Chapter 53: Lost Realm 2

This Flame Azalea was always Leo’s attraction. And also his enemy.

"Leo! Oh, my brother Leo! Did you eat them? You are doomed," Nox muttered, looking at Leo, who was now deadweight in his arms.

Nox did not stay long.

He went to pick some flame azaleas, and prepared for a long run.

But fortunately, the way back was simple.

He met Moon on the middle path, who was holding Rio.

A grumpy wolf sitting like a king, though his frosty fur was torn as if someone had shredded it with all their might.

And the white fur was patched with purple and yellow colors.

"They sure had their moment," Nox said in an upset voice. Then he added, "But where the hell has Axe gone?"

As they were walking toward the lake, Nox was talking nonstop.

Moon shook his head. "Don’t know. And this place also doesn’t seem like the one we have been to before. It’s probably far away from that point."

When they finally met on the lake shore, it was already dark. Moon set up a campfire and took out some wild fruits to eat.

Nox was holding Leo tightly because the wolf was getting increasingly agitated and wanted to tear into Rio.

"For God’s sake, did they lose their human consciousness entirely?" Nox said, helplessly grabbing Leo’s paws tightly.

Rio, however, was not that aggressive. He was just sitting beside the fire, glaring at Leo from time to time as if giving a warning.

Moon sighed, "I may know what they are up to, but we need to wait for Ugo to come back."

Nox nodded.

Moon was thinking about what to feed the pups when footsteps came closer.

Ugo came back from the opposite side.

He was not bruised and battered like Nox; he was still elegant somehow, holding two wild ducks.

As soon as Leo smelled the raw meat, he sprang up from Nox’s embrace and ran toward Ugo, but he was caught by Moon again.

"Found them?" Ugo asked, though it was not really a question.

"Um, but Axe is nowhere to be seen. So is Chika," Moon said.

"He is so unreliable," Nox muttered.

Ugo sat down and cut one duck in half.

He had already cleaned it before coming here.

Placing each part in front of Leo and Rio, he proceeded to grill the other one for the three of them.

"Don’t blame him. This is tough for him too. You might as well have killed them both if left alone with them."

Nox clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Moon was searching for a solution in his alchemy and herb book. After a while, he sat up straight.

"We may have to wait until the next full moon and try to reignite their wolf spirits. If they reach their ultimate limit, it will be easier to stimulate them back to human form."

Ugo kept silent for a while, then nodded. "We can only do that for now."

"Why didn’t you brothers leave earlier? In the pack, you were free, unlike me, who was in prison," Moon asked, though he had a guess.

They might have been waiting for him. He didn’t believe they couldn’t flee earlier or that the Alpha would be too tough for them.

Ugo kept silent, then chuckles. "After all, you are our mate."

His words were more like finding an excuse than a statement.

"And we need a mate badly to awaken our spirit. Without our mate, we are a failure."

Moon took the stick with meat on it and took a bite. "So you wanted to bring me with you?"

Ugo nodded.

Although Nox had another opinion, he kept silent.

"You know my mother, the Second Nova?" Ugo asked.

"Um."

"She is actually the real Luna for Alpha Vaelis. She is the fated mate the Moon Goddess had chosen for him."

Moon was surprised.

He would have never thought the real mate was demoted to a Nova while the concubine rose to Luna.

After thinking for a while, it did make sense. His own father also adored his concubine more.

"He doesn’t love my mother, but he still can’t leave her because he needs her. She is his fated one."

Moon nodded.

He kind of knew what Ugo implied. No matter what, they still needed the bonded one.

The night spent eventless.

They scattered around, keeping the two pups on two different sides, and slept on the grass.

Ugo and Nox took turns guarding. Although they didn’t face any beasts or monsters here, they stayed alert in case one arrived at any moment.

The next morning, Moon woke up hearing a shrill cry.

It was Nox. Leo was practically biting his ass and chasing him around.

Moon sighed and picked up the silent Rio.

"We need to go."

Ugo stretched his arms and asked, "Where? I don’t think we can just run around to find Axe. He is a grown man. Let’s just settle here."

"I am not looking for Axe. He is not that badly wounded, and he has the elixirs I left in his pouch."

"Then?" Ugo was confused.

"This is not a good place to settle. We need to find a mountain cave or something," Moon explained.

"Hmm..." Ugo nodded.

So, for the next few days, they searched almost all over the Lost Realm. And finally, they found a relatively fine cave.

Moon tried to blast some rock inside to make it spacious and larger. His spiritual power had risen to a fine degree.

After three or four blasts, a nice, spacious cave dwelling was created.

Nox and Ugo were busy finishing up the walls, setting up some cots, and shaping rocks to sit and sleep on. They also made some shelves and the utensils they needed.

Moon busied himself again with his alchemy. He refined as many pills as he could. He named this pill simply ’Black poison pill’.

After almost one week of settling down, finally, Moon’s communication stone lit up with a red light.

Nox crawled up from his wooden swivel chair and cursed, "Fuck."

Moon looked up at him. "What’s up with the cursing?"

"Red light means blood. He is calling for war," Nox explained.

Moon furrowed his brows. "For war?"

"We use the red light for urgent calls. We need to find him before he dies," Nox said nonchalantly.

Moon felt a twinge of pity for Axe to have such brothers.

Nox looked at Moon’s face, which clearly said "Pathetic soul," and rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

"Actually, it’s fine. He has sent the red signal so many times, yet he survived every fight. He has a tough bone."

Moon didn’t utter another word. He went out to look for Ugo.

He had already noticed that the brothers had a very carefree attitude and heavy trust in their own ability to survive.

So why should he be the only one worried?

Yet, as he was going toward the farmland they had just plowed for growing plants, his fingers were trembling with nervousness.

No matter what, he didn’t want anyone to die. Not until he became an immortal. That’s what he kept saying in his mind.

"Ugo, come out!"

His voice came out sharper and louder than he thought.

"Take the pups in the cages, we are going to find Axe!" he shouted.

The communication stone felt increasingly hot in his palm as it shone with a brilliant, blood-red light.