Chapter 378: Kill! The Glaring Northern Wolf

"It's coming! Watch out!" High up in the tree branches, the Hunters riding the boughs shouted loudly to alert Jier of his distance from the Metal Clamps.

"Received!" Jier let out a loud shout, planted his feet firmly, and then, following the momentum, thrust his Shield forward with a jolt, pushing the strange Northern Wolf, which was pressed against the Shield, far away.

The Northern Wolf tumbled sideways twice, missing the Metal Clamp by just a tiny distance.

But it managed to steady itself at the very last moment.

After getting up, the creature immediately wanted to flee; after all, although it did not know why its enemy was pushing it toward this side, it already sensed something was wrong.

"Don't let it run!" the old Hunter commanded, and everyone aimed their bows downward, firing furiously at the Northern Wolf's back.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A barrage of Arrows caused the strange Northern Wolf to shudder violently; the creature, which had been standing on all fours, was forced down to the ground by the relentless volley.

Jier, panting heavily, gathered his strength once more to push the Shield forward, slamming into the Northern Wolf and knocking it another meter ahead.

Crack!

"Awoo! Awoooo!" A loud metallic clanging sound rang out from beneath the Northern Wolf's feet; although the sound did not seem like the snapping of animal limbs, everyone at least confirmed that the Metal Clamps had indeed taken effect.

The strange Northern Wolf howled in pain and was just about to launch an attack on Jier, who had also prepared his defenses. But the Northern Wolf had only taken one step before it collapsed onto the snowy ground.

"Look, its feet are caught! It can't move!" a young Hunter sitting on the side of a tree shouted loudly; from his angle, he could see exactly where the Northern Wolf's legs were, its fur standing straight up.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Northern Wolf below stubbornly crawled up; although its left hind leg was protected by a layer of sturdy wolf fur, it was still firmly gripped by the heavy Metal Clamp. While those defenses had barely kept it from being injured just now, once the Metal Clamp gripped its leg, it was impossible for the wolf to open it on its own.

Not to mention that it was still just a wolf.

No matter how it thrashed its legs, it could not shake off the heavy Metal Clamp. Helpless, it had to carry this heavy human contraption and desperately pounce toward its enemy.

How could Jier let it pounce on him? He retreated two steps directly. Then, the Hunters' bow and arrow assault followed.

The continuous barrage of arrows pinned the strange Northern Wolf to the spot, making it difficult for it to move for a moment.

As soon as the arrows stopped, Jier shouted and charged over.

"Left! Left! Left!"

"A bit more to the left!"

Above, the Hunters shouted loudly, guiding Jier on which direction to push the strange Northern Wolf.

Jier heard their shouts and immediately adjusted his direction. Thud! After the impact, Jier pressed against the Northern Wolf's head, forcing it to stumble backward to the left.

Even though it kept clawing at the ground with its limbs, trying to stand firm, its weight being half of what it should be meant it was constantly pushed backward by Jier.

Crack!

Another sound, and this time the Northern Wolf's other hind leg was also firmly gripped by a Metal Clamp.

This caused the strange Northern Wolf to roar in pain—not because it was truly in agony, but because the feeling of being defeated was unbearable to it.

"Awooooo!" The Northern Wolf's howl carried far across the snowy Forest.

Not far from the battlefield, the four Northern Wolves that had retreated and fled were gathered together. The leader's painful howl reached them, and the two Northern Wolves, already restless, could no longer stay lying down; they rose to rescue their leader.

But as soon as they stood up, they were blocked by the other two Northern Wolves, who used their claws to stop them and let out low, threatening growls.

They were all brothers and sisters of the same pack, and none feared the other; the two threatened Northern Wolves roared back just the same.

Seeing that the threatening growls were ineffective, the two blocking Northern Wolves helplessly turned their low growls into soft whimpers, gesturing toward some prey carcasses they had hunted nearby, trying to appeal to their emotions by mimicking the cute sounds of wolf pups in a den.

The two brave Northern Wolves hesitated for a moment, but still pushed past the blocking Northern Wolves, rushing out of the small snow hollow to support their leader.

The remaining two Northern Wolves had no choice but to bite into the prey carcasses and leave as well, trying bit by bit to transport this meat back to their wolf den.

