"Hm?"

Sakurako's senses picked up the Direwolf pack splitting to both sides. "Are they trying to flank us?"

"Akahi, Akatsuki!"

"Leave it to us."

Akahi and Akatsuki, siblings from the Red Ogres, were Benimaru's cousins, early members of his Red Ogre crew.

Howl~~

Wolf howls echoed from all directions, terrifying the traveling Goblins.

The elderly Goblin chief, trembling, tried to calm his people. "Don't fear!"

"It's Direwolves!"

The chief's son glimpsed figures darting in the dark, his body gripped by primal fear of the beasts.

"Don't panic!"

Their village, closest to Veldora's cave, made the chief the eldest Goblin. First to pledge to Sakurako, he was named temporary leader.

"Everyone, grab weapons! Protect the women and children behind us!"

His voice quavered, but his orders were sound.

Soon, the Goblins formed a circle, shielding the vulnerable, gripping tattered weapons, ready to fight.

'Even weak Goblins will fight for survival.'

Sakurako nodded, gaining some respect for them.

"Direwolves, halt now, don't think our lack of action is a weakness."

Akahi and Akatsuki amplified their voices with Magicules, warning the wolves. "Come closer, and you war with the Kijin!"

Howl~~

But the Direwolves wouldn't abandon such a feast.

So many Goblins in one place saved them the trouble of raiding.

Devouring them would yield vast Magicules, letting the Direwolves rise in the perilous forest.

"Tch."

Sounin, blending with the night, tracked their movements, communicating, "Strike. They've chosen to be our enemies."

"They underestimate us."

The siblings exchanged a glance, releasing their suppressed Magicules.

Instantly, the concealed A-rank aura surged like a tsunami, overwhelming all creatures on the plain.

Goblins and Direwolves alike froze under the terrifying pressure.

"What?!"

The Direwolf alpha's fur bristled, eyes wide with disbelief. "This Magicule level!!"

"No, impossible, how?!"

"Why are the Kijin this strong?!"

"You're not Kijin!"

The alpha, limited in knowledge, had never seen true Kijin.

In the Jura Forest, excluding Dryads like Treyni, B+ was the monster peak.

A-rank upper Majin were named monsters only!

In other words, the two red-haired Kijin were named.

No!

Not just them!

Sakurako, and Sounin, who appeared behind, cutting off the wolves' retreat.

"Four… four upper Majin Kijin!"

The alpha regretted its choice, realizing the hunters had become the hunted.

"Retreat!!"

Without hesitation, it howled the order.

It miscalculated.

It thought these were ordinary Kijin leading Goblins.

But true Kijin…

Even one was beyond them.

Recall Benimaru in the original story, incinerating hundreds of Orcs with Black Flame Prison.

Akahi and Akatsuki were no weaker than that Benimaru.

Wiping out 500 Direwolves would take minutes.

Howl~~

Instinctively, the wolves scattered in all directions.

"Stop them!"

"Not one escapes!"

Sakurako ordered Sounin, who spread his arms, casting crystalline threads, enveloping the battlefield.

[Interstice Crystal Threads]

An Extra Skill inherited from Damien's spatial element.

It could sever space, drawing fine threads.

These spatial threads bound enemies and cut like divine blades.

"Space Manipulation: Thread the Needle!"

A streak shot from Sounin's palm, flickering through space, linking the crystal threads.

Clap!

Sakurako clapped, forming an invisible barrier around the Direwolves.

The circular network Sounin wove glowed with prismatic light, like a translucent kaleidoscope.

Swish, swish, swish…

Direwolves charging forward saw fleeting glimmers in the dark.

Ignoring them, they collided.

And then…

Whine?

The leading wolves vanished, reappearing elsewhere, now facing Sakurako's group.

"???"

The Direwolves were baffled.

"What's happening?"

The alpha realized things were beyond its grasp.

The Kijin had sealed the space.

The transparent, ring-like mirrors teleported the wolves back, trapping them within the barrier.

"What now?"

Sounin, watching the frantic wolves, joined Sakurako, asking how to handle them.

"Lord Damien likely needs them."

Damien favored recruiting and taming monsters.

Roar!!

Dozens of Direwolves, unable to escape, lunged at the Goblins.

But Akahi and Akatsuki, locked on, wouldn't let them.

Smack!

Akatsuki flicked her hand, sending ten lion-sized wolves flying like sacks.

Whimper…

Despite holding back, her Kijin strength nearly killed them.

"Akatsuki!"

