Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

The bitter smell of pine resin mixed with the fishy smell of rotten leaves hit my face. The black forest fifty steps away was breathing out gray-green mist.

The branches twisted together in the wind, making a sound like bones snapping and dislocating.

"When the blood of the stag dyes the streams red, the wolves, lions and tigers will be terrified of the sharpness of swords and spears."

King Hunt stood on a temporary platform in front of a group of soldiers, hunters, and others. He looked at the hunters below and said loudly,

"Whoever hunts the most ferocious beasts will be named the Greatest Hunter of the Hunt Kingdom. I will also give you rewards based on the number of prey you have hunted."

"I've never been stingy with the Warriors."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and several soldiers came over, pushing a cart frame. They lifted the cloth covering it, and in an instant, dazzling gold and silver appeared before everyone's eyes.

Seeing this scene, many hunters looked greedy.

After that, King Hunt glanced around, as if thinking about something, and then he continued:

"Of course, I know the Beast Howling Forest is very dangerous. For this hunt, I have a request for you all."

The King has a... request?
All the hunters were stunned for a moment, their expressions became serious, and they prepared to listen carefully to the king's next words.

"As excellent hunters, you have all heard rumors about the Forbidden Forest before, or since arriving here, right?"

The king took a deep breath and spoke directly, "Many people, hunters, ordinary people, many Hunters or travelers, have been swallowed by this forest."

"Some claim their companions were cursed and transformed into animals, while others were devoured by beasts from the darkness, leaving no trace."

The king said this, and his voice was firm.
"And those swallowed by the forest include my daughter, Princess Bisite."

Upon hearing this, many hunters widened their eyes. Of course, there were also some people who had already guessed the reason and had an expression of "as expected".

"Is it really because of Her Royal Highness the Princess?"

"Yes, a friend of mine who works in the palace told me that when the princess escaped from the palace, the king killed several guards!"

"I was wondering, this Forbidden Forest Hunt, so this is the real purpose?"

Looking at the hunters who were talking below, a hint of gloom flashed in King Hunt's eyes.

He waved his hand again, and a team of guards came over again. They handed out a stack of portraits to each hunter. The portrait on each portrait was of an extremely beautiful girl.

It was the missing princess.

"She was lost in the forest, but the court wizard's divination told me that my daughter is still alive and has not been killed by beasts. If anyone can find my daughter, I will grant you a title and fiefdom.

Even if you can provide clues, I will not be stingy with the reward!"

Then, under the hunter's scorching gaze, King Hunt continued his description, "My daughter left with four pieces of clothing: a dress with sun, moon, and star patterns, and a...

A cloak made of the furs of a thousand wild beasts."

Hearing these words, the hunters below began to discuss again. They had no intuitive concept of the dresses with sun patterns, moon patterns, and star patterns, but the cloak sewn from the fur of a thousand wild beasts attracted their attention.

"A cloak made of the skins of a thousand wild beasts?"

"I remember now. Didn't His Majesty the King collect wild animal furs from hunters all over the country?"

"Yeah, I heard it also requires different beasts..."

"Everyone participated, right?"

"But a cloak made of a thousand beasts? How big would that be?!"

King Hunt watched as the voices below gradually died down, and he spoke again, "That is a cloak sewn with magic. It can take on the appearance of any animal's fur—"

In short, go to the forest and kill as many beasts as possible. They are the culprits who have devoured so many people in the Hunt Kingdom.

Find my daughter and provide clues, and I will give you unimaginable rewards!"

He then pointed to a neatly organized group of Hunter soldiers, completely different from the Hunter group, and said, "My warriors will go with you, and have the same mission as you."

Then, he turned to the Hunt soldiers and said:
"My soldiers, you are the kingdom's fortress. Find my princess—and I will reward you as well!"

As soon as the words fell, the Hunt soldiers struck their shields and shouted in unison:
"Death for His Majesty!"

On the other hand, the hunters nearby were stunned when they saw this scene, but some of them were whispering and showing a hint of disdain.

After all, in the eyes of many old hunters, no matter how well-trained these soldiers are, they are just "outsiders" in the forest.

