Chapter 201 The Wolf Pack, Deterrence and Division

Barely a second after Cash called out his warning, the entire Sea Thorn Squad sprang into action.

As veteran adventurers who had attained a Class Level, they reacted instantly.

Having just returned to the ground, their slightly loose formation tightened in a flash.

With the team's Spellcaster, Mint, at the core, they contracted inward, adopting a back-to-back formation that still left enough room to fight.

Xia Nan, Veris, and Cash each took an overlapping sector, their lines of sight covering a full three hundred and sixty degrees.

The team was newly formed. With two recent additions, they simply lacked the familiarity to coordinate on instinct alone.

Under such sudden circumstances, managing this level of reaction was already impressive.

Xia Nan gripped his Decapitating Longsword tightly with both hands. Setting aside part of his attention to cover the teammates beside and behind him, he stared into the deep, fog-filled night, focusing his mind to perceive any hidden danger.

If Cash's scent bait actually worked, it was impossible for the Misty Forest to remain this quiet after so much time.

That left only two possibilities.

First, Cash had bought a defective product, and the bait hadn't worked.

But considering the thick, putrid stench of rot still permeating the air—rushing straight up their noses to the tops of their skulls—it didn't seem like a failure at all.

Xia Nan felt the chances of that were extremely slim.

Then, only one possibility remained.

The dangerous nocturnal predators living in the forest had actually already caught the scent.

They had even acted on it, closing in on the group's trap.

However.

Some sort of even more ferocious and brutal presence had forced these predators to rely on their survival instincts, suppressing their urge to hunt and keeping them at bay.

He didn't know when it started, but the high-pitched wolf howls that occasionally echoed from deep within the fog hadn't sounded in a long time.

Xia Nan's expression remained focused, his face devoid of emotion.

Inwardly, however, he couldn't help but find the situation troublesome.

'Where are they?'

'Which part of our plan went wrong?'

The dynamic had instantly inverted—now they were in the light, and the enemy was in the shadows. Holding their formation in the woods, the Sea Thorn Squad felt like they were caught in a spotlight, wary of the profound darkness around them.

Time quietly slipped away.

A few minutes was hardly enough time to cook wild boar over a campfire.

But for the group, it felt as if hours had passed.

They were just standing in place, not daring to make a single extraneous movement.

Yet Cash's face was already covered in a layer of fine sweat. His muscles were taut all over, like a spring compressed to its absolute limit, ready to snap at the slightest noise.

Veris held dual daggers. Her tall frame and face were shrouded in a veil of shadow, looking as if she might melt into the darkness at any second.

Although her exact expression was hidden, this reaction alone proved how seriously she took the threat.

Mint, protected in the center, tightly gripped her Branch Staff, her teardrop-shaped light green earrings swaying gently in the wind.

Her expression was nervous, but her eyelids were lowered, likely using other sensory abilities to search for nearby enemies.

Compared to the other three, Xia Nan's demeanor and movements showed no obvious changes.

This was naturally because he hid his tension well.

In truth, he was just as wound up on the inside.

The [Deathline] ring on his right index finger reflected a dim, inconspicuous luster under the moonlight, its Deflection Field ready to trigger.

All four members of the Sea Thorn Squad had completed their combat preparations.

Like a powder keg, they needed only the tiniest spark—proof of an actual enemy—for all their restraint to detonate in an instant.

Yet despite this, the spark to ignite the battle never appeared.

As if sensing their tense state, there was not the slightest suspicious movement in the surrounding woods.

It was like a top-tier predator with exaggerated patience, hiding in the unknowable depths of the darkness, watching, letting the group needlessly drain their mental energy.

Staring into the silent, dim thicket ahead, for a moment Xia Nan even wondered if he was fighting a battle of wits with the air.

'Is it possible that everything is just a coincidence, and these so-called wolves and enemies don't even exist?'

But a second later, he dismissed his hesitation.

His basic five senses might not have picked up anything special.

But his Perception—far exceeding that of ordinary people—sensed an extremely clear and obvious hostility, almost like a hallucination.

Greedy, icy stares pierced through the space between them, pressing coldly and damply against his skin, seeping into his pores and drilling into his flesh;

That hungry, brutal desire practically condensed into physical substance in the air, transforming into an illusory, bone-chilling wind that blew past his ears and the back of his neck again and again.

