Roughly 5 minutes later he suddenly heard a wolf howl less than a few hundred feet from him signaling the pack was near. Without hesitation he went all out, using every ounce of speed he could muster. His new Wolf Kings Boots (specifically their special ability) truly began to shine as he quickly sped up, slowly distancing himself from the pursing pack.
Finally after frantically running with all his strength, he managed to gain a 2 minute gap between him and the pursuing pack just as he reach his destination. Glancing around, he continued to run in a strangely twisted manner, stepping only in certain places for a few hundred feet before, with a last strange twist hop he resume his normal gait and continued to flee directly toward the Archway.
A few moments later he suddenly heard the first of many shrieks of agony which soon filled the forest with a cacophony of whimpering wailing and whining from a number of unfortunate Watermelon Wolves who had tragically discovered a new meaning for the word pain.
The reason for this discovery was actually quite simple, for Salvatore had led the pack thru the area he had earlier seeded with dozens of his simple spike traps. Using the simplistic spike trap, he had turned the ordinary few hundred feet of forest into a hellish minefield of suffering the likes of which these Watermelon Wolves had never seen.
Based on the amount of shrieking, Salvatore figured his simplistic traps had managed to whittle down at least 90% of the pack. Although that was only a rough estimation based on what he could hear he knew that it still was a significant result since he had worried that the traps might be ineffective against the monsters.
In fact, Salvatore was actually quite lucky since he had inadvertently removed the only members of the pack the traps would have been ineffective on. COMMON rank monsters were more easily damaged unlike their much stronger counterparts, the ELITE and BOSS rank ones who each had a decidedly stronger defense.
Furthermore, the wounded Watermelon Wolves would soon be effected by the purple paralysis paste he had liberally coated upon every single trap. Indeed the moment he thought of this the mass of endless cacophony suddenly reduced in volume by one decibel before slowly growing quieter until the only sound he could hear was his own heavy breathing and the occasionally howl of the last of the wolves chasing him.
However, he was quite surprised by how quickly the Watermelon Wolves had been effected before he realized that due to them only being COMMOM rank monster they most likely had a much weaker resistance than the two ELITE's and Watermelon Wolf King had.
Several minutes later he finally was within sight of the impressive Archway. Now less than a few hundred feet away he found his second wind as he suddenly increased his pace and by the sound of howling which was practically nipping at his heels, he had made good time.
As he finally stepped foot upon the Archways smooth grey stone floor he collapsed upon the ground, breathing great big gulps of air like a asthmatic having an attack of the lungs, his face changing color from red to blue so fast he could have been a light atop a police cruiser.
Moments later, from the forest behind him came the sound of the last of the Watermelon Wolf pack chasing him. Crawling towards the Archway, Salvatore propped himself up as he rested, exhausted by his frantic fleeing. Calmly starring at the edge of the clearing he patiently waited for the Watermelon Wolves to emerge. Mere moments later, a familiar pair of pointer ears appeared in the distance followed by several similar friends.
Mustering the last of his strength, Salvatore rose to his feet, placing his hand upon the Archway for support. Standing, his legs wobbled like a newborn colt, before, with a deep steady breath he stabilized himself.
Drawing his crimson Wolf Kings Fang, he held it firmly in his right hand as he readied himself for the final confrontation with the last of the Watermelon Wolves. His back firmly against the wide 4ft base of the Archway, he knew his back was secure, enabling him to focus directly in front of him without fears of a rear attack.
Staring at the tree line, he focused on the approaching ears of the Watermelon Wolves as they finally emerged from the forest. As they emerged, he braced himself for the moment they saw him, for he knew they would immediately rush towards him in fury.
Oddly enough, as the Watermelon Wolves emerged, instead of immediately rushing toward him filled with crazed bloodlust fever, they acted as though they could not see him. "How odd," he thought as the wolves stare directly at him, less than 80ft away, yet acted as though he wasn't even there.
In fact, what was far more strange was that as the Watermelon Wolves neared the Archway, instead of walking toward it, upon reaching within a foot of the circular stone floor they would walk along the perimeter, yet seemed to be unaware of the fact that they were doing so.
Noticing the peculiar behavior of the Watermelon Wolves, Salvatore quickly realized it must be the Archway acting as some sort of safe zone.
After watching the Watermelon Wolves wander around the area with a confused expression for several minutes, Salvatore finally relaxed, putting away his blade, then sat down upon the ground.