Chapter 60 Wolf Knight
Galus spread his wings and spiraled upwards in the night-shrouded air.
The air above the conifer valley carried the pungent smell of sulfur.
Adjust the height.
The dragon's wings cast shadows that shield it from the moonlight as they sweep across the treetops without disturbing the creatures on the ground.
Looking down, Garus could see bears dozing or scratching their backs on the rough, hard rocks in the valley.
Mobel, the newly appointed leader of the bears, is currently among the pack of mother bears.
They nuzzle their heads and lick their fur, bonding with the female bears.
He saw Samantha bending over, teasing ants, playing a childish and immature game.
He was all alone, yet he was quite content.
He saw the fairy dragon Vera lying on a treetop, her wings and tail drooping, sleeping unsteadily as if she might fall at any moment, but always just a little bit short, making one want to push her down.
This height allows for a clear view of the details of the ground below.
And it won't reveal your whereabouts.
"Go and see my neighbors."
After circling three times over the valley, Galos chose the northeast direction to begin his exploration.
Under the cover of night, he soared among the drifting winds and floating clouds.
Its enormous wings flapped slowly and deliberately, controlling its speed and movement to avoid being noticed.
His gaze was fixed on the ground below.
Mountains, wastelands, forests, lakes—various landforms were reflected in Garus's dragon eyes.
He observed silently, noticing many ferocious beasts and monsters hunting in the night.
The Wilderness of Sel is a paradise for ferocious beasts and monsters.
In comparison.
The number of tribes and clans formed by intelligent species is relatively small, and their life here is quite dangerous. However, the wilderness tribes that manage to survive are often quite fierce and powerful.
Time passed little by little as Galus flapped his wings.
About half an hour later.
Garus, hidden in the clouds, stared intently down, his vertical pupils locking onto a crescent-shaped valley.
Valley bottom.
Areas that cannot be reached by moonlight.
A group of creatures with bluish-gray fur were moving about.
They walk upright, and adults can reach a height of over two meters.
Its hunched back bulged with exaggerated muscle curves, its body was covered with a layer of hard, needle-like hair, its neck had a gray mane like a lion, and its protruding muzzle had crisscrossing fangs.
—Grey Mane Werewolf.
A branch of werewolves.
According to legend.
Werewolves originated from humans.
Because they offended the moon goddess, they were cursed and transformed into a bloodthirsty monster that was half human and half wolf. However, there are other theories that the werewolf ancestors turned themselves into this form because they conducted forbidden dark experiments.
From ancient times to the present.
Werewolves have evolved into many different branches.
Some werewolves can behave like humans in daily life, and their speech and intelligence are no different from normal people.
However, once provoked or illuminated by the full moon, it transforms into a half-human, half-wolf, bloodthirsty and ferocious form.
The gray-maned werewolves, who have lived in the wilderness for many years, have long since abandoned their human form.
They usually live like werewolves, with a ferocious nature and intelligence similar to that of humans.
If one is then illuminated by the full moon's light, or stands on the edge of death, the emotions become intensely tense.
They will go a step further, transforming completely into giant wolves, greatly increasing their combat power, and gradually losing their minds, becoming immersed in battle and slaughter.
Some houses built of hardwood or rock stand in Crescent Valley.
The outer wall is made of marble blocks stacked on top of each other and bonded together with mud and glue.
Inside the walled area.
On an open space next to the rocky cliff of the valley.
The adult werewolves were training their cubs. They threw heavy, hard ironwood into the air, and the cubs immediately jumped to a height of three meters, gnawing at it with their tender, sharp teeth, leaving holes of varying depths.
"They're much more diligent than dragon cubs, and they even know how to train."
Galos thought to himself.
Dragons have too many unique talents.
All dragons are born knowing that they will stand at the top, a position that most people can only dream of, but this also makes them lazy, with outliers like Garus being extremely rare.
Back when they were still in the Iron Dragon Girl's territory.
Red Dragon Samantha and Iron Dragon Gorton.
Aside from eating and sleeping, both of them idled away their days, never actively seeking out or learning the invaluable knowledge within their heritage that would make ordinary people flock to it, let alone exercising their bodies or sharpening their claws.
"Is it possible that the evil dragon drove away its young offspring to force them to change their lazy habits through external environmental pressure?"
A guess popped into Galos's mind.
But after thinking about it, he realized he was probably overthinking it.
It's more likely that the evil dragon mother was simply too lazy to take care of her offspring.
Galos composed himself and continued to scan Crescent Valley with his gaze.
There are some crooked bone towers on the territory's perimeter wall.
The gray-maned werewolf sentinel stood atop the bone tower, longbow on his back. His eyes, unaffected by the darkness, swept across the surroundings, while his ears twitched, listening intently to any suspicious movement.
There were also some werewolf cavalrymen riding giant wolves patrolling the outer perimeter.
When they stop to rest, they disregard their own needs and prioritize feeding and watering their mounts.
Moreover, some of them are very affectionate, cuddling and licking each other's fur.
This doesn't seem like a normal relationship between a knight and his mount.
Galos noticed this.
He was initially puzzled, but after searching through the inherited knowledge, he suddenly understood.
If a werewolf remains in its giant wolf form for too long, it will gradually succumb to its bestial nature, completely lose itself, and never be able to revert back to being a werewolf, becoming a ferocious giant wolf beast.
Only the werewolves who were originally closest by blood can soothe them and communicate with them on a spiritual level through blood ties.
In werewolf societies like the Greymane Werewolf, which have become completely bestial.
There is often a blood bond between knights and their mounts.
Originally, they might have been spouses, fathers and sons, brothers, or similar relationships.
Because of this relationship, the way these knights and their mounts interact is unusual, and they cooperate more seamlessly and powerfully than ordinary knights.
"There are more than thirty giant wolf riders in this territory. Leaving aside the cubs and minors, there are at least a hundred adult werewolves."
"We haven't seen their leader, or any shaman or wizard-like being yet."
Galos remained hidden in the clouds, silently assessing the capabilities of his 'neighbor'.
A tribe of this size would normally have at least one wizard or shaman, and Garus also noticed that totem poles stood in their territory.
As his gaze continued to sweep across the area, Galos's eyes narrowed when he noticed the western corner of Crescent Valley.
He saw the wreckage of a metal transport vehicle, covered in bite and tear marks, with several wolf cubs sharpening their teeth on the metal.
This gray-maned werewolf tribe had robbed caravans passing through the Thousand Serpents Scar.
(End of this chapter)
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