Chapter 241

Under the massive scale of the beast tide, among these hundreds of Snow Wolves surrounding them, there were no fewer than ten second-circle Frost Snow Wolves, and forty or fifty first-circle Ice Snow Wolves.

Added to that was the third-circle alpha, the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf, and the three or four hundred zero-circle Snow Wolves; such a scale and strength of a wolf pack, besieging the Snow Fur chief and Baruk, plus one Ice-Mane Tiger.

Even knowing Baruk's strength was formidable, Gao De, seeing this scene, couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for him.

Baruk looked at the Snow Wolves surrounding them, a vast expanse, his line of sight blocked.

If it were any other mage caught in this situation, they would have long been scared out of their wits.

But Baruk was different; he could still remain calm and steady, the 【Cold Ice Sword】 in his hand slightly reflecting the moonlight and the chill.

The next moment, those Snow Wolves, under the signal of the alpha Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf, lunged toward the two in the encirclement, their blue pupils full of ferocity already widened to the maximum.

"【Frost Nova】!"

Baruk skillfully cast the magic.

He stretched out his finger, pointing toward the center of the wolf pack.

The next instant, a dazzling cold light suddenly burst from Baruk's fingertip, shimmering like a comet in the night, rapidly expanding outward.

Following the guidance of Baruk's finger, an intense chill erupted instantly in the center of the wolf pack, forming a rapidly expanding cold ice ring.

This ring expanded rapidly outward, as if it were an aurora blooming in the night sky, yet even more dazzling and eye-catching than an aurora.

Wherever the cold ice ring passed, the moisture in the air quickly condensed into frost, and the snow on the ground instantly froze into a hard shell of ice.

Those Snow Wolves lunging at Baruk and the Snow Fur chief were instantly enveloped by this sudden chill.

Under the shroud of the chill, their fur was instantly covered with ice crystals, and their movements became sluggish.

Those Snow Wolves charging on the front line were even frozen directly in mid-air.

Their bodies were covered by a thin layer of ice, instantly changing from ferocious earth-vein creatures to motionless statues.

With a *plop*, these frozen Snow Wolves fell onto the snow surface that had already frozen into an ice shell, directly smashing spiderweb cracks into the ice surface.

The cold ice ring continued to spread outward.

The surrounding air was filled with bone-chilling cold.

Everything touched by the cold ice ring was instantly covered with a layer of crystal-clear frost.

Within a spherical area with a radius of thirty feet, it became a dreamlike world of ice crystals.

Everything was frozen in that instant.

The entire process was like a magnificent frost dance, with the chill circulating in the air, forming beautiful ice crystal patterns.

Just a single spell caused a massive reduction in the number of Snow Wolves.

It was just that although the 【Frost Nova】 released by Baruk had significant effects, the number of Snow Wolves was even greater, and under the "supervision" of the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf, each one showed no fear of death.

"Ryan!"

Baruk had already jumped off the back of the Ice-Mane Tiger, standing back-to-back with Ryan.

He called out, signaling the Ice-Mane Tiger to fight alongside him.

Ryan bared its fangs, staring with fierce eyes at the Snow Wolves prowling around.

The status of an Ice-Mane Tiger was certainly higher than that of a Snow Wolf.

In normal times, these Snow Wolves would absolutely not dare to approach or provoke an Ice-Mane Tiger, but now they didn't care at all.

*Awoo! *

The Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf let out another long howl.

The next instant, a new batch of Snow Wolves immediately lunged forward again.

Earth-vein creatures facing a strong enemy usually follow this pattern:

First, send out low-circle creatures to consume the enemy with their lives, and wait until the enemy begins to tire before the powerful earth-vein creatures make their move.

Facing this surging Snow Wolf pack again, Baruk did not cast 【Frost Nova】 again, because it was a third-circle spell, with huge mana consumption and a relatively long casting time.

He just gripped the cold ice sword formed by the spell, looking at the rapidly approaching Snow Wolves with a solemn expression.

In this instant, Baruk had already cast multiple buff spells to strengthen himself.

These included 【Expeditious Retreat】, 【Jump】, and 【Mage Armor】, combined with his exquisite swordsmanship and the 【Cold Ice Sword】; he was now like a knight, possessing incomparably powerful melee combat ability.

At this time, the fastest Snow Wolves had already arrived in front of Baruk.

These Snow Wolves, although they could feel Baruk's power, lunged and bit at Baruk simultaneously without any hesitation or thought.

The cold ice sword in Baruk's hand struck out quickly, and those lunging Snow Wolves were instantly decapitated.

Blood splattered, but the sharpness and coldness of the ice sword caused the bloodstains to freeze into ice crystals in the air in the blink of an eye.

