If you ask a Constelliate which department under the king is the most terrifying, they would most likely blurt out “Secret Intelligence Department”.

 But if you ask them what was so terrifying about it, you can be sure that they would not be able to come up with an answer.

 But to Thales, this department could be considered an ‘old acquaintance’. Whether it was meeting The Black Prophet in Mindis Hall, or when he was in prison in Dragon Clouds City, or their hurried meeting at Blade Fangs Camp, they have indeed had too many encounters.

 Too bad they were not exactly pleasant encounters.

 Now, this mysterious department that has been in operation since the era of the King of Renaissance, the highest intelligence agency of Constellation, was right in front of him.

 “This is the Secret Intelligence Department?”

 Thales stepped off the carriage and took in the manor in the southern suburbs of Eternal Star City: small rivers surrounded it; there were deserted fields; its low walls were rustic; the mansion was antiquated.

 There was even a farmhouse and a warehouse, as well as woodlands that obviously looked like it had been left to grow wild for years.

 It was ordinary, satisfactory.

 If not for the scarce number of people occupying the large land, this would have been a standard suburban noble manor.

 ‘It’s entirely possible that this place was seized from some noble family,’ Thales speculated.

 “For the past dozen of years, yes.”

 Raphael signaled the carriage driver. The latter rode away wordlessly and disappeared from Thales’ view amid the clacking of horseshoes.

 Just like an ordinary country person on his way.

 The Barren Bone man ushered the prince towards the iron gates of the manor nearby.

 There were no sounds coming from the manor; it was almost dead silence.

 Like a grave.

 “I don’t see many guards.”

 Thales suppressed his anxiety, trod on the ground full of autumn leaves and followed Raphael towards the iron gates.

 But he soon discovered something unusual: two black crows emerged from the dense forest, skimmed over their heads, and entered the rustic manor.

 “There’s no need.”

 Raphael’s strode on in a relaxed manner. “Common intruders pose no threat to us.”

 Thales raised his eyebrows.

 “What about uncommon ones?”

 But in that moment, Thales’ hair stood on end as he heard the sound of the wind.

 Under the cautionary roar of the Sin of Hell’s River, he turned around swiftly!

 But it was too late.

 A dark figure plunged from the skies inexorably.

 It dove straight at Thales!

 “No!” Raphael yelled in shock and anger.

 Thales made the most of the reaction time gifted to him by the Sin of Hell’s River and adopted the ‘Iron Body Style’.

 Thud.

 The huge black figure approached in an instant and slammed into Thales’ chest!

 He was sent flying a few feet.

 Thales felt the impact on his arm, followed by a pain in his back from hitting and scraping against the ground.

 And the protest of all the bones and muscles in his body.

 As if his body was about to fall apart.

 ‘No, no…’

 As Sin of Hell’s River surged, Thales gritted his teeth and opened his eyes amid the pain.

 But it wasn’t over.

 The dark figure shrouded over Thales. It restrained his legs, pinned his shoulders and placed its enormous weight on his chest, leaving the youth immobilized and suffocating.

 The attacker pressed forward assertively and closed in on Thales’ cheek. Thales could feel their violent and sharp warm breath.

 ‘No.’

 Thales struggled hard.

 He swore that in future, no matter how inconvenient or how suspicious it looked, if there was something wrong, he would carry JC or Sentinel with him.

 And would not leave himself defenseless against an attack.

 The attacker leaned over towards Thales’ neck and took a few deep breaths, each longer than the last, seemingly reveling in the moment.

 Raphael sputtered in exasperation. “No! Edward—”

 Suddenly, Thales felt a warmth on his cheek.

 Something soft, moist and sticky covered a part of his skin below his neck.

 And glided slowly along the side of his face, from his chin, to cheeks, to cheekbones.

 It was scorching, warm and soft.

 And smelled a little… unpleasant?

 Thales was stunned.

 The attacker withdrew from his cheek, leaving behind a viscous liquid.

 The passing breeze made it feel cool.

 ‘Huh?’

 Before he could react, the dark figure closed in on him again amid sharp and fiery breaths.

 Again, a warm and moist sensation covered Thales’ mouth, nose, forehead, ear…

 Repeatedly.

 Thales could not open his eyes.

 The attacker panted on. Their nose and lips brushed against Thales’ skin repeatedly as they pressed close, seemingly quite excited.

 Thales was stunned. Even the Sin of Hell’s River had resolved without a trace.

 ‘What…is it?’

 “Edward… This is Prince Thales. He’s not a threat!”

 Finally, the Barren Bone man’s arm appeared on the neck of the attacker as he tried to wrangle it off Thales.

 Amid the attacker’s disgruntled protests, Thales felt the weight being relieved from his chest. After finally getting some space, he looked up.

