"Not the eighth prince?" A flickering campfire reflected the knot between her eyebrows. Nonetheless, no matter how hard she thought about it, Hilda couldn't think of anyone or anything brave enough to try to kill her.
"Except for two imperial princes and other brothers, not many people would benefit from my death. But who is it exactly?" She wanted to think about what was going on, but she was aware of someone approaching her.
"My lord." It was too far-fetched to call this one a man. Despite his height of over 180 cm, he was only a 17-year-old adolescent. But it wasn't his bronze skin that drew attention to him; it was the cyan hair on his head.
"Cyan! What is it?" Hilda shook off the excess blood from her katar and turned to face the captain of her specially trained soldiers.
"My lord, their fake bandit squads have been taken care of."
Hilda would have missed Joefred's contingency force if it hadn't been for her pack's independent movement. So Hilda had ordered 20 of her specially trained soldiers to ambush the false bandit army alongside 22 of her pack's half-wolves.
Hilda had no problem in taking care of an extra army if she knew where they were. They would be unable to use their formation in the forest, even if they were highly trained soldiers.
Her pack, on the other hand, was well-versed in forest combat. Her five advanced wolf-warriors and 17 intermediate wolf-warriors were also more than sufficient to kill 100 soldiers. Then there were the specially trained soldiers.
Hilda asked, "What are the numbers?"
"Not a single one of them had survived."
"Good. What about my main force?"
"They'd already retreated to the bandit mountain."
As they were talking, more and more people began to emerge from the forest. They were either human or werewolves. Two fully transformed wolves accompanied them.
"Go and help the bandits to take care of the main army of Rozen. Don't wipe them out all at once. Allow 10-20 of them to flee. Keep an eye on them until they leave the mountain forest."
"Okay, my lord." Cyan nodded. Most of the people followed Cyan into the forest. There were nine soldiers present, as well as Wolfy, Scar, and an enormous wolf.
It is clear from a single glance that these nine soldiers fought bravely. Their gambesons had deep cut marks on them, with some hand wounds on their faces and others on their hands. However, the wounds were self-inflicted.
Hilda was pleased with their attire. "Split into four groups and met a couple of their escapees. Continue to spread the rumor of our defeat."
They all nodded at the same time and vanished into the darkness. Hilda moved quickly towards Joefred's lifeless body.
But, before Hilda could respond, Wolfy asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm putting together a gift for Marques Rozen."
"You should not do it." Wolfy stepped between Hilda and the deceased. "There is no need for anything excessive."
"If he dares to plot my demise, why shouldn't I?" Wolfy's intervention clearly annoyed Hilda. She couldn't help saying, "They won't stop unless I make an example of them."
"If you make a show of it, others will just use it as an excuse to hunt you down."
"Chief, I believe what she is saying is true." The last advanced wolf, who nodded as well, reciprocated scar's support for Wolfy.
"Give it some thought, my lady." Wolfy tried to reason, "You don't have any strong support, nor do you have a strong army behind you. Most importantly, you are not strong enough to flee the empire if the empire's armies try to hunt you down."
Wolfy's words were all true, no matter how hard Hilda tried to prove her (W) wrong. She (H) was at a loss for words. She was helpless to do anything but stare at the dead body.
"Didn't you say that you shouldn't show all of your cards to the enemy?" Wolfy sighed, adding, "As long as you act like a weakling, most of them will ignore you."
"The tall tree catches a lot of wind." The ever-silent advanced wolf shared his wisdom.
"Most importantly, it is not yet over." Wolfy moved his gaze to the dark wood in front of them. People wrapped in dark cloth began to emerge from it soon after.
The man in the lead did not appear to be a rough bandit. His skin was fair, and he had no unsightly scars on his body. He looked quite dashing, with his hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"We've got a good one here." The man with the bandana, who had followed the ponytail bandit, was the first to speak. "Did the prince bring his mistress to the forest?"
"Stop it." The pony-tailed bandit stopped him. He looked at Hilda and said, "We have kept our words; it's time for the prince to keep his promise."
"Where is this prince you're referring to, Vice-captain?" The man in the bandana and the majority of the crowd behind him were confused. Despite this, the so-called vice-captain, the ponytail bandit, continued to stare at Hilda.
"What do you want to discuss, IIjin?" The large man, who emerged from the other side of the forest, towered over two meters.
He wore a fur coat and had a slimy grin on his lips. "This is our mountain. Shouldn't we just take whatever we like?"
As he spoke, more people emerged from the forest. They had everything from machetes to short spears. They armed some with clubs and blowpipes.
"It is unfortunate that the heir of the marquis house has died." For a brief moment, the leader gazed at Joefred's dead body before turning to Hilda. "How much gold do you believe we'll get if we abduct the imperial prince?"
"I am not the one you should kidnap." Hilda shook her head, adding, "Rather than giving you gold, it may please them if you remove a hindrance for them."
"Even if he doesn't care about your life, he cares a lot about his face. He will not allow an imperial heir to perish at the hands of a bandit. He'd rather pay the ransom, take you back, and murder you himself."
"Oh!" Hilda was a little shocked, "You know the emperor quite well."
"All of that is in the past." A smile replaced the gloom on the face of the big man as he yelled, "Don't scratch the prince!"
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"We don't have any other choices." The leader smiled as his body grew. His bushy hair turned red, and his palm morphed into a bear claw. "However, if you willingly surrender, we can avoid all of this."
"It appears that we don't have any other options." Hilda let go of her beastly instincts. Those who were about to attack Hilda came to a halt. They had the sensation that someone was squeezing their heart.