But this was just the beginning; the Snow Wolves behind lunged from almost every direction, forming a dense encirclement.

The cold ice sword in Baruk's hand flashed through the air like lightning, each swing taking the life of a low-circle Snow Wolf.

On the left, the huge Ice-Mane Tiger was also showing its strength.

It roared, its eyes flashing with fierce light, continuously swinging its powerful claws.

Those aggressive Snow Wolves, as long as they were struck by the claws of the Ice-Mane Tiger, Ryan, would immediately fly backward, screaming and falling to the ground, unable to rise.

On the right, the Snow Fur chief continuously released 【Ice Bolt】 to attack these Snow Wolves.

Under his control, the ice bolts accurately hit every Snow Wolf that approached.

Although Snow Wolves, as earth-vein creatures, have naturally high ice-type resistance, even if the Snow Fur chief's strength was not as strong as Baruk's, he was still a third-circle early-stage Ice-Born mage, so dealing with these low-circle Snow Wolves was no problem.

Each ice bolt would burst upon hitting a Snow Wolf, forming patches of frost areas.

Combined with the ice shell area formed by the 【Frost Nova】 Baruk had cast earlier, it restricted the Snow Wolves' movements to a certain extent.

They walked as if on flat ground on the snow, but they were not as comfortable on the ice.

The two and the beast formed a triangular formation.

As the battle continued, Baruk also had moments of negligence, but 【Mage Armor】 protected him well, giving him a certain margin for error.

【Expeditious Retreat】 made Baruk more flexible in battle, and 【Jump】 allowed him to avoid fatal attacks at critical moments.

It was unknown exactly how many Snow Wolves had been killed.

Until the Snow Fur chief began to pant, appearing unable to cope, and was injured multiple times; even Baruk had several non-fatal wounds on his body.

These were left by the attacks of the second-circle Frost Snow Wolves mixed in the Snow Wolf pack.

These Snow Wolves, under the supervision of the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf, seemed to fear no death, lunging at Baruk and the Snow Fur chief as if they were endless.

Successive high-intensity sword swings made the muscles in Baruk's arms begin to ache, nearing exhaustion.

"If this continues, we will be worn down to death here." At this moment, Baruk's voice reached the Snow Fur chief's mind.

【Message】.

The Snow Fur chief, whose forehead was already sweating, nodded with difficulty, "Then what should we do?"

Actually, the battle had lasted less than three minutes, but for them, it felt longer than three hours. Because the intensity was too high, with Snow Wolves lunging at every moment, they had to concentrate, continuously casting spells or swinging swords, and they had to give it their all.

This was somewhat like the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise: one might not pant after an hour of continuous aerobic exercise, but after three minutes of non-stop anaerobic exercise, anyone would be finished.

"We must kill the alpha; kill it, and these Snow Wolves will retreat, and the beast tide might disperse..." Baruk exchanged opinions with the Snow Fur chief while fighting.

"But it is hiding in the back now, refusing to show itself, waiting for us to be exhausted. I am preparing to charge in its direction."

The Snow Fur chief was silent for a moment, then replied: "Are you sure?"

This was not a simple decision.

Under the current situation, they were covering each other, so they still had room to breathe.

But once they chose to charge in the direction of the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf, there was no turning back.

Not only did they have to ensure they killed their way to the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf in one go, but they also had to kill it in the shortest possible time; otherwise, it would be equivalent to voluntarily placing themselves in a dangerous situation.

Baruk naturally understood this principle.

But he still nodded silently, giving an affirmative answer.

"Help me clear the path; I need to save some mana to deal with the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf," he added.

"Good." The Snow Fur chief said nothing else, just responded with a heavy "good."

Baruk, having made his decision, said no more; he flipped and leaped back onto the back of the Ice-Mane Tiger.

The Ice-Mane Tiger let out a low growl, understanding its master's intent, and prepared to launch a charge at any time.

And the Snow Fur chief, who had agreed, roared, bracing against the lunges of several Snow Wolves, and released the strongest spell he had mastered: "【Sleet Storm】!"

As the casting ended, he pointed at the Snow Wolf pack in the direction of the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf.

Wherever his finger pointed, the sky became even darker, and a chill began to permeate the air.

Centered on the point he pointed at, within an area with a radius of 40 feet and a height of 20 feet, bone-chilling freezing rain and hail suddenly descended.

And it wasn't ordinary hail, but ice chunks the size of fists, smashing toward the Snow Wolves in the area with the sound of breaking through the air.

These hailstones were not only highly dense but also extremely fast, each one like a small cannonball, making a crisp sound upon hitting the ground.

Immediately following the hail was a dense freezing rain.

These freezing rains were not ordinary rainwater, but liquid ice crystals carrying intense cold.

