Henry Walker planted the torch firmly, then carefully took out a paper packet from his waist pouch. Inside the packet was a piece of fresh pork he had just cut that afternoon.

The oiled paper was slowly unfolded and placed on the ground.

The surface of the meat was still covered with blood, and a strong, fishy smell quickly drifted away with the wind.

Henry Walker held his knife and moved a little further away, crouching behind a large rock to wait.

The wind was a bit cold.

Henry Walker turned his body sideways, pressing close to a white stone taller than a person, and looked toward the meat.

Time passed slowly.

Ooo...

Soon, a faint sound drifted in with the wind, seeming like the wind itself, yet also like the whimpering of some animal.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a black shadow pounced from the side. In the torchlight, a pair of green, gleaming eyes appeared.

The black shadow moved extremely fast, leaping straight to the meat, grabbing it in its mouth, and running off.

Henry Walker felt a surge of joy and was about to move.

Suddenly, his back tightened.

A cold gust hit his back.

Henry Walker's eyes widened. He swung his broadsword in a horizontal slash as he turned.

Chapter 6: The Black Society

This slash was fast and fierce, almost as if he had practiced it countless times.

Henry Walker's body responded instinctively.

He saw a mass of black behind him—a shadow lunging at him—get struck by the blade.

The blade rebounded with a sensation of toughness and hardness. Using the force of the impact, the broadsword swept the attacking shadow aside.

Bang!

The shadow crashed to the ground, rolling a few times and letting out a whimper. In the torchlight, he saw it was a wild wolf! Its waist had been split open by a huge gash from the blade.

There was no time to think. Henry Walker saw two more wild wolves leaping at him from both sides, using the darkness as cover.

His body reacted instinctively.

He raised the broadsword to the left, blocking one wolf with the shaft, then spun and flung it, slamming the wolf into the other.

Thud.

These two powerful moves immediately left him somewhat exhausted.

After all, not long ago, he had still been a frail young master from a wealthy family.

The two wild wolves yelped in pain and were thrown aside.

Henry Walker, panting and red-eyed, raised his blade and unleashed a Tiger Fiend move at the nearest wolf!

The blade came down from above, slightly angled, his wrist trembling violently, vibrating three times in succession according to the technique's rhythm.

Whoosh!

It was as if the wind carried the roar of a fierce tiger.

The two wild wolves shuddered in fear, their movements slowing for a moment.

In a flash, the broadsword gleamed, and one wolf was decapitated on the spot.

The other was nicked on the neck by the tip of the blade, and blood quickly seeped out.

Henry Walker summoned his strength and struck again, this time using Tiger Might.

His forearm vibrated four times, each time releasing a different force, combining all his strength and channeling it into the blade.

Tiger Might emphasized speed over Tiger Fiend, with slightly less power. But even so, it was not something a wild wolf's fragile neck could withstand.

The wolf had no time to dodge and was struck hard on the neck by the suddenly accelerated broadsword.

Squelch.

The wolf's head hit the ground.

Henry Walker gasped for breath.

This series of powerful moves left fine beads of white sweat seeping from his face.

Ooo...

There was still one wild wolf left—the one that had snatched the meat earlier.

It now circled around the rock, its green eyes glaring fiercely at Henry Walker.

"Still too weak physically..."

Henry Walker felt a bit anxious.

But his expression remained calm. He knew that when facing wild beasts, you must never retreat or show fear.

"Hmm!?"

He stared wide-eyed, glaring fiercely at the wild wolf.

The last wolf stared intently at him for a while, then slowly began to back away.

Not until the wolf had completely retreated into the darkness

did Henry Walker finally let out a long breath.

In truth, his strength was nearly spent. His arms were sore and weak, and even holding the blade made his hands tremble.

If that wolf had really attacked, he was confident he could survive, but he would definitely be injured.

After confirming the wolf had truly left,

Henry Walker pulled out the torch and hurried toward Jiulian City.

This time, he had learned his own limits.

The wild wolves outside the city, according to the glorious tales Uncle Baker once told him,

Back in his youth, when his swordsmanship was at its peak, he had single-handedly fought off three wild wolves, killing them all at the cost of only a minor injury to his forearm.

That was already an impressive feat.

Here, the wild wolves of this world were different from those Henry Walker knew.

They were larger, each one much bigger than the wolves on Earth. And much stronger.

Almost as big as a large domesticated golden retriever.

Another difference from Earth’s wolves was that these wild wolves moved in groups of three to five, rarely in large packs.

Henry Walker jogged all the way back to the city gate.

When he saw the torches burning on the city wall, he finally relaxed a little.

He rolled up his clothes, hiding the bloodstained areas, then stashed away his broadsword, took out his travel pass, and strode toward the city gate.

……