Hearing the earlier part, Yalina still felt quite touched and excited.
But after hearing Levi's last sentence, her face immediately darkened.
What?!
You're giving me such an important Knight Breathing Technique just to make your coachman more capable?!
This was a huge insult to her, the "Tulip Beauty"!
Yalina was furious.
Levi glanced at her and asked, "Don't want it?"
Yalina stiffened, then nodded firmly. "I do!"
She tightly gripped the "Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique" in her hands. She already possessed the physical foundation of a knight squire; she had only been stuck at this level because she lacked the follow-up training methods.
As time passed and she grew older, her body would gradually decline, and in the future, she would have no chance of breaking through to the knight level.
The Knight Breathing Technique Levi had given her was like firewood delivered in the middle of a snowstorm.
How could Yalina not want it?!
Seeing her like this, Levi nodded and said to her, "Work hard, my coachman."
"Keep an eye on that roast whole sheep. Flip it when necessary, and sprinkle on spices and brush it with honey."
Levi gave the instructions casually, then returned to the alchemical carriage.
It wasn't because he was tired and wanted to rest, but because he intended to continue his training inside the carriage.
After all, he was about to meet an old witch with top-tier First-Ring Wizard strength.
Although in fairy tales this old witch was weak… more precisely, she was foolish—she listened to that girl, went into the bread oven herself, and was burned to death shortly after.
But Levi couldn't afford to be careless.
He needed to improve his strength as much as possible.
So he first practiced "Wizard's Hand," which had already reached Level 3 standards.
Once this spell reached Level 4, it would qualify as a First-Ring Spell and would finally be somewhat useful.
With a thought, he consumed Magic Power and cast the spell.
[You used Wizard's Hand once. Experience +1. Current EXP: 88/400.]
[You used Wizard's Hand once. Experience +1. Current EXP: 89/400.]
[You used Wizard's Hand once. Experience +1. Current EXP: 90/400.]
After casting "Wizard's Hand" only three times, Levi already felt mentally exhausted, his Magic Power nearly depleted.
There were two reasons for this. One was that a Level 3 spell placed a heavier burden on both Magic Power and Spiritual Power. The other—and most important—was that he had just used "Daily Intelligence Detection," which had consumed a considerable amount of both Magic Power and Spiritual Power. On top of that, he had repeatedly used "Gathering Technique," "Conversion," and "Wizard's Hand," and before that, he had been intensely practicing "Polymorph: Nightingale"!
All of this led to the result that, after casting "Wizard's Hand" just three times, Levi already felt as if his body had been drained dry.
With no other choice, Levi calmed his mind, closed his eyes, and entered meditation to recover his Spiritual Power and Magic Power.
Meanwhile, outside the alchemical carriage—
After obtaining the "Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique," Yalina didn't idle either.
After carefully studying the technique—especially focusing on the method for condensing the life energy seed—she took a deep breath and decided to switch to this Knight Breathing Technique and use it to condense her life energy seed.
This process was not easy. Even a slight mistake in transitioning between different breathing rhythms could result in injury during training.
After all, practicing a Knight Breathing Technique was not some kind of gentle health exercise.
On the contrary, the process was rather intense and had to be paired with various forms of physical training.
Switching breathing techniques—especially for someone who had already reached the level of a knight squire—was rarely done.
But Yalina had no other choice.
Given her status, she could only access a portion of the breathing techniques held by distant noble relatives.
As for the most crucial method of condensing the life energy seed, she simply had no qualifications to obtain it.
Even though she was highly talented, that was just how things were.
And the "Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique" that Levi had given her now provided her with a chance to change her fate.
If Yalina could reach the knight tier, then even the local lord, Baron Oakwood, would not force her into a marriage she didn't want, and her own father wouldn't be arranging suitors for her either.
In short, strength would grant Yalina greater freedom.
She had always been a clear-headed and intelligent woman—she knew what she wanted, and she knew what she was capable of doing.
Just like when she had chosen to join Levi's party and wander the world with him, this time, she did not hesitate in the slightest—she chose to switch to the "Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique," abandoning the other method she had practiced since childhood.
She was that firm. That resolute.
Fortunately, when it came to physical training, she was highly talented.
Switching Knight Breathing Techniques was a major hurdle for many people.
But for Yalina, it wasn't that difficult.
