Nathan descended from the tree and mumbled to himself, "I better pick up the pace. Otherwise, Winston will have my head if he finds out I slipped into that crevice and wasn't around when he arrived."
With his destination clear, Nathan pushed forward, making his way through the forest toward Glimmerforge.
He noticed the monkey, which remained intrigued by him, maintaining a cautious distance but continuing to shadow him as they moved through the dense foliage.
The creature displayed graceful agility, effortlessly leaping from one tree to another, keeping pace with the determined prince.
During their journey through the forest, Nathan encountered various monsters he had never seen before. However, he wisely avoided engaging with them.
As the day wore on and the sun began its descent, Nathan's fatigue became increasingly pronounced. He had endured quite an ordeal and found himself growing weary.
By a small lake, he managed to catch some fish, and he set up a campfire nearby to rest. After arranging a makeshift bed of dried, soft leaves, he lay down under the open sky.
As he lay there, various thoughts began to fill his mind. He muttered to himself, "When we return, Winston will undoubtedly report everything to my father."
With a wry smile, he continued, "Father will likely scold me for my recklessness. Well, what can I do but follow my curiosity? I'm not even from this world, everything is new to me but I can't say this to them."
In a burst of frustration, Nathan raised both his arms toward the sky and exclaimed, "You gods are so foolish. If you wanted to reincarnate me, couldn't you have at least erased my previous memories if you did not wanted to give me a golden finger? Then at least I could enjoy the bliss of ignorance."
As his anger subsided, he lowered his arms and lay on his side, reflecting, "Well, perhaps without those memories, I wouldn't have advanced so quickly in power. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise."
With that, he cupped his hands to form a makeshift pillow under his head and added,
"I suppose I should think about what to say to my father when I get back, to avoid his inevitable lecture. But for now, it's time to rest. I'm tired, I hope that cute monkey is good too."
With his eyelids closed, Nathan mumbled, "Ah, the ground is really hard," as he fell into a deep slumber, his awareness still keen to his surroundings, his moonshadow blade within arm's reach.
After several hours of rest, in the dead of night, Nathan was awakened by thunderous roars that pierced through the serene quiet.
He jolted awake, his hand instinctively gripping the hilt of his sword. "What were those roars?" Nathan wondered aloud, a sense of familiarity gnawing at the edges of his consciousness.
With his sword ready, he sprinted toward the source of the roars, his instincts guiding him. Upon reaching a small cliff a short distance from the lake where he had camped, his eyes widened at the sight before him.
Standing at its full, awe-inspiring four-meter height, the monkey that had been following him roared ferociously and pounded its chest, a clear challenge directed at a pack of fourteen Bloodmoon wolves, who standing in front.
These formidable creatures had fur as red as blood and gleaming claws and teeth that sparkled like silver in the moonlight.
The monkey's courageous stance and defiant demeanor took Nathan by surprise. He knew he had to make a quick decision.
In that perilous moment, as the monkey stood surrounded by the pack of Bloodmoon wolves, Nathan knew he couldn't stand idly by.
He muttered to himself, "I have to help him."
With resolve in his eyes, he drew the Moonshadow blade from its sheath. The blade gleamed with a silvery light, reflecting the moon's radiant glow that bathed the scene.
In the blink of an eye, one of the wolves lunged toward the monkey. But before the wolf could reach its target, Nathan, in an astonishing display of his newfound abilities, summoned a massive sword of solid aura, deploying the Giant's Sword technique.
With extraordinary agility, he leaped from the cliff's edge, using the Lightning Footsteps technique to navigate the air.
With a swift and fluid motion, he spun himself in mid-air, cutting the lunging wolf into two pieces and landing in front of the astonished monkey.
The monkey, shaken from its initial shock, soon regained its composure. Nathan smiled at his newfound ally and said, holding his sword tightly, "Don't stand there in shock. Be ready to fight."
In response, the monkey let out a resounding roar, beating its chest vigorously in a show of determination.
The remaining wolves, undeterred by the loss of their pack member, closed in on Nathan and the monkey, their crimson fur and gleaming teeth bared in a menacing display of aggression.
The battle was far from over, and the odds were stacked against them.
As the leader of the pack, double the size of the other wolves, with scars all over his body indicating his many battles, ordered the other wolves with a commanding, "AWwww."
The other wolves began to close in on Nathan and the monkey, some using the cliff to leap through the air, while others jumped directly at them.
The monkey, determined and resourceful, intercepted one of the wolves leaping from the cliff.
He delivered a powerful punch to the wolf's side, grabbed its tail, and used it as a makeshift weapon, pummeling the unfortunate predator into submission.
The monkey's resilience was remarkable, despite the wounds that covered its body.
Nathan, on the other hand, skillfully utilized his Lightning Footwork to dance around the oncoming attackers, dodging their lunges and slashing back with Dragon Slashes.
However, his strikes only left shallow cuts on the Bloodmoon wolves' tough hides, making it clear that more was needed to overcome these formidable foes.
But as the battle raged on, Nathan noticed that the Dragon Slashes were ineffective against the Bloodmoon wolves' tough hides. It put him at a disadvantage.
Nathan thought to himself, "The Dragon Slash lacks the power to defeat them. I can't use the Giant's Sword in this situation. I need to use the Dragon Titan Slash."
In a bold decision, Nathan turned to the monkey and shouted, "Hey, can you distract them for a few seconds while I prepare a powerful attack?"
The monkey, understanding the plan, nodded and maneuvered to block the incoming wolves. Despite his wounds, he used his strength and agility to fend off the attackers.
Nathan took a deep breath, focusing his aura and drawing upon his memories of the Dragon Titan Slash technique he had used in the dungeon.
He harnessed his energy, letting it flow into his blade, creating an impressive, long katana-like sword with a vibrating edge.
With a grin of determination, Nathan added a unique touch to the technique. He focused his mind, tapping into his Mana Heart and Aura Core, creating a layer of water and electricity on his sword.
The sword started flowing with water sizzling in electricity.
Looking at his newly crafted blade, he named it the "Water-Energy Nexus Sword." He then turned to the monkey and gave a resolute command, "Clear a path for me. I'm going to make a direct strike at the leader to end this."
With the monkey as his partner and the Water-Energy Nexus Sword in hand, Nathan prepared to unleash a devastating attack on the formidable leader of the Bloodmoon wolf pack.
The battle was about to take a dramatic turn, and the outcome hung in the balance.