Besides being able to cause huge damage to the Snow Wolves and freeze them, they would immediately freeze upon landing on the ground, forming a smooth ice surface on the snow, making the ground extremely slippery.

The Snow Wolves would find it more difficult to move in such an environment, and some would even slip and fall directly to the ground.

As the spell continued to be released, the Snow Wolves that were flickering in the night became chaotic under the impact of the hail and freezing rain.

Some Snow Wolves were smashed by the hail, howling and bleeding, some were soaked by the freezing rain and then frozen, their movements becoming stiff and sluggish, while others fell because the ground was wet and slippery.

But this would not have much impact on Baruk.

Because for Northern mages, the two spells 【Ice Skating】 and 【Ice Walking】 are inevitably mastered.

Seeing that the Snow Fur chief had opened a small breakthrough in the encirclement for him, Baruk squeezed the Ice-Mane Tiger's abdomen with his legs, and at the same time, cast 【Ice Walking】 on the Ice-Mane Tiger, decisively starting to move.

The Ice-Mane Tiger received the command and instantly sprang out like an arrow from a bow.

It let out a tiger roar, its speed reaching its limit, fast as a blurred shadow, first crossing the ice surface area formed by 【Sleet Storm】, then crashing directly into the last circle of the Snow Wolf pack.

Like a bowling ball, it was unknown how many Snow Wolves were sent flying in an instant.

In just the blink of an eye, the man and the tiger rushed out of the Snow Wolf encirclement, killing their way to the front of that Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf.

The Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf simply couldn't imagine that Baruk, who was surrounded by a pile of Snow Wolves, could still pull off such a trick. Seeing Baruk, who had already "pushed" to its face, its golden pupils suddenly contracted.

At this time, Baruk had already leaped up from Ryan's back, like a Spartan warrior descending from the sky, holding the cold ice sword and stabbing toward the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf.

His body turned slightly in the air, the cold ice sword shining with cold light under the moonlight, like a silver bolt of lightning cutting through the darkness.

At the same time, a magical fluctuation flashed across the surface of Baruk's body.

Following that, the muscles under his clothes visibly bulged, the muscle lines on his arms, chest, and legs became more obvious, and his whole body exuded a suffocating sense of power.

【Bull's Strength】.

As the spell took effect, Baruk's strength surged, reaching a peak.

The cold ice sword drew a perfect arc in the air, aiming straight for the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's throat.

The Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf reacted quickly, wanting to dodge.

But it discovered with horror that its movements couldn't keep up with its thoughts.

Whether lifting a foot or exerting force, everything became unusually sluggish.

【Slow】! In this short instant, Baruk had actually completed the casting of a second-circle spell and a third-circle spell.

Of course, to achieve this, he had also paid a certain price and it was not as easy as imagined.

Baruk chose to burn his mana origin, forcibly increasing his mana intensity in a short time to obtain faster casting speed.

Origin burning is irreversible.

Expressed in game terms, his original mana value was: 50/100; after burning the mana origin, even if he refilled his mana, it might only be 95/95; what was lost was the upper limit.

The Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf, struck by 【Slow】, seeing that it couldn't dodge Baruk's sword, had its ferocity flare up; it no longer dodged or defended, but raised its head, directly opening its bloody mouth and revealing its sharp fangs.

Its intent was also very clear: it wanted to trade injury for injury.

No matter what, its vitality was certainly much more tenacious than a human's. But facing this scene, Baruk had not the slightest hesitation or retreat.

His momentum was like a rainbow, the cold ice sword aiming straight for the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's neck.

*Puchi! *

An instant later, that cold ice sword pierced into the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's neck, instantly freezing the blood within, and the chill rapidly spread along the wound.

A flash of disbelief crossed the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's eyes.

Clearly, it hadn't expected Baruk to be so brave and fearless, and that his attack would be so fatal.

And the next moment, its fangs also stabbed into Baruk's abdomen.

Baruk instantly felt a wave of intense pain from his abdomen.

The Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's sharp fangs had now completely penetrated his body.

He gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and the cold ice sword continued to deepen into the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's body.

The Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf howled in pain, its body twitching violently, while using all its strength in its jaws, attempting to tear Baruk apart directly.

However, the 【Mage Armor】 Baruk had cast earlier bought him precious time, and the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf failed to tear open Baruk's flesh as it wished at the first moment.

No matter how intense the pain in his abdomen was, it could not shake Baruk's firm determination at this moment.

The cold ice sword went deep into the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's body and began to stir; with Baruk's movements, the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf's strength gradually weakened, its body began to stiffen, and finally, it collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

Seeing that the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf had lost its life, the breath Baruk had been holding escaped, and the intense pain from his abdomen completely swallowed his consciousness.

(End of chapter)