Chapter 196: Pinning Down

Retreat was no longer an option.

Or rather, a blind retreat without a plan would only make the situation more dangerous.

Right now, facing the wolf pack's assault, the only choice for the Sea Thorn Squad was to fight.

"You two, hold that big one off."

Xia Nan's expression was calm, his gaze fixed on the Night-Walking Wolf pack ahead.

"Leave the rest to me."

The battle was unavoidable, and the enemies were all exposed before them.

It was impossible to let the wolves execute their tactics and pick them off one by one as they had just done.

They had to firmly seize the initiative in the battle.

Xia Nan's brain raced, analyzing the situation on the field.

The strength of the newly appeared giant alpha wolf was unknown, but it was clearly far stronger than a typical Night-Walking Wolf; it was the uncertainty factor on the field.

However, after the previous skirmish, he had a rough grasp of the strength of the remaining five wolves.

They were well within the range of what he could handle.

Although the numbers were a bit high, given Xia Nan's combat style...

One or five, there really wasn't much difference.

To truly pose a threat to him, there would likely need to be a zero added after that number.

Therefore, he would have his teammates hold off the alpha wolf whose strength was yet to be gauged, while he used that time to eliminate the other wolves.

This way, their squad could concentrate their efforts and focus on dealing with the pack leader without interference.

"This alpha is not right; it might possess special abilities. Be careful."

Recalling the strange gravitational ripples observed in the 【Heart-Drawing Vision】 state, Xia Nan warned.

Unknowingly, he had already taken over command of the squad.

"Bo He, stay in the back and provide support; help me or them, whichever is needed."

"Those wolves won't be able to get past, but watch out for the alpha—keep your distance."

His speech was extremely fast.

Confronting the wolf pack across the moonlight, he explained the key points to everyone.

To this, even if the members of the squad had their own thoughts, no one raised an objection in the current situation.

Although when Xia Nan asked Weiruisi and Kashi to hold off the alpha wolf, the two showed a look of surprise—"Huh? Me fight the alpha?"—

it quickly faded, and they began to genuinely consider the feasibility of the plan.

As for Bo He, she maintained the soft personality she had shown everyone before, retreating to open up distance while answering softly with a pale face.

The situation was urgent, and although Xia Nan had deliberately lowered his voice,

in the silent, high-pressure environment of the forest, his commands still sounded abrupt and clear.

In most cases, when facing non-human enemies like beasts, this wasn't a problem.

After all, they couldn't understand him.

But at this moment, the situation seemed slightly different.

Xia Nan noticed that the instant he finished speaking,

the giant, silver-white alpha wolf ahead, on a face covered in dense mane, actually revealed a playful expression in a human-like way.

His heart reacted instantly.

No way, you can understand Common too!?

"Move!"

Decisive, Xia Nan roared in a low voice.

At the same time, his left hand, which had quietly moved to his waist during the standoff, swept across his pouch.

The next second, three fire oil bombs were in his hand.

He threw them violently!

Boom—

Orange-red flames exploded suddenly in the dim, dense forest.

The alpha wolf's reaction was swift; its long limbs pushed off the ground lightly, and its massive body leaped in a rather elegant posture, hopping to avoid the scorching flames.

But the other Night-Walking Wolves clearly lacked its reaction speed and coping ability.

The fear of fire deep within their bloodlines made them howl and scatter.

The formation was instantly disrupted.

Then, following immediately, was a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air.

The grey-blue stone spear almost turned into a blur, leaving a straight trail in the thick fog.

It shot straight at the alpha wolf.

It still didn't hit.

This giant silver wolf displayed a level of agility far beyond what its size should allow in an instant.

Its sharp, furry long ears stood up the moment the spear left his hand.

As its paws shifted and its body adjusted slightly, the spear that should have pierced flesh brushed past its swaying mane and landed on the empty ground beside it.

"Chi-bang!"

The fog exploded suddenly.

Moving at high speed, a blurred figure stirred the fog, feet leaving the ground with speed far beyond a normal person's reaction, charging like a projectile.

At this moment, the stone spear deeply embedded in the ground was like a long magnet, attracting its owner from the other side of the battlefield.

Whoosh—

The manic airflow from the high-speed movement made Kashi squint, a short blade already in his right hand.

