-Neigh!!!!!
The horses neighed wildly.
"What's going on?"
It was only natural for people to wonder.
This was the Golden Road, one of the safest routes in the Barak Empire.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that all trade with the Ekaitz Alliance passed through this road, and with good luck, you could reach the capital without encountering a single monster or bandit.
The empire kept a close eye on it, and the merchants hired mercenaries for protection, making it comparatively safe.
So why was I sensing a sharp premonition of danger on this safe Golden Road?
'I've always been told I have good instincts.'
I instinctively reached for the dagger at my waist.
Then I slowly moved toward the front of the caravan.
The horses were completely agitated, drooling and stamping their hooves in a frenzy.
"Theodore, sir! Please do something!"
The drivers spotted me and shouted.
They had learned during the journey that the horses obeyed me, a druid, quite well.
I gestured for them to calm down, then approached the horses.
The wagons were on the verge of tipping over. I needed to soothe the beasts quickly.
-Neigh!!!!
I grabbed the reins of the nearest one and pulled gently.
A warm energy spread from my hand through the reins, and the horse, which had been foaming at the mouth and rolling its eyes just moments ago, began to breathe steadily.
It was thanks to [Affinity].
"There, there, good boy."
-Snort!
"Calm down. You're safe."
The horse was still frightened but looked up at me with steadier, innocent black eyes.
I soothed the others one by one, then stared beyond the bushes that still terrified them.
The bushes looked utterly ordinary. There was nothing the horses should fear. And yet they were this worked up...
"Jamil!"
I shouted toward the rear, but whatever was in the bushes was faster.
-Whoosh!
What burst out was none other than a shadow wolf.
Not just one.
Twenty of them.
'Why are shadow wolves here?!'
Shadow wolves were monsters you'd only encounter past Luset, in the Dark Forest.
This was Barak Empire territory. The environment was completely different from the Dark Forest, unsuitable for shadow wolves.
Moreover, shadow wolves were nocturnal.
They hunted and did everything at night.
They grew stronger under moonlight and in darkness.
But it was broad daylight now.
I tried using [Affinity] to calm them first, but it didn't work.
Of course not.
Behind me, the startled mercenaries and servants had drawn their weapons—or anything that could serve as one.
[Affinity] imprinted on beasts and non-human creatures that I wasn't a threat and made them feel affinity toward me.
But it wasn't omnipotent.
In an atmosphere as overtly hostile as this, [Affinity] wouldn't work.
Not all monsters or beasts were idiots.
'Damn it.'
Realizing it was too late, I grabbed the bow and arrows from my back.
It was a precious bow I'd carved and shaped myself from an oak tree grown drinking blessed spring water and bathed in moonlight.
The string was made from maple bear tendons, giving it enough power to pierce thick hide easily.
-Screeech!!!!
-Kyaa!!!!
An arrow sank deep into the paw of a shadow wolf lunging toward the horses.
It pierced so deeply that the wolf's foot was pinned to the ground, unable to pull back.
-Grrr!! Grrowl!!!
It bared its teeth and growled for a moment.
-Flash!
Vines began sprouting from the arrow.
The vines grew rapidly, wrapping around the shadow wolf until it was mummified. The wolf struggled, but with so many tough vines binding it tight, it collapsed helplessly.
Even as it fell, it tried to bite the vines, but they regrew faster than it could tear them, eventually binding its muzzle shut.
This was my specialty, [Shaman Arrow].
To use [Shaman Arrow], certain conditions had to be met.
First, use a bow and arrows made by hand.
Second, infuse the bow and arrows with nature's blessing.
Third...
There was no third. Two conditions were enough.
Anyway, for [Shaman Arrow], I made time every day after my routine to maintain my bow and arrows.
The night before, I'd polished them during my watch, which allowed me to use them now.
I had twelve arrows left in my quiver.
But there were twenty wolves in front of me.
Accounting for misses, the mercenaries would need to handle at least ten...
The problem was that these mercenaries, who only worked the Golden Road, probably hadn't fought monsters or beasts in ages.
-Raaargh!!!!
