Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

In the Goethe Kingdom, in the Sanssouci Palace, inside the palace, the Happy Prince, Princess Marlene, Princess Bear and many surviving generals looked at the map on the wall in silence.

"In the Goethe Kingdom's army, only a few thousand soldiers with intact limbs and able to continue fighting remain."

"In this war, the Shadi Kingdom lost more than half of its soldiers."

"The number of people in the Bell Kingdom who can still fight is less than a thousand..."

A battle was won, but everyone understood that the war might just be the beginning.

Because although the Sri Kingdom lost this battle, the death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers could not cause the collapse of this demonized country!
"If we attack, will we have a chance to destroy the Sri Kingdom?"

Princess Marlene hesitated for a moment and then asked.

"impossible!"

But soon, a general said with a grim expression, "The total number of soldiers in their kingdom has reached one million - those confused old people, children, or women have all been transformed into soldiers by those guys.

According to the news I received, the ones we are fighting this time are not even their main force!"

"Besides, the prince of the Sri Kingdom hasn't taken action yet. If he were leading the team..."

Another general said that he came from another country that had been conquered by the Kingdom of Weser.

As for Prince Sri, most of the people present had heard rumors about him.

That was a man who, all by himself, could slaughter an entire army in seconds!

No one knows how he did it.

And the unknown is the most terrifying thing.

A long silence filled the hall. Although they had won the battle, the dark cloud hanging over their hearts was even more terrifying.

"Do we have a chance to win?"

"If the Sri Kingdom sends another army, will we still be qualified to fight against it?"

"And that hound..."

As the generals analyzed, the gloomy atmosphere became heavier, and the temperature seemed to have dropped to freezing point.

Although the battle was won, most of the ordinary generals did not understand how the victory was achieved.

Whether it was the skeleton giants of the Goethe Kingdom, the kilometer-high hounds of the Sri Kingdom, or the inexplicable deaths of most of the Sri people - they had already far overturned their common sense.

The sad atmosphere made everyone's heart sink to the bottom.

"Should we move our country? Escape from here—"

Everyone opened their eyes wide and looked at the speaker. Anger flashed in the eyes of several people. They raised their hands but didn't know what to say.

Because many people agree with this view rationally.

"While the main force of the Sri Lankans is still trapped in Xingluo City..."

……

Above the city, Lake and Poro looked at the plain in the distance. Many soldiers and civilians were coming from the direction of the battlefield. They were carrying armor and weapons taken off the Swiss soldiers.

But the "holy water" carried by the Sri Lankan soldiers could not be used.

Those so-called "holy waters" may carry the devil's curse, and healing comes at a price.

"This time, Bluebeard finally died, but we won by a narrow margin."

The Poro fiddled with the tinderbox in his hand.

This is a special magical item. The magic light in Poro's eyes analyzes the complex magical patterns inside the tinderbox.

"Fortunately, the third hound didn't unleash its true power."

The Poro stretched out its claws, dragging a shadow across the surface of the tinderbox. This shadow came from the tinderbox's previous owner, Ful.

"Puro, can you use this tinderbox? If the hound from that day was on our side..."

"No, this tinderbox can't be used casually."

Poro shook his head. "Magic, in this world, always has a threshold. The same is true for the users of magic items."

As he spoke, Poro raised his claws and patted Lake on the shoulder.

The surrounding environment darkened, and his body sank into the shadow world temporarily created by Poro. For's shadow expanded rapidly in the air.

Some points of light emanated from the shadows, outlining subtle array patterns—it was the mind-construction array.

When Poro touched the array pattern on the shadow, his eyes became blurred and Forle's experience appeared in front of him.

In a tavern, For was surrounded by three or four women with disheveled clothes, leaning on his arms. Around him, many people raised their glasses to him, praising and flattering him loudly.

"Today's drinks will be paid for by me, by me—from my, from my pocket—"

Fule's voice sounded a little dazed because he was drunk.

But at this moment, the waiter in the tavern took his hand out of Ful's pocket and found it empty.

"Sir, you don't have any money in your pocket today?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the flattering words around him disappeared instantly. The woman in his arms and the men drinking around him turned cold in their eyes and scattered, and the scene moved on.

Furr was thrown to the cold ground.

"Money, my money, how come it's all gone so quickly? I need to get more, much more money. Then, those people will have no choice but to kneel down and lick my feet!"

Fule cursed, but the cold and hunger began to erode his body.

Being accustomed to a luxurious life made him unable to endure the pain of poverty, and his body, hollowed out by alcohol and sex, prevented him from doing a better job as a mercenary.

Just when he was about to starve to death, a man in luxurious clothes appeared in front of him. His pupils were a strange deep red.