 The prince was dumbfounded.

 The thing that pressed against him was a large, jet black dog.

 “Woof woof!”

 Raphael was restraining the vicious dog by its neck and dragging it backward, looking miserable in the process.

 Thales recognized the breed.

 It was an Angry Wolfhound.

 This breed, known for its ferocity, had always been a trusty helper of nobles in Constellation on hunting excursions. A long time ago, Chief Morris of the Brotherhood—the boss of Quide and Rick—had a majestic Angry Wolfhound too. In its chance encounter with Thales in the back alley of the Sunset Pub, it was equally playful. But, erm, the not so friendly kind of “playful”.

 The large dog before him had similar characteristics: from its sharp fangs to its fierce demeanor.

 Except for one thing.

 It was…

 A little too big.

 Thales stared blankly at the tussle that was occurring in front of him:

 Although Raphael was slender, he was by no means short.

 But even with his size, he struggled to restrain the large dog. It was like a child reaching out to hug the trunk of an old tree that was more than twice its size.

 The ferocious-looking dog was excitedly looking at Thales, who was still on the ground. It was panting hard and licking its slobber intermittently.

 “Sabor!”

 Raphael, who could not hold on to it any longer, yelled angrily, “Pull it up!”

 As it neared, a deep and lazy voice could be heard saying, “Coming, coming. Relax.”

 A right hand with only three fingers appeared before Thales. It grabbed the neck of the large dog and exerted force on it skillfully.

 Finally, Thales felt relieved, like someone had removed the three layers of quilt that was covering him—during midsummer.

 The large dog barked deafeningly, unhappy that it was being pulled away.

 “Apologies, Master Raphael. Edward was out for a walk, and my attention slipped…” The lazy voice apologized insincerely as it handled the dog’s protests.

 Numb and sore from head to toe, Thales held on to Raphael’s hand and stood up.

 “Damn it… What is it?”

 Thales, still under shock, dusted himself off and wiped the drool off his face with his sleeve.

 Raphael coughed awkwardly.

 “Your Highness, I believe you have now met Edward. He’s one of our… guards.”

 The Barren Bone man waved a hand at the large dog; his exaggerated movement caused the dog to bark wildly. “Woof! woof!”

 It ground its teeth and looked fierce.

 But when the vicious dog was about to approach, that right hand with three fingers reached out to stop Edward.

 “You know, the guard… Edward doesn’t like to be introduced like this. He thinks this is his territory, and he’s the master.”

 Raphael snorted. “Is that so.”

 The person restraining Edward—a middle-aged man with a haggard face and dark circles around his eyes as if he did not have a good night’s sleep—ignored Edward’s growls and bowed towards Thales. “Duke of Star Lake, it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”

 Raphael stared at the Angry Wolfhound warily and introduced, “This is Sabor, the best tracker in the kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Department.”

 Sabor shrugged. “Cum doorman, and dog-walker.”

 The dog seemed upset about something again. “Woof! woof!”

 “Alright alright, my mistake,” Sabor consoled Edward, “I mean I’m the doorman, and the person who scoops your shit…”

 ‘Tracker, doorman, dog-walker…’

 Thales, who had dealt with the unknown liquid on his face, nodded awkwardly and returned Sabor’s greeting, but his eyes could not help but drift towards Edward.

 The Secret Intelligence Department’s watchdog.

 Eyeing its forelimbs that were thicker than his own thighs and its height that reached an ordinary person’s shoulders despite being on all fours, and recalling its impact that was comparable to the charge of heavy cavalry, Thales gulped in trepidation.

 ‘It’s too big!

 ‘That’s cheating!’

 When it noticed that Thales was appraising it, the ridiculously large black Angry Wolfhound reduced the volume of its bark.

 “Yowl~”

 The large dog Edward put away his sharp teeth and stuck out its tongue. Its large jaw formed a big arc as it wagged its tail freely.

 “Obviously he likes you, Your Highness,” Sabor frowned as he said somberly.

 Edward opened its scary mouth and panted, unable to conceal its drooling. It looked at Thales with its crystal-clear eyes.

 With happiness written all over its face.

 And its body full of vigor.

 Thales hurriedly lowered his head to avoid eye contact, and started to smooth his ruffled clothing.

 “Yes, it’s clear.”

 1Sabor held on to Edward’s collar with one hand and scratched its back with the other, appeasing its restlessness from being unable to dash forward. “He hasn’t pounced at anyone in a long time. The last time was a while back…”

 Raphael cleared his throat and shot Sabor a warning glance. “I’ll open the gate. You keep your dog in check.”

 Sabor looked away indifferently. Edward gritted its teeth again.