Sure enough, as the shadow wolves circled and attacked, screams erupted from all around.
The hide of shadow wolves, grown under moonlight, was thick and tough, resisting ordinary sword strikes.
The mercenaries' blades would be no better than clubs.
"Tch."
I nocked another arrow, drew, and fired repeatedly.
-Screeech!!!!
-Kyaa!!!!
-Thud!
-Kyeng!!!
As expected, one-shot kills were still beyond my level.
The directly hit wolf was bound immobile by vines, but the grazed one merely limped on one leg, growling fiercer and glaring at me.
"The wagons! Protect the wagons!"
The merchants and servants screamed loudly.
Failing to guard the loaded wagons meant ruin as good as death.
The horses I'd barely calmed started bucking again, wasting my [Affinity].
'Damn, I took this escort job precisely because I didn't want to get involved.'
I fired my remaining arrows not at the wolves, but at the wagons.
One per wagon.
The arrows embedded in the wagons sprouted vines that grew rapidly, binding and anchoring each one to the ground.
This way, at least the cargo wouldn't be looted.
The merchants inside should be safe too.
Now I had six arrows left.
Time to use my head.
'I can't hit two at once yet.'
So I had to aim for moments when they brushed against each other.
-Grrr...
Unlike those fighting the mercenaries, the wolves in front of me hesitated to attack.
They'd seen the power of [Shaman Arrow] with their own eyes.
Shadow wolves were among the smartest beasts.
I could predict it fully.
They saw me as the leader of this group and would target me first.
Like in a hunt, they'd herd me with numbers, then the strongest would go for the kill.
-Awoooooo...
That was the signal.
I drew my bowstring taut against the circling wolves.
They stayed tense too, the atmosphere electric.
-Tap!
-Thud!
They circled, tightening the encirclement.
'Just what I wanted.'
-Screeech!!!!
The arrow whistled between them.
A miss.
The wolves noticed.
Thinking my momentum broken, they crouched lower, growling savagely, ready to pounce.
I drew again.
And fired.
-Thud!
Another miss.
-Grrrrr!
-Yip! Yip!!!
They were primed to charge.
-Poof!
-Pop!
-Pop! Pop! Pop!
But they hesitated, howling in place instead of lunging.
-Yip! Yip! Yip!
-Grrowl!
-Awoooo!!!!
They had no choice.
Their eyes were blinded.
The missed arrows had bloomed into red-eye flowers, releasing pollen.
Red-eye flowers were poisonous; inhaling or touching it temporarily numbed the senses.
Most notably vision and smell.
Heavy exposure could cause blindness, so it required care, but it was useful in moderation.
Good thing the wind was at my back.
I drew my dagger and approached the howling, panicked wolves.
I raised my hand high; the dagger tip gleamed in the light.
[Beast's Might].
I activated the skill granting beast-like strength temporarily.
Beast hides were tough and thick; without good weapons or skills, they couldn't be pierced.
'I don't have good weapons yet.'
So I'd tank it.
-Stab!
A dull sound as the dagger sank into a shadow wolf's neck.
'Goddess Nemea, have mercy on their deaths.'
Shadow wolves were beasts beloved by Nemea, goddess of the moon.
I prayed to her and slit its throat in one go.
-Clink!
At the same time, something hard at the dagger's tip shattered.
A vibration that numbed my hand.
'What?'
I reached into the torn wound.
-Ughhh!!!
Someone vomited at the sight, but I didn't care.
Digging through the still-warm flesh, I pulled out...
"This is...?"
A shattered black stone—no, gem.
'Not a magic stone.'
Of course. Beasts differed from monsters. You couldn't get magic stones from beasts.
'If not a magic stone, then what?'
The shattered fragments held no energy.
"..."
But I knew.
This had controlled the shadow wolves.
The other wolves had black gems at their napes too.
Most shattered when I killed them, but one remained intact.
'I need to figure out what this is.'
I pocketed the black gem in my valuables pouch.
That's when it happened.
"Th-Th-Theodore, sir!!!!"
A tearing, ominous scream came from the rear, where mercenary leader Karl and his men were posted.