The strange man smiled and held out a hand with a contract on it:
"Sign him, and I will give you endless wealth and power beyond your imagination!"

Hey, I have nothing now, what else can I plot against?
Money and power?
Who would refuse such a good thing?

Furr signed the contract without even looking at it.

"Follow this road and walk into the distance. You will meet a witch. Follow her instructions, go down to the cave, get the tinderbox, and then kill the witch."

"After that, you will gain countless wealth and unrivaled power!"

The scene shifted, and Ful pulled the sword out of the witch's chest. On the ground, the witch's eyes flickered with an incomprehensible expression:
"I have given you so much wealth, and we are strangers. Why do you want to kill me and take my tinderbox?"

"Why? I..."

A trace of embarrassment and confusion flashed across Fuhr's face, but he soon turned into anger and said, "You must be an evil witch. That money and the tinderbox must have been earned through evil deeds. Why not give it to me? Give me a hero like you!"

There was a hint of irony in the eyes of the witch lying on the ground.

But soon, she was chopped into a pulp by the second, third, and fourth swords swung by Ful!
"I heard today that a family in the city had all their money stolen overnight, and that person was so desperate that he committed suicide!"

In the tavern, Ful saw a man talking loudly about some rumors.

"Why do you care so much? I'm treating you today, so don't talk about that nonsense!"

Ful's voice was a little unnatural. He scattered a handful of coins and looked at the people around him who were happily crawling at his feet to pick them up. Finally, he laughed.

"Let me go, who are you—I, why am I here, don't come over here, my father will kill you—"

A girl in a white dress was crying and struggling, but a hound held down the girl's hands and feet.

Fuer walked forward slowly, grinning with some dissatisfaction:

"Your father? Even the king couldn't kill me."

"Now, I am the strongest person in the entire world. You should feel honored!"

The scene became dark again, and Forle was wearing a luxurious robe. A hunting dog brought gold coins and placed them at Forle's feet.

In the tavern, everyone toasted him, both men and women, flattering Forle.

Everyone's words were extremely gorgeous.

But at this moment, the door of the tavern opened and a young woman walked in, her eyes fixed on Forle, holding a long and thin animal bone in her hand.

The tavern was in chaos, but when the woman spoke, everyone seemed to become mute in an instant:
"The Lantern Witch promised you money, so why did you kill her and take the tinderbox? It doesn't belong to you!"

But Fuer was furious and pointed at the woman and shouted:

"What are you talking about, woman? Kill her!"

The next moment, everyone in the tavern stood up and rushed towards the woman because of the money given by Ful.

But a few seconds later, Ful was the only one left in the tavern.

The others who had just rushed towards the woman turned into animals such as frogs, maggots, flies, and mice, jumping on the ground.

"You will pay for this!" The woman waving the slender animal bone walked towards the terrified Forle step by step.

But at this moment, the floor under Forle's feet suddenly oozed out black and red blood. In the blood, a sharp claw grabbed Forle's ankle and dragged Forle into the black blood before the witch approached Forle.

Vision recovered from darkness.

This time, the person standing in front of Ful was the red-eyed man he saw at the beginning. At this time, the man had two protruding horns on his forehead and a pair of bat wings on his back.

He sneered, and a contract in his hand flashed with scarlet light.

For felt the blood in his body flashing along with the red light on the contract.

"Do you remember the contract you signed? You gained wealth and power, and I saved your life. But your soul—now belongs to me."

……

"Hmm, is this the origin of the tinderbox? Stolen from a witch?"

Poro opened his eyes again and looked at Lake.

He gathered the magic through special rules, then borrowed the rhythm left by the mind-construction array to polish the tinderbox—

"Snapped!"

With a slight sound, a tiny flame finally lit up from the tinderbox.

But it soon died down again, and not a single hound appeared.

"Furr, he has power, but he does evil things."

Lake also saw Fuhr's experience through the shadows and added, "Even if there is no devil, he is not a good person."

"Want to hear a story?"

After seeing Forle's mind-building array, Poro completely confirmed the origin of this fairy tale. He looked at the tinderbox that had been extinguished again and said, "The name of this story is called Tinderbox."

//Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales: The Tinderbox
"This is the story of the tinderbox. In the fairy tale, the soldier who took the tinderbox became king and lived a good life."

The Poro spoke, and golden pages emerged.

Painted on it was an exquisite tinderbox, with three black hounds sitting in the shadow of the flame.

[Circular Return: Tinderbox: Calling the Dog Flame]

[Complete the unsealing ceremony and gain fairy tale power! ]

[Fairy Tale Power: You will become the new owner of the tinderbox. You can use the tinderbox easily without paying any price!]

[But there are only three dogs among them. You must understand that dead dogs will not respond to your calls.]

