.

    Alaric couldn''t understand what was happening. He had already sent Fredrinn and a team of warriors to protect the soap shop. However, he hadn''t received any word from them for over a week.

    At this moment, he was on his way to send off Hershey. She had overstayed in North Pine Town and her father had sent a message asking for her immediate return.

    "My lord, I will miss the tranquility of North Pine Town." Uttered Hershey who was about to enter her carriage.

    Hearing this, Alaric smiled at her. "You can come back here anytime you want."

    Hershey smiled as she stared deeply into his eyes. She wanted to dive into his arms and openly reveal her feelings, but she had an image to maintain.

    She didn''t say a word, but Alaric seemed to have understood the meaning behind her gaze.

    "Before you go, I have something for you." Alaric gave a signal to Elena who was standing behind him.

    In Elena''s arms was a plump wolf cub.

    Alaric took the wolf cub from her and handed it to Hershey.

    "Among the six cubs, this guy has the biggest appetite and it often sleeps a lot. I hope you can take care of it well."

    Hershey fell in love with the cute little guy.

    She gently rubbed its fur and it instinctively kicked her hand which made her chuckle.

    She then lifted her head and looked at Alaric. "Thank you, Alaric. I will take care of it."

    "Please be careful on the road."

    If only I was a Knight Apprentice, there might be some chance to take it down, but with my current strength... It''s impossible.

    Renante glanced at his teammates and saw them cowering in fear.

    "Don''t run! We must stay together!" He barked at them.

    His words seemed to have calmed them down, but it was obvious that they didn''t want to confront the creature.

    What should we do?

    Sweat trickled down Renante''s face as he racked his brain.

    At that moment, the beast suddenly disappeared and rushed towards them with lightning speed.

    It was so fast that they were barely able to see its figure.

    "I''ll take the front! Shield bearers, protect the archers!" He shouted.

    However, his teammates seemed to be paralyzed in fear. They were unable to properly react to his commands, making their formation messy and full of holes.

    Renante frowned upon seeing this.

    There''s no choice. I must fight it! Hopefully, the instructors are nearby.

    After some hesitation, he lifted his short spear while keeping his eyes on the monster.

    Roar!

    The monster emitted a furious sound before it lunged at one of his teammates, brandishing its sharp claws.

    Swoosh!

    Renante was quick to react. He rushed forward and stabbed his spear towards the creature''s side, forcing it to evade.

    Growl!

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    The beast was enraged. It glared at Renante with its ferocious eyes.

    "Do you all want to die?! Snap out of it!" He roared.

    Renante''s words brought his teammates back to reality. They knew that one of them would have already died if it weren''t for his quick reaction.

    "If you want to survive, listen carefully."