Chapter 1

Jiran felt that the opportunity to escape this savage life had finally arrived.

After struggling to survive in the forest for half a month, he finally saw human figures today!

However, these people seemed to be in a bit of trouble. From his hiding place in the tree, he could see a battle taking place in a small clearing.

The main combatants were a team of five people on one side, and on the other, hundreds of beasts with tails as red as fire, resembling wolves.

"Be careful! There are too many red-tailed wolves; we need to retreat into the woods!" The leader of the five, a man in his forties with a full beard, shouted to his teammates while wielding a massive two-handed sword. A faint white light was continuously flickering around him.

"Ban and Beck, focus on the defenses on both sides! Lydia, provide magical support! Aileen, take care of the red-tailed wolves that slip through! Don't let your guard down; with so many red-tailed wolves, there must be a red-tailed fire wolf among them, and it could be hiding anywhere!" The bearded man continued to shout, his massive sword never stopping.

"Understood!" The response came from a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, with short hair and wearing a black robe. If not for the slight rise and fall of her robe, she could easily be mistaken for a boy. She held a staff, and after a brief incantation, a yellow light enveloped all five of them, forming a shield-like aura, clearly to enhance their defenses.

"Magic... So this is a world of magic! The script is all wrong! Did I choose the wrong evolutionary path?" Jiran was both delighted and surprised from his perch in the tree. He was delighted that the language here was similar to English, which he had studied well; he was surprised by the magical world.

"Let's not worry about that for now; let's see if there's a chance to join in..."

"Hey, Aileen, you should help me too! Look, the pressure here is much greater than on their side!" A man in his twenties, wielding a spear, shouted after flinging a red-tailed wolf away, then turned to the woman in the cloak behind him with a playful smile.

"Shut up, Beck! If you have time to talk, you should focus on your opponent. Be careful not to let them bite off something more important than your life!" The woman in the cloak, however, had a rather unforgiving tongue. Despite the coldness in her voice, it still sounded pleasant, but the malice in her words was unmistakable.

"Stop fooling around, Beck, and learn from Ban! And Aileen, be more ladylike! By the way, we're in a battle, not chatting in a tavern..." The bearded man weakly scolded the two. Clearly, although the battle was intense, it hadn't yet caused significant harm to the group.

"I've never thought about being a lady, and I doubt Lydia would either. Right, Lydia... duck!" The woman named Aileen, glancing at the mage girl who had unknowingly moved to the back of the group, suddenly shouted.

The girl named Lydia, startled, instinctively crouched down as Aileen had instructed. Almost simultaneously, a fire-red figure leaped over her head!

"Red-tailed fire wolf! Damn it, Huaruo, go!" Aileen waved her hand, and a silver-gray hawk that had been circling above her head swooped down toward the fire-red figure. At the same time, she drew a swift arrow from her longbow, which glowed with a green light.

However, it was too late. The red-tailed fire wolf, which was larger than the others and had a tail that seemed to be on fire, turned around and pounced on Lydia, who had fallen to the ground in shock.

At this moment, Jiran moved. Lydia had fallen right below the large tree where he was hiding.

He leaped down from the tree, his iron sword aimed directly at the red-tailed fire wolf's eyes!

The red-tailed fire wolf was clearly ferocious, but it couldn't ignore the sword aimed at its eyes. It stopped and dodged to the side, causing Jiran's sword to miss. However, Jiran had already landed on the ground, standing in front of Lydia.

The others were deeply concerned about Lydia's situation but were too busy with the red-tailed wolves' sudden intensified attacks to help. Seeing someone suddenly appear and save Lydia, they were surprised but couldn't afford to be distracted.

"Help us! We'll be over soon!" The bearded man roared, his body enveloped in a fierce white light. The red-tailed wolves in front of him were instantly cut in half by his massive two-handed sword!

Hearing this, Jiran smiled and waved his hand. "No problem, don't worry." Then, he took a step, and in an instant, he seemed to teleport several meters, reappearing next to the red-tailed fire wolf. Without hesitation, he swung his sword again!

In an instant, the red-tailed fire wolf was engaged. Jiran's sword movements were not particularly fast, but they were difficult for the opponent to resist. The sword drew lines in the air, compressing the space around the red-tailed fire wolf, leaving it no room to escape.

