Chapter 80: Clever Battle Against the Frost Wolf Pack |
How did they run into a pack of bone-spike frost wolves?
And fifteen at once?
This place wasn’t Redwood Ridge, not even the outskirts.
Although Xia Hong’s mind was filled with confusion, he had no time to dwell on it now.
Howl... howl...
Charging straight at him was a frost wolf at least two and a half meters long. Its sharp, dense fangs were only half a meter from his forehead. The long barbs around its neck had already slashed two long wounds across his arm.
Xia Hong raised his blade to press against the wolf’s lower jaw. Sensing the wolf’s strength was inferior to his own, he leapt back, pulling the wolf backward in an instant. He twisted the Jinghan Blade and stabbed fiercely into the wolf’s back.
Whoosh...
Although the wolf’s strength was weaker, its speed was astonishingly fast. It seemed to sense the cold gleam behind it and flipped aside in a leap, dodging the strike.
At this sight, his heart instantly sank.
Yuan Cheng had already been knocked to the ground by a frost wolf. Xia Chuan and Yue Feng rushed over to rescue him, but before they could act, another frost wolf had locked onto them.
Lin Kai, Xu An, Li Yuankun, and Liu Yuan were all tangled up with two frost wolves. They were wielding hand axes, which did no damage to the wolves. Instead, the wolves used their speed advantage to overwhelm them. In just a short while, multiple wounds appeared on their bodies.
The seven lumberjack realm fighters brought by Luo Ming were even worse off. One had already been bitten to death and was being devoured by a frost wolf. The remaining six faced three frost wolves and were no match, barely holding on thanks to two of them wielding blades.
Xu Kang and Luo Ming were, like Xia Hong, entangled by the two strongest wolves in the pack. Judging by the situation, they clearly could not resolve it quickly.
Swish... swish... swish swish...
The only somewhat lucky ones were the ordinary people fleeing in the camp.
From five trees behind everyone, arrows continuously flew toward that side. The four frost wolves targeting the ordinary people were blocked. Two of those wolves were even hit by four or five arrows each.
But the hit locations were all on their backs, obviously not fatal wounds.
Huff...
A fierce gust blew toward Xia Hong’s face. He spun around sharply, slashing horizontally. His blade struck the barbs on the wolf’s neck but failed to cut them off. After colliding, the wolf used the force to dodge aside.
Xia Hong scanned the physiques of the wolves and noticed the arrow density from the trees was thinning. He realized Li Baihe and the others must be running low on arrows and grew even more anxious.
The three strongest wolves were entangled with himself, Luo Ming, and Xu Kang. Eight smaller wolves were handling the lumberjack realm fighters. The remaining four chased after the main group.
This frost wolf pack was clearly well-organized. The howls they had just issued before charging were likely commands to arrange their formation.
They were here to annihilate all of them!
Recalling information about wolf packs from his previous life, Xia Hong’s heart sank deeply. He turned to look toward Redwood Ridge.
Could it be that there was a alpha wolf among them?
No, regardless of whether there was one or not, they could not afford to stall any longer.
Xia Hong glanced toward the ordinary people and gritted his teeth. He shouted loudly at the trees, “Ignore that side! Focus on taking down these three big ones first, or we’ll all die!”
The arrows, already sparse in the five trees, immediately halted after Xia Hong’s command.
After more than ten breaths of time, the five archers in the trees seemed to realize something. They quickly turned their bows toward the wolves attacking Xia Hong’s side and began shooting frantically.
Swish swish swish...
Before the arrows arrived, Xia Hong had already shifted the Jinghan Blade to his left hand. Seizing the moment when the wolf lunged at him, he grabbed its abdomen with his right hand and braced his feet firmly, clamping it tightly to prevent movement.
Squelch...
After dodging three consecutive arrows, one finally pierced the wolf’s ear. Taking advantage of this, Xia Hong suddenly released his right hand, gripping the blade with both hands. He powered his waist and legs, twisted his body, and swung fiercely at the wolf’s neck.
The barbs on the wolf’s neck had not been cut off previously because it had used its agile body to deflect most of Xia Hong’s force. This time was different. The wolf’s ear was pierced and in pain; its posture was unsteady, and Xia Hong’s timing was perfect.
Crack...
Several barbs on the wolf’s neck snapped under Xia Hong’s blade.
The Jinghan Blade even cut three or four centimeters into its neck.
Yet, the wolf struggled on the ground a few times and quickly stood up as if uninjured.
But judging by its wary eyes and hesitant steps, the slash had clearly terrified it deeply.
“Help! Help!”
“Run! They’re chasing us!”
“Run, run!”
“Don’t block me! Those in front, run!”
...
The commotion from the north made Xia Hong’s expression even more anxious.
Having the five archers ignore the fleeing ordinary people was cruel, but under the circumstances, it was undoubtedly the best choice.
Xia Hong cautiously moved a step left. The wolves immediately shifted in the same direction, stirring his spirit. He raised his blade and charged forward fiercely. The wolf immediately retreated in panic.
Sure enough, this wolf was afraid!
Xia Hong stayed alert and turned to rescue the fallen Yuan Cheng.
But when he looked, Yuan Cheng was already standing.
Not only standing, but the frost wolf that had knocked him down had one eye blind and was oozing green blood.
Xia Hong was stunned, then saw Xia Chuan holding a small knife in his left hand with an excited expression and immediately understood.
Good kid, gutsy!
Xia Hong didn’t delay and glanced northward. The ordinary people hanging at the back were now in chaotic disorder. The four frost wolves continued slaughtering. He immediately shouted to everyone.
“Stop fighting here! Follow the main group! Just block these wolves from killing people and move fast!”
Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others who had escaped quickly obeyed. The five archers, including Li Baihe, quickly came down and moved toward the ordinary people in the north to drive off the four wolves, preventing further slaughter.
After driving off the four wolves in the rear, Li Baihe and the others did not run but stayed to shoot arrows continuously, disrupting the wolves and creating opportunities for the lumberjack realm fighters to escape.
Xia Hong, Luo Ming, and Xu Kang waited until nearly all the lumberjack realm fighters had retreated. Using the arrow interference from Li Baihe, they slipped away and quickly caught up with the main group.
Looking at the dozens of mutilated corpses on the ground, Xia Hong’s face darkened greatly.
In just over a hundred breaths, those four frost wolves had killed so many. If they delayed any longer, it would be catastrophic.
Xia Hong looked up at the fifteen frost wolves regrouped together. Though full of hatred, he had to accept the reality.
“Don’t retreat. Stand firm and block them. Just don’t let them break through!”
Xia Hong, Luo Ming, and two others at the Digging Realm stood on the left and right flanks. The others stayed in the center. Everyone stood their ground, eyes fixed intently on the wolf pack.
The fifteen frost wolves saw no movement from the humans. Although they closed in, their steps grew slower and their movements smaller.
The increasing fear in their eyes was clearly visible.
Especially the one recently injured by Xia Hong, its pace was slow, even lagging behind the other two strong wolves by a body length.
“Huff...”
Seeing the wolves hesitate to charge first, Xia Hong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
High intelligence was like this: smart but prone to overthinking.
To be honest, with their numbers, trying to hold off fifteen frost wolves and protect the ordinary people in the camp was impossible.
No matter how hard they fought, they might not win.
To survive, they had to use an unexpected strategy.
“Leader Luo, Leader Xia, we’re here to help!”
Suddenly, two voices came from the crowd behind.
Xia Hong and Luo Ming turned around and their faces immediately brightened.