But this is not something to be opposed to.

"Now, everyone can get ready to go."

King Hunt looked up at the dimming sun, then turned to the side, where an old man in strange clothes bowed slightly.
"It's almost time to open the maze."

The old man nodded and walked up to the platform. He took out a slightly yellowed scroll from his sleeve and slowly opened it towards the forest. The scroll was painted with complicated patterns.

Under the sunlight, the lines began to glow.

"Is that a magician?"

Among the crowd, Poro noticed this. He sensed the magical form attached to the scroll - the opposite of the forest maze, or in other words, a magic targeting the forest maze, a key.

"Is that the court wizard of the Hunt Kingdom? Is his magic powerful?"

After hearing Poro's inner thoughts, Lake asked curiously.

"Much stronger than an average person, but... compared to the witches we've seen before, they seem a little weak."

The Poro sensed the magic within the court mage and concluded, "Without the scroll, he might not be able to solve the forest maze."

"Polo, can you solve this puzzle?"

"Every forest maze is different. This one... is huge. It may take me a long time to analyze it."

Poro smiled, "But since King Hunt has such magic, it's very convenient, isn't it?"

Not far away in the Beast Howling Forbidden Forest, the blue-gray fog began to dissipate rapidly.

The overlapping phantoms of trees also dissipated one by one, gradually becoming like an ordinary forest. Seeing this, the court wizard nodded.

"My warriors, now is the time to hunt!"

Following the voice of King Hunt, the hunters and Hunt soldiers walked towards the woods.

Lake and Poro also blended into the crowd and entered the woods.

Although the hunters here are among the strongest in the Kingdom of Hunt, most hunters understand that cooperative hunting is much more comfortable than hunting alone - especially this kind of "hunting" that lasts for an unknown period of time.

If you want to spend the night in such an unknown terrain, it is more appropriate to have more people to set up a camp and keep watch.

Therefore, people did not immediately split up and act separately.

There are also many hunters who have found teammates in advance to form groups - whether it is cooperative hunting or distributing the spoils, this is a good method.

As for Rek Poro, he stood with the more familiar hunters, Jorginger and the bear-skinned man.

"Polo, look at those twelve people over there..."

Lake observed a few special people among the hunters.

Lake and Poro had seen several of the twelve hunters with swords hanging from their waists before, under the guidance of Yolinger.

They were noticeably shorter than the other hunters, but their gait and posture seemed more coordinated than the others, clearly from the same school. "Those twelve hunters are truly all girls."

After observing, Poro also communicated with Lake in his heart.

The twelve female hunters all seemed to be disguised, and it was almost impossible for ordinary people to identify their identities as women, both in appearance and clothing.

"Oh, and that girl riding a deer over there."

Lake was already an outlier among the hunters, but the girl riding a deer was even more out of place.

Under her cloak, Lake was at least wearing armor, carrying a longbow and a sword.

But the girl riding the deer was wearing a skirt and didn't even carry any weapons. She just had a few bags hanging on the antlers of the stag she was riding - just like a girl going on a spring outing.

At this time, the girl was not accompanied by anyone, but just put her face close to the deer's ear.

It seems like he is saying something.

"Polo, I feel that girl is a little different—"

"It's magic. She might be a witch."

The Poro narrowed his eyes, looked at it, and replied.

"Witch?"

"Yes, I sensed the presence of magic in that girl, and the same was true for the deer she was riding."

Lake was stunned for a moment, observed carefully, and then breathed a sigh of relief:

"But fortunately, she didn't kill any innocent people."

Poro also nodded and looked away.

In this world, although magic is a powerful and mysterious force, there are definitely people who master it, and there are also many people who master some small tricks.

Therefore, Lake and Poro did not have the idea of ​​contacting them immediately.

Of course, even if you contact them, you may not be able to ask anything.

After all, before today, many hunters, even messengers sent by the king, and people who took the initiative to contact and communicate with her, had not been able to get anything out of the deer-riding girl.

Besides, at the moment, a forest shrouded in a maze is not a safe place—

Also including... that devil whose purpose is unknown.

