Chapter 103: Overcoming the Bestial Challenge

Wolf Head Grass Village was facing its greatest crisis since the Witch Hunting.

A group of Witches had paid them a visit. They had saved innocent Arcadians during the Witch Hunting, so they rightfully deserved a warm welcome. However, their behavior was incredibly eerie. They kept circling around Romeo and Juliet, only gradually disappearing late into the night. What was truly terrifying was that the Black Witches declared they would return tomorrow. They had even taken a liking to the land surrounding Wolf Head Grass Village, looking fully prepared to set up a temporary stronghold right there.

Blaze’s arrival made the villagers feel like a savior had descended. Unfortunately, in this particular matter, Blaze was hard-pressed to save his own skin. An even greater number of Foreigners than the Black Witches were also searching for Blaze, closing in on him with a posture resembling a full-scale siege. Even though Blaze thoroughly enjoyed interacting with Foreigners, that level of fanaticism was too much to bear. He had to hide whenever possible.

"How about you gather some rumors about the Silver Prince and tell them? That way, at least a portion of them will leave to explore the Arcadia Territory. If that really doesn’t work..." Blaze pointed at Romeo in the distance, who was hanging his head in dismay with his fur in a complete mess. "You can sacrifice Romeo for a bit. Tell the Black Witches that Romeo needs a massive amount of Silver Flowers to undo his Werewolf form."

"Then let’s sacrifice Romeo," the Village Chief of Wolf Head Grass Village agreed without a shred of hesitation. After all, among the Black Witches were those who had a strange fondness for old-souled youths and eighty-six-year-old men.

Now that Romeo’s sacrifice was decided, Blaze and the Village Chief got down to business.

"How is the collection of Silver Flowers going?" Blaze asked.

"I don’t know whether to say the Foreigners are incredibly efficient, or that the answer has actually been everywhere all along." The Village Chief led Blaze to the warehouse of Wolf Head Grass Village. There were no light sources inside, yet the space was brightly illuminated by clusters of Silver Flowers. "It seems the Arcadia Territory has always possessed an abundant resource of Silver Flowers, but we simply never took the initiative to look for them."

This statement sounded completely absurd, yet it was the truth. Recessive Arcadians had to hide their existence and live as low-profile a life as possible. Dominant Arcadians, namely the Silver Believers, had to guard the villages and towns. Ever since the era of the Silver Prince ended, the vast majority of the Arcadia Territory had truly been left to waste. It wasn’t until the Foreigners learned of Arcadia’s Secret that they began to clear the land. With these materials, developing the Secret Medicine to awaken the Silver Blood was only a matter of time.

"Among the Black Witches, some of the more serious ones asked about how to increase the Power of the Silver Blood. Combining that with the records of the Silver Believers passed down to this day, I’ve come to a few conclusions," the Village Chief explained. "For the Foreigners, the Secret Medicine that awakens the Silver Blood is merely the foundation. What truly matters is the challenge of conquering their bestial nature."

"Oh?" Blaze’s interest was piqued. Although the chicken had mentioned that the Silver Blood would respond to the nobility of one’s soul and that he only needed to increase the Skill Proficiency of [Leo], he felt this merely gave him a higher starting point than the Foreigners—not to mention that he had only obtained [Leo] by using a stone. If he truly wanted to possess a noble soul, he really had to forge ahead and earn it one step at a time.

Seeing Blaze looking all ears, the Village Chief didn’t hold back and explained earnestly.

"We Silver Believers have always pondered where this so-called bestial nature actually comes from. As the very first to bear the Curse, Silver King Lycan never exhibited any traces of a bestial nature.

"Therefore, the conclusion we reached is that the bestial nature emerged due to crossbreeding with Humans. The Silver aspect slumbers under the Curse, while the Human aspect becomes wicked and barbaric under the Curse.

"Thinking about it conversely, as long as one conquers the bestial nature brought about by the Human aspect, their soul will become pure, and their Silver Blood will become even richer."

Blaze understood what the Village Chief meant. This information was only useful to the Foreigners. Unlike the Arcadians, who had forsaken their own nobility and greatness, the Foreigners would improve themselves with sheer Madness. Therefore, how to conquer their bestial nature—no, for the Foreigners, it should be how to challenge their own bestial nature—was the main point. And as it happened, there was a place where a young boy had conquered his bestial nature with the help of numerous Foreigners, attaining a complete Silver form.

"The Moon God Altar."

"Exactly," the Village Chief confirmed. "In fact, some of the Black Witches have already gone to challenge it, but so far, not a single one has passed the trial."

Blaze was startled. The [Black Witch Order] was a guild on par with the [Fairy Kingdom]. For a trial to be so difficult that even they couldn’t pass it—just how terrifying could it be?

"Judging from their conversations, the trial of the Moon God Altar involves fighting an evil version of oneself, and it seems the Moon God Altar can only be challenged once a day per person."

The Village Chief’s explanation made Blaze breathe a sigh of relief. That made sense. This was what they called a First Encounter Kill. Especially when the enemy was another version of oneself, it was inevitable to make mistakes when facing such a situation for the first time, leading to a failed challenge.

"Blaze, did you also guess the function of the Silver Altar and come here to challenge the trial?"

"Not at all. I just wanted to take a shortcut back to Balkan City."

Lai Kaion City had a Teleportation Tower built by [Hermes’ Travel Hat], but right now, because of Arcadia’s Secret, massive hordes of Foreigners were swarming into Arcadia. He figured the moment he showed his face, he would be completely surrounded.

"Is that so?" The Village Chief sighed regretfully. "I thought you would settle down in Arcadia. After all, Audrey is currently very short-handed."

"I was swiftly kicked out." Blaze smiled helplessly. Although Audrey had given him a hug, she had quickly waved him off and shooed him away. Arcadia was in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt; the duration of that hug was basically the entirety of Audrey’s break time.

It was the same for Herbie. Because he had already given Blaze a [Promise] as a reward, he had hurriedly returned the moment he escorted him out of Lai Kaion. The Foreigners completed commissions at lightning speed, and their numbers were only growing. Herbie had to operate at full capacity to generate valuable commissions.

"Let’s go. Let me witness this Moon God Altar challenge for myself."

Blaze and the Village Chief left Wolf Head Grass Village together, heading for the Sacrificial Stone Forest.

"If it’s you, the probability of successfully completing the challenge should be quite high," the Village Chief remarked.

"Why?" Blaze was puzzled. He didn’t think his own strength was any greater than that of the Black Witches.

"How should I put this? It might be because of a difference in combat styles," the Village Chief, who had witnessed the Black Witches fighting, replied. "Simply put, the trial of the Moon God Altar is a solo battle of extreme difficulty. The Black Witches, on the other hand, are masters of team battles; as long as there are two or more of them, they can unleash unimaginably terrifying combat power."

"A one-on-one duel, huh." Blaze felt eager to give it a try.