When the leader saw Hilda's glowing silver eyes and flaring silver hair, he said, "Don't you think a wolf could ever beat a bear?"
"You have a tendency to overestimate yourself." Hilda smiled at him before tightening her grip on her katar and saying, "And I have never said that I am alone."
*Awwwooooo*
Hilda's howl shook the entire mountain. As the wind picked up, more and more howls responded to the summons.
"However, I am more than capable of taking care of you. You should prioritize your base. It won't be long before my troops arrive at your base."
"Heh! Do you believe I left my base unprotected?"
"No, you did not." Hilda's smile shook his confidence slightly, but Hilda went on, "The question is whether they are willing to guard your base or not."
A bad omen rose in his heart, but before he could utter a curse, someone else did.
"IIjin! What are you doing?" The disbelief on the bandana-wearing bandit's face was palpable. He tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too late.
He stared at the machete that had sliced open his belly and spilled all of his guts out. Soon, a feeling of helplessness overcame his consciousness.
He swung his club, expending all of his energy, only to stumble and fall in a pool of his own blood. It wasn't just him; many of the unsuspecting bandits had their backs stabbed by their fellow bandit.
Everything went into disarray. Screams, groans, and the sound of weapons clashing grew louder. The smell of fresh blood tainted the blowing wind once more.
"YOU!" the leader yelled. But, before he could attack Hilda, Hilda slashed her Katar at him, and it hit. However, it was unable to draw blood. It could only cut a few strands of red fur.
The resilience of the red bear's skin surprised Hilda. As soon as she realized what had happened, she discovered a massive claw aimed at her head.
She tried to defend herself with a pair of Katar, but the force was too much for her. It threw her into the air as a result.
The red bear didn't wait for Hilda to land before delivering another punch with his massive claw. Her body shot out like a bullet and slammed into the tree as soon as the attack connected.
Her entire body throbbed in pain, and fresh blood wetted her throat as she coughed up a mouthful of blood. She looked around for her katar, but she couldn't find one of them.
She was expecting another attack, but it never arrived. When she looked up, she saw a one-eyed wolf attempting to stop the colossal bear.
[Annonbee: you should know who is the one-eyed wolf.]
She gritted her teeth and forced her body to stand. She had made a grave mistake. Hilda shook her head, and the beastly aura that had left her body reappeared.
However, visible changes began to take place in her body. She let go of her katar because her elongated hands with overgrown claws were ill-suited for holding the weapon.
The dense silver fur soon covered her entire body. The chain-mail shattered as the body grew, and she transformed into a silver werewolf.
She was a half-breed, unlike Wolfy or the red bear. And she hadn't progressed to where she could transform into a massive wolf.
Hilda, on the other hand, had a different strategy for becoming strong. And the dark green aura quickly engulfed the silver fur.
Those who felt enormous pressure coming from Hilda's direction looked up in terror to see a two-meter tall werewolf, covered in a green aura, standing there.
A few weak-willed individuals hallucinated and saw a colossal wolf standing behind Hilda. The shock was too much for them, and one of them bolted in another direction.
*AAAWWWWOOOOOO*
If the previous howl was wolf-like, this time it was spine-chilling. Even the red bear and Wolfy came to a halt to exchange glances. Hilda, on the other hand, ignored their shock and attacked the bear.
*Growl*
The red bear growled as it swung its hand. It was the same attack, but the outcome was different. The bear first came into contact with the wolf's claw, and the silver beast quickly pushed back the bear.
The beast's aura boosted Hilda's basic stats. Even if that wasn't enough, the moment she let go of her knightly aura, her power tripled.
[Annonbee: The violet aura increases by 30-50 percent. Indigo: between 80 and 100 percent. Blue: between 130 and 150 percent. Green: between 180 and 200 percent. It will increase by 40-50% for each color of the rainbow (except red).]
Hilda's giant maw clasped down on the red bear's shoulder and tore the flesh and muscle with one jerk before the red bear could comprehend how he had lost in the competition of strength.
As the bear realized the harsh reality, blood splattered everywhere. It knew its instinct couldn't be wrong, so it attempted to flee. Alas! It was already too late. The massive jaw opened again, this time slamming shut at its throat.
If it had been a simple beast, it would not have been able to choke the bear, but Hilda was not a simple one. Her strength had tripled as a result of her knightly aura.
The red bear was aware of this simple truth, yet it continued to struggle. Alas! All of its efforts were in vain.
The red bear had fought against the army of 200 men. Naturally, its power reserve was reduced. The red bear soon transformed back into a human.
The human body, however, was too frail to withstand Hilda's jaw. As a result, it snapped with tremendous force.
IIjin, the ponytail bandit, approached the silver werewolf slowly. He had witnessed Hilda's strength right in front of his eyes. He couldn't, of course, be careless with his words.
Hilda transformed back into a beautiful human girl before he could say anything. The only blemish on her body was on her abdomen. But he couldn't bring himself to look at it.
Hilda, on the other hand, was unconcerned about concealing her nakedness. "I have taken care of your boss," she said to the shy IIjin in front of her. "So you should be in charge now. Remember to keep your words."
"Don't be concerned, prince. I will look after your soldiers." None of the bandits behind IIjin dared to take his words lightly as he said them.
The memory of the vicious fight was still fresh in their mind, so did the memory of the gruesome end of their previous leader. They quickly moved on to deal with the aftermath of the fight.
If one had paid close attention, one would have noticed that every bandit, who was alive, had a bright red cloth tied to their right hand. However, none of the deceased bandits wore them.