Chapter 82: Wits Against the Frost Wolf Pack

How could we possibly encounter a pack of Bone-Spiked Frost Wolves?

And fifteen of them at once?

This isn’t even the outskirts of Redwood Ridge.

Though his mind was flooded with confusion, Xia Hong had no time to think deeply now.

Roar… roar………………

The frost wolf charging straight at him was at least two and a half meters long; its sharp, dense fangs were barely half a meter from his forehead, and the long spines along its neck had already slashed two deep gashes across his arms.

Xia Hong raised his blade to block the wolf’s lower jaw, sensed its strength was weaker than his own, leaped backward, yanked the wolf sharply back, twisted the Frost-Start Blade, and drove it straight into the wolf’s back.

Shhh…………

Though the frost wolf’s strength was inferior, its speed was astonishingly fast; sensing the cold glint behind it, it twisted mid-air and dodged away.

The strike missed. Xia Hong felt a pang of disappointment and quickly turned to check on the others.

The sight made his heart sink halfway.

Yuan Cheng had been knocked to the ground by a frost wolf; Xia Chuan and Yue Feng rushed to rescue him, but before they could act, another frost wolf locked onto them.

Lin Kai, Xu An, Li Yuankun, and Liu Yuan were all pinned down by two wolves each; they wielded stone axes, which inflicted no damage on the wolves, and were being crushed by the wolves’ speed advantage—within moments, their bodies were covered in multiple wounds.

The seven woodcutters under Luo Ming fared even worse: one was already dead, being devoured by a wolf; the remaining six, facing three wolves, stood no chance, and could barely hold on thanks to the two among them who still had knives.

Xu Kang and Luo Ming, like himself, were each locked in combat with another of the pack’s two strongest wolves—clearly, neither could finish them quickly.

Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh swoosh…

The only bit of luck was the civilians fleeing from the camp.

Arrows from five trees behind them kept streaking toward the wolves chasing the civilians; those four wolves were not only blocked, but two of them had already been struck five or six times.

But the arrows had hit only their backs—clearly not fatal wounds.

Huh…………

A gust of Gang wind slammed into his face; Xia Hong spun around and slashed sideways with his blade, striking the wolf’s neck spines—but failed to sever them, merely using the impact to deflect away.

Xia Hong scanned the wolves’ physiques and noticed the arrow density from the trees was thinning—he realized Li Baihe and the others were nearly out of arrows, and his anxiety deepened.

Three of the strongest wolves held him, Luo Ming, and Xu Kang; eight slightly smaller ones fought the woodcutters; the other four chased the main group.

This frost wolf pack was clearly orchestrated—their howls before charging must have been coordinating their formation.

They’re aiming to wipe us all out!

Recalling memories of wolf packs from his past life, Xia Hong’s heart sank, and he glanced toward Redwood Ridge.

Could there be a leader wolf among them?

No. Whether there is or not, we can’t delay any longer.

Xia Hong glanced toward the civilians, gritted his teeth, and shouted toward the trees: “Ignore them! Focus on killing these three big ones first—or we’ll all die!”

The already sparse arrows from the five trees fell silent the moment he finished speaking.

After more than ten breaths, the five men on the trees seemed to finally understand, and swiftly redirected their arrows toward the frost wolves near Xia Hong, firing wildly.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh…………

Before the arrows arrived, Xia Hong had already switched the Frost-Start Blade to his left hand; seizing the wolf’s lunge, he wrapped his right arm around its belly, planted his feet, and clamped down hard to immobilize it.

Puchii…………

After three arrows missed, one finally pierced the wolf’s ear; seizing the moment, Xia Hong released his right hand, gripped the blade with both hands, and with a powerful twist of waist and legs, slashed violently at the wolf’s neck.

The spines hadn’t broken earlier because the wolf had used its agility to deflect most of Xia Hong’s force; this time, the wolf’s eardrum had been pierced, causing pain and throwing it off-balance—and Xia Hong’s timing was perfect.

Crack…

Several of the wolf’s neck spines were severed by Xia Hong’s slash.

The Frost-Start Blade had sunk three or four centimeters into its neck.

Yet even so, the wolf writhed on the ground for a few moments, then rose quickly—as if it had suffered no injury at all.

But from its wary eyes and hesitant steps, it was clear Xia Hong’s strike had terrified it deeply.

“Help! Help!”

“Run! They’re catching up!”

“Run, run!”

“Don’t block me—move, you in front!”

…………

The commotion from the north made Xia Hong’s face grow even more anxious.

Ordering the five archers to ignore the civilians was cruel—but for the current situation, it was the only viable choice.

Xia Hong took a tentative step left, and the wolf immediately mirrored his movement; his mind sparked—he feigned a sudden charge forward, and the wolf recoiled violently in fear.

Indeed, this wolf is afraid!

Xia Hong kept his wits, turned to rescue Yuan Cheng, who had been knocked down.

But when he looked, he saw Yuan Cheng was already standing.

Not only standing—his attacker’s eye was blinded, oozing green blood.

Xia Hong froze, then noticed Xia Chuan holding a small knife in his left hand, his face flushed with excitement—he understood at once.

Good kid. Bold.

Xia Hong wasted no time; he looked north and saw the civilians at the rear in chaotic disarray, the four wolves still slaughtering—he shouted to everyone:

“Don’t get tangled here! Follow the main group! Just hold them off—don’t let them kill anyone! Go!”

Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others who had broken free obeyed instantly; the five archers on the trees also rushed down, moved toward the civilians in the north, and drove the four wolves away, preventing further killings.

After driving off the four wolves behind them, Li Baihe and the other five did not flee—they stopped, kept shooting arrows to harass the wolves, creating openings for the woodcutters to escape.

Xia Hong, Luo Ming, and Xu Kang waited until all the woodcutters had nearly withdrawn, then used Li Baihe’s arrows as cover to break free and quickly catch up with the main group.

Looking at the dozens of mangled corpses on the ground, Xia Hong’s face darkened.

In barely a hundred breaths, those four wolves had killed so many—if we’d been slower, what would have happened?

Xia Hong looked up at the fifteen frost wolves now regrouped; though furious, he had to accept reality.

“Don’t retreat! Stand here and block them—just keep them from breaking through!”

Xia Hong and Luo Ming, along with the other three Digging Earth cultivators, took positions on the left and right flanks; everyone else stood in the center, all staring fixedly at the wolf pack.

Seeing the humans stand their ground, the fifteen wolves advanced—but their steps grew slower, their movements more cautious.

Their growing wariness was unmistakable.

Especially the one Xia Hong had wounded—it lagged behind the other two strong wolves by a full body length.

“Huh…………”

Seeing the wolves hesitated to charge immediately, Xia Hong finally exhaled in relief.

Smart creatures—they think too much.

Honestly, with our numbers, holding off fifteen frost wolves and protecting the civilians was impossible.

Even fighting to the death wouldn’t guarantee victory.

To survive, we must win by cunning.

“Chief Luo, Chief Xia—we’re here to help!”

Suddenly, voices came from behind the crowd.

Xia Hong and Luo Ming turned—and their faces lit up with relief.

(End of Chapter)