Freedom, Freedom

Upon hearing a voice from within the light orb left behind by the old Hebradian wolf, Baroque almost wanted to leap up and curse if his body could move. ...... This family of Hebradian wolves was truly detestable. Not only were there three unhatched magical beast eggs attached to him, showing no signs of activity, but even the silver little wolf that could move freely spent all day attached to his arm, turning into a tattoo and sleeping lazily. And now, as if things couldn't get any worse, the light orb left by the old Hebradian wolf contained a soul! What were they trying to do, did they really think of his body as a hotel?

Baroque's thoughts did not escape the notice of the light orb. An old man's voice, still cheerfully laughing, explained to Baroque, "Don't be afraid, child. I am indeed dead, this is just a fragment of my soul left behind. As you gradually receive the information I have left for you in the light orb, these soul fragments will gradually dissipate, causing you no trouble. In fact, as of now, I can even help you a great deal."

"Help? Are you going to repair my body? Ha, right, my hotel is already in shambles, of course you guests need to repair it well," Baroque replied irritably.

Unexpectedly, the voice said, "Of course, although your body is severely injured, it is not irreparable. Child, don't belittle yourself. Let's not even consider the awe-inspiring mysterious power within your soul sea, even as a member of the Frost Wolf clan beloved by the Totem Spirit, your body is not so simple. Alright, you will understand in the future. Now let my children have a big meal and repair your body in the process."

Once again, the light orb of the old Hebradian wolf used this trick, making Baroque, who wanted to know more secrets, grind his teeth in anger but to no avail!

Baroque found his arm uncontrollably grabbing the blue crystal and bringing it to his mouth. He opened his mouth and swallowed the thumb-sized crystal with a gulp!

Such a large hard stone in his stomach, it better not have any side effects. Just as Baroque was about to protest, a force suddenly enveloped the crystal within the meridians used to circulate his battle energy. In his mental awareness, a scene appeared… the force seemed to tear the crystal apart, and the blue giant eagle inside began to resist, flapping its huge wings and stirring up towering waves, turning into razor-sharp water tornadoes, seemingly tearing everything apart. At the same time, blue lightning bolts continuously spewed from its mouth, striking the mist formed by the light orb.

The white mist, unperturbed, firmly wrapped around the crystal, constantly tearing at it. To Baroque's astonished 'watch', the crystal indeed began to crack, emitting waves of energy!

The silver little wolf outside Baroque's body suddenly raised its head, seemingly sniffing the air, and immediately jumped onto Baroque's arm, wriggling like mercury and reattaching itself as a tattoo! Meanwhile, the three always dormant magical beast eggs in his chest and abdomen also started to move. The shadows of the three beast eggs kept circling on his belly, along with the little wolf tattoo, as if four little birds were eagerly waiting for the mother bird (sweat) to feed them.

The blue crystal eventually could not withstand the tearing of the white mist, and with a final tragic cry, it was torn into four pieces. The blue giant eagle only managed a half-cry before completely dissipating without a trace.

The four crystal pieces quickly turned into four blue streams of light, evenly distributed by the white mist into the three beast eggs and the silver little wolf. A blue light orb appeared in the middle of each of the three beast eggs, and on Baroque's chest, three blue dots became visible. The beast eggs became significantly more active, almost showing signs of consciousness, moving slowly and incessantly on Baroque's chest. If Baroque did not wear clothes in the future, his strange body would undoubtedly shock people!

The silver little wolf directly swallowed the blue light orb, let out a joyful cry, and quietly turned into a tattoo to digest it! The soul fragment of the old Hebradian wolf seemed very pleased: "Hehe, my children have grown considerably, even beyond my expectations. Baroque, the mysterious thunder power within you is truly extraordinary. Remember, never reveal it to anyone, not even those closest to you. Because you wouldn't believe it, this world has countless mysterious and terrifying beings. Once they detect that power, they will easily kill you to seize it."

"Stop saying these confusing things, solve the immediate problem first. Didn't you say you could repair my body?" Baroque impatiently shouted. The place he was in was not safe; someone could pass by at any moment, and if discovered, he had no means of resistance.

"Young man, you need patience. Now, try to release the Shaman Healer power you just learned." The old Hebradian wolf's voice carried a hint of amusement, as if feeding his children had made him very happy. He released a bit of power, guiding Baroque's soul sea to rotate slowly. The recently extracted bit of the Odin Thunder Eagle's magical beast blue light spread throughout Baroque's body, wrapping him in a blue cocoon. As Baroque's soul power gradually regenerated, he converted it into healing power using the Shaman Healer secret technique, merging it with the blue light to start repairing his entire body.

