"Who is it?" The Moonlight Wolf King stood at the entrance to the basin, her expression growing increasingly tense. A powerful presence—one that even she found dangerous—was steadily approaching.
Goku and Xiao Yixian slowly walked into the basin. Seeing the dismembered corpses and bloodied limbs scattered around, Xiao Yixian gasped and instinctively covered her mouth in horror. Goku frowned at the carnage and looked toward Niu, his tone laced with helplessness. "What the hell happened while we were gone? We were only gone for a little while, and you guys ended up like this?"
Niu was stunned to find himself still alive. He hadn't realized he'd been saved; the pain and exhaustion had nearly taken him. Upon seeing Goku and Xiao Yixian arrive, his face twisted in shock. Using the last of his strength, he roared, "Why are you back?! Run! That wolf king… she's not someone we can handle—"
Goku walked slowly toward Niu, with a visibly anxious Xiao Yixian following closely behind.
"After hearing that, how could I just leave you behind?"
Goku looked down at Niu with a faint smile, feeling somewhat sentimental. No wonder this guy never appeared in the original story—maybe he had died here. But now, because of Goku's intervention, he'd survived.
Goku knelt beside him and summoned a sphere of soft white light in his hand. The glow enveloped Niu, and within moments, the wounded warrior stood back up, eyes wide with disbelief. Even his previously fractured right arm was fully healed! Goku waved his hand again, and a gentle rain of white light descended on the remaining dozen or so mercenaries. Their injuries rapidly began to recover.
The mercenaries were stunned. The wolves grew increasingly uneasy. Niu stared at Goku, at a loss for words. Even Xiao Yixian stood frozen, staring in awe at the figure in front of her. The Moonlight Wolf King's gaze toward Goku grew more cautious, and the unease in her heart deepened.
Then Goku turned to look at her, and to everyone's surprise, a flicker of admiration appeared in his eyes. The Moonlight Wolf King was simply too beautiful—her silver fur was immaculate, sleek, and radiant like moonlight. Her form was elegant and powerful, her eyes brimming with intelligence that only humans usually possessed. A noble, regal aura enveloped her completely. Truly worthy of the title "King of Wolves."
Under the worshipful and expectant gazes of the surviving mercenaries, Goku slowly walked up to the Moonlight Wolf King. They were waiting—waiting to witness him turn the tide and show his overwhelming strength.
What he said next, however, left them all dumbfounded.
"So… are you a male or a female?"
"What the hell?!" All the mercenaries were floored by the question.
Niu struggled to his feet and looked at Goku in exasperation. "This isn't how it's supposed to go! Shouldn't you be striking down the wolves like they're ants with some god-tier move? What the hell is this nonsense?"
"You insolent human! As someone strong yourself, don't you find that question incredibly rude?" the Moonlight Wolf King snapped. But her voice, despite its fury, carried a faint, almost imperceptible trace of embarrassment.
Hearing her voice—noble yet laced with a delicate femininity—Goku's eyes lit up. "Ah, so you're a female! Perfect! You're way too pretty to kill anyway. Hmm… I've always wanted a pet. Why don't you become mine? I'll even let the rest of these wolves go."
"Hmph! Despicable human. So your goal is to enslave me as your magical beast? What a delusional fantasy! I am a Wolf King—I will never submit to a human!" the Moonlight Wolf King roared. Her body transformed into a streak of white light, launching toward Goku at a speed nearly impossible to track.
"Goku, look out!" Xiao Yixian cried from behind him.
But Goku didn't flinch. He casually turned toward her with a grin and, without even looking, raised a single hand and caught the Moonlight Wolf King by the neck mid-charge.
Looking calmly into her stunned eyes, Goku said, his voice filled with boundless confidence and dominance, "You think a mere fifth-Rank magical beast like you can defy me? I'm not asking for your permission. I'm giving you an order. And you—don't have the right to refuse."
"You…" The Moonlight Wolf King flailed in outrage, her razor-sharp claws raking across Goku's skin—only to find they couldn't even scratch him. She was stunned. Her claws could slice through stone like tofu, and yet they couldn't even break his skin? His physical body… was simply beyond anything she could comprehend. How could she possibly hope to harm someone like this?
"I'll give you one last chance," Goku said coldly. "Submit, or die."
His terrifying aura exploded outward, slamming into her like a tidal wave. The Moonlight Wolf King's eyes widened with overwhelming fear. This aura—it was unimaginably dreadful, tyrannical, and filled with annihilating power. Beneath it, she couldn't even summon the will to resist. In the face of such overwhelming pressure, she finally lowered her proud head and declared with heartfelt submission:
"To be your pet… is my greatest honor, Master."
Around them, the rest of the magic wolves collapsed to the ground, trembling. Not a single one dared to move.
The onlookers were struck speechless. A fifth-Rank magical beast—just submitted. And not just any beast, but the Wolf King herself. Along with a thousand subordinates.
"Now that's more like it." Goku laughed and released her. Looking at the beautiful, noble wolf beside him, he felt his mood brighten immensely. In all the web novels he'd read, what kind of protagonist didn't have an awesome pet? Sure, this one wasn't super strong yet, but she could be trained. Goku could already sense that the Moonlight Wolf King had enormous potential. With proper development, even reaching the tenth Rank wouldn't be impossible.
He started to imagine what her humanoid form might look like in the future, and his thoughts grew mischievous. "A beautiful pet, huh? Not bad at all! Wahaha! Man, I'm getting pervy again!"
