CHAPTER 10 THE HUNTER BECOMES THE HUNTED
892 Words
The forest had fallen unnaturally silent.
Not a single bird sang.
Not a single insect chirped.
Only the lingering echo of the terrifying roar remained.
Raizen tightened his grip on his iron sword.
His instincts screamed one warning.
Leave.
Jin Wu swallowed hard.
"...Should we... investigate?"
Raizen immediately shook his head.
"No."
"We're here to complete the assessment."
"Not throw away our lives."
Su Ziling nodded in agreement.
"Whatever made that roar..."
"...is far beyond us."
The three quickly collected the Silver Fang Wolf's Beast Core.
Raizen glanced around one last time.
"Let's move."
They headed north, choosing a route marked on the clan's map as a relatively safe hunting area.
Even so...
The uneasy feeling refused to disappear.
Half an hour later...
The forest gradually became livelier again.
Small Spirit Birds flew between the branches.
A stream flowed peacefully nearby.
Jin Wu finally let out a sigh.
"I thought we were dead."
Su Ziling smiled faintly.
"You panic more than I expected."
"I prefer staying alive."
He answered without embarrassment.
"There isn't anything wrong with that."
Raizen chuckled.
"I agree."
Suddenly...
The Origin System spoke.
Warning.
Multiple lifeforms approaching.
Number detected: Five.
Raizen immediately stopped walking.
He raised a fist.
His companions instantly halted.
"What is it?"
Su Ziling whispered.
"We're not alone."
A moment later...
Five grey wolves emerged from the bushes.
Unlike the Silver Fang Wolf...
These beasts were smaller.
But they worked together.
Their movements were perfectly coordinated.
Jin Wu frowned.
"A Spirit Wolf Pack..."
"This is bad."
One wolf was manageable.
Five...
Were another matter entirely.
The wolves slowly spread out.
Without realizing it...
The trio found themselves surrounded.
The largest wolf stepped forward.
Its yellow eyes never left Raizen.
It growled softly.
The others immediately lowered their bodies.
"They're communicating."
Su Ziling whispered.
Raizen nodded.
"They're preparing to attack together."
Appraisal Activated.
Grey Spirit Wolf
Realm: Mid Body Tempering Beast
Strengths:
• Excellent teamwork.
• High agility.
Weakness:
• Pack Leader.
Eliminate the leader to reduce coordination.
Raizen's eyes sharpened.
"The largest one."
"We target it first."
Jin Wu blinked.
"Shouldn't we weaken the smaller ones?"
"If we do..."
"The leader will keep coordinating them."
"Take away the leader..."
"...and the pack loses its fangs."
Su Ziling immediately understood.
"I'll create an opening."
The wolves attacked.
At once.
Five shadows lunged simultaneously.
"Move!"
Raizen shouted.
The trio scattered.
One wolf leaped toward Jin Wu.
He blocked with his spear.
Clang!
Its claws scraped against the metal shaft.
Another rushed Su Ziling.
She spun gracefully.
Her sword traced a silver arc.
Slash!
The wolf cried out as blood stained its shoulder.
Meanwhile...
The Pack Leader charged directly at Raizen.
Its speed was astonishing.
Raizen inhaled deeply.
Don't panic.
Observe.
The wolf opened its jaws.
Instead of retreating...
Raizen stepped forward.
At the very last moment...
He twisted sideways.
The beast shot past him.
"Now!"
Su Ziling understood instantly.
Her sword flashed toward the leader.
The beast barely dodged.
Even so...
A shallow cut appeared across its side.
The remaining wolves suddenly hesitated.
Just for a second.
Raizen noticed it.
"So that's how it works..."
Analysis confirmed.
Leader issues commands through movement patterns.
Raizen smiled.
"I've figured you out."
He picked up a fist-sized stone.
Then another.
Instead of throwing them at the wolves...
He threw them in opposite directions.
Crack!
Crack!
The sudden sounds echoed through the forest.
The wolves instinctively turned.
Their formation broke.
"Jin Wu!"
"Left!"
Without hesitation...
Jin Wu thrust his spear.
The Pack Leader barely avoided it.
Exactly as Raizen expected.
The beast had moved into the only remaining escape route.
Raizen was already waiting.
His iron sword flashed.
Slash!
The blade cut deeply into the leader's neck.
The wolf stumbled.
It let out one final howl.
Then collapsed.
The remaining wolves froze.
For a heartbeat...
They simply stared at their fallen leader.
Then...
They turned and fled into the forest.
Jin Wu blinked.
"...They ran?"
Raizen nodded.
"Their coordination disappeared."
Without the leader...
They chose survival.
Jin Wu laughed loudly.
"I can't believe that actually worked!"
Su Ziling looked at Raizen with quiet admiration.
"You didn't defeat them with strength."
"You defeated them by understanding them."
Raizen cleaned the blood from his sword.
"My strength is still lacking."
"So I have to use my mind."
Mission Progress Updated.
Spirit Beasts Defeated: 2
Current Beast Cores: 2
For the first time...
The System had updated a mission.
Raizen's eyes lit up.
"So it keeps track."
As Su Ziling collected the Pack Leader's Beast Core...
She suddenly stopped.
"Raizen."
"Look at this."
He walked over.
The core wasn't silver.
Thin strands of black energy coiled within it.
Exactly like the markings on the previous wolf.
His expression became serious.
"Again..."
The corruption wasn't an accident.
It was spreading.
Far away...
Hidden behind dense trees...
A black-robed man silently watched everything.
"The Successor..."
He smiled beneath his hood.
"...is growing faster than expected."
He raised one hand.
A black talisman ignited into crimson flames.
"It is time..."
"...to awaken the first guardian."
Deep beneath Black Pine Forest...
Ancient chains trembled violently.
A colossal heartbeat echoed through the underground world.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The earth shook.
Raizen's group instinctively looked toward the center of the forest.
None of them noticed...
That the assessment they had entered to prove themselves...
Had just become a fight for survival.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD