Chapter 74 Information Exchange: No wonder I felt hotter the more I slept.

Ancia struggled through the snow-covered mountains, constantly having to steady herself in the howling wind. Another gust of wind, mixed with snowflakes, lashed at her, and she tightly closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, a huge fiery wolf was standing in front of her.

Ansia: "?"

The snow mist at the feet of the Fiery Wolf had not yet dissipated when Skalk cautiously nudged Ancia with his nose, then transformed into human form, cheered, picked her up, and spun her around. "Ancia! It really is you! How did you end up in the snow mountain?"

Ancia pinched his face. "Let go! Put me down! Skalk, I came to find you."

Skalk blinked, as if a pause button had been pressed, and put Ancia back on the ground. He then transformed back into his wolf form. "I'll take you back to the orc territory. The snow is too heavy, and your hands are cold."

Ancia climbed onto the giant wolf's back, stepping on its tail. She sat down skillfully and buried her face in its fluffy neck fur. Despite the cold, snowy mountain, Skark was still radiating warmth.

Skalk ran skillfully through the snow-covered mountains, blocking out all the wind and snow. Ancia turned her head and saw the snow-covered mountains rushing past in her field of vision.

The orc territory was just a stone's throw away. Skalk stopped at the entrance, his voice cheerful, "Ancia, we're home."

Ancia slid off the giant wolf and curiously surveyed the rugged territory. The open area contained only some simple meat drying racks, with no orcs in sight, and the snow-capped mountain walls showed signs of being carved out.

Skark's tail swayed behind him. "We all live in caves, Ancia. I'll take you to my cave."

He walked up the mountain path and led Ancia into a cave. At the entrance of the cave was a wolf's head painted on top of a small sun.

Skalk's cave was very clean, and as soon as he entered, he busied himself spreading out soft blankets on the bed.

Ancia, standing to the side, immediately called a halt, "Skark, hold on a minute. I came to find you because of the Griffin Guard at the foot of the mountain. I suspect they are acting on the orders of King Lionheart to harm the Orcs, or perhaps they are coming directly for you."

Skalk was taken aback. "The Griffin Guard? Vilian did take his guards up the snow mountain a few days ago, but for some reason, before they even reached the orc territory, Vilian ordered all the guards to be withdrawn. I only rushed back after receiving news from my tribe, but even now, the Griffin Guard hasn't made any further moves, they've just been wandering around the foot of the snow mountain."

Ancia became puzzled. Whatever Lionheart’s purpose was, giving up halfway was not Verion’s style. What exactly did he want to do?

The only certainty now is that Verion seems to disagree with the Lionheart, and she needs to talk to Verion to perhaps resolve this incident peacefully.

Ancia: "Send me down the mountain tomorrow. I need to negotiate with Verion."

Skulk: "You want to talk to him alone? No, take me with you."

Ancia: "They came specifically for the orcs, and you still dare to show your face in front of them?"

Skark chuckled, "I can transform into a juvenile form, which is very different from the Fire Wolf's true form, so they won't recognize me."

As he spoke, he transformed from an adult into a soft, fluffy cub with brown fur, droopy ears, and only his amber eyes remained similar to his original form. His tail curled up as he circled around Ancia.

Ancia couldn't resist squatting down and flipping the cub over, scratching his furry belly with her fingers. "You really look exactly the same as when we first met. It's not a bad idea to bring you along."

Before she could scratch her more than a few times, Skark transformed back into human form, rolled over and pinned her mischievous hands down, looking at her with a wronged yet eager gaze, his voice hoarse, "You can't touch my belly."

Ancia's hand was still on his hard abs, the skin beneath her hand burning her fingers, the heat seeming to climb up her cheeks. Ancia abruptly pulled her hand back, stood up, and stopped looking at Skark's wet eyes. "Where am I supposed to sleep?"

Skalk: "You sleep in the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."

Only a thin layer of fabric was laid on the floor, and all the soft fabrics were placed on Ancia's side. Skark transformed into a fiery wolf and completely occupied the space next to the bed, making the cave seem small.

Should she sleep in the same room as him? Ancia felt a little uncomfortable.

Skalk keenly sensed Ancia's mood. He lay down, with only his ears sticking out of the bed. "Isn't this much better?" Because of Skalk's presence, the cave didn't even need firewood. The biggest heat source was nearby, radiating warmth.

Ancia lay on the bed and gently touched Skark's wolf ears. "Yes, thank you."

She was tired from climbing the snow mountain, and her breathing quickly became even and long. But as she fell asleep, she unconsciously moved closer to the heat source, and finally rolled over and landed on the giant wolf.

Skark opened his eyes, his vertical pupils turning round in the darkness. He carefully covered Ancia with his tail, adjusting his position to make her more comfortable.

When Ancia woke up, she was holding a large tail in her arms, and there was a slight vibration behind her. It was Skalk speaking, "Good day! Did you sleep well last night?"

Anciya: "No wonder I felt hotter the more I slept... Take me to the outskirts of Cangbai City."

