Chapter 208: The Shadow Hunt

Kellar observed the two wolves standing side by side. The difference in size and fur tone was clear, but what intrigued him most was the actual impact of this split on their overall capabilities.

"And now that you’re separated, are you weaker?" asked Kellar with intrigue, crossing his arms as he inspected them closely.

"Yes, master," answered Fenrir out loud. "When we separate, our individual strength drops drastically. We only split up to scout or ambush lesser prey."

Kellar immediately brought up the interface to confirm it, noting that Fenrir’s attributes had indeed been cut in half. His dexterity had plummeted to 75, and his strength to 25.

"I see... when you’re together, your stats multiply by two," analyzed Kellar with a nod. "Merge again, I want to see what you’re capable of at full power."

"Of course, master," said the wolf.

Moments later, the gray female dissolved into a thick mist that seemed to dance around Fenrir like a shadow, before being absorbed through his spine. The beast’s presence doubled in a heartbeat, and its red eyes burned with intensity.

Kellar immediately began testing the creature’s full mobility to figure out how to deploy him on the battlefield.

"Run over there and come back!" instructed Kellar, pointing toward a hill three hundred yards out.

The shadow wolf shot forward like a streak of black lightning, barely brushing the grass, completing the distance in the blink of an eye. Kellar kept pushing him with shifts in momentum and complex maneuvers.

"Now zig-zag toward that tree! Make a sharp left turn and come back at top speed!" ordered Kellar.

Fenrir executed every command with agility, slicing through the air at impossible angles that would have unseated any rider. However, after a sustained long-distance sprint, Kellar noticed the creature’s chest heaving as it let out gasps.

"You tire quickly during long runs," observed Kellar, stepping closer to examine him.

"It is our nature, master," explained Fenrir out loud, catching his breath. "In our world, we are used to moving slow and patient, stalking through the shadows. Once we are close enough, we use a single explosive sprint to snap the prey’s neck. That is how we normally hunt."

"I understand. An ambush hunter, not a long-distance chaser," reasoned Kellar. "Still, that initial acceleration is lethal. But I need to know how hard your natural weapons are."

Kellar turned to the guards watching the drill from a distance.

"Bring me a heavy steel chain from the storeroom!" ordered Kellar.

In under three minutes, two soldiers rushed back carrying a thick reinforced steel chain. Kellar took the metal link and held it before the wolf’s snout.

"Bite this. I want to see if your fangs can handle steel," instructed Kellar.

Fenrir opened his jaws, exposing a row of jet-black teeth sharp as runic daggers. Without hesitation, he clamped his jaw down over the primary link with brute force.

CRACK!

A metallic screech echoed across the field as the thick steel chain snapped into two clean pieces, showering metal shards onto the dirt. Fenrir’s fangs showed not a single scratch.

Seeing that his teeth were hard enough to pulverize steel without effort, Kellar was pleasantly surprised.

"Impressive..." muttered Kellar with admiration, stroking the wolf’s snout. "How can I help you evolve? How do your kind grow, and how strong can you become?"

The wolf perked his ears and locked eyes with him, a gleam of reverence in his gaze.

"To become a Wolf King, I must devour prey stronger than myself," articulated Fenrir out loud. "By absorbing the cores and blood of superior beasts, my body will adapt, and my race’s limits will break."

"I will help you evolve," promised Kellar with a confident smirk, his thoughts shifting to the swarms emerging from the Ash Valley. "You’ll have more high-tier prey than you can eat."

"I thank you deeply, master," replied the wolf, lowering his head in a gesture of gratitude.

Kellar gave him a pat on the back and smiled with confidence.

"You may roam freely wherever my little one takes you. I want you to hunt the beasts in the area, but be careful; if you find things you cannot kill, return to report," ordered Kellar.

Then he looked up at the sky and called down the massive bird.

"Green, take us. I’ll show him where his territory will be," said Kellar.

Green glided down from the clouds and lowered her head. Kellar leaped onto her back in a single fluid movement. Right after, the eagle launched into the air, hovered for a second, and swooped down, clutching the giant wolf with her gargantuan talons, carrying him off suspended at blinding speed.

Upon reaching the mountain fortress, the eagle dropped the beast onto the courtyard. The moment the wolf touched the ground, his legs wobbled, collapsing to the dirt without strength as he tried to regain his breath.

"What terrifying speed, master..." said Fenrir, his gaze still disoriented from the aerial haul.

"Green is strong, but you will be too, don’t worry. Now this place and these people are what you must defend," told him Kellar, stepping down effortlessly from the eagle’s back.

Brak, having spotted the eagle descending from a distance, had already sprinted full speed toward the main courtyard. Upon seeing that it was Kellar, the Great Shaman, he skidded to a halt, offered a deep bow, and asked in awe:

"Are these the clan’s new beasts?"

"Yes, he will assist us from today on," replied Kellar, gesturing toward the shadow canine. "This is Fenrir. He will be in charge of patrolling the surroundings. Stay alert to his behavior; he will report if something goes wrong."

Brak eyed the impressive wolf with skepticism, still trying to grasp how they would communicate with the beast on a daily basis.

"And how will we know what he’s trying to tell us?" asked Brak, scratching the back of his neck as he stared at the shadow creature.

Kellar turned toward the canine and gave him one last instruction through their mental link.

"Good question," said Kellar to Brak, before turning back to Fenrir. "And if things get ugly and they need to evacuate, howl three times in a row. That will be the signal to leave."

Fenrir gave a nod of understanding, while the fortress guards recorded the command with seriousness, knowing that from that moment on, the safety of the stronghold also rested on the wolf’s watch.

Author’s Note

Hello everyone! A quick apology.

I made a mistake while scheduling the automatic Chapter releases and missed uploading one in between. I know the story progression felt a bit strange, but I’ve already fixed and reordered everything so the sequence flows properly.

If you already unlocked or bought the affected Chapters, you don’t need to pay anything extra. I simply updated the text within those Chapters, so you can just open them again to read the correct version.

Corrected Chapters in order:

Chapter 206

Chapter 207

Chapter 208

Sorry for the confusion, and thank you so much for your patience and support!