"What a strange turn of events! Among the beasts that dwell in the maze, the one they're facing is one of the deadliest! A frost Cursed Wolf King. These Frost Wolves by themselves are a fearsome creature that can easily destroy an unaware Emperor Level Cultivator. However, now that it had mutated into a Cursed type, it is far deadlier and more deranged.
What do you think the chances of survival for a cultivator at the Void Realm against these creatures?" the commentator asked Eccentric Long.
"Even I don't like these things, after all, one of the scars on my body is because of an encounter with one of these things. Back in my days, I had to travel across the Frigid Region of the north and almost ended up losing my life to one of them. I didn't remove the scar to remind myself that even the strong need to keep cautious at all times," Eccentric Long said.
"From your story, these things are very fearsome to meet and encounter for a normal cultivator. Perhaps Du Shen will finally be forced to act! We'll probably be able to see more of his personal power!" the commentator began hyping up the upcoming battle.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Xiao Du said.
"Why is that, is there something we're missing?" the commentator questioned.
"It is that smirk on his face that never disappeared even against something that would make any Void Cultivator turn serious, it didn't even faze him. On the opposite, he seemed to be more interested in the man that just joined them than the wolf that is currently fighting."
"I see what you mean, after all, that man is one of the imposters of the maze, perhaps Du Shen already figured him out?" the commentator said.
"He noticed the inconsistency of his words the moment they talked. Now, after the wolf jumped straight for the pathfinders and 'ignored' his ally the Imposter, it just confirmed it," Xiao Du said.
"Good, let's keep watching then. And hope to see more of Du Shen's ability and judgement!"
***
"Get him," I said.
The wolf didn't stand a chance as two of my puppets immediately intercepted him. Stoping his jaws from ever getting close as one of them locked itself around the wolf's neck, and the other used his arms to keep the wolf's jaws closed.
The creature tried to back away but two more puppets immediately rushed to his hind legs lifting them up, forcing the wolf in a most awkward situation. Unable to back away due to only having two of his paws on the ground and unable to bite due to the puppets locking his neck and mouth.
I walked down the palanquin and looked the wolf in the eyes. It was confused and terrified, instead of the deadly appearance of a menacing predator, it looked like a trapped and confused beast.
"Quite an interesting creature, I would have liked to add you to my collection. But sadly the lord of lords pagoda is rather forbidden here…" I walked around the confused and struggling wolf as I took a closer look at his body.
The ice around him was being constantly released from the wolf's own understanding of natural law. As for the creepy aura around him, it seemed to be some form of mutation or alteration that happened to it. The beast itself had a few unnatural patches of missing fur around him, as if they were pulled and a couple scars that seemed to be self inflicted.
"Seems like you're in pain, enough that you sliced through your own flesh…" I said as I pressed my arm against the fresh wound on its underbelly.
Inactive poison coursed its way through the now panicking wolf and gave me a full analysis of the innerworkings of the wolf's body.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be killing it now," the newcomer said, as if urging me and egging me on.
"If you don't kill it, it will attack us instead! Let me do it!" he said as he rushed with a bloodied sword to try and kill the wolf.
But he couldn't move more than a couple steps before his head flew and rolled next to me.
"Oh, I thought you'd need him for a while longer," Law said.
"I would, but we have a better guide," I said. "My goal was to use that guy to lure us to more imposters. But for some reason, he wanted to get rid of the wolf, perhaps he realized that the wolf won't attack an imposter and wanted to kill it so it doesn't expose him. But for us, that is a very good tool to locate and find imposters on our way.
After all the wolf doesn't attack them from what I could notice," I said.
"I see, I would also rather trust in a beast than a human," Law replied.
"Indeed, beasts are simple, and they don't lie, usually that is. Now here little pup, you have two options," I said as I gazed into the wolf's eyes.
"Inside you right now, is a dose of very lethal, very painful poison," I said as I lightly squeezed my hands.
The wolf's entire body began shaking and shuddering as splatters of blood began appearing on its skin and from its nose and eyes.
"Defy me, and you will die a most cruel and miserable death," I said. "But play along," I said as I released my hand, and instantly all the wounds on the beast began healing, the fur that was missing and the damage it self inflicted began closing in.
"You'll receive something very helpful to you, I can even remove that thing plaguing you right now, whatever it is that made you who you are, I sense it premating inside your body, now which will you choose?" I asked.
"You think it can understand you?" asked Law.
"Beasts that lived long enough tend to have a general understanding of things, especially with a show of power such as this. Even if they didn't gain full sentience, they must respect the strong and thankfully this is a wolf. Wolves respect the strong and follow them after all," I said.
"What if it tries to rebel," Law asked.
"It knows very well its fate if it tries to go against me. Release it," I said.
The puppets released the wolf and backed away right next to me.
The creature hesitated at first, it looked behind it for a second, assessing the situation if it wants or if it can flee. However, after taking another look at my unwavering eyes, it drooped its eyes and its tail slowly fell tucked between its legs.
Its head dropped all the way to the ground, showing complete subservience.
"Good boy," I said as I threw a small pill in front of the wolf.
It licked at the pill for a second, then gobbled it up. The glaze on its eyes was partially lifted and it then stood tall, as if waiting for order.
"Lead the way, you know about this maze more than any of us," I said.
The wolf turned and began moving through the halls.
"Pretty impressive," Law said.
I hunched down and picked up the dead man's bracelet and holding bag. He had a few interesting things in his bag, including some rare metals and a few life saving treasures that he never got the chance to use. And among the things he had was the map piece that he showed us earlier.
I tried to see if the piece of map would fit with both my and Law's pieces but to no avail, it was incompatible.
"We'll need to look some more. Right then, let's keep going."
***
"I…" the commentator rubbed his eyes as he looked at the screen.
"Cat got your tongue?" Eccentric Law laughed.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing? How did he do that?" the commentator exclaimed unbelieving what he was seeing.
"Well, I saw it, and witnessed it, so I can only believe it," Xiao Du shrugged.
"But that doesn't make any sense? This is not some random dog or cat that you can just tame? It's a Frost Wolf King a Cursed one at that too! They're the most vicious and most selfish creatures at their level, they'll never bow down to power, some would rather die and perish than be ruled and commanded by man!"
"You said it yourself – by man. But did you notice something different in the eyes of Du Shen? What emanated from him was a ferocity reminiscent of the wild, a confidence and pride seldom witnessed among humans. Humans often perceive themselves as superior, expecting beasts to bow before them.
Yet, Du Shen defied this norm; he didn't demand subservience, but rather demonstrated he was deserving of respect. Offering the wolf a choice – between death or freedom – he acknowledged the worth of the creature.
In such a scenario, any beast would opt for freedom, especially when the alternative is a cruel, emotionless demise akin to what they might encounter in the wild." Eccentric Long explained.
"So, Du Shen is part beast?" the commentator asked.
"No… far worse, for the wolf Du Shen was a monster…"
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