 “Woof! Woof!”

 “You’ve misunderstood. Raphael wasn’t talking about you. He was talking about me. Keep me in check…”

 The Barren Bone man strode forward towards the iron gates.

 Sabor stared at Raphael’s back, then at the large dog beside himself that kept inching forward and was clearly excited by Thales. “Tsk tsk, Lord Hansen won’t be happy…”

 Thales suppressed his fear of Edward and asked, “Why?”

 “Don’t you know?”

 Sabor pulled out a length of chain (“Who the hell reins a dog with steel chains!”—the prince’s later complaint) and attached it to Edward’s collar.

 He took a step towards Thales (the prince subconsciously took a step back) and said softly, “Rumor in the Secret Intelligence Department is that Lord Hansen’s leg was bitten off by a fierce and terrifying dog.”

 ‘Oh?

 ‘The Black Prophet’s leg?’

 Thales began to pay attention.

 “But it’s still disputed as to which dog it was. There’s even an open bet.

 “But, tsk tsk, if you asked me,” Sabor glanced at the large dog beside him then asked rhetorically and pointedly, “You know what I mean?”

 The terrifying large Angry Wolfhound barked once excitedly, its enthusiasm towards Thales undiminished.

 Thales took a step back and nodded stiffly.

 In the distance, Raphael approached the iron gates, pulled up his sleeves and waved a finger in mid-air.

 Even more bizarrely, as his finger danced, ripples formed in the air in front of the iron gates, like the surface of water in the light.

 Thales frowned.

 “What is he doing?”

 “Magical veined patterns,” looking at the prince, and then at Edward, Sabor replied nonchalantly, “Soul Tower’s trick. Only by drawing the veined pattern that corresponds to the Sealing Spell will it be lifted. In comparison, I much prefer Alchemy Tower. They are classicists—locks and keys.”

 Thales thought of something.

 “But if I recall correctly, magic is banned?”

 Sabor shook his head. “Forgotten.”

 Thales looked up, confused. “What?”

 Sabor tugged at Edward’s chain and scratched its back again to prevent it from slipping away and getting close to Thales. “Magic has been forgotten, not banned.”

 Thales’ expression shifted. “Forgotten and banned, is there a difference?”

 Sabor shrugged. “In terms of actual outcomes, no.

 “But in terms of motivations and purposes…”

 In that moment.

 “Sabor,” Raphael called out, “Enough.”

 At some point, the Barren Bone man had turned around and there was a gap open between the iron gates behind him.

 Sabor waved a hand indifferently and mumbled, “Fine…”

 But before he could finish speaking, there was a change in the scene!

 The large dog, Edward, leaped and darted towards the iron gates!

 Thales was taken aback.

 Maybe because he was not prepared for it, maybe because he could not let go in time, the equally shocked Sabor was pulled to the ground by the chain and dragged towards the iron gates by Edward.

 In the next second, Edward’s enormous body clashed against Raphael in front of the gates!

 Wham!

 The Barren Bone man was sent flying and fell to the ground a few feet away, moaning.

 Sabor was thrashed aside by the chain. After rolling over several times, he too was left groaning on the ground.

 Thales took in the scene before him in shock: two grown men had been knocked to the ground by a dog.

 “Are…are you guys alright?”

 ‘I said it, didn’t I?

 ‘This dog is too big!’

 But what happened next was even more unexpected.

 Before the dumbfounded Thales, the huge black Angry Wolfhound—chain tailing freely behind it—happily rammed one side of the gate open, turned around eagerly and clumsily rammed the other side of the gate open.

 After doing this, it gleefully turned around to look towards—Thales.

 The prince was astounded.

 “Wait a minute, hehe. What was it again? Good doggie. Edward was it? I, I don’t know these two… If you have a grudge against them…”

 But in the next moment, Edward growled and pounced straight at the youth!

 “No. No no no! Don’t, don’t come over hereeee—”

 The traumatized prince retreated half a dozen steps. In the end, he ignored royal etiquette and turned around to flee!

 It was one thing that Edward was enormous. But its speed was equally terrifying.

 Thales did not make it past a few steps before the huge dog overtook him and swooped in front of him!

 ‘Holy sh*t!’

 Thales raised his arms subconsciously as a shield.

 But fortunately, Edward did not pounce rashly like before.

 He halted nimbly not far in front of Thales and whimpered docilely, as if reminding him about something.

 ‘Huh?’

 Thales put his arms down in confusion.

 The large dog approached carefully.

 This time, looking at its docile eyes, the Sin of Hell’s River in Thales did not react.

 Edward stuck a tongue out, wagged its tail, and spun its body—which was the size of a small mound—around twice.

 “Woof! Woof!”