Reverse grip, blade facing outward.

He would use the strong inertia brought by the stone spear to slice through the enemy's body like the wing of a glider.

The giant wolf naturally sensed the thick danger filling the whistling sound.

But at this moment, it seemed to have suddenly lost the agile speed it had just displayed.

Under the moonlight, the shadow cast by its massive body on the ground was like a forest quagmire, causing its long wolf paws to sink deep into it.

And in the shadow at its blind spot, there was an additional dangerous and alluring tall figure.

Unknowingly, that Rogue with Drow blood had drifted behind the alpha wolf.

The dagger, quenched with poison and glowing with a purple-green halo, turned into a shadow, stabbing straight at the giant wolf's spine.

Attacked from front and back, and bound by shadows from below.

If it really took these two hits, even as the leader of the Night-Walking Wolf pack, it would be severely wounded.

But it was, after all, a powerful magical beast capable of trading blows with a rampaging Scorpion.

The giant wolf braced its four paws on the ground, a flash of ferocity in its cold beast eyes.

Hum—

Just like shaking off water droplets after coming out of a pond.

It shook its body violently, its dense silver-white mane swaying with a rustle.

Immediately, a silver-white light, the same color as the moon disk above, erupted suddenly from its body.

The Drow half-elf, the spear, the fisherman... everything around its body was swept away, carried by the moonlight.

In just a few seconds, one round had ended.

It was only then that the wolf pack, scattered by the flames, reacted.

They howled sharply, rushing to support their leader.

And following that was an even higher and longer, desolate wolf howl.

"Boom!"

The iron-grey fangs pierced through the prey's fragile fur as the wolf's jaws snapped shut.

Piercing vital points, reaping life.

1 down.

Xia Nan's face remained emotionless, as if what lay before him wasn't the corpse of a living creature, but a golden, plump ear of wheat waiting to be harvested.

He naturally saw the vastly different performance of Weiruisi and Kashi when they flanked the alpha wolf compared to before.

"Were they hiding something?"

He guessed in his heart.

Just now, facing the wolf pack's siege, the two were nowhere near as capable as they were now. Was it because they truly sensed the threat of the alpha wolf and had to use their full strength?

But if this was their so-called "full strength," the gap between them and the professional-level adventurers he had imagined seemed a bit large.

Or was it actually because he was too overpowered, leading him to overestimate the strength of other ordinary professionals?

It didn't matter; keep staying vigilant, and consider the rest after the battle ends.

Chi—

The mane made of fog and blood fluttered, and the illusory, blurred wolf head tore through the air.

【Spinning Slash】!

The iron-grey arc vanished in the night.

One Temple Night-Walking Wolf had only just reacted, arching its back to turn around.

Its fragile waist had already been severed by the blade, turning into two halves.

2 down.

As a pack-dwelling magical beast, the Night-Walking Wolf's strength was actually quite decent.

They had certain tactical capabilities, and their movements were swift and highly aggressive.

Even if their defensive capabilities were slightly weak, they could cover for it with the protection of their companions and relatively agile movements.

But when they faced an enemy like Xia Nan, whose defense, speed, and mobility were all-around superior,

the so-called high attack, high agility, low defense—

if even their attack and agility were inferior to the opponent,

then that already fatal weakness would be infinitely magnified.

Weaving back and forth, picking them off one by one.

Fangs and claws capable of piercing flesh could only leave futile scratches on his iron armor, and their pride-and-joy speed was not worth mentioning in front of 【Fang Hunt】.

The decapitation longsword followed the inertia of his body's movement with a light horizontal sweep, and another Night-Walking Wolf was split in two.

To some extent, in front of Xia Nan, they were almost no different from those clumsy Bugbears.

When a short board is too short, it becomes a breakthrough point.

Naturally countered.

Temple Night-Walking Wolves—just puppy Goblins.

"Chi-la!"

Vines covered in barbs burst from the soil, entangling the wolf's four paws.

The high-speed moving body stalled suddenly.

The iron-grey sword light followed closely behind.

As blood gushed, the ferocious wolf head spun and landed on the ground.

3 down.

His peripheral vision swept over Bo He behind him.

According to the slender girl herself, the profession she had taken was a variant under the main profession of "Druid."

And the abilities she had currently displayed covered roughly two aspects: control and healing.

