Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

Horses galloped across the battlefield, their hooves muffled by the cloth wrappings.

Due to the overwhelming strength and rapid advance of the Srei Kingdom's main forces, and the lack of time to construct more extensive defenses, the defensive lines established in the former territories of the Baer Kingdom and other regions near Srei were quickly breached.

The path for the Shade Kingdom's support troops was already through the conquered areas swept by the Srei Kingdom's advance.

In this land, there were no more civilians—

Only desolate, scorched earth remained.

"These Srei people no longer seem to be expanding for the sake of governance…"

Lake watched the charred skeletons, burned to death in the flames, beneath a collapsed stone wall not far away.

Before the outbreak of war, the Gothe Kingdom had mobilized as much as possible to evacuate residents from conflict-affected areas.

Although some residents had migrated under the threat of war,

leaving their homes was not an easy decision for everyone.

They couldn't abandon what they had accumulated and lived for their entire lives,

to go to an unfamiliar place.

"The entire city is dead. This time, the Srei people didn't even send troops to garrison it."

Before them, all the houses in this small city had been reduced to ruins, with charred wood and broken bricks and tiles burying the corpses of soldiers and residents.

The Srei people left not a single soldier, not even pausing to plunder.

Only slaughter, and then passage.

"This time, they seem to be eliminating anything that poses a threat to them, like the defeated Wither Kingdom. They won't allow a country like Gothe to grow stronger than Wither and then remain stable and uncontrolled."

"They killed these people, whether influenced by ideology or something else—their war may no longer be for human 'plunder'."

"They have become devils."

"The generals are like this, and so are the soldiers who were originally ordinary people."

Lake bypassed the Srei Kingdom's advance and reached the Gothe Kingdom's camp.

In a sickbed, she saw the last princess of the fallen Baer Kingdom from before.

At this time, the princess's face was completely devoid of the vitality she had shown last time, and her distinctive gold and silver hair appeared somewhat disheveled.

Her eyes were swollen and her expression haggard.

She was covered in wounds, and one arm was wrapped in bandages and supported by a wooden board, but even through the strong medicinal smell from the bandaged wound, Polo still smelled a strong scent of blood.

"Your Highness, your injuries…"

"I want to kill them, kill them!"

Looking at Lake and Polo, the Bear Princess's eyes revealed even more resentful bitterness, and she repeatedly uttered the same phrase.

"Those Srei people, the monsters they keep—killed my bear."

Lake and Polo noticed that at this time, in addition to the intense, almost obsessive desire for revenge, there was nothing else in the princess's eyes.

"What kind of monster is it? To be able to…"

"A hound, a black, giant hound."

The Bear Princess composed herself and began to slowly describe, "That hound is as big as a small elephant, but its speed is incredibly fast, like a cheetah. At night, all the guards have difficulty capturing its figure!

It blends into the night, and not a single arrow fired by the soldiers can harm the monster's fur!"

"A hound. Are the Srei people also using supernatural powers to assassinate commanding generals?"

Lake and Polo both realized this.

"If it weren't for my bear, I might already be dead."

The Bear Princess said, biting her lip, even drawing a trace of blood, "No matter what that thing is, I must—kill it!"

The Bear Princess used her slightly better hand to grip a dagger on the bed.

"Of course, if that hound was meant to assassinate you, it will definitely appear a second time,"

Polo said, "As long as you still pose a threat."

"The Srei people are trying to destroy the fighting spirit of the Baer Kingdom's soldiers."

"If you are not affected by this, but instead ignite the killing intent of the Baer Kingdom's soldiers, they will send that hound a second time!"

Although the Srei Kingdom's march was fast, its speed slowed down as it approached the Gothe Kingdom.

Each city slowed the Srei Kingdom's progress.

And the closer they got to the heart of Gothe, the more elaborate the defenses became.

