Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 68: Glacial Arena

The Howlers charged Immediately.

Jayden didn’t even wait to anticipate their moves or create a strategy. With a growl, he simply dashed forward, slashing the first Howler’s throat clean open with his claws.

The second leapt, but Jayden kicked it in the air, spun, and sent it crashing into a boulder with a brutal backfist.

The third tried to flee.

But Jayden wasn’t going to spare it.

He lunged with insane speed and grabbed its tail, lifted and slammed it to the ground... then ended it’s life with a sharp stomp.

Blood soaked into the soil.

[+30 Exp received]

[You have received 90 Exp in total]

Jayden’s expression hardened. He could already sense a pattern. A shady one.

"They’re not attacking at random." he muttered as he cancelled the hybrid transformation. His body reduced in mass and he looked normal again.

[You’re right] Luna’s voice was grim. [These beasts aren’t just being wild. It’s like they were sent specifically for you]

Jayden frowned. "Let me guess... it’s her doing, isn’t it?"

[Yes. That is my thesis on this] Luna replied.

Jayden’s breath hitched. "But how? I can understand the Howlers, but what about the gators? The Serpenthis? The Wolverine? Why would they fight for her?" he asked

Luna sighed. [The Winter Wolf. She’s apparently the only C-Rank beast in the whole forest. And that makes her sort of, like the queen. An Alpha among Alphas. If she wants something dead... every lesser beast will obey... or they’ll die]

Jayden stared at the ground. His fist clenched. "I see. That’s a smart move... I can tell she’s trying to weaken me. But i won’t be played so easily. I have to end this now."

He turned, scanning the dense woods.. and then his gaze landed on something. And his eyes widened.

Cutting through the trees was a long, winding path made entirely of ice. Jagged, frosty, and unnatural. Leading deeper into the heart of the forest.

Jayden’s eyes narrowed. "That’s her. She’s luring me."

[It’s a trap, you know that, right?] Luna said.

Jayden smiled faintly. "Of course. But lucky for me... I brought insurance."

And without another word, he stepped onto the frozen path. Heading straight into the direction of the Winter wolf.

....

Under the pale light of the moon hanging like a silent witnesses in the sky, Jayden stepped lightly across the frost-laced path that wound like a serpent up the forested hill. The trail was smooth and shimmering, unnaturally cold beneath his boots—a clear creation of cryokinesis. A path of ice. A summons.

The Winter Wolf was calling him.

The deeper he ventured, the more surreal everything felt. The forest, once teeming with predators and sounds of distant growls, had gone eerily quiet. Not a single beast lurked in the shadows, no crunch of hidden claws, no rustling of leaves. Just the wind... and the ever-whispering ice.

Jayden knew this wasn’t a trap born of arrogance.

This was confidence. Command.

She was luring him into a stage she’d already prepared. novelbuddy.cσ๓

At the summit, where the icy path finally reached its end, Jayden stepped onto a massive plateau.

And he froze.

It was like walking into a gladiator’s coliseum sculpted by nature itself. A wide, circular clearing lay before him, its ground leveled and stamped down by hundreds of heavy paws. Towering trees loomed around its edges like silent spectators, their snowy branches hanging low like drapes in an ancient colosseum. But it wasn’t the environment that shook him.

It was the audience.

Beasts. Dozens of them.

Tremor Gators, Howlers, Croc Fangs, Razorbacks, Night Owls—creatures of fur, scale, and fang. All gathered in a loose, yet unmistakable circle. They didn’t move. They didn’t snarl. They didn’t growl or roar or charge.

They simply watched, trembling in fear of someone.

But not him.

Their gaze was locked onto the figure that stood on the far end of the battleground—still as a statue, poised like royalty draped in frost and silence.

The Winter Wolf.

Jayden’s breath caught.

She stood like a sovereign goddess—her snow-white fur sleek and impossibly perfect, the glowing blue lines along her sides pulsating with energy. Her eyes were twin orbs of glacial sapphire, intense and commanding. The ground beneath her shimmered with a thin sheet of frost that followed every step.

Flanking her were two towering D-Rank Howlers, almost the size of bears, each brimming with primal aura. They looked deadly, disciplined... and completely devoted to her.

Jayden’s eyes flicked upward, calling on his trusted Dragon Eye

———

Name: Winter Wolf (Alpha)

Rank: C-Rank

Ability: Cryokinesis

HP: 1800/1800

———

His heart skipped.

"She’s gotten stronger," he muttered.

[Crap] Luna’s voice echoed quietly. [She’s on the edge, Jayden. One push, and she ascends into B-Rank. Her aura... it’s pulsing with evolution. That’s not just power anymore. That’s a blood vow]

Jayden swallowed his hesitation. He checked the info of the Howlers standing beside her. And as expected, they both had the exact same info:

_____

Name: Howler (Direct Beta)

Rank: D-Rank

Ability: Howl

HP: 800/800

_____

Jayden clenched his fists. They were stronger than Serpenthis and the Lesser Wolverine Stalker he’d fought earlier.

Then he glanced around.

The audience—beasts of D and E-Rank, all with glowing eyes and twitching muscles—were dead silent. Tension soaked the air like gasoline.

They weren’t attacking... they weren’t even moving. They just remained still, watching.

And Jayden immediately understood something.

This wasn’t just a fight.

This was the ritual of Alpha Ascension.

Where wolves challenge for the Alpha position. A sacred duel. A rite of dominance.

The pack surrounds, not to intervene, but to bear witness. To accept the victor. And obey the new ruler.

The Winter wolf wasn’t just luring him for revenge. She was calling him to honor the code.

She wanted closure.

Jayden wasn’t just fighting for survival anymore.

He was fighting for dominance.

"She set this up..." he whispered. "This entire thing. She wants to make it official. She wants a real Alpha duel... it’s all she’s wanted all along."

He couldn’t help but feel a sliver of respect bloom in his chest.

This wasn’t just vengeance.

It was justice. Her way.

And then... she moved towards Jayden

Walking with the elegance of a goddess and the weight of a warlord. Each pawprint she left on the ground pulsed with frost energy. A trail of power.

Jayden stayed put, his expression unreadable, fingers twitching. He was prepared to act–if need be.

The Winter wolf approached, until she towered in front of him—twelve feet of cold muscle and wrath, her sapphire eyes burning holes into his soul.

She didn’t speak—she couldn’t. But she spoke nonetheless.

Her gaze swept the beasts encircling them. A quiet message:

"You killed my family. So I made a bigger one."

Then... she raised her paw silently.

Jayden blinked. For a moment, he thought she was attacking. But her posture was calm. Sturdy. Almost... ceremonial.

Then he remembered.

He’d read about it in one of the old lupine traditions passed down in hunter legends—an ancient gesture. A warrior’s greeting. Not peace. Not truce. But respect before battle.

An acknowledgment that this fight... was sacred.

Jayden reached out slowly and pressed his hand to her paw.

They held for a few seconds.

Then she stepped back.

And she howled.

A long, chilling cry that shook the clearing. The beasts echoed it not in harmony—but in acknowledgement. They wouldn’t interfere. They dared not. This was not their fight

Jayden’s muscles tensed. That was it... the howl. It wasn’t just a signal, it was a message, saying:

’May the best wolf win’

In other words;

let the fight begin.