BANG!
Another wolf lunged forward, its razor-sharp claws sinking into the wooden gate, growling furiously. The barricade shook violently, sending splinters of wood scattering onto the ground.
"Hold the line!" a soldier shouted, but his voice carried a tinge of panic.
Below, several wolves had slipped past the defenses, their claws tearing into the earth as they charged at the warriors behind the front lines. Screams, the clash of weapons, and the chaos of battle filled the air.
On the walls, archers hurriedly reloaded their arrows, but their speed couldn't match the wolves' relentless assault.
One archer gritted his teeth, pulling his bowstring taut until his fingers turned white. But he hesitated… Could a single arrow stop them?
The wolves weren't attacking blindly.
They were fighting with strategy.
They weren't trying to break the defenses in one go. They weren't charging recklessly.
They were using the Dire Wolves as living battering rams, throwing them at the defense line over and over, forcing the warriors to waste their strength.
They wanted them exhausted.
Ren realized this in the rhythm of his own ragged breathing.
He couldn't let that happen.
Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, he surged forward, his blade whistling through the air as he cut down a lunging wolf.
Red pixelated fragments burst out, but there was no time to stop.
Another wolf pounced on a spearman, pinning him to the ground with overwhelming force. The man screamed, struggling desperately.
A flash of steel.
Ren's sword sliced through the wolf in a single breath.
No blood spilled, only scattered fragments of red pixels, dissolving into the night air.
The soldier beneath him lay frozen, gasping as Ren's shadow passed over him. But the boy didn't stop.
With a fluid motion, Ren spun, his blade singing again as he struck down another wolf leaping from the left. His heart pounded, but his hands did not shake. He was ready.
The city gate trembled once more. Cracks had begun to spread across its wooden surface. If it fell, the wolves would flood in, and the real battle would begin.
The soldiers still fought, but their breaths were heavier. Arrows were fired less frequently, sword strikes grew duller.
With each passing second, despair crept in.
Awooooooo…!
A long howl echoed through the night.
It was different from the others.
Low. Sharp. Resonant, like the sound of clashing metal, sending a chill through the battlefield.
The world seemed to freeze.
Then it emerged.
Beyond the gate, the shadows receded beneath the moonlight, revealing a colossal figure stepping forward.
A wolf...no, a monster.
Its fur was ashen gray, thick and bristling like the midnight sky, each strand sharp as a blade. But the most terrifying thing.
Was its eyes.
Not two.
Six.
Three pairs of eerie, lantern-like blue eyes flared red like molten embers, lined vertically across its monstrous face, burning with a dim, sinister glow.
They did not hold the wild savagery of lesser wolves, only intelligence.
Cold, calculated predation.
It towered nearly twice the height of a Giant Elite Dire Wolf, its muscular limbs pressing deep into the earth with each step.
Razor-sharp claws scraped the ground, leaving deep gouges, while its massive fangs gleamed under the moonlight as it let out a low, guttural growl.
Ren clenched his sword, his fingers turning pale from the force of his grip.
The soldiers on the walls stood frozen, none daring to utter a word.
Can we… even defeat that?
The monster halted, its six eyes sweeping across the battlefield, as if evaluating its prey.
Then, without warning.
It howled.
A powerful shockwave rippled through the air, slamming into the chests of everyone present.
The ground quaked beneath their feet. The remaining wolves howled in response, their excitement reaching a fever pitch.
It wasn't in a hurry.
Because to it...
They were prey.
...
The Elite Dire Wolves surged forward like wildfire, their eyes glowing like burning embers in the darkness.
The Alpha's thunderous roar rolled across the battlefield, a sound not merely a command.
But a primal stimulus, igniting the bloodlust in its pack.
They no longer cared about dodging.
They no longer feared death.
Dozens of wolves leaped through the grass, muscles coiled like springs ready to explode.
And then.
They jumped.
Black shadows streaked across the night sky, claws outstretched like daggers, aimed at their prey below.
They couldn't all be blocked.
They couldn't all be dodged.
Ren lifted his sword, inhaling deeply, his pupils shrinking as he locked eyes with the Alpha—
Watching.
Waiting.
Its six, frigid eyes flickered, filled with terrifying intelligence.
Each step it took seemed to shake the battlefield.
A blade slid from a wolf's neck, trailing red pixelated dust like falling ashes. A single, clean cut, sharp, decisive, instant death.
The commander rose amidst the chaos, his gaze sweeping over the shattered gates, the heaps of fallen wolves, and his soldiers still fighting, their fear barely restrained.
But he...
Felt no fear.
No hesitation.
Only action.
Whoosh!
A black cloak billowed as he charged forward alone.
Straight at the Alpha Elite Dire Wolf.
The sharp eyes of the Elite Wolves locked onto him, their bodies tensing as they detected an approaching enemy.
They lunged.
But he vanished.
No sound. No trace.
Then.
A silver streak flashed. Not just one strike.
But many.
Cold, precise slashes tore through the air like a cascading waterfall. The wolves in mid-air jerked to a stop.