Of course, there were also soldiers from the former Wither Kingdom. Although even with them, Gothe's forces were still inferior to Srei's, the guerrilla warfare based on terrain advantages still somewhat matched the Srei Kingdom's combat power.

"…Those Srei people are slaughtering our people, destroying our land. We must resist…"

"They sent assassins to kill the princess because they are afraid…"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The soldiers of the Baer Kingdom shouted, encouraged by the Bear Princess.

They waved their weapons, each of them prepared to face death. After the Srei Kingdom's massacre began, everyone understood that the only path ahead was to fight to the death.

……

In the Srei main army camp.

"It seems your little 'buddy's' assassination failed. That Baer Kingdom princess is still not dead."

Bluebeard Giles said, looking at Ferl, who was smoking nearby.

"There might have been some accidents. That princess had good luck."

Ferl paused, his face gloomy. He threw the cigarette in his hand on the ground and crushed it with his foot. "But this time, if she dares to show her face again, she won't have such good luck."

A spark popped out of the tinderbox.

The elephant-sized hound appeared beside him, its terrifying jaws exuding a strong bloody scent.

……

"The wind and the stench, it's that hound. Marlene also captured the shadow of that hound…"

In the city defended by the Bear Princess's soldiers, soldiers guarded every street.

Torches illuminated the night, casting strong, distinct light and shadows.

An elephant-sized hound swiftly swept through the shadows, its eyes filled with bloodthirsty cruelty.

Perhaps it didn't just execute such orders.

Perhaps it also had more intelligence and could understand more complex commands.

But without a doubt, this time, its actions were only for slaughter—nothing more.

It was a little puzzled as to why there were fewer soldiers guarding the city this time, or rather, fewer soldiers who tried to stop it because they had seen it.

But the hound did not slow down.

Because it would execute every request of the tinderbox owner as quickly as possible.

It could smell many things.

The scents of different humans, as well as the smells of various substances.

Such as gold coins, silver coins, and the smells of princesses, soldiers, and cattle and sheep. This was a talent given by magic, and it also gave it this extraordinary strong physique, plus an extremely unreasonable speed.

Before, the human named Ferl had ordered it to steal money and treasures…

With these magical enhancements,

it could succeed every time.

The scent outlined the entire structure of the city in its mind, the defenses, streets, and the princess it had failed to kill last time, appeared in its mind.

Last time, the bear beside that princess was a little too powerful.

The hound thought.

It wasn't an ordinary bear. It could actually hurt itself before it died!

But this time, no bear could stand in front of that princess.

And ordinary bears, even a hundred or a thousand, would be as fragile as rabbits under its claws.

"Woo——"

A shrill whistle sounded in the city.

It was too late.

The hound thought, it smashed through the window and pounced toward the fragile princess in the hall.

It seemed to have already seen itself easily tearing apart that weak girl.

The hound thought.

Until a wolf appeared in front of it.

"Wolf?"

The hound was a little disdainful.

Until the wolf's eyes lit up with magical light, and vines and some kind of curse appeared on the hound's body at the same time, it felt fear.

"Another powerful magical animal?"

The hound thought, this was something it had never seen before.

It wanted to resist with all its strength, but at this time, beside it, in a place where there was nothing before, a sharp sword cut through the air and pierced the hound's head.

How could it be?

There shouldn't be any scent that could hide from it, right?

The hound's thoughts were filled with confusion, and then its soul, blood, and magic, along with the starlight, were vented into the air.

"Killed it. This should indeed be a magical creature."

Polo's magical light disappeared from his eyes. He looked at the shadows to the side and asked, "Did you find where it came from?"

"Found the approximate location, but there is also some kind of similar magical energy interference in the Srei Kingdom's army."

Princess Marlene's voice came from the shadows, "If similar characteristics appear next time, the possibility of me locking onto the shadow's location will be greater."

"Good."

……

"Hmm? My dog… is dead?!"