Absolutely, without a doubt, something was crouching in a patch of shadow, watching him.

Xia Nan was certain of it.

Time ticked by, minute by minute, second by second.

Just when Xia Nan thought they would be stalled here until dawn, someone suddenly moved!

Knowing with absolute clarity that dragging this out would only continue to tip the scales against them, Cash suddenly gritted his teeth after weighing his options.

He pulled a couple of small, pitch-black pouches from his belt bag and, without bothering to aim carefully, hurled them forcefully into the dark thicket ahead.

Boom—

Grease and powder ignited instantly from a few scattered sparks.

Blazing bright flames erupted like an explosion, completely illuminating the woods ahead.

Hailing from the Rivervale Town General Store, the "Fire Oil Bomb"—a versatile thrown item that almost everyone kept on hand if funds allowed—once again displayed its power during an adventure.

It didn't burn any enemies. Suppressed by the thick night fog, the orange-red flames struggled to spread and were doomed to extinguish quickly.

But those fleeting seconds of illumination forced the dangerous enemy hiding nearby—the one casting covetous glances at the group—to reveal its blurry silhouette.

Fluffy fur swaying in the wind, a massive and robust body, elegant and slender limbs, a powerful long tail trailing behind...

It was a fleeting glimpse; they couldn't make out its full appearance.

But the faint afterimage left by that brief glimpse was enough to identify its species.

"It's a Temple Nightwalker Wolf!"

"Prepare for battle!!!"

It was like a signal.

With the "Fire Oil Bomb" providing a fleeting burst of bright fire, unusual noises suddenly rang out from the dense, previously dead-silent bushes on both sides.

Cold, eerie green eyes resembling will-o'-wisps lit up pair by pair in the darkness. The thick stench of blood and the fresh scent of pine resin in the air were scattered by the night wind, revealing the pungent odor unique to wild beasts;

The low-frequency growls of canine threats made the blurry outlines under the moonlight seem to gradually sharpen, allowing faint glimpses of silver fur flashing between the leaves and branches.

Their massive bodies moved with a highly contrasting agility, drifting through the woods like phantoms in the moonlit night, making the rustling of the bushes increasingly deafening.

These wild wolves living in the forest possessed extremely strong discipline.

While undiscovered, they hid quietly, patiently whittling down their prey's attention. But once exposed, they surged forward like mad beasts, closing in and lunging at the group.

They left the Sea Thorn Squad absolutely no room to react.

Barely a second after the "Fire Oil Bomb" was thrown, seven or eight silver wolves—their shoulders reaching an adult's chest—burst out of the bushes.

Awooo—

The mournful, high-pitched wolf howls shook their eardrums until they ached. Staring at the two Nightwalker Wolves charging straight at him, Xia Nan's expression was incredibly focused. Inwardly, he even breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to the high-pressure suspense of waiting for the enemy to strike, actual combat was his comfort zone.

He tilted the Decapitating Longsword slightly, the iron-gray gleam of the blade looking even sharper under the moonlight.

His brain raced.

This was a positional battle between the squad and the wolf pack; they couldn't just move around recklessly.

Otherwise, if one or two slipped past him, not only would their Spellcaster Mint be in danger in the center, but his other two teammates would risk being attacked from behind.

Furthermore, being in the Misty Forest deep into the night vastly elevated the danger, even if they were only in the outer regions.

With so much noise, who knew what else they might attract.

The battle had to be decided quickly!

Squelch.

As he thought, the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly.

Dirt flew as several barbed, vibrant green vines shot out of the soil, wrapping around one of the Nightwalker Wolves' front legs like tentacles.

The barbs pierced deep into the wolf's fur almost instantly, tightening as it struggled. In the blink of an eye, blood began to seep out.

Behind him, soft, slightly green-tinged short hair fluttered without wind. Mint gripped her Branch Staff tightly with both hands, her lips moving in a chant.

Xia Nan gave an imperceptible nod and lunged two steps forward.

His dark eyes reflected the white wolf, its speed plummeting as it was bound by Thorn Entanglement.

Thump!