Jier and the Hunters used their Shields and bows from time to time to restrict and control the trapped Northern Wolf, attempting to get more of the creature's limbs caught in the Metal Clamps.

Each Metal Clamp was quite heavy; if it were caught by four in a row, considering the Northern Wolf's weight, it would be unable to think about moving at all.

At that point, Jier could use his axe to chop through the hard fur on its body and then slay this Monster with one blow.

But the Northern Wolf in its desperate plight did not want to sit and wait for death; its resistance became even more intense. It no longer tried to use its front claws to break through Jier's Shield defense, turning instead to using its own body as a weapon.

Because the fur on its body was the longest, and stood straight up after the metal hardening, it was a very formidable weapon in itself, combining offense and defense.

Facing the Northern Wolf's thrashing and rolling, Jier often stopped trying to get close, instead swinging his axe with all his might from a safe distance, striking the Northern Wolf and knocking it toward the remaining Metal Clamps.

Just as the two were deadlocked, two howls of Northern Wolves suddenly came from the distance: "Woo-woo-woo! Woo-woo-woo!"

Jier and the others had not expected the retreated Northern Wolves to return, so they all prepared themselves for a battle-ready stance.

The strange Northern Wolf reacted violently, desperate to escape this place and flee from the control of Jier's Shield.

The Hunters in the trees launched their attacks from high up first; whoosh-whoosh-whoosh, the Arrows crossed the space between the trees. Some grazed the rapidly charging Northern Wolves, while others struck their bodies, but the hurried shots lacked force; the arrowheads pierced into the Northern Wolves' bodies, but the shafts did not sink in, failing to cause much hindrance to their movement.

Seeing this result, the commanding old Hunter said, "Everyone, let them get closer before firing! Jier, you step back first and let those newcomers taste the flavor of the Metal Clamps."

"Alright!" Jier replied, moving his body behind a tree trunk, carrying his axe on his shoulder, and breathing in the cold air in large gulps to recover his strength.

The continuous fighting just now had caused the Agricultural God Church Divine Power Seed within him, which had been somewhat dormant recently, to become active again. A steady stream of Cyan Divine Power was transported from his torso to his limbs, easing the fatigue in his body.

"Hiss, that pierced really deep." Jier touched several places on his armor where the Northern Wolf's hard fur had penetrated. Although it hadn't pierced deep after going through the armor, it still made Jier feel uncomfortable; the recent activity seemed to have drawn blood from these spots.

He boldly took off his Glove, used his fingers to find the painful spots, and after a brief search, found the part of the fur remaining outside the armor. He pinched it tightly and pulled outward, and a thin wolf hair was pulled out.

This hard, thin wolf hair was like an iron needle, and the part that had penetrated the armor was stained with a tiny bit of blood, which did not please Jier. Just as he was feeling annoyed, he discovered that the hard wolf hair he was pinching with his fingers instantly became soft again, returning to its original state.

"Strange, what's going on?" Before Jier could figure out what this was all about, the old Hunter's voice came from the branches on the other side of the tree trunk: "Jier! Come quickly!"

"Coming." Responding, Jier hurriedly put on his Glove, shouldered his axe again, and turned to reach the other side of the tree trunk.

As soon as Jier arrived, he saw two ordinary Northern Wolves and that strange Northern Wolf, all of which were currently trying to attack the Hunters on the branches.

The two ordinary Northern Wolves were lying by the tree trunk; one larger one stood on its hind legs, its front paws resting on the trunk, letting the other Northern Wolf step on it to climb up.

The branches the Hunters were riding were not high—only about two and a half or three meters—not a height that couldn't be reached.

On the other side, the strange Northern Wolf, now without Jier's interference, had thought of a way to affect the Hunters. It bit the Rope the Hunters had climbed up on and kept moving its body up and down. The branch, pulled by the Rope, was already struggling to support several people; how could it withstand a Northern Wolf pulling on the Rope like that?

At this moment, the Hunters riding the branches were in a panic; some tried to stabilize themselves to avoid falling, while others tried to shoot at the strange Northern Wolf in the swaying environment. Although the bows and arrows couldn't cause damage, they could at least provide some hindrance.