During the day, many orcs were out and about in the orc territory, but Ancia's appearance as a human didn't arouse their suspicion. The orcs merely glanced at her indifferently before going about their business. Their lack of enthusiasm or wariness actually puzzled her.

Skalk: "The tribesmen are rather cold, don't mind them. I'll take you down the snow mountain."

The crimson lightning bolt leaped into the snow mountain again, bringing Ancia to the foot of the mountain. It transformed into a soft, fluffy cub, which Ancia picked up.

Ancia slowly walked into the Griffin Guard camp, but was intercepted by the guards before she even got close.

Guard: "Halt! Who are you?"

Ancia: "I am Princess Eve's friend and His Highness Verion's classmate. The princess misses her brother and asked me to convey her feelings."

One of the guards was sent to report to the magnificent tent in the very center, and soon someone came to lead her there.

Ancia strolled in leisurely, carrying the little wolf. Vilian had some dark circles under his eyes. When he saw that it was her, he simply gestured calmly, "Please sit down."

Only the three of them remained in the tent. Verion glanced at the dog in Ancia's arms but said nothing.

Ancia cut to the chase, "Is it safe here?"

Verion pressed a button on the table, raising a soundproof barrier. "Safe. Is there anything urgent?"

Ancia: "I have some important news to tell you, it concerns your grandfather. In exchange, you tell me what he wants to do to the orcs."

Vilian's light gray eyes sharpened. "Deal."

“Mortri and I killed the Lord of Lust in the Abyss. Before it died, it said…” Ancia slowed her speech, her gaze fixed on Vilian’s face, not missing any change in his expression, “The Lionheart King made a deal with the Lord of the Abyss, in exchange for something that could convert souls. As for what that thing was, it didn’t say.”

A hint of anger gathered in Verion's eyes. "Ridiculous! His Majesty could not possibly do such a thing! Where is your evidence to accuse His Majesty?"

Ancia pressed on, "Is it really impossible? You are his chosen successor, you know him better than anyone else. Why did he promote Marquis Moreno? Why did he target the Dark Night Guild? And now why did he suddenly summon you to the Northern Snow Mountains?"

She said coldly, "I can accept the test of the Truth Badge and let you see if I'm lying. Now it's your turn to answer my question."

Vilian instinctively took out the True Word Badge, but suddenly stopped, his face extremely grim. He remained silent for a long time before lowering his eyes slightly. "Your Majesty desires the orcish relic, the Wild War Drum."

Skalk, nestled in Ancia's arms, stirred restlessly, only to have his ear pinched by Ancia.

Anciya: "Then I'll give you another piece of information. The Demon Clan once wanted to obtain the Wedge of Radiance and the Crown of Moonlight. King Lionheart used the excuse of colluding with the Demon Clan to suppress the Dark Night Guild. But who exactly is colluding with the Demon Clan?"

"Villien, did you really not notice anything at all?"

Her gaze was intense, tearing away all his self-deception and seeing through his hesitation and weakness.

Velien slumped back in his chair, covered his eyes with his hand, and said in a low voice, "...I understand. I will suspend the Griffin Guard's operations and revert to garrison duty, citing the orc curse as the reason. The orcs are safe for now, and I will investigate His Majesty's true intentions."

Ancia was taken aback and pressed for an answer, "What curse?"

Velion: "The curse of the orcs."

Ancia clung to a last shred of hope, incredulous. "Is this... an excuse you made up? You're lying to me, aren't you?"

Verion smirked. "It seems your lover didn't tell you about the curse. Ancia, I disdain lying."

Skark, one of her subordinates, stiffened, his tail tucked tightly between his legs, a reaction that made Ancia's heart sink.

Once outside the camp, Ancia put Skark down and started walking forward on her own, silently climbing the snow-capped mountain.

Skalk quickly transformed back into human form and followed closely behind Ancia. "Ancia, Ancia, don't be angry... don't ignore me."

Ancia stopped and gave him a deep look, then continued walking without saying a word. It was truly disheartening… She had thought Skark was the least secretive of all, yet now she had only learned of the curse from someone else.

Skalk followed behind Ancia, pleading all the way without receiving a response. It wasn't until they were almost in the orc territory that he finally spoke with difficulty, "I didn't mean to hide it, but the curse is the most painful secret of the orcs. Even if I wanted to tell you, I didn't know how."

Ancia's face was full of disappointment. "You don't believe I can help you share the burden, do you?"

Skulker shook his head. "We've tried everything, even Cheryl couldn't help. We've given up hope, so we're not going to talk about it anymore... I just want you to be happy, I don't want you to be sad because of this."

Ancia was filled with mixed emotions, a mixture of anger and heartache. "So when you made me happy time and time again, you never thought of telling me about the curse? Will I suddenly find out one day that something happened to you because of the curse? Will I still be able to be happy then?"

His wolf ears drooped, and he gritted his teeth, making a determined statement, "I can tell you, our curse originates from..."