"Master, may I find my younger brother before I go with you? The wolf clan needs a successor if I'm to leave."
"Your brother? Lemme see." Goku closed his eyes and scanned the surroundings with his senses. Ten kilometers away, in a mountain valley, he picked up on a presence nearly identical to hers.
In that valley, a group of mercenaries were resting. Judging by their ragged breathing, they'd just escaped from a long chase. One of them, a middle-aged man dressed like a team captain, was stroking a small white wolf in his arms, eyes glowing with excitement.
"Today's our lucky day! A mutated demon wolf, just wandering the road! Once it grows up, our Iron Sword Mercenary Group's strength will skyrocket. Soon, we'll surpass all the other major mercenary groups! Hahaha!"
"Damn right!" the others laughed along.
"Those wolves were so dumb. One distraction, and we got away clean—let the other mercs take the fall! Heaven's on our side, boys! Hahaha!"
"No," said a cold voice out of nowhere. "It's not heaven's favor—it's your doom."
"Who's there?!" The mercenaries jumped to their feet, drawing their weapons.
"You kidnapped a pup and pinned the blame on others. Do you even realize how many innocent lives that cost? Unforgivable!"
"AAAGHHH!!"
As Goku's voice fell, the entire mercenary group screamed in agony, blood pouring from their orifices as they collapsed. With the power of pure spiritual force, Goku had crushed their minds in an instant. Judging by their smug words, this wasn't the first time they'd done something like this. He'd passed judgment on them without hesitation.
The little white wolf crawled out of the dead captain's arms, dazed. The surrounding space shimmered, and the pup vanished into a spatial vortex—Goku had used one of his rarely-used space-time ninjutsu techniques.
A moment later, the little wolf materialized in his hand. Goku handed it to the Moonlight Wolf King. "Here. He was taken by a different mercenary group, who then pinned it on the others. You were chasing the wrong ones."
"Brother…" The Moonlight Wolf King gently took the pup and nuzzled its head. The little guy's tail wagged excitedly as it licked her paw. As for mistakenly targeting the wrong people, the proud Moonlight Wolf King didn't even apologize. Why would a magical beast apologize to humans? Just like humans never apologized to beasts.
She then walked into the wolf pack, gave a few commanding howls, and handed the pup to the last surviving elite guard. With one last look, the white wolf and the pack disappeared into the forest.
The mercenaries made no comment as the wolves left. Honestly, they were just glad to be alive. Surviving a siege by the wolf pack was nothing short of a miracle—and that miracle was standing right in front of them.
Every pair of eyes turned to Goku, filled with awe and reverence. A fifth-Rank magical beast—equivalent to a Dou king—had just been tamed with a single sentence. What kind of strength did that require?
"Uh, Goku… sir," Niu said nervously. "I… I'm so sorry about earlier. We had no idea someone like you was with us! It's a great honor to be able to travel alongside such a powerful person. Haha... with that kind of healing ability, I should've realized sooner…"
Goku shook his head, slightly annoyed. This was exactly what he wanted to avoid by keeping a low profile. He'd healed just enough to save lives—no more, no less—because he didn't want a scene like this.
"Looks like it's time to move on." Goku turned to Niu. "You guys found your herbs, right? Then I'll be heading deeper into the Magic Beast Mountain Range to look for what I need."
He turned to Xiao Yixian. "Wanna come explore with me, pretty lady?"
"M-me?" Xiao Yixian waved her hands. "No, no, I'll pass! I'm no fighter. I can't even protect myself out here on the outskirts, let alone in the inner region! I'd just be a burden."
Goku nodded, not pushing the matter. Going solo would be easier anyway. He could always find her later in Qingshan Town. With a wave, he turned and vanished into the forest.
The mercenaries stood there in stunned silence.
"He just… left?"
"Guess that's how experts are."
"But man… did you see his back as he left? So cool…"
Xiao Yixian looked at his disappearing silhouette and sighed softly, a touch of sadness in her eyes.
'This guy… really just left. I wonder if we'll ever meet again…'
Not long after disappearing into the woods, Goku came to a stop. He created a shadow clone and said quietly, "It's getting late. Go keep an eye on Xiao Yixian. If anyone tries to hurt her—kill without mercy."
"Understood." The clone nodded and vanished.
"Now I can search for treasure in peace." Goku grinned and jumped onto the Moonlight Wolf King's back. "Let's go. Head straight to the core of the forest."
"Yes, Master!" she responded respectfully, stepping into the dense woods.
Strangely, she felt no fear about going into the forest's core. The terrifying aura Goku had released earlier? Not even the ninth-rank Beast King of the forest could match that. At this point, she even wondered if her new master might actually be one of the long-extinct Dou Emperors of legend. What was there to fear in the Magic Beast Mountain Range?
"By the way, you're my mount now, so I should probably give you a name."
"I already have one, Master."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Moonlight."
"Moonlight? You're the Moonlight Wolf King, but you're called Moonlight instead of, say, Luna or Silverfang? That's kinda plain."
"...Yes, Master."
Chatting idly with Moonlight, the sky gradually darkened as they ventured deeper. In the outer areas, Moonlight's aura was enough to keep lesser beasts at bay. But the deeper they went, the less effective it became—in fact, it had the opposite effect.
Beasts in the inner regions were highly territorial. Any trespass would be seen as a challenge to their authority, and a life-or-death battle was inevitable. The stronger the beast, the bigger its domain.
And Goku… was heading right for the center.
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T/N:
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