His thick leather boots, connected to his Shinbone Legguards, slammed onto the ground. Like the roots of an ancient tree, he drew power from deep within the earth.

From his calves, to his hips, lower back, and chest... the force surged upward, finally converging at his fingertips and swinging out through the blade.

Snikt—

A perfect iron-gray arc reflected the bright moon overhead, flashing fleetingly through the gloomy woods.

The heavy sound of a sharp blade severing flesh and bone reached his ears.

[Spinning Slash]!

Long practiced to perfection, his only "Mastery" tier combat technique—a seemingly ordinary basic move—remained Xia Nan's most reliable aid in battle.

Augmented by his enhanced physical attributes, its power was even more devastating.

Slanted, from bottom to top, in an upward sweep.

As the cold light faded...

...thick brains, half a snout, a beastly eye, and shredded ear fragments flew through the air.

Half of its head had been sliced clean off.

The ruined wolf corpse maintained its forward momentum, but its consciousness had already plunged into darkness.

The robust, blood-spraying body twitched and convulsed as it crashed to the ground, entirely neutralized.

The longsword that had torn through the wolf's body followed its unleashed momentum, carving a half-circle in the air.

Xia Nan took another step to the side, pivoting his body along with it.

He didn't drop his guard in the slightest.

His longsword naturally leveled across his chest into a defensive posture to intercept the second Nightwalker Wolf flanking him.

But to his surprise.

Just as he shifted his feet and changed positions.

On his legs, the light gray surface of his leg armor—specifically the polished bone fragments—suddenly flashed with an invisible ripple.

The ferocious wild wolf right in front of him, which had just been growling and baring its sharp fangs, jolted to a halt and froze in place.

A flash of human-like bewilderment appeared on the narrow wolf head.

Its beastly eyes, previously filled with violent malice, were left with nothing but a blank clarity.

It even stuck out its tongue and licked its own nose.

...

[Bone-Bound Iron Greaves] (Effect 2):

Hostile beasts with a Challenge Rating no higher than "1" have a chance to fall into a deterred state;

...

A quiet realization dawned on him.

Xia Nan did not hesitate, immediately shifting from defense to offense.

He took another step forward, exerted force with both hands, and cleaved out with another [Spinning Slash].

An iron-gray arc flashed down.

A complete wolf head, spraying crimson drops of blood, spiraled to the ground.

The dull thud of a heavy body collapsing onto the dirt reached his ears.

Barely a dozen seconds had passed since the wolf pack first appeared.

Panting slightly, Xia Nan turned his head to check the other two sides.

Mint's sweat-drenched face was pale, and her hands trembled slightly.

Clearly, casting so many spells in such a short time had taken a heavy toll on her.

But her results were equally outstanding.

The body of a Nightwalker Wolf was twitching on the ground nearby.

Faint traces of plant bindings marked its limbs.

But the actual cause of death was a small, fatal wound oozing blood from the side of its neck.

—delivered straight from the blue-gray Stone Spear in Cash's hands.

At this moment, the middle-aged man—who claimed to be a former fisherman who became a Class Holder by sheer luck—was locked in a bitter struggle.

Unlike Xia Nan, three wolves had charged at him.

Even after dispatching one with Mint's help, he still had to handle two Nightwalker Wolves simultaneously.

Although he wasn't in mortal danger, he looked exceptionally haggard.

The surface of his rather decent Scale Armor already bore numerous gouges left by the beasts.

As for Veris...

Xia Nan suddenly frowned.

As a "Rogue"—a class known for agility and mobile skirmishing—the Drow half-blood appeared extremely ill-adapted to this positional battle.

Facing a siege of three Nightwalker Wolves of her own, she had relied on her nimble physique to dodge their pounces. She had even managed to leave a series of wounds on them, allowing the toxins coated on her blades to slowly take effect.

However, under the intentional or unintentional pressure of the wolf pack's siege, Veris's original positioning had shifted.

The formation had been quietly divided.

And the final two Nightwalker Wolves—which had been lurking on the periphery since the battle began—were creeping closer without a sound, pressing their bodies low like shadows under the moon.

They had quietly slipped in through the gap.

Lunging straight toward Mint in the dead center of the formation!