15: Chapter 15: The Silver Star Ring, crafted by the witch Alexandra!

Deep in the forest.

The Silver-blood Wolf King crouched over the massive corpse of a Frost Sea Giant Bear, greedily devouring its warm internal organs.

This was a mother bear that had intruded into the Silver-blood Wolf pack's territory with her three cubs, ultimately resulting in a fierce conflict.

In a one-on-one fight, the Silver-blood Wolf King would be no match for the Frost Sea Giant Bear, but with the aid of its pack, the Wolf King had ultimately secured victory.

However, there were quite a few wolf corpses that had been flattened into meat patties by the Frost Sea Giant Bear.

At this moment, on the outskirts of the battlefield.

Rowan arrived here, following the direction in which the wolf pack had fled.

The thick scent of blood in the air had not yet dissipated.

His gaze peered through the gaps between the trees toward the front.

Dozens of surviving Silver-blood Wolves were gathered not far away.

Rowan remained expressionless, his hand reaching behind his back.

He drew his bow and notched an arrow.

This time, it was no longer the silent Silent Whisper Arrow.

Silent Pilgrimage: Ice Crystal Arrow!

Infused with Frost Battle Qi, the arrowhead faintly glowed with a blue light.

*Twang—!*

The bowstring hummed, and the arrow flew like a shooting star!

The arrow flew over the wolf pack, not directly hitting any single wolf, but upon reaching its peak—

*Bang!*

It exploded in mid-air!

The Ice Crystal Arrow transformed into countless sharp ice crystals the size of fingernails, raining down like a storm and covering a radius of dozens of meters below!

"Awoo—!"

"Wuu—!"

Miserable howls immediately rose and fell one after another.

The ice crystals easily tore through the thick fur of the Silver-blood Wolves, embedding themselves deep into their flesh.

The wolf pack completely collapsed, no longer caring for anything else as they fled in all directions, wailing.

Only a dozen or so wolf corpses, already heavily injured before, remained.

Rowan stood with his bow, indifferent to the chaos and misery before him.

His gaze, passing through the scattering wolf pack, locked onto a special figure.

That Mutated Wolf King, which possessed a magnificent golden mane around its neck and an exceptionally sturdy build.

It did not flee in panic like the ordinary wolves but instead leapt onto a rock a short distance away.

The Wolf King's eerie green eyes stared fixedly at Rowan, its gaze filled with bestial cruelty, yet a very human-like flash of alarm and suspicion also flickered within.

It seemed to sense that this solitary human emanated a lethal chill that made its fur stand on end.

The standoff lasted only an instant.

The Wolf King did not attempt to reorganize the pack; instead, it turned and bolted directly toward the deepest part of the mountain forest!

Its speed was incredibly fast, far exceeding its peers.

"Trying to run?"

Rowan stowed his bow and kicked off the ground, causing a small crater to explode underfoot as his figure shot out like an arrow from a string!

With the Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique operating at full power, his stamina and speed were pushed to their limits; he was not a bit slower than the fleeing Wolf King even in the complex forest terrain!

One human and one wolf, two figures engaged in a frantic chase through the sea of trees.

Rowan was like a ghost of the forest, his figure shifting and dodging between the thick tree trunks.

The complex terrain failed to slow him down in the slightest; instead, he utilized it to constantly close the distance with the wolf silhouette ahead.

Sensing the bone-chilling killing intent following it like a shadow, the anxiety in the Wolf King's green pupils grew more intense.

It began specifically choosing to weave through the thickest thorn bushes, attempting to use the terrain to lose its pursuer.

But Rowan was like a maggot on a bone, remaining doggedly just dozens of meters behind it.

Finally, the terrain ahead changed abruptly, revealing a nearly vertical, steep cliff face.

At the base of the cliff wall was a cave entrance half-hidden by vines, emitting a strong, rank odor.

As if seeing a lifeline, the Wolf King leapt with all its might, intending to dash into the cave.

At the very moment it leapt—

An icy blue light flared in Rowan's eyes like a cold star!

He kicked off a protruding rock violently, his figure accelerating forward.

Simultaneously, his right hand swept past his waist as fast as lightning!

*Clang!*

The Frost Sword was unsheathed!

Oath of Freezing: Winter Shock!

There were no fancy moves; he simply infused his newly realized "Winter Shock" into the simplest of thrusts.

