Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

Lush canopies intertwined high above, much like the forest, the place where Poro had spent most of his life.

Birdsong echoed through the overhead canopy.

However, perhaps due to differing ecological environments, Poro sensed that the birdsong in this forest was somewhat different from that of forests he had previously traversed.

Different in what way?

Perhaps it was the species of birds?

It sounded somewhat harsh and unpleasant.

It's… crows!

Soon, Poro discerned that the number of crows in this forest far exceeded that of other places!

Why was that?

A faint smell of decaying flesh permeated the surrounding shade.

Poro's keen sense of smell quickly arrived at this conclusion, and this kind of scent could be considered relatively common.

In the forest, many life and death struggles always occur, stemming from… the natural conflicts of the food chain, with carnivores preying on lower life forms, and elderly beasts being devoured by countless tiny decomposers after their lifespan expires.

It had always been this way.

But… the rhythm of nature would never produce such a large amount of decay!

In other words… such a thick and widespread stench could never be produced by just a few deaths!

Could there be a mass grave in the forest?

Poro wondered, but this putrid smell definitely couldn't have originated from a distant time!

The pursuers behind him had already left, and even if they continued searching, they would never guess that the "Second Leader" was actually a wolf in disguise.

So Poro simply followed the rotting scent, searching ahead.

Finally, amidst the buzzing of mosquitoes and flies, he discovered the nearest target—

A corpse wearing armor!

The body inside had long rotted under the effects of time and forest scavengers, with foul-smelling, pus-filled substances enveloping yellowed bones, and countless flies entering and exiting through the gaps in the armor—

Even without using his claws, Poro could see milky white maggots wriggling their plump bodies inside.

A dead… soldier?

No, it was far more than that!

Poro walked forward again, the nutrients formed by organic body tissues mixed with the soil on the ground, and the grass, trees, and moss grew even more luxuriantly.

Passing over the canopy, Poro saw even more—

More human remains!

Corpses lay scattered on the ground, all wearing the armor of soldiers from the Sino Kingdom, with broken weapons and blades buried beneath the dust!

Poro walked step by step, looking at one after another of the white bones buried under the grass and trees, crows standing among the remains, their hoarse voices like the vengeful souls seeking life.

More than a hundred soldiers had died here!

Why did they die?

So close to the capital… why did such a tragic massacre occur?!

Poro searched everywhere, but all he could see were the skeletons of Sino Kingdom soldiers.

There was no possibility of any other enemy corpses!

Why?

Were the enemies too strong, causing these soldiers to be unable to kill even one?

Or did the enemies drag away their own corpses after the battle?

Until a certain moment, when he saw two corpses lying close together, an unbelievable idea suddenly emerged from Poro's mind!

Those two corpses, even long after death, were still tightly connected—

And the bridge connecting them was a sword!

A standard long sword of the Sino Kingdom!

The white bones of one soldier rested on the hilt, while the other end of the blade was stuck in the ribs of the opposite corpse!

At the same time, a rusty sword also lay in the abdomen of this corpse!

Seeing this, the last scene of the two dead soldiers before their deaths appeared in Poro's mind—

They each held long swords, mercilessly stabbing into the vital points of their companions!

Poro went to carefully examine the other corpses, but the conclusion he reached was the same!

The white bone surfaces were covered with hideous sword marks; an arrow pierced through the rotten flesh; a war hammer smashed the skull...

These Sino Kingdom soldiers died from infighting.

A… tragic, unexplained, inescapable, and all-out mutual slaughter that ended in complete annihilation!

……

Poro leaped out of the bushes, pinning a squirrel under his paw.

"Well, dinner's here, I'll catch another one if it's not enough."

Recently, Poro had been eating cooked food a little too much, and he was starting to feel a bit unaccustomed to eating raw food occasionally.

The appearances of those soldiers' skeletons seemed to still be present before his eyes!

"The forest… hides unknown dangers? I just hope Lake is okay, but with some of the witch hunter's experience, ordinary beasts shouldn't be a problem, right?"

In any case, he had to reunite with Lake first.

After all… the little girl will have insomnia without me!

Poro thought with his chin propped up, shook his head, and his spirit sank into his soul, a golden page floating out of mid-air—

[Cyclical Regression: Lucky Hans - Luck of Loss]

[Unsealing Ceremony Completed, Fairytale Authority Replenished!]

[At the end of the journey, the carnivore who liked to plunder everything finally died with a cracked skull—from a certain moment, his misfortune was already doomed!]

[Fairytale Authority: When something that belongs to you is taken away, or exchanged through forced means, you can shave off a portion of the plunderer's luck]

[Description: If… losing doesn't represent misfortune, then gaining also doesn't necessarily represent luck!]

At least, the results of following Hans all the way had already been obtained.

Luck, an ethereal thing, in the eyes of the scientific side, is more like a variant of some kind of probability theory. In the past, Poro never really believed in this kind of thing.

Until… he met Hans.

At some point, it really is an unreasonable thing, at least now, it's me who has this ability.

Poro put away the book page.

Even if this fairytale authority is much weaker than what Hans possessed.

But it's secret and powerful enough!

The forest was large, but for Poro, a wolf, there weren't many particular dangers. He relied on his sense of smell to avoid the scent of some unfamiliar beasts—

Those might be the scents left by the native predators of this forest.

And finding water wasn't too difficult.

Soon, a cool stream appeared behind the bushes.

Crystal clear, unpolluted spring water—drinkable!

Poro walked to the stream, bent down and drank.

The clear mountain spring carried a hint of sweetness, but just then, Poro's ears twitched—the bushes behind him were making an unusual sound!

Immediately following that was a sound that made Poro's hair stand on end!

It was the sound of a thin string snapping, a sound that animals would never make…

Bowstring!

Poro rolled on the spot, and the next second, an arrow pierced into the ground where he had just been!

An ambush!

Poro's muscles twitched all over, and he sprang back across the stream!

Immediately afterward, arrows came one after another!

The archer's aim was very accurate, but Poro's evasion prevented any hits!

He could only watch helplessly as Poro disappeared into the bushes behind the stream, losing all trace!

"Damn it, this wolf is really a bit wicked!"

A man holding a short bow stood up, wearing a layer of light armor, but the style and design were completely different from those of the Sino Kingdom.

"But wolf meat isn't very tasty, and it's still early… let's catch something else!"

He stepped forward, pulling out the arrows stuck in the ground one by one, flicking off the dirt, and inserting them back into the quiver behind him.

Then, he turned and left.

But what he didn't notice was that behind him, in a patch of bushes.

Poro's glowing green eyes were fixed on the back of the man as he left.