Chapter 168: Phantom or True Demon...

The demonic wolf, battered by consecutive heavy blows, flipped over, scrambled to its feet, and snarled at Winigo. Without a word, Winigo stepped in close, threw his arms around his opponent, and hurled it heavily to the ground in a rolling tackle. Before the beast could recover, Winigo brought his elbow down hard upon it.

Struggling violently, the demonic wolf failed to rise. Winigo let out a low chuckle, leaped into the air, wrapped his legs tightly around the creature's neck, and used his downward momentum to swing the entire wolf over, slamming it headfirst into the earth with a sound of profound satisfaction.

Clark’s fighting style lacked flamboyant flourish, but every punch and kick packed terrifying power. He excelled particularly in grappling and throwing, precisely the capability Winigo sought to leverage.

Winigo glanced to the side. Sophie had just knocked down the other demonic wolf with her arena blade and pierced straight through its body with her sword.

"Look, handled," Winigo said with a smile, dusting off his hands.

Suddenly, the two slain demonic wolves vanished into thin air like melting blocks of ice. The moment Winigo noticed this, a third demonic wolf materialized silently behind him and lunged.

Where had this one come from?

Sophie was already hurtling forward. She brought her blade down in a swift arc, cleaving the wolf in two. Yet by then, the beast was simply too close to Winigo.

Its massive claws were on the verge of driving deep into Winigo’s back. Without a second thought, Sophie stepped sideways, using her own body as a shield.

Thud...

The demonic wolf’s claws drove deep into Sophie’s right chest, sending a spray of blood into the air. Her face paled instantly. Driving her greatsword into the ground to steady herself, she leaned on it and cast one quick glance back at Winigo.

Winigo was at a loss for words. Hastily pulling out potions and bandages, he paused for a fraction of a second before unhesitatingly tearing open Sophie’s outer garments to bind her wounds.

Sophie’s face flushed as red as a ripe tomato.

"You fool," Winigo muttered softly. "Wouldn't you have been fine just pushing me away?"

"I didn't think that far," Sophie replied in a faint voice. "My body just moved on its own."

"I underestimated our enemy. Those demonic wolves weren't native magical beasts, but creatures altered through some form of sorcery—they vanish upon defeat, only for a new one to take their place. That trait is exceedingly rare."

"So that's why we missed the ambush," Sophie murmured.

"Even my danger sense didn't pick it up, or rather, by the time it did, it was already too late." Winigo canceled his character build and sighed. "What a bizarre method of attack. I wonder how Arcana and Sona are doing."

"Don't worry, Arcana is very clever," Sophie answered.

"True," Winigo chuckled softly. "Though she usually acts a bit ditzy, that little one is anything but foolish."

He gazed at Sophie until a faint blush crept back onto the girl's cheeks, then said gently, "Don't do that again."

"I'll try," Sophie replied.

Both fell silent, suddenly frozen. Sophie had never been so intimately close to any man; she seemed entirely at a loss for what to do with herself, yet reluctant to push Winigo away. The two of them stood stiffly in place, an oddly comical sight.

An odd sight? Who else was here?

Sona and the little wolf-princess.

At some point, the two missing lolis had crept out from the woods, hiding behind the foliage with their hands pressed over their mouths, thoroughly enjoying the show. It wasn't until the wolf-princess let out a suppressed giggle that a flushed Sophie finally struggled out of Winigo’s embrace, turning her face away.

Winigo, possessing a rather thick skin, simply winked at the wolf-princess before turning back to support Sophie.

They rested on the spot. Once Sophie finished bandaging her wounds and the ingested potion took effect, Winigo began to inspect the liquid left behind by the slain demonic wolf.

It was nothing more than pure water.

"Sorcery or magic. Though judging by what we saw earlier, it's definitely sorcery," Winigo deduced. "How stingy, leaving me with nothing at all."

Turning around to find the wolf-princess and Sona still whispering and giggling together, he stepped over, pinned both lolis down with one hand each, and rubbed his palms back and forth over their heads. The two little ones wore expressions of pure enjoyment until Winigo hauled them to their feet, whereupon they stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Stop messing around and hurry up and find the master of these idiots! I've had enough of this fog and all these monster attacks!" Winigo complained.

"Leave it to me!" the wolf-princess chirped excitedly, making as if to dash back into the woods.

"Not alone. You'll get lost," Winigo said, grabbing her by the collar.

"I won't! I can smell their scent. Follow me, follow me!" the wolf-princess declared enthusiastically. She could easily have broken free from Winigo’s grip, yet for some reason, despite her bouncing and dancing around, she never actually pulled away.

"Be careful. Sophie?" Winigo glanced back at Sophie. She nodded, leaning on her sword as she stood up to signal she was fine.