It was strange; Baroque's body could actually absorb the power of magical beasts, which even surprised the old Hebradian wolf. It was known that on the continent of Soren, only humans could utilize magical beast crystals through profound magic arrays, merging with their power and using it to form attached armor-like enhancements, almost infinitely boosting their strength.

Other races, such as elves and dwarves, could only use their special secret methods to tame magical beasts, like battle pets, but could not merge with their power. As for beastmen… they simply couldn't communicate with magical beasts—at least, not in the past few thousand years! The old Hebradian wolf might have been the only one left on the continent who knew the truth wasn't so simple. Now that he was dead, his soul fragments would dissipate at any moment. Fortunately, he left this great secret in the light orb's information, for Baroque to discover when he becomes strong enough in the future.

"When you killed that prince, some miraculous changes occurred. You fused the Shaman power and my child, forming a gauntlet-like armor, creating a power similar to human [Magical Armor]. Because of the thunder power, I couldn't sense it clearly. Can you describe the process?"

"I don't know… hissing… who the hell knows what exactly happened. I was already prepared to die… hissing… stop talking to me. This healing method is unbelievably painful…!" Baroque said through gritted teeth. As a beastman warrior, he prided himself on his toughness, but the process of healing his body with the blue light and Shaman Healer secret technique was like having his skin and bones peeled off. He swore that if he ever got injured again, he would rather endure and slowly recover than go through this again!

Although the pain was excruciating, the healing effect was astonishing. Enveloped in the blue light, his charred or shattered skin gradually fell away, revealing restored, baby-like tender skin underneath, without a single beast hair. If it weren't for his vertical pupils and elf-like beast ears, Baroque at that moment would have looked no different from a human.

This change was only temporary. As the blue light dimmed and the Shaman Healer technique continued, silver beast hair began to grow again, covering his entire body. When the three whisker marks reappeared on either side of his face, Baroque had completely returned to his original appearance.

Still feeling weak, Baroque struggled to his feet, sensing his whole body was more fragile than before. The old Hebradian wolf advised in his mind: "Listen, your body has just recovered, your bones have regrown. During this period, don't engage in intense activity or fights. The humans are currently in enough turmoil, no one will pay attention to you. Leave this place quickly! Today, my soul fragment has consumed too much power. It will be difficult to talk to you like this again in the future. Everything will depend on you. Remember… be cautious, vigilant, never expose my children's presence to human magical armor warriors, or they will spare no effort to kill my children, and you too…!"

The old Hebradian wolf's voice fell silent, and the light orb in Baroque's mind seemed to dim significantly, quietly shrinking into a corner of his soul sea, waiting for the right moment to transmit more information to him.

Looking at Padea City, Baroque hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, dismissing the idea of sneaking in to see Celine. They were a noble human lady and a lowly beastman, also a fugitive. Unless a miracle happened, it was hard to be together. Baroque neither belittled himself nor felt inferior. But he had more important matters to attend to. His destroyed tribe needed rebuilding, and his people needed his leadership. Now was definitely not the time to be entangled with a woman. Maybe he would come back to Padea City to find Celine when the situation improved in the future. Of course, if Celine had a new lover by then, Baroque wouldn't reappear… After all, the reputation of human noblewomen was really not that good. Even though Celine was a virgin when she was with Baroque, who could guarantee she wouldn't be tempted to fall in high society?

Touching his chest, still naked, he quickly checked his hand. Fortunately, the storage ring that Dirt Dog Rack had obtained was still on his finger, and the mage's clothes inside, though a bit small for Baroque, could be worn with some effort. As for the other storage ring on his other finger, taken from Prince Alvin, the clothes inside were extravagantly luxurious, with decorations and patterns bearing the royal emblem of Audria. If Baroque wore them, he wouldn't get far before being chased by a horde of humans. He had managed to frame Samoya Empire; he wouldn't court trouble himself.

His gaze accidentally fell on the blue metal belt lying in the grass beside him. Although the magical crystal was gone, the belt was undoubtedly priceless. Not to mention the intricate internal magic array connecting it, just the material itself was probably worth a fortune. Picking it up, he tried to store it in the storage ring. Sure enough, without the magical crystal, the belt easily entered the ring.

Time to catch up with his people; they should have reached the Teraem Forest by now, hopefully without any trouble along the way. Putting on the mage's robe and hood to cover his face, Baroque took one last look at Padea City and left without hesitation.

Freedom, finally freedom!