"Huaruo, attack!" The archer Aileen, hidden in the cloak, waved her hand, and the silver-gray hawk dove from the sky, its iron claws aimed at the red-tailed fire wolf's head. At the same time, she drew her bow and aimed at the red-tailed fire wolf!

Faced with so many attacks, the red-tailed fire wolf became enraged. With a long howl, its fur burst into flames! From a distance, the red-tailed fire wolf looked like a ball of fire, emitting a blinding light!

"Be careful, this red-tailed fire wolf is about to advance!" The bearded man shouted, warning the others.

Jiran, facing the red-tailed fire wolf, remained calm. His sword continued to swing, and his feet moved in a strange pattern. This pattern kept him on the side of the red-tailed fire wolf, and his sword continuously slashed at it. Although the sword's quality was poor and couldn't cause much damage, it still made the red-tailed fire wolf roar in anger.

In the next instant, the flames on the red-tailed fire wolf exploded. With a loud boom, countless flames scattered in all directions, turning into sparks. Each spark emitted astonishing heat!

The sparks startled Huaruo, who flew high into the sky, afraid to land. The archer Aileen, unable to see the red-tailed fire wolf through the sparks, hesitated to shoot her arrow. The young mage Lydia tried to disperse the flames but became more flustered, repeatedly mispronouncing her incantations...

Seeing the sparks about to engulf Jiran, the others were filled with anxiety. This person had clearly come to help them, but now he was in danger, and they couldn't do anything to assist...

Then, they were surprised to see the newcomer's figure weaving through the flames.

He swung his sword, creating a breeze that swept up the sparks and flung them aside. The figure weaved through the gaps formed by the breeze, moving through the flames without being harmed!

What kind of skill was this? Everyone was stunned, even allowing a few red-tailed wolves to gain an advantage. Fortunately, the group's combat experience was considerable, and they quickly regained control of the situation.

The red-tailed fire wolf, enraged by the failure of its ultimate attack, crouched low and then suddenly leaped at Jiran with incredible speed!

But when Jiran saw the red-tailed fire wolf's movement, he stood still. It seemed as if he had been waiting for this. He watched the red-tailed fire wolf's movements closely, and just as it pounced, he shifted his body to the side!

This movement was not large, but it was just enough to avoid the red-tailed fire wolf's pounce. As they passed each other, Jiran suddenly raised his arm, and his sword flashed like lightning.

The sword, at a strange angle, sliced directly from the red-tailed fire wolf's throat to its abdomen. The speed of this strike was so fast that only the bearded man and Aileen saw it clearly; the others only saw a flash of light.

When the red-tailed fire wolf's attack missed and it landed on the ground, it let out a mournful howl, struggled for a moment, and then lay still. A pool of blood slowly spread from beneath its body.

The red-tailed fire wolf was dead.

With the red-tailed fire wolf dead, the red-tailed wolves, now leaderless, howled and fled into the distance. The others, not pursuing the ordinary beasts, breathed a sigh of relief and gathered around Jiran and the young girl, Lydia.

With the battle over, the group finally had time to look at the newcomer, Jiran. He was young, about seventeen or eighteen, with black hair and eyes, a delicate face, and bright eyes that added to his handsome appearance. He stood next to the dead red-tailed fire wolf, smiling slightly.

"Thank you for your help; otherwise, our young mage would have been injured. Your sword skills are impressive, but they don't seem to be from around here... Are you an adventurer from far away?" The bearded man was friendly but didn't let his guard down. After all, a sudden appearance couldn't be easily accepted—no matter how much he had just saved his teammate.

Jiran smiled shyly at the group. "It's nothing, please don't worry too much. I just happened to be here. Even without my help, this young lady wouldn't have been seriously hurt. After all, that lady..." He turned and glanced at Aileen, still hidden in her cloak, and nodded. "...reacts quickly and should have been able to control the situation."

The woman in the cloak walked over, extending her arm to let the hawk land on it. "Don't flatter me; without you, the little one would have been injured. Is this flattery a way to show your usefulness?"

Her words were rather harsh, making the situation awkward. However, the bearded man was clearly skilled at handling such situations and stepped forward with a laugh. "Young man, how did you end up here? Where are your teammates? Or are you adventuring alone?"

Jiran scratched the back of his head, his face even more bashful. "Actually... I got lost... I was hunting in the mountains near my home, and after getting tired, I fell asleep on a broken stone ruin. When I woke up, I was here. By the way, my name is Jiran, nice to meet you all."

Page AD starts

Page AD ends