The story of Caspian, Conan, and Wolfy started years ago.

A few decades ago, while on an adventure with their father, Caspian and Conan encountered an injured wolf who was about to die, in the Dark Forest.

Being naturally attracted to it due to their bloodline, they took care of the young pup for weeks before releasing it back to the wild.

This act of gratitude made the wolf and the two brothers friends. After that, occasionally, they would visit the wolf in the Dark Forest and play with it.

They even made a special whistle that the brothers can use to contact the wolf anytime they were in the Dark Forest.

Till this moment, it had been a decade since the two brothers had met the wolf.

Now, the wolf was fairly old. It was already an overlord, being a [Grade-3] Demon Beast with its own territory. It even had its own family.

Caspian had called Wolfy due to their circumstance. As a beast of the Dark Forest, Wolfy was an astoundingly strong wolf.

With his strength and reputation, they would be able to get to their destination safely.

Even Caspian was scared of getting attacked in the forest. He absolutely could not fend off [Grade-3] Demon Beasts.

However, with the protection of Wolfy, they were bound to have a smooth travel

.......

Three weeks later, a large group of about five hundred (500) people could be seen coming out of the southern border of the Dark Forest.

They walked gently on the tarred road that led to their destination, just behind a nearby mountain.

After a sizable amount of people had left the border, quite of few stayed behind.

Caspian was among them. In fact, he was the main reason that they had not continued going.

Well, actually, he was not the main reason. The main reason was Wolfy.

Caspian hugged the large wolf, about twice taller as him.

He nudged it as he said, "Wolfy, come with us."

Despite not being able to speak the human tongue, Wolfy understood the language due to the persistent teachings of the two brothers.

The large beast shook his head as a reply to Caspian.

"Why?" asked Conan.

The wolf continued shaking its head.

It had already been informed of the eminent corruption of the continent, but it could not leave.

It had a family in the forest to take care of.

Wolfy wagged its tail as it set its eyes on two wolf pups that were currently playing with Roan and Sierra.

*Woof*

It beckoned the two pups, who chased after him the moment they heard its summon.

Throughout the journey, Wolfy never came alone. It had brought its mate and his two youngest children, the rest of its family were protecting its territory.

Beside him, Wolfy's mate carried her two pups and played with them for a few minutes.

Although she didn't understand the [Universal Language], her mate had already informed her of what they were about.

Drowning her pups in saliva, she passed them on to her mate, while moaning sorrowfully.

In turn, Wolfy carried the two pups with his mouth and gave them to Caspian.

It stared in the eyes of Caspian, and the other understood its intention.

Nevertheless, Caspian still asked, "You want me to take care of them?"

Wolfy nodded back.

"Ok, I promise to protect them," sighed Caspian.

He had not liked the fact that Wolfy was going to stay in the forest, but since it was its wish, he was going to respect.

Moreover, it would be difficult to not draw attention when moving with a wolf the size of Wolfy.

He gave one last hug to Wolfy and quickly bid his farewell along with his brother.

Like that, Caspian's small group met with the main group, and they finally achieved half of their goal.

...

The Pearl Coast.

It was a beautiful place that only the rich could enjoy. The rest worked their lives day and knight for the rich ones.

Everything on the coast was expensive, especially if one was looking to live there.

Pearl Coast was divided into three sections.

The first one was the main source of income, Crystal Beach. It was a wonderful place bordered by large uncrossable rocks and hills. Every night, the beach would wash ashore [crystals pearls] suitable for cultivation 

The second section was Pearl Harbor, a thriving business place. It's was familiar for possessing shipping docks. It was the only place to go to if one wanted to travel out of the continent.

The third section was the most populated section, Pearl Town. A small residential area for most businessmen and workers.

This was the place the Aztec group was currently at.

To be more specific, they had rented a large guest house for the entire group, spending money lavishly.

Aztec, despite not being the richest, was the most stable. They had access to all parts of the continent and the guest house the group currently stayed at was one of their possessions.

As they moved their belongings into the guest house, Jake was also transported to a room in the building by heavy guards.

This sort of movement shocked some of the regular people and cultivators who had not seen him,

Including Jake's buddie--- the trio, who had long heard of Jake's detainment but had never gotten to meet him.

As they were on duty, they could not chat with him, but Jake stopped as he noticed something peculiar.

He looked at Nico, examining him before he concluded, 'He has changed….to something more interesting.'

Before the guards pushed him, Jake mouthed to Nico, "I understand."

Just one word, but it was enough for Nico, who had also been distraught over his change.

He found himself caught in a crucial point, facing two parts of himself. One part, he didn't want to acknowledge. The other part, he had grown over it.

After Jake was pushed to his room, his sister Lola, who had been paying attention to her brother since they left Aztec, asked him, "Why did he say that?"

"I don't know," replied Nico.

He couldn't tell his sister and Jaya what happened to him. He found it hard to open up.