After hearing Dan's words, Valorant sensed the fear in his voice. He took his sword in hand and slowly opened the carriage door.
Stepping down, he carefully scanned the surroundings. A strange tension hung in the air.
"Don't get out unless I tell you to. Stay ready—unexpected guests may arrive," he said to his disciple inside the carriage.
Aster nodded.
'This looks serious.'
He drew his sword and peered out through the carriage window.
Once the Seven Sages member was confident that no one was nearby, he moved to the front of the carriage.
"Look over there—something's lying on the road," Dan said, pointing.
Valorant raised his sword and walked toward the creature in the middle of the road. It lay about twenty meters away, drenched in blood. He approached without haste.
On the ground was a large antlered deer, barely alive, twitching weakly. Clear bite marks were visible on its neck and legs. It had been attacked by a pack.
"Snow wolves…" Valorant muttered.
They earned that name because they hunted during snowy weather. But that wasn't all—they were also cunning.
Snow wolves did not immediately eat the prey they caught. They left it half-alive, waiting for companions of the prey—or other predators—to arrive, then attacked them as well.
Valorant had encountered these beasts before. He knew their habits.
"I'll free you from your suffering," he said, gripping his sword with both hands and thrusting it into the deer, ending its life.
He returned to the carriage and opened the door, scanning the area once more.
"Get out."
Aster obeyed at once, stepping down. An uneasy feeling gnawed at him.
"Do you sense anything?" Valorant asked.
"Nothing nearby—for now."
Dan remained seated, trembling.
"Sir Valorant, what is it?"
Valorant replied casually,
"Snow wolves. They're hunting us."
Dan looked from the Seven Sages member to his disciple.
"Why bring the boy out? He's blind—how can a blind child help you?"
"Everything's fine. Don't worry," Valorant said.
At that moment, the horses suddenly reared and whinnied.
Sensing the wolves' approach, Valorant ordered,
"Get inside the carriage. Quickly."
Dan didn't hesitate and jumped back in.
The horses grew increasingly restless, trying to break free and flee.
As Aster watched them, he caught another sound within the wind—footsteps rushing toward them. Soon, the sounds multiplied.
"Two coming from the right. One behind them."
Valorant vaulted over the carriage roof.
"I'll take the two."
Understanding his role, Aster sprinted to the rear of the carriage and waited, sword raised.
'It's close. Now!'
He took a combat stance.
Just as expected, a snow wolf appeared before him. It looked much like an ordinary wolf—except for its permanently white fur, slightly larger build, and the horns growing from its head.
Without hesitation, Aster charged. The wolf dodged his first strike with surprising agility.
'Fast for its size.'
The wolf leapt straight at him, aiming for his neck. Aster lifted his sword and drove it into the beast's throat.
The blade pierced through, bursting out the other side. Blood soaked the steel. The wolf couldn't even cry out—its body trembled for a few seconds on its hind legs before collapsing with the sword still lodged in its throat.
Red blood stained the thick white snow.
Aster stared at the fallen wolf. Despite killing a wolf for the first time, he kept himself under control—aside from the faint tremor in his fingers.
Once the body went still, he pulled the sword free and flicked the blood from the blade.
Knowing his master stood behind him, Aster tried to act as if nothing had happened. But soon, more clawed footsteps echoed around them.
"Four from the front. Two from the right."
Hearing this, Valorant dashed to the front of the carriage while Aster took position on the right. The snow wolves emerged from the forest without delay.
'There are more. I'll need to use mana.'
Two wolves lunged at Aster at once. Knowing he couldn't kill both simultaneously, he dodged aside.
One slammed into the carriage door; the other crashed into the carriage itself.
Seizing the opening, Aster raised his sword to cut the neck of the wolf at the door—
But the second wolf sensed the move and bit down on Aster's leg.
Even so, his strike landed, severing the other wolf's head. Then Aster raised his blade and drove it into the skull of the wolf clamped onto his leg.
'I'm glad I chose to become an Elestar at times like this.'
Despite being caught between massive jaws, his leg was unharmed. He had reinforced his body with mana before the wolves closed in. To him, the bite felt like a strong grip rather than pain.
His trousers, however, were torn—small holes marking the bite.
'Right. Mana strengthens the body—not clothes.'
As Aster pulled his sword free, a surge of sounds rose from the forest. More were coming.
He turned to Valorant.
"More incoming. A lot more."
"Leave the rest to me. Get on top of the carriage," Valorant ordered.
Trusting his master without hesitation, Aster leapt onto the roof.
'What is Master planning?'
He had no doubt in Valorant—only curiosity about how he would kill them all.
Valorant stepped forward a few paces and assumed a combat stance. He gripped his sword with both hands, angled it behind him, and bent his left leg slightly forward.
Then something unexpected happened.
The blade in the old man's hands was engulfed in green flames.
'What is that?!'
The wolves were already closing in. Valorant slashed horizontally through the air.
A crescent-shaped wave of green fire tore forward along the arc of his swing, cleaving through dozens of wolves rushing in its path.
The green flame strike annihilated wolves up to fifteen meters away. It was a special long-range technique used by fire-aligned Elestars.
A few more strikes followed—enough to wipe out dozens of snow wolves. The survivors fled.
'What did Master just do? He used green flames—but how?'
Once the area fell silent, Aster jumped down and approached his master.
"Master Val—" he began.
But Dan cut him off, flinging open the carriage door and running over.
"Sir Valorant! That was incredible. I knew you could defeat them all on your own!"
Valorant barely acknowledged the praise.
"Thank you. Is Aster alright?"
That was all he cared about.
"Did you want to say something?" he asked his disciple.
Aster shook his head.
"I'll ask later."
Valorant scanned the area and beckoned Aster over.
"We need to finish something."
"I'll help. Just tell me what to do," Dan said, joining them.
They gathered the wolf bodies into one place. Aster dragged the carcasses over, Valorant cut the horns from their heads, and Dan stacked the hornless bodies aside.
'What is Master planning to do with these horns? They don't look useful,' Aster thought.
Once everything was collected, he returned to the carriage and sat down.
He watched the heavy snowfall through the window. Soon, the carriage door opened.
The old man tossed several sacks filled with severed horns inside.
"What are you going to do with those?" Aster asked.
Sitting down, Valorant answered simply,
"We're going to sell them."