Chapter Thirty-Nine: One Year Later

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

Behind the mountain.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

Eighteen ferocious, powerful dogs of various shapes and sizes were sprinting across the grass, charging toward five white rabbits.

Suddenly, a figure flashed across the sky, and a winged shadow darted over the ground.

The next second!

Bang!

Awoo!

A blood-red Rottweiler, a size larger than a normal dog and standing two meters tall on its hind legs, descended from the sky. A pair of massive red wings on its back retracted instantly, folding so tightly against its fur that they became indistinguishable.

Underneath it, the five rabbits trembled, paralyzed by fear, not one choosing to flee.

It opened its bone-white, razor-sharp teeth and took a bite.

The cute little white rabbit vanished into its gaping maw. With the crunching sound of breaking bones, blood and minced meat dripped from its jaws. Its blood-red eyes turned toward the eighteen ferocious dogs that had just caught up.

Whimper...

Under its gaze, all the dogs halted in their tracks; the strongest ones in the lead even let out whimpers of submission.

Only then were the remaining four rabbits torn apart in the scramble among the eighteen dogs.

At this moment.

Awoo-howl!!

A dog’s howl echoed out. The blood-red Rottweiler’s eyes darted, and a low, rumbling sound emanated from its throat.

The pack immediately broke into an orderly rush toward the source of the sound: the warehouse.

The nineteen fierce dogs began to sniff around with practiced expertise, their eyes scanning the warehouse and the grass. The blood-red Rottweiler even took to the sky to scan from above, but in the end, they found nothing.

After a while, the blood-red Rottweiler landed in front of the warehouse door and let out two soft whimpers.

The next second.

A hand reached out and patted its head, gently stroking its soft fur.

Louis appeared out of nowhere!

He had been standing right behind the warehouse door the entire time, yet the dogs’ noses seemed to have collectively failed, leaving them unable to track him.

"Blood-Maul, you lost again. Your fire-resistance training will be doubled today."

The blood-red Rottweiler, known as Blood-Maul, immediately whined softly, rubbing its head against Louis's leg and wagging its tail furiously. The vicious beast that had appeared so fierce moments ago now acted like a cowering puppy.

"No, begging won't work. Now, take your army and go eat."

"Woo~"

Blood-Maul’s tail drooped instantly. It trudged listlessly into the warehouse, where fresh pork, beef, and mutton, still reeking of blood, were laid out in portions.

Watching the pack feed obediently, Louis, now eight years old, shook his head. This was the result of a year of training.

The pack-wolf technique was a success. While not yet perfected, it was already effective.

The Blood-Maul before him was the "alpha" he had created by combining the Great Tengu technique, feeding it the carcasses of six failed test dogs, etching its skin with eagle blood and bone powder, and letting it feast on human blood.

As for its combat prowess... bullets could penetrate its hide, but killing it was difficult. Unless a large-caliber round was used or a rifle burst hit the head or other vital organs, it would recover given time.

Its combat capability was quite impressive, especially when combined with eighteen other powerful, specialized hunting dogs that followed his commands like a military unit.

These creatures had instantly become Louis's primary trump card, even surpassing his fire arts.

"With these, I can feel more at ease when I return to the family."

Louis thought to himself, clenching his fist. He felt full of strength. He had finished all three vials of the serum over the past year, and their effects were gradually manifesting through his training. His physical fitness was now on par with a twelve-year-old boy.

Moreover, the power of the serum had not been fully released; he estimated it would fully integrate as he grew older, reaching its peak by the time he was fifteen or sixteen.

While musing, he spun a long dagger he had just cleaned and headed toward the front courtyard.

Before entering, he swallowed the dagger, rubbed his chest, and murmured, "Slurp, not bad."

Inside, Emma, who had become increasingly focused on her appearance, was brushing her long, silky black hair. Her acting skills had improved significantly, and her smile looked much more natural.

Meanwhile, sitting on the sofa, Yulenka was whispering something to a young girl, her face full of smiles as she chattered away with preachy enthusiasm.

"You have to understand, one must learn to stick together to avoid being hurt. Otherwise, you’re just an outcast, and being an outcast means there’s something wrong with you—even if there isn't, there is!"

"So you must join the group and stand up against injustice. We are all your support, do you understand?"

The object of her sermon was a girl the same age as Emma—Carrie, who had recently moved nearby. Carrie nodded timidly, but her cowardly demeanor made it clear she wasn't taking it in.

Yulenka frowned, an unnamed irritation rising in her chest.

If it weren't for the sake of making Emma admit defeat, I would have... with a coward like you, I would have long since...

Before she could finish her thought, she saw Louis return.

Yulenka immediately stopped and greeted him, but Carrie reacted even faster, her eyes lighting up, though her lips only moved without making a sound.

Louis, naturally, paid her no mind; after all, her coming over to see Emma had become a common occurrence.

After moving to the neighborhood, she had transferred schools and was in the same class as Emma. Combined with their status as neighbors, she often ran over to find Emma when her mother wasn't around, and they had grown familiar through frequent contact.

Louis opened the refrigerator, pulled out a Häagen-Dazs, tossed one to Carrie, and lay back comfortably on the sofa. Yulenka consciously handed him the remote.

Watching TV, eating ice cream—bliss.

But soon, a phone rang.

Louis picked it up, his expression shifting slightly before he nodded. "I understand."

He then went upstairs.

Once Louis was out of sight, Yulenka immediately snatched back the remote to change the channel, but unexpectedly...

A voice spoke from behind her: "So, my dear sister Yulenka, who do you think won?"

Emma looked at Yulenka with a mocking smile.

Yulenka’s mouth twitched. She shot a hateful glare at Carrie and handed all her pocket money over to Emma.

Emma cast a disdainful glance at Yulenka and the cowardly Carrie before heading upstairs.

They had made a bet on whether they could make Carrie act slightly more courageous, even if only on the surface.

The result, obviously, was clear.

Carrie sat in silence, biting her lip. She knew about their bet, but she just couldn't summon the courage. Her mother had said that the Lord says one must not... get angry... with others...

Or was that it?

Carrie wasn't sure.

In the end, she simply clutched the Häagen-Dazs in her hand, staring at it blankly.