Jier saw this situation as soon as he arrived. Just as he was about to raise his Shield to attack the strange Northern Wolf, the commanding old Hunter gave another order: "Jier! Deal with the other two Northern Wolves first! Be quick!"

Although Jier did not understand the other's intention, he decided to follow the order.

The commanding old Hunter saw it very clearly: the strange Northern Wolf pulling the Rope on the ground seemed to pose the greatest danger to them, but in reality, it would take a long time to pull the entire branch down, especially since both of the Northern Wolf's legs were restricted by Metal Clamps, making it difficult for it to exert force to pull the Rope, and thus it would not cause them harm in the short term.

But the two Northland Wolves by the tree trunk were different; if one were to really jump up, even if it caused one or two Hunters who weren't riding steadily to fall off, that would be certain death.

Jier turned his Shield directly and rammed it toward the two Northland Wolves that were huddled together.

With a thud, Jier knocked the Northland Wolf on the bottom over; the one stepping on top tried to use the claws on its four limbs to grip the surface of the tree trunk, but Jier grabbed its large tail and dragged it down with a hard tug.

"Awoo?" The Northland Wolf didn't even know what was happening before Jier's axe bounced up from its shoulder and then followed through with a downward chop.

It struck the soft belly of the fallen Northland Wolf in one go.

The axe instantly cleaved through the fur of the wolf's belly, carrying all the force into the Viscera inside.

Jier didn't need to look; just by the feel in his hands, he could sense that a large amount of the wolf's intestines, kidneys, and such inside the belly had been smashed by his axe.

But whether it is an animal or a Human, while the belly is a vital spot, it is not a place that can be immediately fatal; the pain is extreme, but it is difficult to have a lethal effect in an instant.

The two Northland Wolves got up quickly after falling and then lunged at him fiercely.

Just at this moment, a Hunter in the tree shouted a warning: "Jier, there is a Metal Clamp behind you!"

Receiving the warning, Jier lunged forward as well, causing both wolves to pounce at empty air.

Immediately after came a loud "Click!", which also included the sound of bones being crushed by the metal teeth of the clamp.

One Northland Wolf shrieked in pain, while the other, ignoring the intestines falling from its belly wound, bared its teeth and charged at Jier again, and its target wasn't Jier's front, but specifically his legs and feet.

"Taste this!" Jier released the handle of the axe in his right hand and dropped the heavy axe head directly in front of his legs, the sharp blade facing the injured Northland Wolf that was lunging with its mouth open.

The arrow was on the string and had to be fired; although the Northland Wolf was unwilling, it still bit down on the axe blade.

But the sharp axe blade still cut open the corner of its wolf mouth in one stroke.

Jier kicked hard with his right foot, striking the back of the axe with the hard front of his boot. Supported by the force of Jier's kick, the sharp axe blade seemed to have its force increased on the spot, breaking through the wolf's mouth and slicing inward, shattering most of the wolf's head in one go.

"Careful, Jier! That thing is coming for you!" Jier had originally wanted to press his advantage and finish off the other Northland Wolf, but his companion in the tree warned him that the strange Northland Wolf was coming for him again.

He turned immediately, extending his Shield forward, and collided with the strange Northland Wolf attempting to sneak up behind him, producing a sharp, screeching friction sound between the hardened wolf fur and the surface of the Shield.

Jier stood his ground and then forcibly pushed this seemingly invulnerable Northland Wolf backward.

Without the interference of the Northland Wolf biting the rope and pulling the branches, the Hunters regained their effectiveness; under the command of the old Hunter, a round of volley fire turned the Northland Wolf, whose legs were trapped by the Metal Clamp and unable to run, into a hedgehog.

Immediately after, while Jier was exhausted, they fired arrows to pin the strange Northland Wolf down, letting Jier catch his breath before he exerted himself again to use the Shield for a bash.

After this happened several times, the four legs of this strange Northland Wolf were hopelessly trapped by Metal Clamps; these heavy objects were like shackles and iron balls on the legs of a death-row prisoner, unable to run or walk.

