Caught (1)

After delving deep into the field, Iris stopped her horse to get a little rest. The area was as quiet as a grave, not a single sound heard. This was confirming the fact that nobody was present anywhere near. She moved around with her horse in search for animals to prey on. Moving across the forest, she was trying to detect any signs of life.

She searched for an hour, to no avail. Not even a tiny rabbit was found. Just as she was about to turn around, her sharp ears caught a very faint howl coming from behind her.

Excited, she turned her horse and galloped in the direction of the sound. Moving further and further, the howl was becoming more and more prominent. Soon, she saw the silhouette of a figure. Looking closer, she saw it was...a wolf!

A big adult wolf!

Iris abruptly stopped her horse. The wolf, as she recognized, was the Hound Blood Wolf, a rare breed. These wolves were not that fast, but they had extremely long fangs and sharp claws capable of tearing out a big piece of flesh from a person in a flash! They were identifiable by their unique tail shape.

And Iris was looking at such a wolf. She cautiously and silently withdrew her bow from her back and took out an arrow. Putting the arrow on the bow, she stretched it out and aimed at the wolf's leg. The wolf was busy gobbling the flesh of some animal he could not recognize. The animal was torn into pieces by it's fangs and it's flesh was dug out.

While the wolf was busy eating, Iris was trying to aim accurately. Feeling satisfied, she nimbly released the bow, making he arrow rush towards the wolf!

Whoosh!

The arrow accurately landed on the wolf's leg, making it let out a piercing cry.

"Awoo...!"

The wolf turned it's head in Iris's direction, who had already begun to come closer. With an injured leg, the wolf could no longer move, it could only bare it's fangs at her and howl loudly.

"Awooo! A...Awooo! Grrr!!"

"Sorry for this, I'll make it quick."

Iris pulled out another arrow and aimed it at the wolf's neck. Before shooting, she closed her eyes briefly in prayer to the wolf. The, she released the bow with accurately pierced through the wolf's neck, making blood gush out strongly as the wolf died on spot.

Sighing slightly at how humans would sacrifice anything at their disposal to complete their goal, she cleaned up the corpse and put it in one of the little baskets hung over her horse to collect the hunt.

This was a good catch.

Now, it was time for more.

...

Elsewhere, under a big majestic tree, a slender man was sitting. His black hair like the night flowed down over his being. His majestic face seemed sculpted by God himself, leaving anyone who looked at it unable to take their eyes away. Though he had not spoken a word, he exurberated an air of nobility and class.

What he was wearing had a complicated embroidery and showed exquisite workmanship. His long sleeves draped and lightly touched the floor, dancing with the flowing air. His entire being was emitting a dangerous aura, making the people incapable of ignoring his presence, even though he was just lazily lying down, eyes closed.

Suddenly, a black shadow appeared before him and respectfully knelt down in front of him.

"Master! Someone has entered the forbidden area!" He spoke in a rushed voice, his tone carried urgency. He was quickly waiting for the man's response.

"Hm."

The man casually hummed, not opening his eyes. His voice was like a void that was entrenched in coldness, yet a little low that was pleasant to the ears, as if it was a finely tuned instrument, but it still could not mask his menacing aura.

The shadow became panicked.

Did his Master not hear him?

Otherwise, how could he ignore this big issue?!

Could it be, that he thought that the person had already been rid of?!

That was not the case!

"Master, the person has entered the forbidden area and has not been dealt with yet. They are moving deeper and deeper into the territory!" He spoke even more urgently.

At this statement, the man finally opened his eyes. Those deep red eyes could easily freeze one's soul and suck them in, rendering them forever lost in the infinite universe. The man's face carried a slight frown, making the shadow shake with fright.

"How?"

He asked in a dangerous, menacing tone. The aura exuding from his body made the shadow's heart palpitate in terror.

"Subordinate...subordinate was incompetent and did not notice. Asking...Asking Master to subject punishment..." His tone was visible shaking.

The man elegantly stood up from the ground. He stood under the shade of the tree, with his head held high, his dark eyes proud and aloof. He didn't even look at the kneeling man and proceeded towards his horse. After elegantly amounting the horse, he spoke to the shadow.

"3 days at the Blood Camp. I'll deal with the matter myself." After that, he sped up towards a certain direction and left without giving the man a chance to reply.

The shadow kneeling down swiftly collapsed to the ground. Blood Camp was the place that offered the most horrendous punishments to his Master's subordinates. He hated that place, but it was better than being killed off by his Master. That was even more torturous.

As for the unlucky intruder, he had to admit their skills were good to move past him without him noticing. But now that His Highness had gone to deal with them himself, a death more painful then ever would be their end.

That's right. Such a handsome and cold man, other than Azura, who else could it be in the capital?

Ruthless to no end, his enemy was the most unlucky person in the whole world.

And the little rabbit Iris, who had no idea a wolf was coming to prey on her, was rapidly increasing her hunts. She had killed a total of 12 animals, most of them rare to find. This was a time as good as any to stop. The sun had began to set. Iris had decided to head back.

She was riding her way out of the field, when something caught her eye. From a distance across the trees, she could see a little wooden house of some sort.

A house in the middle of a forest plagued by beasts?

This was not normal at all!

Curious, she set off in the direction of the house. When she came slightly closer, she realized that the house was very old and shabby. From her analysis, it must've been here for at least 10 years or so. Furthermore, it was surrounded by a wooden fence. There was no light or anything coming from the house, it was most likely to be empty.

Iris began to come closer to the house. Just as she was approaching closer...