The sun sank in the west, and the moon rose.
Inside the duty cabin, Colin stood by the wooden window.
It had just poured in the afternoon, and now the stars twinkled like diamonds against the night sky, as numerous and dense as the gravel along the riverbank, beyond counting.
...but not a single one was familiar to him.
For some reason, he felt that this night was lonelier than usual.
It seemed to be an illusion, but it was not an illusion.
Guarding the fields was not voluntary labor; it involved the distribution of interests among various forces.
Now, with seven duty wizards suddenly dead, it was impossible to adjust and replenish the manpower promptly.
Therefore, in what used to be a long area connected by ten cabins, now only he, Holt, and Marlow remained.
If the cabins were ordered from left to right, from one to ten.
Usually, he would be in the seventh cabin, while Holt would be on his right, in the eighth cabin.
Marlow would be on his left, occupying the third cabin.
But tonight, Holt, perhaps having a clearer understanding of his strength and wanting him to do more, had moved one cabin to the right.
He had divided the areas that he and Catherine were responsible for between Colin.
So at this moment, the cabins on both sides were unoccupied.
However, Colin wasn't worried about being overwhelmed.
After all, they had nearly wiped out the Black-Maned Giant Pigs in the outer perimeter yesterday, and it was unlikely that a large number of fierce beasts would attack anytime soon.
Drip~ Drip~ Drip.
The footsteps of the City Guards on patrol gradually approached.
Soon, a team of armored strong men carrying torches appeared in Colin's line of sight.
The captain of the City Guards caught sight of Colin, paused briefly, and bowed respectfully.
Colin gave a slight nod.
This captain was the same Guard captain who had brought him a gift on his first day of duty, a familiar face.
Seeing his nod, the Guard captain continued to lead his team forward, quickly passing by the duty cabin.
Colin also left the window and walked back to the center of the room to continue his training.
The group of City Guards walked along the furrows for a while, then turned left and, following the fixed patrol route, entered the dark fields.
The further they got from the wizards' duty cabins, the more cautious their expressions became.
Although the stars were brilliant tonight, the moon was dim, making it a typically dark and windy night. Without the use of torches, it was impossible to see clearly.
After walking for a short while.
Swoosh!
A dark shadow hurried past them, accompanied by the sound of the wind.
"Be alert!"
The Guard captain bellowed while reaching for a signal flare.
Clang.
His subordinates drew their swords from their scabbards, looking tense.
The group slowly moved towards the direction in which the shadow had fled.
It was not yet confirmed if it was a fierce beast, so they couldn't hastily shoot off the signal flare.
For a moment, the whole world seemed to quiet down.
Only the whooshing of the flames burning and their anxious heartbeats remained.
As the City Guards got closer to the shadow and its details were illuminated by the torchlight, the leading Guard saw what it was.
"Damn it, it's just a rabbit!" he suddenly cursed under his breath and readied his bow and arrow.
Swoosh!
The arrow whirled through the air and pinned the rabbit to the ground with precision.
The others released a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
"...I wonder when the new wizards will come," the Guard who had shot the rabbit complained as he walked towards the animal.
"Yeah, I always feel uneasy. Such a long area with only three wizards... can they really handle it?" someone chimed in.
"Sigh, we're still better off here; at least we have one wizard. There are many areas with no duty wizards at all... right, captain?"
The Guard captain's face remained calm, and he didn't answer. After the archer picked up the rabbit, he continued to lead the team forward.
He did not stop the team members from continuing to chat.
After all, these City Guards risked losing their lives every day on patrol, and it was important to have an outlet.
As they walked and talked, someone suddenly asked:
"Actually, why did so many wizards suddenly die?"
"…I heard it's because a terrifying creature appeared in the Dark Forest."
"A creature even the wizards couldn't handle?"
The crowd went silent.
"Don't worry, that creature has been dealt with," the lead Guard captain, noticing the conversation, suddenly spoke up to reassure them, then added:
"Do you remember the huge Black Pig from before?"
The group nodded.
"The creature the wizards encountered in the Dark Forest was just like it... only several times larger."
He then shared all the information he knew with his teammates.
…
Just after sharing, a young Guard who had recently joined asked incredulously:
"Captain, your friend isn't exaggerating, right? There really was a pig that big?"
The Guard captain just laughed, saying nothing.
His friend had personally gone to the Dark Forest to carry pork back, so it couldn't be a lie.
The young Guard didn't pay it much attention either; it was just an exclamation.
The Black-Maned Giant Pigs that had previously appeared in the fields were already beyond his imagination in size, and to think there could be even larger ones was unfathomable.
After a while, as if something occurred to him, he asked:
"Captain, isn't the duty wizard for our area a newly Advanced wizard?
Why is it that only he and the other two Advanced wizards survived?"
The Guard captain shook his head:
"I don't know… but no matter how they survived, since they were able to, they must have exceptional qualities.
…At least, they are exceptional when it comes to survival."
He paused for a moment and then continued:
""
"My friend said that when he was dissecting the giant pig's carcass, he just happened to encounter the wizard coming out of the pool," Colin couldn't help but scare him quite a bit."