[Unsealing Ceremony: Obtain the Tinderbox and Light it]

[Description: Ful polished the tinderbox. In the dim light, he saw the eyes of a hound. He smiled. He had learned the secret of the tinderbox—he possessed power and would never worry about money or power again!]

"Haha, this is exactly what I need."

As the Poro absorbed the Ring Return into his body, and looked at the Tinderbox of Amazement in his hand, he felt the magic within the tinderbox begin to connect with his own magic.

He knew that this time the tinderbox would not go out.

"Although I can only summon one hound."

Poro muttered that the first hound was killed by him and Lake, and the second hound also died under the siege of the Skeleton Guards, Lake, and the Sky-Conquering Fleet, and could no longer be summoned.

Then, he put the tinderbox into his pocket and laughed again, "But the one I can summon has eyes as big as round towers - that's enough."

"Great! With that hound, our chances of defeating the Sri Kingdom and those demons will be much greater."

Lake also laughed.

"That's not all, we have other ring returns."

The Poro blinked and pulled out another page.

[Circular Return: Bluebeard: The Secret of Evil]

[Complete the unsealing ceremony and gain fairy tale power! ]

[Fairy Tale Power: All doors hiding evil secrets will open before you - this is the key that belongs to you!]

[Unsealing Ceremony: Kill Bluebeard. Such a butcher must never be allowed to survive in this world!]

[Description: When the last door underground was opened, the woman was stunned. There were dry bones and skinless corpses scattered all over the ground...]

[In panic, the golden key fell to the ground, stained with blood plasma, but it could no longer be removed]

"This one, judging by the description, seems more like one used to break a seal."

Poro thought for a moment and put the page away. "There will always be a place where it can be used."

……

Wuyou Palace, inside the hall.

"We can't defeat those Sri Lankans. Perhaps we should leave."

"If we go further, maybe those Sri people will let us go..."

Listening to the discussion below, the Happy Prince's eyes flickered with anxiety. He wanted to stop those who wanted to leave, but he understood even more clearly how great the losses of this war were.

What if there is really no chance of winning?
Are we going to let these people who believe in us die together?

The Happy Prince could sacrifice himself, but he was not willing to force others to do the same.

But just as the discussion reached a low point and the rhetoric of fleeing the war began to gradually gain an overwhelming momentum, Princess Marlene suddenly looked at the shadows beneath her feet in the corner.

She heard something the Poro said, about a tinderbox and a giant hound.

"really?"

Princess Marlene's expression changed from shock to surprise.

Then, she looked at the generals around her who were all filled with sorrow, and suddenly asked:
"You are afraid of the unknown forces of the Sri Kingdom, right?"

"Your Highness Marin, a hound soaring into the sky—aren't you afraid?" A general asked with a frown.

"What if that hound is ours now?"

The next moment, the shadows of Lake and Poro appeared from behind Princess Marlin. Lake, holding a tinderbox in her hand, looked at everyone and said.

When these words were spoken, everyone showed a look of astonishment.

"Our victory this time is not meaningless. Our homes and families have been saved from destruction because of our victory. If we give up fighting, the fate of death will surely befall us!"

Princess Marlene looked at the people around her and continued speaking.

"The Kingdom of Sri is a kingdom founded by the devil. Now, they have given up their disguise."

Lake also said, "You have also seen what they have done. They are not just trying to conquer one or two countries, but to destroy the world!

You can run away, you can retreat, but one day you’ll run out of options – facing an enemy like this, even if you run, where can you go?”

"If we can win once, we can win a second time, a third time. They have extraordinary strength, and so do we."

The Happy Prince looked at Lake and Poro appearing, and a look of surprise finally appeared in his gemstone eyes.

"The Sri Kingdom has besieged Falling Star City for a long time, but still hasn't won—which means there are people who can stand up to them!

If we get in touch with Falling Star City, we might have more opportunities to understand our enemies.

Then defeat them and truly end this war!"

After hearing these words, the generals who had just been in sorrow regained some light in their eyes. They looked at the map on the wall, pondered and talked.

"Maybe we do have a chance."

"Xingluo City, it is rumored that the king there also has great power."

"If we could only get more allies..."

At this moment, the door of the Sanssouci Palace opened, and a Goethe messenger hurried in, strode forward, saluted, knelt on one knee, and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, an envoy has requested an audience. He claims to be from the Kingdom of Oz and is here to form an alliance to counter the Kingdom of Sri."

The generals who were still discussing suddenly fell silent.

"The Kingdom of Oz?"

Many people showed a hint of surprise in their eyes, as they had heard rumors about this country.

"Let him in."

The Happy Prince thought for a moment and then spoke. (End of this chapter)