At this time, Jier fought with increasing vigor; he put away his Shield and hung it at his waist. Holding the axe handle with both hands, he gave the strange Northland Wolf, which was pinned to the ground by arrows, a fierce axe blow to the face.

Even with fur as hard as metal, and a body that had become tough with the support of mysterious power, this Northland Wolf still had half its mouth smashed by Jier's axe.

Following the direction of the axe's swing, Jier gathered strength again and swept with another horizontal axe blow.

It was like a collision between a hammer and an anvil, like the feeling of striking a shield; with this axe blow, Jier directly smashed the upper part of the desperate Northland Wolf's mouth.

A large amount of purple-red blood flowed from the face of this strange Northland Wolf. Knowing the final moment of its life had arrived, this Northland Wolf, once the most battle-hardened child of the pack leader in the wilderness, managed to sit up, lifting its shattered face high, without letting out a whimper or showing a trace of pain.

Cold air found a gap through its shattered face to enter its trachea, and its bright yellow beast eyes stared fixedly at the Human in front of it, as if to carry the image of this Human into its next cycle of life.

Jier saw the state of this Northland Wolf through his Faceplate and remained noncommittal.

The Two-handed Axe was raised high, attracting the gaze of every living thing present; accompanying its displacement, it fell heavily and directly into the center of the face of the dying strange Northland Wolf.

Thud.

The axe head was embedded directly into the creature's face; as Jier released his grip, the strange Northland Wolf fell sideways, carrying the entire axe stuck in its face with it.

The straight wolf fur, which had been incomparably hard, returned to its original state after its death. Magically, some of the fur on Jier's body did not change, remaining in its hardened state, pricking Jier and causing him some pain and itchiness.

"Phew, what a troublesome opponent." Jier sat on the ground, hurriedly flipped up his Faceplate, and began to breathe air in large gulps; he was exhausted.

The old Hunters slid down from the ropes, carefully checked the surrounding situation after landing, and determined that all the Northland Wolves had been killed, only then letting the young Hunters who had been keeping watch in the trees come down.

The young ones were more direct; with a sway of their bodies, they hooked onto branches to slow down and flipped down to the ground.

"Are you alright? At least it wasn't as big as a house, ha-ha." A Hunter joked.

Although everyone was exhausted, they were all fine, just tired, and none were injured, so they all laughed along.

Compared to Magic Beasts that basically had no weaknesses and could only be worn down to death, this strange Northland Wolf, while odd, only relied on some strange ability it had obtained from who knows where. Apart from being startled at the beginning, everyone had maintained control over the entire situation.

The others scattered to drag the corpses of the dead Northland Wolves back, while Jier sat where he was and took off his armor, watching the three old Hunters tinker with the corpse of the strange Northland Wolf as he did so.

After taking off his armor, Jier realized that there had been so many hard wolf hairs that had bounced onto him during the violent collision between the axe and the wolf's tail; not only the few that had pierced his armor, but many that hadn't were now stuck to the surface of the armor, looking quite dangerous.

Jier carefully used a small Metal Clamp he had borrowed to pull out the sturdy wolf hairs one by one and threw them away.

Furthermore, several places on his body that had been pricked through had had their small wounds widened by his vigorous movements, bleeding a little and staining his cold-weather clothing red.

"Jier, are you hurt? Is it serious?" The Hunter Feike asked after putting down a Northland Wolf, looking at Jier's several wounds.

Jier touched the wounds; he felt fine now. Lifting his clothes to look, the bleeding inside had already stopped, blocked by hardened blood. "It's nothing, just small wounds, they've stopped bleeding."

"Do you need some Ointment?"

"No need, I have this." As he spoke, Jier tugged at the necklace around his neck, from which hung an Agricultural God Badge the size of a palm. This object was currently emitting a faint green light, looking as if it were working.

Feike looked at the object with curiosity, and Jier explained its function to him while cleaning the hard wolf hairs stuck to his armor.

After a while, the three old Hunters discussed the corpse of the strange Northland Wolf and reached a conclusion: this thing had never been encountered in previous hunts against Northland Wolves; it was the first time it had appeared, so they had to show it to Knight Lanisha.

Everyone agreed with this judgment, so they decided to make a frame and have two people carry it.