The Moon Shadow Valley, where the Moon Shadow Clan resides, is an area of fertile hills surrounded by mountains, much like the Spirit Puppet Forest.
Similar to how certain territories inhabited by major races are named after their respective races in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains, the Moon Shadow Valley is no exception.
Claw Peak, divided into left and right peaks, serves as the gateway to the Moon Shadow Valley. It’s somewhat akin to places like the Demon Trail Grand Canyon, albeit on a much smaller scale and without fortress-like defensive structures.
This is quite normal, as for creatures of the magical world, especially powerful races like the Moon Shadow Clan, which stands as one of the three pillars based on its sheer strength, there’s no need to rely on external protections.
Aside from Novia, who is a recently born cub, there are hardly any poachers bold enough to prey on the Moon Shadow Demon Wolves.
Soon, braving the still unrelenting, even intensifying downpour, Violet and her group arrived at the entrance between the peaks.
The passage formed by the convergence of the left and right sides of Claw Peak was very narrow, barely averaging five or six meters in width.
It was reminiscent of the Oaken Canyon that Violet encountered in the Human United Kingdom, led by the bandit group under Nicholas, though considerably smaller in scale.
The mountain wolves were swift. Despite their small numbers, their group sprint, coupled with their large and powerful bodies, still carried an imposing momentum, especially when aided by the force field created by Eilush’s Multifunctional Travel Assistant No. 71, it was evident they were effortlessly dodging the wind and rain.
However, some things are destined not to be intimidated by such scenes.
“Halt!”
Suddenly, wolf howls erupted, and several dark blue figures leaped out from the shade of the forest at the entrance of the canyon, blocking the path of Violet and the others who were about to charge through the passage. They all let out loud warning howls in unison.
“Wow!”
A powerful sense of oppression from the higher-ranked race permeated the air.
Though the numbers were roughly equal, the mountain wolves, startled by the sudden appearance, skidded to a stop as if they had seen a ghost.
One particularly clumsy little cub nearly got flung out, but Eilush, riding on a wolf with her, managed to grab her from behind just in time.
“You need to hold on tighter, why are you so clumsy...”
“Ah, sorry, who knew something would suddenly pop out...”
Listening to the whispered conversation between Eilush and Theresa, Violet turned her head and looked at the several giant wolves that had suddenly emerged from the downpour in the forest shade.
They had uniform blue-gray fur. Having seen Esther’s true form before, the priestess immediately guessed that these were Moon Shadow Demon Wolves guarding the entrance to Claw Peak.
However, compared to the great demon general, the fur color of these Moon Shadow Demon Wolves leaned more towards gray, and their size was noticeably smaller, about three to four meters in length, similar to Savo. It seemed that adult Moon Shadow Demon Wolves were smaller in size compared to mountain wolves.
Standing in the pouring rain, the Moon Shadow Demon Wolves emitted a faint blue glow from their bodies, blocking the rain curtain that was coming towards them.
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Although they couldn’t completely isolate themselves like Eilush’s device, at least they didn’t let their fur get completely soaked, ensuring their mobility was not hindered.
The leading demon wolf’s sharp vertical pupils scanned the several girls and mountain wolves in front of him, who were obviously under the pouring rain but remained dry due to some invisible protection, with a puzzled expression.
“Demon General and mountain wolves, what do you want? Wait, is that General Esther? I remember you were supposed to be negotiating with humans in the south, so why have you suddenly returned now?”
Huh? How did this wolf... recognize Esther? Their true forms are almost identical wolves, right?
Violet stared at the two sides of the giant wolves for a moment, but reluctantly gave up trying to distinguish the differences between them. There must be some differences, but recognizing who is who at first glance is quite difficult, after all... their wolf fur is just too much.
Back to the point.
Claw Peak is the gateway to the Moon Shadow Demon Wolf’s main territory. Even if they’re confident, the Moon Shadow Clan surely wouldn’t leave their defenses unattended.
So, the appearance of these giant wolves was within the priestess’s expectations. She just didn’t expect the guards to be hiding on the roadside, monitoring amidst such a downpour.
Quite dedicated, huh?
Naturally, in such a situation, Violet didn’t need to speak, Esther took the initiative to step forward and start negotiations.
“It’s me. You’re... Maira, right? Is it your turn to be on duty during this period?”
Huh? How can you easily recognize her like that!
“I feel truly honored that a great creature like you can remember me, but I haven’t received any instructions regarding your return in the near future. If you want to lead these unfamiliar outsiders through Claw Peak, I’d kindly ask you to explain the situation clearly and wait for our report.”
The Moon Shadow Demon Wolf named Maira seemed rather unfriendly, as she didn’t simply step aside because of Esther’s status as a Demon General. Could it be that their relationship wasn’t very good?
Of course, that was a joke. Miss Demon Wolf herself entering the clan’s territory was definitely not a problem.
The main issue lay with Violet and the others, especially with their peculiar attire and their casual stroll in the pouring rain, which made it hard for the wolves not to be alert and on guard.
The priestess understood the implied meaning behind the wolf’s attitude, but she didn’t show any reaction to it.
Although she didn’t quite understand why they hadn’t received prior notification, Walter and Esther couldn’t possibly overlook such matters, even if they were foolish. It was best to watch and wait.
Sure enough, the wolf lady’s body shimmered with light, quickly transforming into human form. The silver-gray wolf cub, originally wrapped in cloth and hidden amidst her furry back, appeared in Esther’s arms.
“Your approach is reasonable, but you, are you also planning to obstruct?” She uncovered the black cloth on Novia, lifting the bewildered little wolf cub high.
“Descendant of our ancestors, Crown Princess Novia Moon Shadow has returned. Why hasn’t the Moon Shadow successor paid her respects?!”
“Howl!”
Suddenly being lifted up like this, although still not quite understanding the situation, the little fellow, who was originally bored to the point of drowsiness, immediately let out a spirited howl full of milkiness. Her two front paws waved up and down in the air, as if she wanted to show off her outstanding presence.
Seemingly influenced by her leaked aura, at the same time, behind Claw Peak, in the sky above the Moon Shadow Valley obscured by the pouring rain, a brilliant silver-white light suddenly rose, as if dispelling the darkness!
“Roar!!!”
It was an incredibly noble and majestic white wolf, with fur so clean it seemed untouched by dust, roaring toward the sky!
“This, this...!”
Maira still seemed unable to recover from this sudden change. However, several Moon Shadow Demon Wolves behind it were already prostrating themselves on their legs, howling loudly in a posture resembling kneeling!
“Awoo!!!!”
“Awoo!! Awoo!!! Awoo!!! Awoo...!!!”
Starting with them, in just a few seconds, the valley seemed to respond as countless excited and exhilarated howls poured out continuously, the sound waves layering upon each other and reaching into the sky.
Even in the distant mountains, the unified howls of the wolf pack began to echo!