Seeing the scene, Sakurako shouted, "Don't kill them!"

"Oh, oops!"

Akatsuki hadn't meant to. She didn't expect the Direwolves to be so fragile.

She barely used force.

Why were they collapsing?

"Healing Art!"

With no choice, Sakurako cast a healing spell on the barely breathing Direwolves, saving their lives.

"Let me handle this."

Seeing his sister struggle to control her strength under the Direwolves' attacks, Akahi shook his head.

Boom!

The red-haired youth lifted his foot, stomping hard.

Terrifying force shook the earth, sending shockwaves outward, knocking Goblins and charging Direwolves to the ground.

"Lord Damien's martial artist skills are incredible."

Akahi's control far surpassed his sister's, incapacitating without harming.

"Now…"

His eyes flashed with sharp intent.

Clenching his fist, he swung toward the Direwolf alpha.

Boom!!

Crack~~~

A horrifying sight unfolded before the Goblins and Direwolves.

The earth split, dirt and stone flying.

A deep trench stretched from Akahi, stopping just before the alpha, hundreds of meters away.

Whine…

The alpha's ambitions shattered with that single punch.

"Do you see the gap between us now?"

Akahi and Akatsuki faced the alpha.

With their and Sounin's display, the alpha knew it had hit a wall.

A-rank was a divide.

Below A-rank, numbers could overwhelm.

But past A-rank, Magicule recovery was monstrous. Unless Kijin recklessly used high-power skills, they'd never run dry.

Even if outmatched, escaping was easy.

Once enmity was set, it wouldn't end until one side yielded.

The alpha regretted its choice to the core.

It shouldn't have targeted these Goblins.

Had it known the Kijin were this terrifying, wouldn't surrender have been better?

Now, four A-rank Majin had it in their sights.

Recalling Akahi and Sounin's power, three or four more strikes could wipe out the Star Wolves.

"What now?"

Seeing the alpha cower, Akatsuki messaged Sakurako for guidance.

They hadn't killed a single Direwolf.

Despite confronting the alpha, the siblings were at a loss.

This power wasn't earned through their training.

Defeating the Direwolves brought no pride.

Only deeper reverence for Damien.

Look!

This was their lord's gift!

Such power, with mere punches and kicks, struck fear into Goblins and Direwolves alike!

"Let Lord Damien decide."

"Lord Damien?!"

Catching Sakurako's message, the siblings understood. "Summon the lord?"

"Hold the Direwolves. I'll contact Lord Damien."

Sakurako used the Corridor of Souls to reach Damien.

Stalling the Direwolves was easy.

Akatsuki and Akahi just stood, radiating Magicules, pressuring the wolves.

They weren't the brightest.

But posing? That they could do.

"Is something wrong, Sakurako?"

The request connected quickly, Damien's voice in her ear.

"Lord Damien, here's the situation…"

Sakurako explained briefly. "We're unsure what to do, so we seek your guidance."

"500 Direwolves?"

"Perfect! I'm coming now!"

Damien's voice carried delight, unexpected fortune thrilling him.

Named monsters, closer than regular subordinates, were his 'kin'.

Through the Corridor of Souls, he sensed their positions and states.

"Ogerpon, Snow Empress, Ice Empress, come with me."

With his strongest subordinates, Damien raised a hand, tearing open a spatial rift.

Rip~~

Space beside Sakurako parted.

"My lord!"

"And Ogerpon-nee, Snow Empress, and Ice Empress!"

Sakurako bowed as the four arrived.

"Ugh, Kijin etiquette is too much."

Ice Empress disliked Sakurako's formal shift.

In the Iceborn Scorpion clan, weaker members saw her as family or elder.

Snow Empress, aloof, cared little for hierarchy.

"Bwoh~~"

Ogerpon, used to it, cheerfully greeted Sakurako and Sounin.

"These are Goblins?"

Damien eyed the tide of small figures nearby. "Degraded fire Sprites. No wonder they differ from my image of Goblins."

His mental image: cunning, vile, sharp-toothed, monkey-faced.

But these Cardinal World Goblins, while not pretty, resembled trembling beggars, not the sleazy creatures he expected.

"Different worlds, different monster settings?"

"Makes sense."

"These Goblins, though called that, are more like Impkin."

Pondering, Damien glanced at the Direwolves. "As in the original, pack-based monsters."

"What's going on here?"

Cracked earth, scattered Direwolves... Damien pieced it together quickly.

