Now transformed into a Seventh-Tier werewolf, Glenn had the Blazing Fangs condense into a set of peculiar, ornament-like forms upon his body, their appearance closely resembling the aesthetic of church missionaries. This sight left the two figures opposite him visibly unsettled.

  "I don’t care who you are," Glenn declared coldly. "Those two puppets now belong to the Church of Truth. Leave at once—or die here."

  While resolving the matter, he intended to stir up trouble for the Church of Truth as well; that was Glenn’s plan from the start. Palindes did not dare approach his enemies too closely and therefore did not follow. When he had left the town earlier, those people were still far from Bayek; now, he did not dare return.

  "The Church of Truth?" the middle-aged man in the ornate robe shouted. "Do you not know that the Spear of Punishment has been hunting them for years? The one who should leave is you!"

  He could only sense that the werewolf before him was terrifyingly powerful—far beyond anything he had encountered—but he could not discern its rank. All he knew was that this was an opponent who demanded utmost seriousness.

  "Then you can die," Glenn replied without further words, launching his attack.

  The immense pressure of his movement snapped surrounding trees apart. At the nearby farm, humans and elves alike noticed the disturbance; as if acting on some unseen command, they orderly withdrew from the battlefield.

  Seeing the so-called Church of Truth werewolf attack in such a crude manner, the two men—dressed in similar styles—felt only disdain, confident they could handle him. This, in truth, was exactly what Glenn intended: to lull them into complacency.

  Greater power did not necessarily mean richer combat experience. That might be true during one’s rise, but if growth stagnated—if one lacked foes capable of posing real danger—then even the most hard-earned experience would be eroded by years of effortless victory. These two beings, who had lived for centuries untold, were precisely such cases. Their arrogance came easily.

  As expected, Glenn’s opening strike missed.

  Both men vanished using different techniques, reappearing an instant later with their devastating attacks prepared, charging toward Glenn at a speed far surpassing his earlier assault. They were confident they could unleash their ultimate techniques at point-blank range.

  Had those attacks landed, most of the forest would have been reduced to scorched earth, and the werewolf would not have left behind even ashes.

  Yet at the very instant before release, Glenn’s massive form vanished with a sharp hiss. Before the attackers could even react, their bodies were cleaved cleanly in two. The violent energies in their hands were about to erupt uncontrollably, but dense black smoke surged forth like a tide, engulfing and directly assimilating those formidable forces.

  As his body collapsed, the middle-aged man’s final sight—before his eyes closed—was his own lower half still hanging in the trees.

  Shouts rang out nearby—their subordinates, too late to intervene, had just witnessed their superiors die in an instant. For a moment, they believed their eyes deceived them. Even if they recovered their senses, escape was impossible. Unless Glenn willed it, no one could flee from his grasp.

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  Amid screams of agony, they too were slaughtered.

  Glenn glanced toward the depths of the forest. Night Howl scurried out eagerly, busily cleaning up the corpses. In a tree more than a hundred meters away, an invisible figure quietly retreated.

  There had been another man—a scout responsible for surveying the terrain. Upon returning, he had witnessed this shocking scene. Two Sixth-Tier powerhouses, slain as effortlessly as ordinary mortals. The impact shattered him utterly. He would likely never carry out another mission again; returning home to live out his days was probably his only future.

  Before dying, the two strongmen had transmitted a brief message: they had been killed by a werewolf of the Church of Truth. In fact, Glenn had noticed this survivor, but he deliberately let him go—someone had to carry the message that he was a member of the Church of Truth.

  Once Night Howl finished disposing of the bodies, Glenn explained the incident to his employees. The elves, having been forewarned by the Forest Will, already knew more than most.

  "By the way," Glenn asked at the end, "does the name Spear of Punishment sound familiar to any of you?"

  At his question, everyone—humans and elves alike—looked at him strangely, leaving Glenn perplexed.

  "The Spear of Punishment is the judicial authority of the Eagle Kingdom on the Southern Continent," said the elven priestess standing near the front. "You really don’t know?"

  With that reminder, Glenn finally dredged the familiar name from the depths of the original owner’s memories.

  "I never paid attention to such things before," he said awkwardly, scratching his head. "That’s why I was slow to react."

  Everyone fell silent.

  After dismissing his staff to their duties, Glenn went to call Palindes back. The puppet had already sensed the disappearance of the enemy’s aura and therefore did not doubt Glenn’s claim that the threat had been dealt with.

  "Just how powerful are you?" Palindes asked, his gaze utterly transformed—now filled with awe and reverence toward true strength.

  "Beyond your imagination," Glenn replied, striking a deliberately dramatic tone.

  Together, they returned to the town of Bayek. The puppet girl, Aina, was nowhere to be found in her original house. Just as Glenn was about to ask, he was startled to see her run out of his house instead.

  Palindes explained awkwardly, "I thought you wouldn’t mind, so..."

  Glenn said nothing. He truly did not mind—though he felt a slight discomfort at the idea of people freely entering his home.

  Smiling brightly, the puppet girl ran over to the man and the puppet, seemingly unaware that enemies had ever come knocking.

  "Palindes, Mr. Glenn, why are you together?" Aina asked innocently.

  Glenn shot a sidelong glance at Palindes, who had returned to his normal size, then smiled as usual. "Your brother and I were discussing his employment at my farm."

  Palindes snapped his head around, staring at Glenn in disbelief, as if silently demanding: What nonsense are you spouting?!

  But Aina grew visibly excited. "Really!? Palindes, are you really joining Mr. Glenn’s team? That’s wonderful!"

  That way, she could freely play and talk with all the friends she had made.

  "Aina, that’s not—" Palindes began.

  Glenn cut him off smoothly. "I’m sure Mr. Palindes only wants to take better care of you, isn’t that right, Palindes?"

  He gave the puppet brother a meaningful look—think carefully.

  After all, Glenn had rendered them a great service. Offering compensation was only fair, even if their creator had already paid him. More importantly, this arrangement would allow him to better watch over and protect them both.