In a small village of a few hundred souls, over thirty fully armored knights scoured every corner.

A young girl crouched low, meticulously examining a snake-man corpse.

She had golden hair, a straight nose, delicate brows, and bright eyes. Her features were symmetrical and beautiful, yet radiated a heroic spirit. A long ponytail swayed behind her head. Clad head-to-toe in silver-white armor, the longsword at her waist gleamed fiercely in the sun. The curve of her chest plate hinted at a generous figure.

Suddenly, she frowned tightly. A trace of worry flickered in her blue eyes. She spotted a thin wound near the dead snake-man’s neck—so faint it was almost invisible. She’d never seen any weapon cause such a strange injury.

A soldier in matching silver armor approached. "Commander, the investigation’s complete. No survivors. All corpses are elderly snake-men. The culprits are definitely illegal slavers."

Hearing this, she gripped her sword hilt hard. Fury burned inside her. Damn those beasts! They knew we were hunting them—yet still acted so brazenly?

"Understood. Tell everyone to gear up and move out. Keep patrolling. The slavers are likely still in this forest."

"Yes, sir!"

A warhorse neighed. The girl led her knights toward the next target.

......

"A Luo, do you have parents or siblings?"

"Nope! I’m an orphan. The whole village raised me."

"Hurry, big brother! It’s just ahead!"

Guided by A Luo, Kuber finally reached her village. The sight stunned him.

The place looked ransacked by bandits. Ruins and desolation stretched everywhere. Crumbled house walls dotted the landscape. Werewolf corpses lay scattered about.

"This..." Kuber stared, speechless.

Little A Luo froze for a moment. Then tears instantly filled her eyes. She jumped off Kuber’s shoulders, dropped the herbs she’d gathered, and dashed into the village like a madwoman, searching frantically.

She returned to Kuber, face full of despair. Sobbing, she whispered, "Gone... everyone’s gone. Everyone’s dead. Waaah..."

"Shh, don’t cry, A Luo. I’ll take care of you now." Kuber ruffled her head and pulled her close. She cried even harder.

"Th-thank you, big brother... waaah..."

"Alright, let’s leave first." Kuber lifted her onto his shoulders again. A twinge of guilt hit him—he felt no sadness over her ruined village, only secret joy. Guilty thoughts. He shook his head, dismissing them, and walked out. Anyway, he’d just gained a little werewolf companion.

He hadn’t gone far when hooves thundered nearby. Before he could react, fully armored knights surrounded him completely.

A golden-haired girl in silver-white armor leaped off her horse. She glared at Kuber, teeth gritted. Her fierce eyes made him wonder if he’d slept with her and skipped payment.

She drew her longsword, pointing it straight at him. "Put down the kid on your shoulders. Draw your weapon. Win a one-on-one duel against me, and I’ll let you go."

"......" Kuber froze, dumbfounded. What the hell? Is this little werewolf that valuable? They sent a whole knight squad just to grab a kid?