Roar~~

Sensing new presences, the Direwolves growled instinctively, trying to intimidate.

The ancient, primal aura from Ice Empress and Snow Empress triggered their fight-or-flight.

"Tch, so noisy!"

Ice Empress, annoyed at the growling, unleashed a piercing chill.

Her control was precise.

Nearby Goblins felt only a cool breeze.

But the distant Direwolves froze, shivering as if plunged into an icy abyss.

The grass beyond the circle frosted over instantly, and even the three hidden clowns felt a chill.

"Terrifying ice Magicules."

Laplace's heart raced.

He'd seen ice magic before.

But such potent, penetrating cold was unheard of.

"Brr, so cold!"

Tear hugged herself. "This Magicule quality is unreal!"

"Unique Skill, it has to be!"

Normal skills wouldn't affect them with their resistances.

An Extra Skill might pierce their defenses.

But this was a wide-area effect, not even targeting them, yet so intense.

Only a Unique Skill could explain it.

"Another named monster with a Unique Skill."

Laplace couldn't fathom how Damien gathered such powerful followers.

"Hm?"

Snow Empress, watching Damien speak with the Goblin chief, sensed something.

Her gaze shifted to the dark forest.

It was silent, but she felt prying eyes.

"What's wrong, Snow Empress?"

Damien, inviting the Goblins to join him, grew wary at her reaction.

"Not sure."

Her eyes narrowed. "But I feel watched."

"Watched…"

Damien's mind raced to a possibility: The Moderate Harlequin Alliance?

[Detect Pursuit]

He cast an anti-surveillance skill.

[Notice: No surveillance detected]

"…"

Damien stared at the feedback, speechless.

He didn't think Snow Empress was mistaken.

'In the Jura Forest, something spying on us that even Snow Empress can't pinpoint…'

Aside from Treyni and her Dryads, only Laplace, Footman, and Tear from the Harlequins fit.

Dryads were out.

Treyni had appeared among the Goblins since Damien's arrival.

Other Dryads would greet her, not lurk and stare.

"Treyni, can you set a barrier to block all external probing?"

Damien and Snow Empress lacked strong counter-surveillance.

Sakurako's barrier was physical.

It was weak against specialized intel-gathering skills.

But they had Treyni!

As a Dryad, spying on forest life and hiding her presence was second nature.

And if she could hide, she could block.

"No problem!"

Initially unaware, Treyni reacted to Damien's words.

She probed the distant forest.

Nothing... likely the clowns sensed exposure and fled.

Hum~~

Treyni raised an invisible barrier, shielding the Goblins and Damien's group.

"Akahi, bring the Direwolf alpha to me."

"Yes, my lord!"

Akahi's eyes sharpened.

He crossed hundreds of meters instantly, grabbing the alpha by the scruff before it could react, and brought it to Damien.

Whimper…

The alpha had never faced such humiliation.

It wanted to resist, but Akahi's strength pinned it down, unable to lift its head.

It could only whine, suppressing fear and unease.

"My lord, the enemy leader is here for your judgment!"

Akahi knelt, pressing the alpha's head to force submission.

"Hm, let it go for now."

"Yes!"

Akahi and the others had no concern the alpha could harm Damien.

A sub-B-rank monster couldn't touch their lord.

Not under their watch.

If it did, they'd have no face to live... better to end it themselves.

"Wolf or dog?"

"Wolf, probably."

Ice Empress crouched, inspecting the prostrate alpha, poking its nose.

Whine…

The alpha was terrified.

Ice Empress's Magicules were only around 30,000.

But her 400,000-year beastly aura, preserved by the Voice of the World, remained.

In plain terms: killing intent!

Over eons, she'd slain countless humans, beasts, and soul creatures.

That accumulated ferocity was beyond this world's ordinary monsters.

Normally, she restrained it.

To the Kijin, she was just a tsundere twin-tailed girl, more cute than scary.

But the alpha, a beast, had keen instincts.

It sensed the ancient terror standing atop a mountain of corpses and blood.

"Stay put until my lord handles his business, then we'll deal with you!"

The alpha didn't dare snap at Ice Empress, nodding fervently to show compliance.

No choice... the gap was too wide.

Four A-rank Kijin were bad enough.

Then came these powerhouses!

Especially this human-like monster, utterly horrifying.

Worse, she served a master!

Too much!

The alpha wanted to cry.

If regret was a medicine, it'd slap its past self and tell it to abandon dreams of dominance.

The Jura Forest's waters were too deep... it couldn't navigate them!

***

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