The sword struck like a startled hibernating dragon, a single line of cold light!

A speck of blue light, cold to the extreme, condensed at the sword's tip; arriving later but striking first, it pierced directly into the Wolf King's flank, which was exposed by its leap!

*Puchi!*

The sound of the blade entering flesh was muffled.

The Wolf King let out an earth-shattering howl, its leaping momentum coming to an abrupt halt as it crashed heavily at the cave entrance.

It struggled to get up, wanting to turn back and bite, but in the next second, a terrifying current of cold erupted within its body!

Blood froze, internal organs stiffened, and muscles lost all control.

The fierce light in its eyes rapidly dimmed, and after its sturdy body twitched a few times, it ceased to move.

No blood flowed from the wound, only a layer of rapidly spreading white frost.

Rowan sheathed his sword and let out a soft puff of white mist.

Killing this Wolf King, which was comparable to an Official Knight, was easier than he had imagined.

The level 2 Winter Oath-Keeper Swordsmanship combined with Winter Shock possessed truly terrifying lethality.

He walked over to the Wolf King's corpse and confirmed its death.

Then, his gaze turned toward the dark cave entrance.

A mixture of rank, fecal, and rotting meat smells wafted toward him.

Scattered at the cave entrance were some bone fragments and fur; some belonged to beasts, and some seemed... slightly different.

Rowan frowned slightly, gripped his sword hilt, circulated his Battle Qi for protection, and stepped into the Wolf King's lair.

The cave was narrow at the entrance but soon opened up.

The interior space was quite large and dry, with the ground covered in hay and animal hides.

More skeletons were piled in the corners, and the remains of some unfinished prey emitted a foul stench.

But Rowan's gaze was soon drawn to a spot deep within the cave, near the rock wall.

He approached and crouched down, using the tip of his sword to gently push aside the hay and dust, and then his pupils contracted slightly.

This was a human skeleton!

The skeleton was quite well-preserved, curled in a side-lying position within a hollow in the rock wall.

The bones were unusually tall and thick; he estimated that its owner had been over two meters tall when alive.

Most surprisingly, despite being buried in such a cave for an unknown number of years, it had not decayed but instead displayed a smooth, grayish-white luster.

But Rowan's gaze was soon drawn to the position of the skeleton's right pinky bone.

A ring was slipped onto it.

The ring's style was ancient, and its material seemed to be some sort of unremarkable dark metal, with a faint, extremely restrained silver glow swirling around the edges.

Rowan reached out, gently pinched the finger bone, and slowly slid the ring off.

It was cold to the touch and felt heavier than it looked.

He held the ring up to his eyes, examining it carefully with the help of the faint light leaking from the cave ceiling.

On the outer side of the ring near the face, a line of tiny but clear Continental Common Tongue letters was etched, ancient and elegant: "Andre."

A name.

Rowan's heart stirred slightly as he turned the inner side of the ring toward the light.

The inner wall was also engraved with text, even smaller than that on the outside, requiring focused attention to see:

"silver star ring, produced by Witch Alexandra."

At the very moment he clearly saw this line of words—

*Buzz!*

Deep in his mind, the system panel suddenly appeared automatically!

[Discovered Magic Item: silver star ring (Purple)]

[Description: A creation of a Space-attribute Witch]

[Status: Unowned (Bindable)]

[Bind?]

Rowan's heart jolted, and his pupils constricted.

A creation of a Space-attribute Witch?

This was the first time he had seen the panel react directly to an item since his system awakened!

Without any hesitation, he focused his thoughts:

"Bind!"

The silver star ring in his hand seemed to tremble slightly, and that cold, heavy sensation vanished instantly.

At the same time, a faint but clear mental connection was established between him and the ring.

Without needing to learn, he naturally understood the basic usage of this ring.

A stable sub-space storage device attached to the ring!

Rowan did not immediately investigate what was inside this newly acquired spatial equipment.

This place was not one to linger in.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he carefully checked the cave once more, especially around the skeleton named Andre.

After confirming there were no other valuable items, he stayed no longer and turned to walk out of the wolf den.

Outside, the daylight was just right, and the mountain forest was silent, with only the whimpering of the wind passing through the treetops.

He determined his direction, moved out, and sped off toward White Cliff Castle.

...