"..."
"...Hiding in the pool?" After a while, someone murmured softly.
The patrolling crowd was filled with myriad thoughts, but nobody paid him any mind, and the topic came to a halt right there.
The Guard captain was also somewhat anxious. He inexplicably thought of what Colin had hinted to the guards on the day he arrived...
Having strong survival skills doesn't mean one is powerful...
After a while, he seemed to feel that the atmosphere was too silent and spoke again:
"There's no need to worry too much, the wizards have already wiped out the giant pigs in one fell swoop this time. There shouldn't be any more giant pig attacks."
"But even if there are no more giant pigs, there are still other fierce beasts... Weren't there no giant pigs before?" A member of the team quietly contended.
The Guard captain also realized the oversight in his own words and fell silent for a moment.
After a while, he sighed, "Anyway, be careful..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly closed his mouth, raised his hand to signal everyone to be silent, and then tilted his head slightly, pricking up his ears.
Crack-crack.
A faint sound came from the nearby Dark Forest.
It seemed to be the sound of branches breaking, sounding as if something was continuously crashing through the forest... and it seemed to be getting closer!
The Guard captain's face changed slightly, and he unfastened the signal flare from his waist.
Whoosh!
The next second, a Black-Maned Giant Pig burst out from the Dark Forest. Even in the darkness, its massive body was unmistakable without needing a clear view.
"Fall back!"
The Guard captain's expression was calm as he ordered his men while quickly launching the signal flare in his hand.
Swish!
The signal flare shot up into the sky.
"Howl!"
A fierce wolf howl suddenly rang out!
Bang!
The bright signal flare burst open in the sky.
Illuminated by the light from the signal flare, the City Guards could clearly see the scene before them.
Behind the panicked Black-Maned Giant Pig were eight or nine grey giant wolves, each only slightly smaller than the pig!
Among them, the one at the rear of the pack, a white giant wolf with an extraordinary demeanor, was now eyeing the City Guards with an almost human-like gaze.
"Run!"
The Guard captain instantly sensed danger, and with a sharp cry, he led the way toward the cabin where Colin was.
The Wolf King had noticed them, and who knew if it would suddenly decide to make them its extra meal.
"Howl!"
The worst had happened.
At the command of the Wolf King, the pack split, with two grey wolves breaking off and chasing in their direction.
The Guard captain's pace involuntarily quickened.
But as he ran, he suddenly noticed something amiss.
After a subconscious glance around, his expression dramatically changed, and he urgently shouted:
"Come back! Don't run off in other directions!!"
He had never imagined that one-third of his men would foolishly choose to run towards the cabin where the Advanced Wizard Holt was on duty, an even farther location!
What he expected even less was that after hearing his shouts, another one of his men who had stayed by his side gritted his teeth and suddenly turned to run toward the Advanced Wizard Holt's cabin as well.
He was anxious and angry!
Fools!
He understood the guards' thinking. They just felt Colin couldn't handle these giant wolves...
But hadn't they thought it through? Even if Colin was as weak as they imagined!
They wouldn't have time to reach where the Advanced Wizard Holt was before being overtaken and torn apart by the giant wolves!
Such foolishness!
"Howl!"
The howling resumed, and the sound of the pursuing giant wolves' footsteps suddenly lessened behind him.
It was clear that one had gone after the other City Guards.
The Guard captain was panting heavily, his thoughts now too crowded to entertain anything else.
The giant wolf behind him was drawing ever closer, and he felt as if he could already smell its fetid breath.
"Ah!"
But just then, a young City Guard at his side cried out in pain and fell heavily to the ground, apparently having twisted his ankle.
He instinctively reached out to help but misjudged the young Guard's falling force.
In an instant, he was pulled off balance and fell to the ground alongside the young Guard.
'It's over...' As he lay there, with the presence of the giant wolf drawing near behind him, a strong sense of fear filled his heart.
And the City Guard by his side had had the bad luck of falling on his head and was now unconscious!
Sss!
But at that moment, a faint sound of slicing through the air suddenly came.
Bang!
Immediately after, he felt the ground shake as if something heavy had fallen.
Then, a pair of booted feet appeared in front of him.
The Guard captain looked up, slightly taken aback.
He hadn't expected that after falling, what awaited him was not the horrific wolf's kiss... but rather, Colin's figure.
He glanced back instinctively and then jerked back sharply.
A grey giant wolf lay less than half a meter behind him, its wide-open wolf head facing him.
If it weren't for the hole that pierced completely through its skull, it would appear to be still alive.
Thus, caught off guard, he was startled.
Upon seeing that the Guard captain seemed to be unharmed, Colin didn't linger and continued to chase after the other giant wolves.
However, he didn't understand why some of the City Guards had run off in the distance. Could it be panic?
He sighed softly. Given his current speed, it would be difficult to save them...
At this moment, the Guard captain finally came to his senses. He watched Colin's figure receding into the distance, his pupils slightly dilating, his heart full of shock.
It was a long while before he slowly got to his feet.