"Let's go! Follow me! Aha!" the wolf-princess shrieked, plunging headfirst into the forest.

A flash of cold light erupted. The wolf-princess cut through the woods like a streak of pure starlight. A moment later, two pitch-black human-shaped figures slowly toppled out from behind the trees.

A claw thrust forward, retrieved, and she continued running at full speed without even breaking her stride—taking out the two hidden assassins instantly. Sophie had been right; the wolf-princess might look adorably dim-witted, but she was actually the hardest person in the group to ambush.

Along the way, they encountered numerous sorcery-crafted monsters: giant bloated frogs exuding an aura of death, half-human half-lizard flesh puppets, and maiden-like constructs formed entirely of pure water elementals, thoroughly opening Winigo and his companions' eyes. The unassuming frog proved especially dangerous; its croak unleashed a direct wave of death winds, and had the wolf-princess not reacted swiftly to yank Winigo out of the way, he likely would have been incapacitated or killed on the spot.

Despite the bewildering sorcerous fog that obscured all directions, the wolf-princess's primal, beastly instincts successfully guided them toward the heart of the forest. There, she definitively locked onto the target's scent.

Following that trail, she led Winigo and the others to their destination.

A small wooden cabin perched securely between two massive trees.

"Not a bad sense of taste," Winigo praised. "Simple, clean, and carrying a deep, heavy underlying tone in the details. It seems we won't be bored."

"Do you know anything about architecture?" the wolf-princess tilted her head and asked curiously.

Winigo merely smiled. Would he casually tell her he had the Escardons Information Orb backing him up as an intelligence network?

"I share the exact same sentiment. I am thoroughly sick of dealing with muscle-bound barbarians who only know how to swing swords. It is rare indeed to have a tasteful guest... or perhaps, enemy." An elderly woman's voice echoed from within the cabin. "Please, do come in. Oh, and there are no traps."

The enemy claims there are no traps—would you believe that? This was a test.

Winigo shrugged, looking up at the wooden cabin as if debating whether to climb. Suddenly, he remarked, "Do you expect me to climb up there? What a pain. Physical labor like tree-climbing is something I'm utterly terrible at."

The master of the cabin gave no reply. Winigo circled the two trees once before reaching out to pat and stroke the branch of one. With a sharp click, a metal disc descended from beneath the wooden cabin.

"A magical elevator? Fascinating," Winigo smiled.

The four of them stepped onto the disc, carried upward toward the treehouse by the platform, which felt as thin as paper. Sona tightly grasped Sophie's hand, unsure whether she was steadying the injured woman or simply paralyzed by pale-faced terror. The wolf-princess, however, was thrilled to death, letting out a long, echoing howl.

Inside the treehouse lay a vast space, which drastically contradicted its seemingly modest exterior—spatial technology?

"Could it be that you're a Kurgin too?" Winigo scratched his head.

In a corner of the room, an old woman draped in a tattered cloak raised her head, revealing a pair of glowing green eyes.

"You know of the Kurgins as well," the old woman said as she stood up. "I am no Kurgin. I am a witch of the Black Forest. Yes, precisely the kind of crone local mothers use to frighten unruly children."

"Or rather, a witch specializing in black sorcery," Winigo smiled. "Judging by your tone, you are well aware of the Kurgins."

"Indeed. My foundational mentor was a Kurgin," the witch nodded. "Pity that many of his techniques relied on resources native only to the Kurgins to function. Later on, I branched out into sorcery, integrating the techniques he taught me into my own magical research, which ultimately made me who I am today."

"What happened to your teacher?" the wolf-princess asked curiously.

"He wished to establish a kingdom within the woods. Unfortunately, I had no time to play such tedious games with him, so I killed him," the witch said, as casually as though discussing what to have for midday meal. "My time is too precious to run errands for him."

"My, my, what a heartless individual," Winigo chuckled. "Your teacher must have died quite frustrated."

"He died without a shred of pain. I merely tested my new poison on him. The results were quite satisfactory."

"Poison? That is a wondrous creation. If the toxins aren't potent enough, they fail to work, yet if they are too strong, they usually leave obvious traits like taste, smell, or color. How did you overcome that hurdle?" Winigo inquired.

"I didn't," the witch replied, shaking her head. "However, my esteemed teacher never looked when he drank during his experiments. Even if you had filled his cup with molten lava, he would have swallowed it in a single gulp."

Winigo let out an "ah" and remained silent, turning his gaze to survey the surroundings.

"You've probably already guessed," Winigo said abruptly. "I happen to have quite a few technologies originating from the Kurgins on hand. Care to trade some of the less critical secrets?"

It was a fine proposal, yet could things really go this smoothly?