After trying repeatedly, she suffered a few minor injuries, but nothing that affected her foundation. Gradually, she became more and more proficient.
By the time Levi came out of meditation, having recovered his Spiritual Power and Magic Power, Yalina was already able to practice the "Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique" with relative fluency.
The nightingale, Odelle, had watched everything unfold, and admiration showed in her eyes.
At this rate, it wouldn't take long for Yalina to adjust her condition to its peak and attempt to condense her life energy seed, breaking through to the knight tier.
Yalina herself sensed this as well, and a hint of joy appeared in her eyes.
And then…
She suddenly realized that, because she had been so absorbed in practicing the Knight Breathing Technique, she hadn't paid much attention to Levi's roast whole sheep.
The fragrant roast whole sheep—
It was burnt.
Yalina immediately grew anxious.
A burnt roast whole sheep… she had no idea how to explain it to Levi, nor did she know whether Levi would like it burnt.
Whether Levi liked it or not, Yalina didn't know.
But there were some things that definitely weren't picky.
A sudden sense of unease rose in Yalina's heart, and she looked around.
In the gloomy forest, at some unknown moment, pairs of green eyes had appeared.
"Be careful!"
"We've been surrounded by wolves!"
"There are a lot of them!"
"More than thirty!"
Miss Nightingale Odelle's warning came far too late.
These wolves had clearly been drawn by the scent of Levi's roast whole sheep.
Sure enough, delicious food always came with a price.
As they emerged from the forest and slowly closed in, illuminated by the firelight, Yalina could finally see them clearly—each wolf was as large as a calf, with eerie green eyes, withered gray fur, sharp fangs, and foul saliva dripping from slightly open jaws.
They surrounded her from all directions.
The horse pulling the carriage was already extremely restless, breathing heavily.
Yalina drew the short sword at her side, pressed her back against the alchemical carriage, her expression grave.
Nightingale Odelle was so frightened that she took to the air, fluttering midair as she cried out anxiously, "Danger!"
"Lord Wizard, danger!"
"Wolves! So many wolves!"
"Come out quickly!"
There was no movement from inside the alchemical carriage.
Yalina's heart sank.
It wasn't that she thought Levi had run away—she was worried that he had fallen asleep.
If the wolves launched a full attack, she didn't have the ability to protect a sleeping Levi.
Levi would be in danger.
After a brief silence, Yalina also called out, "Lord Levi, wake up!"
There was still no response from inside the carriage.
Yalina couldn't help but glance back.
For the wolves, that was an opportunity.
A shrill wolf howl rang out from within the pack.
At once, the wolves launched their attack.
Some leapt into the air toward Nightingale Odelle, frightening her into shrill screams as she flapped her wings frantically, climbing higher into the sky and narrowly avoiding the wolf's bite.
More wolves targeted Yalina, attacking her from three directions.
Yalina's physical abilities far exceeded those of an ordinary person.
She evaded attacks from two directions, and with her short sword, she slashed open the belly of a wolf attacking from the third.
The wolf collapsed to the ground, blood staining the earth—it was clearly finished.
This seemed to enrage the pack.
With an angry howl, even more wolves lunged at Yalina from all directions.
At the same time, quite a few wolves surrounded the horse pulling the carriage.
One wolf even leapt onto the roof of the alchemical carriage, its gaze fixed on the back of her neck, sending a chill down Yalina's spine.
"Lord Levi!" Yalina couldn't help but shout.
Her voice seemed to act as a signal.
In an instant, all the wolves attacked at once.
Inside the alchemical carriage—
A sharp gleam flashed in Levi's eyes.
Another wolf pack.
He remembered encountering a wolf pack attack before, and now it was happening again.
It seemed there were quite a lot of wolves in this world.
As this thought crossed his mind, he acted. His increasingly proficient "Wizard's Hand" activated, forming an invisible giant hand that directly slapped away the wolves attacking the carriage horse.
Mm. In Levi's mind, the horse was more important than Yalina.
The next second, Levi activated another spell.
Polymorph: Nightingale!
But unlike before, this transformation spell had been raised to Level 2.
Light enveloped Levi's entire body.
In the blink of an eye, a fierce bird of prey, completely different from an ordinary nightingale, appeared inside the alchemical carriage.