 It barked twice at the open gates; its gaze was docile and its bark friendly.

 Sensing the dog’s goodwill, Thales stared at the door in the distance, put down his arms in confusion and pointed at himself. “Me?”

 The large dog that received a response grew even more excited.

 This time, it wagged its tail and barked once at Thales before barking twice at the iron gates. “Woof! Woof woof!”

 Bearing the look of expectation from the dog, Thales assessed his blocked route and the two figures on the ground in the distance, and forced a smile. “You mean, the gates?”

 “Woof!”

 The dog leaped at the heels of the (ashen-faced) prince and ran around him twice before shoving him forward from the back.

 “Alright, alright. I’m going…” The anxious Thales walked forward, bewildered.

 Edward walked beside him, licking the back of his hand occasionally and rubbing up against the youth’s arm.

 Until they arrived at the iron gates.

 “Oh.” Standing before the iron gates, Thales understood, and started to relax.

 “You mean…

 “You opened the gates for me?”

 “Woof!” Edward barked more cheerfully than ever.

 “Good, good doggie.” Thales suppressed his anxiety and tentatively reached out to scratch its furry head awkwardly. “Thank, thank you?”

 Edward had a tongue out as it tilted its head to one side, looking delighted.

 Clearly enjoying it.

 On the other hand, Raphael was mumbling as he scrambled to get up. He dusted himself off and glared furiously at Sabor, who was also straightening himself out.

 “Well, we all know Edward is intelligent,” Sabor said grimly. He reached over to grab Edward’s chain and took over the action of scratching its head from Thales. “But this is a first.”

 

Edward growled at him grumpily and threateningly.

 “We’d better go in quickly.” Raphael stared at the large dog warily and looked annoyed. “It looks like it’s not done and wants more.”

 So Thales turned around for the last time to awkwardly wave goodbye to Edward.

 The Angry Wolfhound howled excitedly in response. Just as it was about to move forward, it was restrained by Sabor.

 With a click, the gates closed.

 Shutting both the annoyed Sabor, and the huge Angry Wolfhound that was reluctant to part with Thales, outside.

 “Sabor.” Separated by the iron gates, Raphael looked at the huge dog with suspicion. “The Duke of Star Lake is traveling in private, do you understand?”

 “I understand. I’ll just tell them.” Sabor shook his head indifferently. “That an innocent and adorable deer accidentally broke into Edward’s territory.”

 The large dog growled.

 “Okay, okay! I know!”

 Sabor scratched Edward’s neck helplessly. “I’ll just say it was a large wolf. Wolf, alright? There won’t be any damage to your reputation… I swear, the other dogs will be very impressed…”

 Listening to the man-dog argument that grew distant behind him, Thales felt a lingering fear.

 “So Sabor can converse with dogs?”

 The Barren Bone man chuckled. “He thinks he can.”

 “What does that mean?”

 “At least according to Lord Hansen, that’s what Sabor himself has believed for decades.” Raphael shook his head nonchalantly. “Whether it’s true…

 “Only the dog knows.”

 Thales laughed.

 He grabbed his collar and sniffed the patch bitten by Edward.

 The prince immediately frowned.

 He would not be mistaken.

 It was the smell of…

 Fresh blood.

 “So, old pal, besides for food, when was the last time you pounced at someone like that?”

 Outside the iron gates, Sabor took out an old notebook and opened the cover that had “Don’t be eaten!” written on it.

 As he listened to Edwards barks, he happily jotted something down. “What?

 “Scent, you say? The same scent? Dog? Another dog?”

 Sabor’s eyes widened.

 “What? A large dog? A large dog at his home? A strong dog? A dog that grew up in a territory? A dog that breeds dogs? A dog that every other dog is afraid of?”

 Sabor comprehended.

 “Large dog, his large dog, a dog that breeds dogs… Oh, I understand now…”

 He put down his pen and patted Edward on its head as he stared at Thales’ leaving figure.

 “What you mean to say is—”

 The Angry Wolfhound stared at Sabor’s palm, licked the drool off its teeth and gave a low warning growl.

 “His mother?”

 The gaze of the Angry Wolfhound turned cold.

 In the next second, the vicious dog flexed its muscles and stuck its head upward!

 Clack!

 The sound of teeth gnashing rang out.

 Sabor withdrew his hand rapidly and skillfully at the critical moment.

 “I see. Alright, since you’re such a bully…”

 Sabor showed no signs of fear. He raised the right hand that had only three fingers and looked at the ferocious Angry Wolfhound with a smile. “I say, his mother may not be human…

 “But you’re a real dog!”

 Edward yelp sullenly.

 Then, it turned around with disdain, stretched its paws and wagged its tail, and returned to its walk with a gallant stride.