Chapter 136: Shadow of the Moon

“What? She—this is… impossible?!”

Before Vanessa, the mother and leader, could respond, the blue-gray haired man, clearly another powerful demon general of the Moonshadow Clan, suddenly exclaimed loudly.

He stepped forward to Vanessa, staring in disbelief at the silver-gray little wolf cub for a long while, while Noviya met his curious gaze with her innocent, wide-open eyes.

“Really… it really is… this is absurd, she’s just…”

“Ow ow?”

After a considerable pause, the man was the first to back down, avoiding Noviya’s too-bright pure gaze, retreating to the side with a complex expression and falling into silence.

Leader Vanessa did not stop his somewhat rude behavior; she gently stroked the fluffy head of the cub in her arms, wearing a satisfied and cheerful smile, as if no matter how heavy the rain poured, it couldn’t diminish her inner joy.

“You did well, all of you did well. Regarding the matters at hand, Lady Tiyelu has already communicated with me. Guests from afar, please come into the valley to continue our discussions. Although I wish to express my gratitude immediately, there are still a few matters to handle…”

The leader remained calm and composed, perhaps already prepared for what would occur today. If that was the case, Miss Vilyric was happy to oblige and quickly nodded with a smile following Vanessa’s words.

“Alright, then I shall intrude.”

Although she was more interested in the nearly demigod-level young man, he didn’t seem to have any intention of revealing himself here, simply playing the role of a backdrop, suppressing his aura to mere legendary levels. Thus, Vilyric refrained from confronting him or exposing his act of playing dumb.

After all, he looked as if he was with Vanessa, and there was no way he could escape from here, not in this heavy rain, which indeed wasn’t suitable for idle chatter.

With the leader’s words, the priestess and her group passed through Wolf Claw Peak Canyon smoothly, entering the home of the magical wolves known as Moonshadow Valley.

Despite being called a valley, Moonshadow Valley was indeed shaped as such; however, after years of habitation and transformation by the Moonshadow Clan, it no longer retained its natural ecology and developed quite remarkable traces of civilization and architectural facilities.

That’s right! After several days in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, Vilyric finally saw the first biological settlement that could be called “rich in civilization.”

As Aiste had said, magical beasts were capable of constructing and producing, and a considerable number were particularly skilled at it.

For example, in the center of Moonshadow Valley, the Moonshadow Clan had built a large and magnificent white temple, with a massive granite plaza surrounding it, covering nearly half of the valley.

As for the valley’s outer edges, there were densely packed stone houses, either made from caves or carved directly into the mountainside. Without a doubt, these were where the Moonshadow Magical Wolves lived.

From inside to out, the entire valley appeared cohesive, and the level of development was astonishing. It was hard to imagine how much time and cost the Moonshadow Clan had invested to transform their home into its current state.

Heaven was pouring rain, and there shouldn’t be many clan members outside, but due to the spectacle caused by Noviya’s arrival, which sent a white wolf’s shadow soaring into the sky, countless Moonshadow Magical Wolves, who had been at home avoiding the rain, were stirred to come outside.

Wolves, being pack creatures, exhibited superior organization and obedience compared to humans.

They surged in from all sides, crawling on the ground in the downpour, instinctively lining up on either side of the plaza at the entrance of Wolf Claw Peak Canyon.

As the leader and her group made their appearance, they released excited howls in succession!

“Ow woo! Ow woo! Ow woo ow woo!!!”

New Moonshadow Magical Wolves continued to join the assembly from afar, disregarding the other people walking behind, their countless dark blue vertical pupils fixating unblinkingly on Wolf King Vanessa and the silver-gray little wolf held in her embrace.

Huh? What’s going on here?

To be honest, Vilyric, trailing behind, found it a bit confusing. The howls of these Moonshadow Magical Wolves didn’t carry any specific meaning; it was more like human cheers of “Oh!” or “Yay!”

Moreover, the direction Vanessa was leading them towards wasn’t the residences scattered around the valley but straight towards the giant temple at the center.

However, that white wolf shadow which had startled the entire Moonshadow Clan territory, if she wasn’t mistaken, should have also erupted from the position of this temple.

Coupled with the fact that these Moonshadow Magical Wolves were braving the rain to welcome them, Vilyric could at least guess that what was about to happen was likely something of great significance for the Moonshadow Clan.

Since that was the case, she decided to watch and see; it seemed interesting, didn’t it?

There weren’t many people following along; aside from Vilyric and a few others who had arrived from afar, along with some confused guests, there were only the four strong individuals led by Leader Vanessa. As for the few Moonshadow Magical Wolves and mountain wolves they had encountered earlier, they had long since departed from the other side.

Stepping through the plaza amidst the wolves’ howls and roars that even overpowered the heavy rain, they finally reached the temple’s grand entrance.

Then, Vanessa took a solitary step forward, lifting the young cub high above her head, chanting aloud as if in prayer!

“Lofty Shadow of the Moon, great ancestors, your bloodline shall continue again today! Please open your eyes and grant the inheritor your inspection and blessings!”

“Ow ow!”

As if responding to some summons, Noviya was also compelled to emit an adorable, youthful cry. Accompanying this sound, the closed temple doors slowly opened, and then…

“Boom!!!!”

A surge of light, ten times more powerful than before, erupted from inside the temple, manifesting as a magnificent beam towards the sky, revealing a marvelous and handsome hundred-foot tall white wolf image, standing atop the light column, roaring in the air!

“Ow woo!”

All the magical wolves in Moonshadow Valley, including Leader Vanessa and the two mighty generals, transformed into their true forms, joining in the skyward howl alongside the image of the white wolf!

“Ow woo!!!!!!!”

This astonishing phenomenon was witnessed not just in Moonshadow Valley but almost half of the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, capturing the attention of magical creatures and beasts alike.

No matter where the wolf clans were, they all instinctively howled in response, while other races trembled or fell silent beneath the thunderous roars and the pressure from the white wolf. Even the Demon Town in the south witnessed this wonder simultaneously, hearing the collective howls of countless wolves.

The heavy dark clouds covering the sky were shattered by the white wolf’s howl, and the pouring rain came to an abrupt halt. However, the sun and light did not follow; the sky the white wolf looked upon turned to night, with the pure and bright light of the March moon shining down.

That light eventually focused in front of the temple, where Noviya was enveloped in silvery glow, and her fluffy body gradually shed its gray color, transforming into a snow-white wolf cub nearly identical to the shadow above her head.

   

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