"Let me see what this interesting little thing is all about..."
The Dog King began to retrieve more detailed target information through the time network.
The Time Hound clan possesses a unique tracking ability, able to trace the traces of space-time fluctuations and backtrack the target’s past trajectory.
Through this method, they can obtain detailed information about the prey, including strength levels, behavior patterns, and even psychological weaknesses.
The image of time began to unfold in front of the Dog King, like a dynamic historical scroll.
It saw Ron’s growth trajectory starting from his apprenticeship:
His youthful appearance when he first joined the Black Mist School, the fight in the dormitory corridor with the aberrant monsters, the thrilling experience of daring to venture into the Great Abyss just after becoming an Official Wizard...
As the images progressed, the Dog King gradually became serious.
This young man’s growth rate was indeed abnormal, always able to unleash power beyond common sense in dire situations.
Moreover, from the information starting at the Morning Star Level, everything was completely obscured by a certain high-dimensional mist.
He seemed to carry high-level imprints from multiple different domains.
"The scent of chaos, the mark of stars, and..."
The Dog King’s attention was suddenly drawn to a detail.
On Ron, there was an object emitting a faint silver light.
As the observation deepened, the outline of that object gradually became clear.
It was a delicate silver pocket watch.
The moment the Dog King’s consciousness touched that pocket watch, a familiar yet terrifying scent washed over it.
It was a scent that made its soul tremble deeply.
Carrying the absolute control of time, and a massive terror from deep within ancient memories.
"No... impossible, this scent!!!"
The Dog King’s body began to tremble violently, its massive tentacles curling up unconsciously, like a frightened real dog.
That scent awakened the terrifying past buried deepest in its memory.
.........
It was an ordinary afternoon in the middle of the Second Era, and the Time Hound tribe was at its peak.
The Dog King at that time was just an elite hound, second only to the old Dog King and several leaders in the tribe.
It had just completed a long hunt and returned to its lair deep in the river of time, falling into a deep slumber exhausted.
The slumbering of Time Hounds is different from ordinary creatures.
In the depths of the time river, they need to immerse their consciousness deep into the bottom of the time flow, synchronizing with the surrounding time fluctuations to achieve true rest.
Once this kind of slumber begins, it is difficult to be interrupted by external interference.
It was this untimely deep slumber that saved its life.
Because just as it was asleep, an unprecedented event occurred within the tribe.
A sentinel of the tribe reported finding a strange "remnant" in a remote time branch.
It seemed to be the phantom skeleton prototype of a Dark Sun Level Wizard, quietly floating in the corner of the turbulent time flow.
The phantom skeleton emitted a rich time aura, but its vital signs were extremely weak, almost close to death.
More enticingly, countless precious time fragments surrounded this phantom skeleton, each containing pure time essence.
For hounds that feed on time energy, such a discovery is akin to finding an oasis in the desert.
Especially the phantom skeleton itself, radiating a time aura so rich it was suffocating.
If such a powerful time element wizard could be devoured, the tribe’s strength as a whole would be significantly enhanced.
The old Dog King was in a critical period of wanting to advance further at that time.
A "supplement" of this level had a lethal attraction for it.
It quickly gathered all the elite individuals in the tribe, preparing to collectively hunt this seemingly dying human.
A total of thirteen elite hounds responded to the summoning, including several top predators ranking just below the Dog King.
They were eagerly preparing to enjoy this hard-earned feast.
Under normal circumstances, it too, as one of the elite individuals, should have received the summon.
But the special environment in the depths of the time river interfered with the signal’s transmission.
In addition, its slumber depth was extraordinarily deep, completely shielding all outside fluctuations.
Thus, this "feast" began, while it continued its slumber completely unaware.
.........
When the Dog King awoke from its sleep and learned of this incident, it was filled with regret for not catching this "feast".
But what followed was the deathly silence from the tribe’s network.
That silence was not the usual quietness, but an absolute, spine-chilling void.
It was like a beautiful symphony abruptly interrupted, leaving only piercing noise.
Panic began spreading through its heart, an unprecedented ominous foreboding making its whole body tremble.
The Dog King started tracing the time marks, tracking the final action trajectories of the tribe members.
It discovered all the tracks pointed in the same direction.
That remote time branch where the "remnant" was discovered.
When it arrived at the scene, the sight before it was almost unbelievable.
The entire area of the time branch had been completely "purged".
The time turbulence that should have existed vanished without a trace.
At the center of this void, a witch stood with her back facing it.
She had long grey hair, a slender and elegant figure, and held a silver-glowing staff.