The Barbarian

At this moment, although Ethan was unsure of what lay ahead, he did not stop but continued to advance. 

After walking for a while, he reached the vicinity where the birds had been startled into flight.

Ethan knew that whatever had caused the disturbance must be nearby, so he heightened his alertness, paying close attention to the sounds around him. 

It was then that he noticed a set of enormous footprints in front of him.

What could have made these? 

The sheer size of the footprints surprised Ethan, clearly indicating that the creature was massive. 

In the Shadow Forest, Ethan had never encountered anything of such size. 

After all, the dense forestry would make it nearly impossible for such a large creature to move, let alone thrive. 

Yet here were its footprints, suggesting it could only inhabit the slightly less dense areas on the edge of the Shadow Forest.