"So, what is the mission the devil has given you? What does he want you to do in this hunt?"

Walking to a place slightly away from the crowd, Lake looked at the bear-skinned man who was somewhat silent beside him. Hearing Lake's question, he answered in a somewhat dull voice:

"Just tell me to kill more beasts and at least reach the top five of these people."

The bearskin man looked at the hunters - most of them were dressed very smartly, and their swords and bows and crossbows all looked well-honed.

Obviously, none of the hunters standing here are mediocre.

"And to kill more beasts, we must go deeper into the forest, which will undoubtedly be more dangerous."

Lake nodded and looked at another person - the only two people he knew among the hunters besides the bear-skinned man, Yolinger.

He is also the first hunter encountered, claiming that he is participating for the sake of his loved one.

"Mr. Jöringer, why don't you come with us? It's always safer in a group."

"No, I'll do it alone."

But Jollinger shook his head. "Now that I'm here, I'll tell you the truth. I'm not here to hunt. I will try my best to avoid contact with wild animals—"

"Hmm? So, Mr. Jöringer, are you also going somewhere in the forest? Or looking for something?"

Lake was stunned for a moment and asked, "Do you know anything else about this forest?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. What I know is very limited. It should be relatively safe outside the forest."

Yolinger looked at Lake, hesitated for a moment, and finally shook his head, "The place I'm going to is very dangerous."

"We can help you..."

"No need. If you hunt outside the forest, you can still get out of the forest if you encounter danger. But if you go deep into the forest, you won't have such an opportunity."

"What we're after isn't hunting or rewarding, but..."

As Lake spoke, she looked at the bear-skinned man, ready to explain to Yolinger about the devil, but then she saw the bear-skinned man's usually cold expression suddenly change.

"Sir, what's wrong with you?"

"devil."

The bear-skinned man looked in the direction he came from and uttered two words with difficulty, "I can't be wrong. It's the devil. Every time he uses magic in front of me, I can feel it..."

"what?"

Lake and Poro were startled when they heard this, and looked in the direction they came from, but they didn't feel anything.

"But if the devil is in this forest, he should be deeper in the forest. Why... outside the forest?!"

In an instant, Poro thought of something.

But before anyone could react, gray-green mist suddenly emerged from the ground in the forest. It grew thicker at a speed visible to the naked eye, expanding and spreading, blocking everyone's sight!
The shadows of the trees swayed, and within the mottled landscape, points of light flashed, like the pupils of birds and beasts. The sounds of grass and trees and the chirping of insects blended together, erratic and uncertain. Time, space, and distance began to lose their sense of reality within the fog...

Like a flood, it engulfs the body unstoppably.

The fog dissipated again, and the five senses returned. Poro looked around, but did not see anyone. All around him was an unfamiliar and empty forest.

……

Before the maze reopens, in front of the Beast Roaring Forest.

The horseshoe devil in formal attire looked towards King Hunt standing on the high platform not far away, and the court wizard holding a magic scroll beside the king.

"A hunt where you can easily escape is meaningless."

The horseshoe devil let out a strange laugh and cut a bloody line on his wrist. A trickle of blood dripped down and condensed into a shape in mid-air, transforming into a crow.

The crow flapped its wings and flew straight towards the court wizard.

"what?!"

The court mage noticed something unusual and screamed, but it was too late to stop it.

In an instant, the crow crashed into the scroll, adding a blood-red magic pattern to the complicated magic patterns. The magic lights intersected, and a sudden change occurred!
Throughout the Beast Roaring Forest, fog once again spread across the plains, and this time, it was even crazier!

The blue-gray fog even broke through the forest, tumbling and wriggling, crushing towards King Hunt and his soldiers like a tsunami.

"Go, Your Majesty, go quickly, the forest maze is out of control!"

The court mage looked pale as he and his guards took Queen Cang, King of Hunt, and retreated.

When the gray mist receded, King Hunt looked back in shock, only to find that the entrance to the Beast Howling Forest had disappeared again, leaving only a thicker fog swirling through the forest. (End of this chapter)