Chapter 1

Deep within the dense, primeval jungle of southern Taros Kingdom, a chaotic but lively makeshift camp was abuzz with preparations for the evening meal. A black dire wolf, as large as a calf, tore into a jungle giant lizard, dozens of meters long, ripping off chunks of its thick hide. Gnolls stoked a massive bonfire, the roaring flames consuming precious black magic camphor wood from the forest. The light and heat drove away any wild beasts or magical creatures that dared approach, and even the encroaching power of chaos seemed to be momentarily pushed back by the fire. Surprisingly, magic apes and bear monsters, normally sworn enemies, worked together as a team, gathering tree fruits or guarding the camp. If an elven scholar from the Green Tower were to witness this scene, they would be astounded, as the creatures in this camp were theoretically incapable of coexisting. Such a gathering of magical beasts would usually result in a bloody, no-holds-barred brawl, with them tearing each other's brains out.

Yet, these magical creatures were huddled together peacefully. Judging by their skilled cooperation, they were clearly accustomed to this communal life.

A powerful leader had united them. This leader was strong, just, and authoritative, willing to devour the head of any disobedient creature, be it a wolf, a bear, or even a smelly imp.

After a double-digit number of unlucky souls failed to challenge the head wolf, the combined magical beast tribe from the southern sky island was in a state of unprecedented unity.

Caraccius sat on a rock near the large bonfire, his emaciated face illuminated by the red flames, wrapped in a monk's robe. The area around the bonfire was the gnolls' territory, and these small, cruel beasts were infamous in the human world. Therefore, the other members of the investigation team dared not approach the bonfire, except for this high-ranking monk. From the beginning, he seemed to have accepted the situation of being sheltered by a group of magical beasts with equanimity, showing great respect for the "head wolf" girl. Now, the old monk was quietly observing her actions, each word and deed sparking curiosity and even astonishment in the renowned scholar.

The "head wolf" seemed to be fluent in all languages, including those of magical beasts and humans. She could command her pack with various roars and converse with members of the investigation team in surprisingly pure Ansu or Kolos common tongue. That afternoon, she even engaged in a debate in fluent ancient Zrollian with Brother Borman, simply because he had cursed an imp that tore his robe in the ancient language. The debate impressed the high-ranking monk deeply: the head wolf girl, clad in animal skins and seemingly crude, directly silenced Brother Borman, who was known as a linguistic master. Her fluency in the ancient language made one suspect that she had traveled through time from the ancient Zrollian Empire!

Having initially seen the "head wolf's" appearance, Caraccius had assumed she was a human orphan who had, by chance, ended up on an outer sky island. "Crude" and "ignorant" were his initial impressions, but now he realized how wrong he had been.

What intrigued him even more was the order light constantly emanating from the head wolf.

That powerful, gentle, and seemingly inexhaustible light of order shielded everyone, allowing this vast, mixed team to travel through the perilous southern Darkwood Jungle. The aftermath of the chaos storm had already spread to the continent. The entire southern Ansu was likely contaminated, and the jungle they were traversing was one of the affected areas. The twisted anomalies and chaos monsters encountered along the way were proof enough. However, none of these dangers could stop the head wolf and her pack. This miracle girl, "incarnate as a saint," seemed to have no idea where she was leading the team. She charged ahead with an inexplicable enthusiasm, leading the army through the chaotic edge of the world. Now, they were about to leave the wilderness and enter the orderly border of the Taros Kingdom.

Incarnate as a saint... Caraccius repeated the phrase in his mind, watching the "head wolf" bathed in holy light standing on a high rock, scolding a foolish bear monster to work. He couldn't help but feel a little strange. As a high-ranking monk, he had an inevitable reverence for the phenomenon of Lily releasing the light of order, but reason made him want to explore the secret behind this phenomenon: what could cause a mortal to generate this almost holy "force field"?

