Those that stayed behind and protected the carriages had kept a vigilant watch over their surroundings.
There were some who talked among themselves after they had thought a little over how easy the battle was.
"I have to say, this could have been a lot worse. Good thing we were well prepared."
"No, I am more impressed by those two young ladies. Such exquisite swordsmanship for someone so young."
"Those foxes too, they are very tame and work well with their masters."
"Sigh, if I had such a pet like that then I would be very happy."
"Me too, I do have many allies I can leave my back to but having a pet like that would be even better."
"The tactics deployed by them were very organised and they were able to adjust to our way of fighting so they seem very experienced."
"Mm, I would not like to make an enemy of them. Good thing they are our allies."
"You are right."
Many of them had positive view towards those that Ki had chosen to bring along and were very excited once they witnessed Rayleigh and Lumi fighting with the aid of their foxes.
There were rumours about people who were able to tame young animals from an early age and make them loyal followers but it required a lot of patience and training.
There were many disturbances caused by an owners pets running wild or them attacking their owners after they had been brought up poorly so many had been deterred from doing so and were hesitant to attempt it themselves.
They display of teamwork and loyalty the foxes had with their owners had made them yearn for a similar partner that they could work together with.
Ordinary beasts had different threat levels based on their size, their pack sizes and their physical capabilities but if they ate a beneficial herb or elixir then they had a chance to grow stronger.
If the master trusted in their bond with their pet then it was possible to feed them such things so that they would not fall behind.
The main issue was that it was quite expensive to acquire such things and there were many that were very rare and would only be used to make elixirs for humans.
Most would prioritise themselves over others but if they had the chance then they would give them to those closest to them.
It was difficult to fully trust those they were allies or friends with when the times became more harsh so there would be some who would prefer to raise a pet to aid them even knowing the difficulties to raise them.
For those in the northern lands, the various cold attribute herbs were very abundant and there would be all kinds of undiscovered herbs that could be found in the mountains or forest areas so it was possible for people to raise a pet from their environment to a certain extent.
There was the risk of failure for an animal to raise their own strength after eating an elixir just like humans so there were still many that would not wish to waste their precious money and time on such things.
They did not know much about the mystical arts that were in the possession of Ki and the Bombyx family but even if they did, they had only heard a little through ancient texts or rumours.
They all assumed that the two foxes had been carefully raised by the sides of the two young ladies for a long time and had been specially fed suitable elixirs to aid their growth.
It caused many to admire Rayleigh and Lumi but also slightly envy them a little.
Meanwhile the light footsteps continued and barely made any sounds as they went deeper into the forest.
Most of the soil was almost frozen solid and there were very few leaves on the trees which showed how cold the environment was and how difficult it was to survive.
Even the usual plant life which was heavily resistant to or thrived in the cold went through their own struggles and it was difficult for them to grow in various environments.
There was not a lot of fertile soil and grassland around which made it easier to step on the hard ground and investigate the surroundings.
Ki had looked down and saw markings of the wolf footprints which were scattered around the area then lead those who joined her towards where they had mainly cone from. "Ahead."
She pointed forward and stepped forward while one of her hands rested on the sword at her waist, her eyes remained cautious as she looked around for the smallest detail and slightest disturbance that may appear.
Rayleigh nodded and followed. "I wonder what had caused this."
Lumi silently followed with a slightly stiff and emotionless gaze. "Un."
Ki revealed a slightly sarcastic grin as she spoke. "You should see soon enough. We must be almost there."
They continued walking a little more and there had been many fences assembled high enough to prevent many wolves escape that could contain them.
Once Ki looked around, she a slightly larger fenced area while some others had been smaller but there were more of them.
Inside of them were some animal bones and an area which had a post with chains on it used to restrain animals or humans.
Ki looked over them coldly and frowned. "Sure enough, this has been planned. I wonder who would put in this much effort? Was it truly for me or is it something that has been put together half heartedly?"
Ki had suspected that the area had either been put together specifically for her and her family but that seemed like too much trouble for someone to go through just to scare her off from the north.
A small smile came to her lips as she thought. 'What about those with influence? The northerners do love their games and feats of strength. What if they had originally planned to arrange something like a hunting contest but changed their plans later into targeting me? Maybe that may make more sense but who knows what they are all thinking.'
The gates on each of the fenced areas or wolf pens were left open while some had been hit hard with something so that they had been easy to push open by the wolves inside.
Each of them had been empty upon her arrival and every one of the wolves seemed to have been moving as a pack once they had met her group on the road.
The insides suggested that they had been drawn or lured inside then trapped for a long time then left to starve and fight among themselves until their release.
There were signs of some wounds on the bodies of the wolves from them fighting among themselves while inside of the wolf pens, there were some animal bones laying around which were scattered away from the posts which resembled bones from a wolf.
The blood and cries of the prey that was chained up to the post had drawn in the wolves in the surroundings which had caused them to be captured by the main culprits.
They could have been used for some form of test of strength or game for who ever had arranged it and participated, that could have changed once Ki and the Bombyx family were known to be coming to the capital so it would be easy for them to decide to abandon it then use the wolves to scare her off.
At the same time, it was likely that there could be someone who simply did not want the Bombyx family approaching the capital and had went through the trouble to carefully construct such a plot.
Ki pinched the space between her eyebrows as her thoughts were quickly becoming more and more complicated as her suspicions and unease was growing. 'No.. it does not matter either way. Just face it all head on, now I am not so weak that I need to run away or hide. I have people who I can rely on now so I just have to trust that they can handle any problem that comes along.'
Even if Ki did not have everyone with her to provide support, they were each carrying out their own duties and providing enough protection to certain areas which required protection while she was away.
It was enough to have the two heads of their own divisions with her which were Lumi and Rayleigh while many others could provide enough protection for everyone else.