Xia Nan could be almost certain in his heart that the other party was definitely hiding something.

After all, even for a melee profession like his, to obtain a professional level, one had to possess three combat techniques.

A spellcaster... would only have more, not less!

And in his impression, the image of a Druid, besides being a guardian of nature, was always tied to "transformation."

Even though Bo He had no extra performance during the dangerous moment of the wolf pack's surprise attack, Xia Nan always remained vigilant about her in his heart.

As it currently stood, this girl who looked weak and fragile on the surface might be hiding deeper than the other two in the squad.

Of course, from the perspective of hiding strength... he wasn't really in a position to talk.

"Bang!"

Leather boots landed, and a blurred ripple appeared on the surface of the bone leg armor.

The stun effect triggered once again.

The Night-Walking Wolf in front, growling ferociously, suddenly revealed a look of clear stupidity in its beast eyes, its low-crouching, power-gathering body frozen in place.

The iron sword swung.

The wolf head was split in two.

4 down.

Without stopping, the illusory wolf shadow condensed by 【Fang Hunt】 appeared once again.

Arriving first by starting last.

The wolf jaws closed, swallowing the last Night-Walking Wolf.

Chewing and cutting, fragmented flesh and splattered blood stained the meadow red.

The riddled wolf lay on the ground, no longer alive.

5 down.

Without the advantage of a surprise attack, and no longer possessing the ability to siege.

After thoroughly gauging their strength, the five Night-Walking Wolves were cleanly purged in less than two minutes, amidst the wolf howls from the ice plains.

Xia Nan turned around, his gaze fixed on the last enemy on the field.

His brow furrowed slightly.

The alpha wolf's strength seemed to be far stronger than everyone had anticipated.

Weiruisi and Kashi should be old teammates; their coordination was still quite tacit.

One held a long spear, using the advantage of attack distance to stay in front, pulling the alpha wolf's attention.

The other wandered in the giant wolf's blind spot, seizing opportunities to leave a few wounds on the opponent's body.

However, the results were minimal.

The white light floating on the alpha wolf's body not only doubled its speed but also seemed to possess some kind of healing ability.

Those wounds from the dagger and spear didn't even bleed much, healing instantly, and the poison was also dispelled in an instant.

On the contrary, Kashi and Weiruisi were looking a bit battered facing the alpha wolf's pounces.

Dodging in a rush, they already had several bleeding wounds on their bodies.

If not for Bo He's control and support at necessary moments, the two would likely have been unable to hold on.

"Chi-la!"

Accompanied by a harsh noise and leaping sparks, sharp claws left a deep claw mark on the surface of the metal scale armor.

The wolf jaws opened and closed, about to bite down on the fragile prey in front.

But the next second, an inexplicable threat from behind made it stop its movement, its long limbs exerting force to jump sideways, dodging the two venomous slashes that should have landed on its waist and abdomen.

Cold beast eyes reflected the tall figure vanishing into the darkness.

Breathing slightly.

The silver-white light swaying from its mane enveloped its body, and the consumed stamina and wounds on its body recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The howling of the wolf pack had already vanished.

It naturally knew what this meant.

An inexplicable emotion, never felt before, erupted in its heart.

Different from the instinctive desire for hunger and mating, it was a completely different, deeper, and more bitter taste.

As the alpha wolf of the pack, it possessed the largest body among its kind and also had an IQ different from ordinary beasts.

It had eaten many of those humans wearing hard shells and wielding sharp claws, and from them, it had also learned some hunting techniques.

This was precisely why it could realize the strangeness of the carrion smell in the air and lead the pack to ambush outside.

It was just that...

Wolf eyes turned slightly; its gaze passed over Kashi and Weiruisi, lingering slightly on the wolf corpses on the ground in the distance.

Finally, it fell on the short-haired girl in the distance, who was slender and wearing a plain robe.

It growled, as if expressing some vague meaning that only beasts could understand.

But what answered it was only the coldness flashing deep in the girl's eyes, and the long, desolate wolf howl passing overhead.

Chi—

The iron-grey longsword, from top to bottom, stung down like a bee's stinger.

Following the gap between the vertebrae, it pierced flesh and emerged from the soft lower jaw.

Pinning the giant wolf to the ground.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 197 =====