The King's hunting celebration took place today. The lord of the throne welcomed everyone from all walks of society to the celebration and promised to personally reward the winner. Gwi designed this ceremony to enhance the bonds between all factions, whether noble families or simple folk. He organizes this gathering so that his people will not be divided and to show everyone that any faction would be welcomed with open arms in Hwon Kingdom.
The king would also allow regular people the opportunity to join the royal army, which would raise their family's social standing and demonstrate that they are worthy of the king's trust. The hunting festival's rule is simple: the person who captures the rarest beast wins the game. What makes it even more spectacular is that the king or queen will directly participate in the event. All of this was done by the king in order for him to become closer to his people.
"Are you planning on attending this hunting festival every year?" Siera gently asks as she assists her husband in putting on his royal cloak.
"Of course, this is one of the events I can use to get to know our people better." I wouldn't pass up the opportunity." While answering his queen's query, Gwi put on his best smile. He is always eager to connect with the people of Hwon Kingdom from all over the place.
"Wouldn't your presence make them feel threatened instead? Every year, you get the most elusive beast no one has ever seen? Do you really want to use this event to brag to everyone?" The queen cracks a joke about the king's incredible hunting ability. Of course, his innate instincts as a werewolf give him a better chance of locating any beast in the jungle than an ordinary human.
"Haha. Perhaps you are accurate. I wouldn't want to embarrass you by losing to our folks. My lovely queen, you must be the one who received the most precious beast as a gift." Gwi takes Siera's hand and kisses it softly. Yes, the rarest beast would become a valuable gift; it is customary to offer the beast to the closest people following the competition.
Instead, Siera drapes her arm around his neck and smiles meaningfully at him. She swayed their bodies as if they were dancing.
"You are the best gift that cannot be replaced by any most valuable thing in the entire world," she tells her husband, making him grin. Gwi's heart is always warmed by Siera's loving side. He then planted a soft kiss on her lips, full of excitement.
"I guess I'll have to join the battle soon before you keep me here any longer. I'd show you my monstrous side after the festival tonight. Please don't make me choose between admiring your gorgeous physique all day or joining our people today," the king says gently into her ears. His breath tickles her, making Siera shudder. They release go of each other and walk out to join the other people hand in hand.
"Your Majesty, what is it that takes you so long?" When Gwi enters the arena and joins Hwon's people, a happy voice greets him. Ryu, as usual, rushes up to Gwi and casually embraces the king, only to be met with a straightforward rejection from the king, as is customary just like their old days.
The monarch delivers his speech to his people, encouraging everyone to do their best for the festivities. He reminds them that this celebration is not being hosted to encourage them to do something unethical that will result in the extinction of divine animals in the jungles or environmental devastation. As a result, he reminds everyone to constantly be humble and to put all greed aside. Only then would this festival achieve its ultimate objective of uniting everyone.
"The king is so cool," a mother with two toddlers on her both hands approaches Siera and joins the queen in listening to the king's speech. Siera's eyes light up with joy when she sees her long-time bestfriend, Key, arrive at the event with her son and daughter.
"Hello, little Key and little Ryu," Siera cheerfully greets the two toddlers. She wishes she could soon follow in the footsteps of Key and Ryu and have her own children with Gwi. Looking at her bestfriend's children fills her with both comfort and longing.
The hunting event will begin soon. Each participant enters the jungle to hunt the beast, while those who do not participate wait outside the tents set up at the lake on the jungle entrance. The remaining people are largely women and children waiting for their male family members to return from hunting.
Gwi enters the woods with Ryu, his former student and one and only companion. Every year, the two of them engage in a fierce competition on the hunting day.
"I assumed you wouldn't conduct another hunting festival given what happened five years ago. Are you and the queen all right now?" Ryu asks cautiously since he knows it is a difficult subject for Gwi.
The king does not respond right away to his question, the occurrence that took away the crucial thing from him years ago still fresh in his mind. But he understands he can't keep concentrating on the past and suffering when he has to lead the kingdom.
"We must learn to move on." Please just wish the best for the two of us," the king said, finally able to smile after a brief silent. Ryu watches his expression sympathetically before giving him his best smile. If Gwi is attempting to forget the past tragedy, he should always be there to cheer him up.
"OK, let's part ways here. Stop chasing after me and go find your own beast." Gwi commands his friend and vanishes from Ryu's view in an instant.
"What a vile werewolf! I would never cheat merely to get the upper hand on you!" Ryu criticizes the king for being mean and thereby undermining his hunting ability. Despite appearing annoyed towards the king, he eventually smiles. At least Gwi can crack a joke like that, which has become a source of comfort for him.
The king enters the deep forest, which is encircled by tall, large trees on all sides. The density of the tree's leaves prevents sunlight from entering the area, making the surroundings appear darker. He looks about and uses his hearing and sniffing abilities to identify a beast. He eventually found a chimera after some searching. A beast made up of four different animals.
Chimera features a lion's head and a goat's horn, and its tail is a deadly snake. Not only is the beast extremely powerful and terrifying, but it is also extremely fast and capable of flying. It has the appearance of a massive bat's wings. The ruler of the land has chosen his prey. He pulls out his own weapon, a tiny sword attached in a fan-like pattern. He does not intend to use his werewolf power to defeat the beast, preferring to concentrate on his combat ability with the weapon.
Gwi crept carefully approaching the beast, careful not to startle it and cause the chimera to flee. He tries to be cautious, but chimera is a beast with a keen sense of precaution. The beast looks in the direction of Gwi and notices the werewolf approaching. Before the chimera runs away, there is a brief period of immobile gesture between them.
"Oh, damn!" Gwi instantly hurls his weapon at the chimera's feet, hoping to injure the beast and make it difficult for it to flee. The chimera and his weapon quickly retreated behind a huge tree, leaving the king unable to see what was going on.
He instantly pursues the chimera, intending to reclaim his weapon. When he passes through the large tree, he does not encounter the chimera. Instead, a young woman with silver hair and a white dress sits on the ground, blood streaming from her chest. Gwi's weapon accidentally struck her, causing a massive wound from her left chest to her left arm. His weapon has gravely injured her.
Gwi is stunned at where he is as he realizes he has just hurt an innocent woman while hunting. But he can't instantly approach and assist her since he notices a crucial feature on the woman that reminds him of a specific creature. Her genuine identity is indicated by a distinct mark on her arm.
The injured woman is likewise surprised to see Gwi emerge out of nowhere after being struck by a weapon. She is crying as she stares at the king, attempting to suppress the anguish from the wound. Her breathing pattern is unusual.
"Aren't you..." the king is unable to finish his questioning after witnessing the woman collapse. He rushes over to her and wraps his arms around her. He double-checked her wound and then noticed the mark on her arm. When he notices something out of the ordinary, he frowns.