Could it be as the prophets of the ancient Zrollian Empire said, that a divinely favored person inheriting the goddess's bloodline would emerge from among mortals?

But why would such a divinely favored person end up on a deserted outer sky island? Why did she not lead humans or elves against chaos, but instead chose to lead a group of magical beasts? What did it mean? Had mortals lost the gods' trust?

Caraccius couldn't help but shiver, frightened by his own thoughts.

"Hey, are you cold, mister?" A boisterous voice interrupted the high-ranking monk's wild thoughts. Before he could look up, a white shadow flashed in the corner of his eye. Lily, draped in a wolf-skin cloak, jumped onto the rock in front of Caraccius, her bright, sparkling eyes looking at the middle-aged man who was always lost in thought. "Say, why are you the only one warming yourself by the fire here?"

Caraccius was stunned, realizing that the "head wolf" was talking to him. He quickly composed himself (something he only did when facing the Pope): "Head wolf, thank you for your concern. The others are probably... afraid of your beasts."

Lily scratched her head, looking up at the humans who had set up a small bonfire not far away, her face puzzled: "What's going on... my subordinates are pretty nice to them, aren't they?"

"Please don't misunderstand," Caraccius quickly explained. "In fact, everyone is quite grateful for your help. The children of the Holy See are not ungrateful people, but... we are grateful for your help, but we can't help but be afraid of your magical beasts. Perhaps you don't know, but many of those you lead... your subordinates, are infamous in our human world."

Caraccius spoke the truth. The subraces living in the wilderness were always used as cautionary tales to scare children in the civilized world. Although human civilizations could always use their powerful forces to drive these barbaric subraces out of their borders, these inherently powerful "monsters" were still terrifying when alone with humans.

A well-trained knight, if unarmed, might not even be a match for an adolescent magical ape.

And the investigation team had only thirty-odd surviving combat personnel, surrounded by thousands of magical beasts. If these magical beasts suddenly lost control, the entire investigation team could only choose between "dying a heroic death" and "dying a very heroic death."

Lily understood what Caraccius meant. She didn't mind, waving her hand casually: "Whatever, whatever. I'm a beast boss now. You guys can do whatever you want. Tsk tsk, poor balloon of mine..."

As she spoke, she looked in a direction of the jungle, where her hot air balloon, or rather, airship, had crashed.

Originally, the airship had safely arrived in the southern forest. Unfortunately, it suddenly encountered a storm in the sky above the forest - not a supernatural storm caused by the power of chaos, but an ordinary thunderstorm. These thunderstorms were quite common on the edge of the floating continent, so the light of order on Lily was useless. The hot air balloon fought desperately against nature in the storm and eventually made a thrilling forced landing... Of course, you could also say it crashed.

Except for a few unlucky people who were thrown out when the storm suddenly struck, most of the crew survived, and the magical beasts even salvaged some supplies. This was the result of Lily's great voyage.

The great head wolf sighed again, feeling sorry for her hot air balloon, and also for that large piece of blue devil whale ribs that had been thrown out at the time. Good heavens, that was the most delicious thing. She had been reluctant to eat it, specially preparing it to let her landlord try fresh things on the new continent...

Caraccius naturally knew what the "head wolf" in front of him was feeling sorry for. In fact, his heartache was no less than Lily's: the Holy See's most powerful magic battleship had just crashed into the chaos abyss, and it had crashed on his watch, which made the high-ranking monk shudder every time he thought about it.

If he had to pay for the ship himself, he probably couldn't expect much from his salary for the rest of his life...

Lily warmed herself by the fire for a while and yawned widely. She looked at the white light that lingered around her with some distress, her face tangled: "This damn thing... shining like a flashlight, I haven't been able to sleep soundly for three nights..."

Caraccius coughed violently.

Just then, a sudden commotion from outside the camp interrupted Lily's complaint and the high-ranking monk's coughing.

Two imps, covered in blood, ran screaming from the depths of the forest.