This time, Levi's transformation was no longer that of a small songbird singing softly on a branch, but a predatory spirit tempered by the night—its form still retained a streamlined elegance, yet had expanded to the size of a cheetah, its shoulder height nearly reaching a human's waist. Its limbs were long and corded with muscle, covered in feathers like liquid shadow, each one as tough as a blade, gleaming with a cold, steel-blue sheen under the moonlight.
Its wings were no longer made merely for flight—the wing bones extended into two natural scythe-like blades, their serrated edges jagged, tearing through the air with shrill screeches when swung.
Its tail feathers were like a whip, the tip hardened into a bone spike that could snap pine wood with a single sweep. And those talons—once slender toes had now swelled into a fusion of eagle and tiger, black as dark iron, curved like hooks and glinting with a cold light. There was no doubt: they could easily pierce stone or rip through a bull's thick hide.
The beak of Levi's newly transformed raptor had also become a weapon—long and sharp, with a hooked tip, its bite force enough to crush bone.
Most striking of all was the ring of silver runes around its throat, as if alive.
This was the source of its supernatural ability.
At Level 2, the Nightingale Polymorph had undergone a complete transformation.
Feeling the changes in his body, Levi burst forward in a sudden surge, like a bolt of black lightning. He shot out through the rear door of the carriage, soared above the roof, and before the wolf leaping at Yalina from the carriage roof could react, his talons pierced straight into its flesh.
The wolf howled in pain, but Levi's sharp gaze did not waver. Using the momentum, he swung his body, knocking back two wolves that were attacking Yalina head-on.
Taking advantage of the opening, Yalina dodged the attacks from several other wolves, pressing her back against the alchemical carriage and barely withstanding this round of assault.
Levi, in his raptor form, landed atop the carriage.
Midair, the fluttering Miss Nightingale Odelle stared in shock. Hesitantly, she spoke, "Lord… Levi?"
Levi did not respond.
Although after transforming into a nightingale, he still retained the ability to speak as a human.
Well, it shouldn't be called a nightingale anymore, but—
"Night Raptor."
Levi gave his transformed raptor a new name in his mind.
All of this had happened in the span of a single instant.
The silver runes at Levi's throat flashed with light as he opened his beak and released a piercing shriek.
The wolves present, as well as Yalina—and even Nightingale Odelle—were struck with splitting headaches upon hearing the sharp sound. Odelle reacted the most violently, nearly losing control and falling from the air.
The wolf pack fell into chaos.
At that moment, Levi gave a light beat of his wings and shot forward like black lightning.
His talons seized a wolf and smashed it heavily to the ground.
His wing-blades sliced open a wolf's belly, spilling its entrails across the ground.
His tail swept across another wolf, snapping its waist and sending it collapsing in howls of pain.
His vicious beak struck a wolf's skull, cracking it open in an instant.
In a very short time, more than thirty wolves had been slaughtered until only a handful remained.
The remaining wolves fled like strays, scattering back into the forest.
No matter how fragrant the roast whole sheep was, they dared not linger!
Levi did not pursue. He landed beside the campfire.
The firelight illuminated his body, revealing the stunned expressions of Yalina and Nightingale Odelle.
This "Nightingale Polymorph," or more accurately, "Night Raptor Polymorph," was Levi's true confidence in facing the old witch of the "Candy House."
Even if Levi couldn't defeat her, by transforming into the Night Owl and fleeing, it would be very difficult for the Candy House witch to catch him.
[You used Polymorph once. Experience +1. Current EXP: 1/200.]
A trace of delight flashed deep within Levi's eyes. With a thought, light enveloped him once more, and he returned to human form.
Yalina and Nightingale Odelle froze for a moment, then came back to their senses, their expressions turning strange.
This mysterious wizard Levi could even transform into such a ferocious predator—both Yalina and Odelle couldn't help but wonder just how many abilities he possessed.
It stirred their curiosity.
At that moment, Levi's gaze swept over them.
He said to Yalina, "Your abilities are too weak. You needed me to step in for something this minor."
"What kind of coachman are you?"
"…" Yalina was immediately speechless.
What kind of coachman could deal with that many wolves at once?!
But her own weakness was indeed a fact.
Levi wasn't wrong—if everything required Levi to act, then her existence had no meaning.
She needed to grow stronger. Yalina thought.