They didn't understand what had happened.
Until...
Crimson pixelated fragments scattered like withering petals.
One by one, they collapsed behind him.
No one saw how he swung his blade.
The distance between him and the Alpha closed.
Near.
Close enough to feel the storm of killing intent brewing.
A colossal shadow loomed, swallowing all light.
The Alpha Elite Dire Wolf had arrived.
The air distorted.
The ground felt like it was being crushed under an invisible force.
It stood there, towering like a mythical beast of legend.
Six burning crimson eyes gleamed like gemstones, reflecting the battlefield's firelight.
A monstrous maw, lined with fangs sharper than any sword, exhaled searing breath like smoldering embers.
The mane curved back, exuding an absolute sense of authority.
Its dark gray fur wasn't just fur, it was like thick armor, reflecting light like cold steel.
Anyone standing before it would feel small.
But…
The commander did not halt his steps.
Because no matter how terrifying the Alpha was…
It was nothing compared to what he had faced before.
BOOM!
Two black figures clashed at terrifying speed, without hesitation, without retreat.
A cold steel blade swung down in a perfect arc, just as a massive claw slashed across, aiming straight for the challenger.
CLANG!
The clash of metal against steel-hard claws rang out, deafening and sharp. The impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield, hurling dust and wild grass into the air.
The force was so immense that the nearby soldiers instinctively stepped back.
The commander felt the crushing weight of the impact. His sword arm trembled slightly from the shock.
He gritted his teeth, sharp eyes never leaving the beast before him. Just one exchange, and his arm was already numb… this monster was stronger than expected.
But he did not step back.
The Alpha raised its head, six crimson eyes gleaming like demonic rubies in the dark. A sinister glint flickered from their depths.
A growl rumbled from its throat, deep, chilling, a sound from the abyss itself.
Without hesitation, it lunged.
The ground cracked beneath the sheer force of its powerful limbs. Its massive body shot forward like a cannonball, so fast that the air around it twisted.
A claw descended from above, carrying the crushing weight to shatter steel armor into mere scraps.
The commander did not dodge.
He stepped forward.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps…
Amid the howling wind, his figure vanished in an instant, so close that the wolf's claw barely missed him by a fingertip.
He slipped through the narrowest space possible, an almost unreal precision.
His blade traced a flawless arc, slicing toward the Alpha's throat, a lethal strike, as sharp as lightning.
Red pixels scattered like real blood.
But…
Not deep enough.
The Alpha's iron-like fur absorbed most of the force. A wound appeared, but the sword failed to pierce the dense steel-like muscles beneath.
The commander immediately leaped back, narrowly avoiding the beast's fierce counterattack. His movements were swift, steady, and precise, the mark of a seasoned warrior honed through countless battles.
His emerald eyes scanned the battlefield, tracking every motion of the beast.
Each of the Alpha's attacks was dodged with pinpoint accuracy, while the commander's blade continued to carve lines across its massive body. Dozens of cuts overlapped, not fatal, but enough to drain its strength, drop by drop.
The battle dragged on.
Like a bowstring stretched to its limit, the commander weaved between blows, his sword parrying relentless strikes. The monster's HP bar gradually dwindled.
Seven bars… down to six.
Then five.
Arrows from the soldiers failed to pierce its steel-like hide, but they served their purpose, distracting the beast.
In that fleeting moment, the commander surged forward, his sword gleaming with a brilliant blue light.
A sword skill activated.
Dozens of razor-sharp slashes hung in the air, then rained down like a storm of death, striking the Alpha's dark fur.
Massive damage erupted.
A glaring red number flashed above the wolf's head.
But…
It did not retreat.
Instead…
A thunderous roar burst forth, unleashing a suffocating pressure that swept across the battlefield.
The commander felt the full weight of the beast's unleashed killing intent.
The air thickened, as if gravity itself had doubled.
A crushing force bore down on him, each breath labored, as though an invisible hand was tightening around his throat.
His body strained after the relentless high-speed movements and the repeated activation of complex sword skills.
'I… can't move like I used to… If this were before… this thing would be nothing…'
BOOM!
The ground beneath him shattered. Rocks crumbled into dust under the sheer pressure engulfing the battlefield.
It felt as if space itself was being swallowed by the beast's bloodlust.
Something, moved out of sight.
No.
A shadow.
THUD!
The commander's body was hurled to the cold earth, like a puppet with its strings cut.
The impact sent him skidding across the cracked battlefield, leaving a deep trench in his wake before finally coming to a stop.
His steel armor.
Shattered.
Amid the broken fragments of metal, a massive claw mark stood out, tearing straight through the fabric beneath.
A terrifying wound ran across his chest…
Red pixels flickered at the injury site, like embers from a dying flame, signaling the damage he had just taken.
Grrr…
A deep, guttural growl echoed through the battlefield.
Six crimson eyes of the Alpha Elite Dire Wolf bore down on the fallen prey.
Every strand of its fur stood on end, its killing intent surging like a storm about to consume everything.
The battle was not over.
But…
This time, the scales of power had shifted.