Re-Awakening: Cannon Fodder With Strongest Talent-Chapter 36: Devouring Flames

Orange flames clawed at the night sky, devouring the orphanage with terrifying speed. The building had gone up like tinder, accelerant ensuring no easy escape for those trapped inside.

"ANY WATER AWAKENERS! HELP!" A man shouted, his voice cracking with desperation as he rushed toward the inferno. Others joined him, forming a futile bucket chain from the nearest well.

The fire's roar drowned most sounds, but not the screams. Never the screams.

"There are children in there!" A woman collapsed to her knees as neighbors held her back from rushing into certain death. "My daughter volunteers there! PLEASE!"

Guards finally arrived, too late to save lives, only to control the growing crowd of horrified onlookers.

"God have mercy," one whispered as a small figure appeared briefly at an upper window, silhouetted against the flames before vanishing back into the hellscape.

A section of roof collapsed with a thunderous crash, sending a fresh plume of sparks skyward. The heat pushed everyone back, faces illuminated in flickering orange as tears cut tracks through soot-stained cheeks.

"Who would do this?" An old man demanded, his walking stick trembling in his grip. "What monster burns children?"

Inside the inferno, Mrs. Chen's records burned to ash. Her carefully maintained files on every child she'd raised. The drawings on the walls. The small, treasured possessions of children who had nothing else.

Somewhere in the crowd, a child sobbed uncontrollably. "But I was supposed to visit my friend tomorrow. You promised!"

Half a district away, Feng and his team moved silently through shadow-draped alleys, their mission complete. Only Hong-Wei, unconscious and bound, remained as evidence of their visit. The sixteen-year-old boy who had idolized Ethan now hung like a sack between two men, blissfully unaware of what had happened to his home. To his family.

"Delivery for the young master," Feng subvocalized into his communication crystal. "One package secured."

The rest had been left to burn.

Behind them, the glow of the fire painted District Three's skyline. Screams still echoed, growing fainter with distance. Emergency bells rang, summoning what little help might come—too little, too late.

Twenty-seven children. Four teachers. Three cooks. One elderly caretaker who had devoted her life to giving unwanted children a chance.

All sacrificed for one man's wounded pride.

...

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In the forest's depths, Ethan pursued power with single-minded focus, completely unaware of the tragedy his actions had inadvertently triggered back in the city. The orphanage that had raised him burned while he hunted, its occupants paying the ultimate price for his defiance of Han Wei.

'This doesn't make sense,' he thought, scanning the darkness for prey. 'I'm deeper than I've ever gone, yet only one Low-Bronze beast in hours.'

'They're being recruited,' he realised, a chill running down his spine. 'The Silver-ranks are gathering an army.'

Tiana's migration charts that Tiana was talking about suddenly made more sense. This wasn't a random movement, it was coordinated, organised and Intelligent.

His enhanced senses detected movement ahead, something large moving through the forest around fifty or so meters away from him.

Ethan readied his short sword, creeping forward in silence. His breathing was controlled, and his steps were soft on the ground.

'More than one,' he realised as the sounds separated in his mind.

He crouched behind a thick tree, peering through at a pack of Shadowfang Wolves moving together. His status vision immediately categorised the threat.

Five wolves total. Three at Peak-Iron rank. One at Low-Bronze. And their leader, a massive silver-furred beast with scars crisscrossing its muzzle, was at Mid-Bronze rank.

'That leader alone would be trouble,' Ethan thought, instinctively suppressing his presence. 'The whole pack would tear me apart.'

Running would be the smart choice. Even Bronze-rank humans knew to avoid wolf packs.

But Ethan wasn't just any Bronze-rank.

'I'll track them,' he decided, keeping a safe distance as the pack continued their journey. 'Find their den. Maybe pick off stragglers.'

The wolves moved with eerie coordination, the smaller ones forming a protective formation around their leader.

Ethan shadowed them for nearly an hour, his Enhanced Speed talent allowing him to keep pace while maintaining distance. The forest grew denser around him.

The wolves paused at a stream, drinking quickly before continuing eastward. Always eastward.

'They're heading somewhere specific,'

More tracks joined the wolves' path—boar prints, bear claw marks, even the distinctive trail of a serpent.

Ethan continued following, each step taking him deeper into danger and closer to the truth of what threatened the city.

After a short while, the wolves arrived at their destination.

Ethan's eyes widened as he took in the scene in front of him.

'This...'