There was absolutely no time for Jasmine to think or hesitate too much. Just as Jasmine was about to order everyone to slowly retreat toward the Dry Forest behind them, the voice of Elvius, carrying a hint of doubt, rang out from behind her back, breaking the suffocating silence.
"Huh? My dear Jasmine, are you afraid of this wolf pack?"
What a redundant question. Any normal person surrounded by a pack of wolves would feel afraid. Moreover, her guards were merely temporary slaves who made up the numbers; they were not Knights trained from childhood with powerful strength capable of fighting off an entire wolf pack alone.
Elvius tilted his head, his neck bones emitting a crisp "crack" sound. "But aren't you carrying the Dragon Egg with you? Why must you fear these ordinary animals? The aura of a dragon is enough to make all species terrified, is it not?"
"Dragon Egg?" Jasmine was stunned, like a person who had just woken from a dream. She hurriedly turned back into the carriage to retrieve the cloth bag containing the Dragon Egg.
Earlier, to make picking the Chanterelle mushrooms more convenient, the Dragon Egg had been left in the carriage by her, wrapped carefully in a blanket, and not carried on her person as usual.
*Could this thing really chase this wolf pack away?* Jasmine thought with some skepticism as her trembling hands opened the cloth bag.
But very quickly, she remembered the small animals that used to visit the castle's vegetable garden at night to cause damage. It was precisely because the castle still retained the lingering shelter of the Black Dragon's aura that those small animals did not dare to barge into the castle; they only dared to loiter outside.
She hoped that this time, this egg would also demonstrate a similar effect.
If the majestic aura remaining from hundreds of years ago could still have the effect of suppressing small animals, then surely the Dragon Egg lying right here, palpable and real, would be able to scare away a few wild wolves, right?
Jasmine took a deep breath to calm herself. Her hands shook slightly as she took the Dragon Egg out of the coarse cloth bag.
Perhaps the light inside the carriage was too dim, so the surface of the Dragon Egg only emitted a faint fluorescence. It was not too eye-catching, but it was enough for one to clearly see its smooth contours and ancient patterns.
"Whether we survive or not relies on you, my fake husband. You have to try your best, darling." Jasmine raised the Dragon Egg to eye level and devoutly placed a light kiss on the warm shell of the Dragon Egg's surface.
After she had finished preparing herself mentally, she tightened her grip. Only then did she hug the Dragon Egg tightly and step down from the carriage to face the dangerous night.
Because of the hazy light of the night, or perhaps the flickering orange firelight from not far away reflecting upon the surface of the Dragon Egg, Jasmine did not notice that, accompanying her intimate action just now, the surface of the Dragon Egg—which had originally shown no movement—trembled slightly like the beat of a heart. It flushed with a flash of pink color that was unremarkable before vanishing.
"Roar..."
Leading the pack was a Wolfgang with pure gray-white fur. Its eyes flashed with a cruel and vicious glint.
Today, they had not yet caught any prey to eat, and their stomachs were rumbling with hunger, screaming for energy intake.
Now that the hunting encirclement had formed, the Wolfgang lost its patience. Its claws scratched at the ground; it wanted to bite through the neck of the Dwarf who looked fat and well-fed nearest to it immediately.
It took a threatening step forward, stepping on a dry tree branch on the ground, snapping it with a crisp "crack" in the silent space.
This sound was like a signal to open fire. The Wolfgang threw its body and leaped up, its muscles rippling as it gathered power. It jumped over the burning bonfire blocking the path in front of it, opening its red mouth, which gaped like a basin of blood filled with sharp fangs, and pounced straight toward the Dwarf.
The Dwarf had prepared early. He shouted out loud to gather his courage and thrust his long spear forcefully forward. However, due to being too tense, his accuracy was not very good.
The tip of the spear only grazed the thick skin of the Wolfgang's neck, knocking off a few wolf hairs, and caused absolutely no real damage to the ferocious beast.
Fortunately, another Dwarf beside him was quick of eye and hand. He raised a shield woven from sturdy vines to block the attack.
The Wolfgang slammed its head into the shield. The immense force knocked the Dwarf back several stumbling steps. Its mouth opened wide and crunched through the edge of the bamboo shield, sending wood splinters flying. But luckily, it did not manage to bite the person of the Dwarf it had targeted.
As soon as the alpha Wolfgang made its move, the other wild wolves in the pack also acted simultaneously like a trained army.
They pounced toward the guards nearest to them respectively, their growls echoing throughout the forest.
Although the guards had prepared themselves mentally to fight to the death, their strength and reflexes were, after all, not equal to the Dwarves or the wild beasts. There were still those who were pounced upon by the wild wolves and knocked to the ground in pain.
Fortunately, the Bull-headed Man used his muscular strength to pull one guard back forcefully. The arm of that guard was merely scratched by the wolf's teeth, tearing the skin and flesh. Blood flowed profusely, but his neck was not bitten through directly by the wild wolf.
However, the smell of fresh blood oozing from the wound permeated heavily into the air, stimulating the beastly instincts that made the surrounding wolf pack even more agitated and frenzied.
It was precisely at this moment, when the situation hung by a single thread, that Jasmine walked over hugging the Dragon Egg, decisively forcing her way into the middle of the chaotic battlefield.
"Stop!" Jasmine raised the Dragon Egg high and shouted with all her might, standing right in front of the alpha Wolfgang.
The Dwarf brothers, seeing the Lord personally risking danger to come over, were all startled and terrified. They hurriedly hauled their tattered shields, one on the left and one on the right, to protect Jasmine closely at her sides.
Seeing this, the Bull-headed Man also roared. He flung away the wild wolf that was entangling him and dragged the injured guard to gather together, forming a defensive circle.
Very quickly, the guards who had originally been protecting the perimeter of the carriage all gripped their crude weapons tight. They used their bodies of flesh and blood to block the space between Jasmine and the pack of Wolfgangs.
Because the distance was so close, Jasmine could even smell the foul stench from the sticky saliva dripping down from between the sharp teeth of the Wolfgang. Yet, these guards, who still bore the status of lowly slaves, did not retreat a single step.
Even though their legs were trembling with fear, they were still devotedly using their lives to protect Jasmine.
"Roar..."
The Wolfgang let out a low growl at the tiny human before it. But strangely, it did not pounce to tear her apart as it had just done.
If one looked closely, one would also discover that when the Wolfgang saw Jasmine raising the Dragon Egg and approaching, it froze. It retreated half a step without leaving a trace, its beastly ears drooping down in vigilance.