In the Srei army, Ferl's eyes were fixed on the tinderbox in his hand, and a strand of blood dripped out along the edge of the tinderbox.

His face became even gloomier, and he wanted to strike a spark again.

But his actions were stopped by Bluebeard Giles beside him:

"Don't worry, Ferl."

Giles shook his head, "Your other two buddies are to be used in key places. This failure is not a bad thing. You and I both understand that we could not have lost in the first place.

This way, we can eliminate them faster, better, and more easily!"

"Huff…"

Ferl breathed a sigh of relief and released the tinderbox, but his face was still so gloomy that water could drip from it.

"They won't run away because they always think they can win."

"Those key figures must be killed. The plan for hell should not be delayed by any possible obstacles.

If you directly call out those two buddies, I'm afraid the people we really have to kill will escape!"

"I understand."

Ferl nodded, "This time, I did underestimate them a bit!"

"But it doesn't matter, it's just a little princess. Let her live a few more days."

……

The Srei army is extremely powerful. This time, ordinary cities and ambushes are no longer enough to resist them.

The power of their "holy water" is no longer something that mortal armies can easily resist.

"Prince, you should go to a safer place. Those Srei people will soon be coming for you."

The Gothe Kingdom's army came from the heartland.

This time, they had no room for retreat. Behind them were the civilians, and the homes, wives, and children of the soldiers.

And this time, the Srei people had completely abandoned their false masks.

All they brought was naked slaughter.

There wasn't even any "Holy Advent New Church" to bewitch the citizens or the army. They just killed everyone equally, whether they resisted or surrendered.

"I cannot retreat. All the soldiers believe in me, and that is why they are giving their all under my command."

On the chariot, Prince looked at the distant smoke of gunpowder, and a glimmer of sadness flashed in his sapphire pupils.

"Even if it is throwing an egg against a stone, I will die here with those who believe in me."

"But those Srei people… are devils. If they catch you…"

At the top of Prince's head, the golden swallow Ciparo said anxiously, she used her claws to grab Prince's golden curly hair, flapping her wings, as if to grab Prince and take him away from here.

But Prince smiled resolutely and shook his head.

"No, so many people are fighting for their families, their lives, everything they have, and as their king, I cannot retreat half a step."

"Then you should also go to the Celestial Ark. Those Srei people don't seem to have any means of attacking the sky…"

"Don't those Srei people understand this?"

Prince raised his golden sword. This sword looked radiant, but what forged the sharpness of the sword was not gold or wealth.

It was the faith guarded by the people of the Gothe Kingdom, the Wither Kingdom, the Baer Kingdom… many kingdoms.

"Moreover, my power and blessings can only bathe more warriors when I am personally on the battlefield.

They will also gain strength from this to fight and gain more hope."

Prince's gaze looked at the red gem on the hilt of his sword.

This red gem can give unparalleled power to fighting warriors. The legacy left by heaven allows mortals to finally have the qualifications to draw their swords against hell, but the only prerequisite is that Prince must be in this army.

Prince also understood this.

Those who have not experienced darkness can never dispel darkness. Only by first stepping into the shadows can one dispel the shadows.

"But those Srei people are really strong."

"I will defeat them."

Ciparo opened her mouth, she looked at Prince's eyes, the blue gemstones, without any impurities, in a trance, she recalled something.

That was long ago, when the Happy Prince requested that his last eyes be removed and given to the impoverished people.

At that time, the Happy Prince's tone was just as resolute.

He left no room for regret, even though he would never see the colors of the world again after that.

"I understand, Your Highness."

Cippalo's eyes flashed, and she no longer tried to persuade him.

"The war is about to begin, Cippalo. You have wings, and you are small, you can go to farther places..."

"No, Your Highness, I will be right above you. I won't go anywhere."

Cippalo also chuckled softly, "Just like last time."

"As long as we face the cold winter together, the north wind will no longer be so bleak and biting."

(End of this chapter)