After comforting the elderly mother for a while, Wu Qianyu moved on to another woman who had lost her husband, then onto another who lost a young child. So on... and so on...
She might have stayed there the rest of the day but Chen Wentian finally dragged her away. As they flew away, the villagers all bowed in reverence. Many were deeply touched by Wu Qianyu's compassion even if they didn't have a chance say it.
Chen Wentian held Wu Qianyu as he wiped her tears away. She had also cried a great deal along with the villagers.
"Qianyu, look at you... you don't have to do this you know?"
She nodded, "I know, I know... but I don't know... I have this feeling that I should."
He gave her a peck on the cheek, "Well, there's still time until sunset, want to slay some more monsters?"
"Yes!"
Chen Wentian drew out a small crystal. It was a special messaging crystal that could transmit a few words over long distances. It was incredibly expensive and only immortals overseeing the monster fighting efforts were given one.
He stared at it for a second. "Wolves, sector thirty-two. Let's go!"
They flew off towards the northeast. After flying for close to an hour, they saw a town come into view. It was nestled within a valley, surrounded by foggy snowcapped mountains. The town was small, with only a few thousand people, and it was currently under siege by a horde of giant dire wolves.
Giant dire wolves had pitch black fur and ash black claws. They were much larger than normal wolves and incredibly intelligent. They usually stayed within their own territory but if they were forced out by a more power beast, they would have to conquer a new area to settle down. Looked like this pack was doing just that, trying to wipe out the humans that stood against it.
The town was barely withstanding the assault. The walls and gate still held but the intelligent beasts were using their numbers to their advantage. The wolves used a large number of muscular wolves to continually ram against the wooden gates which would eventually break apart. They also formed a wolf pyramid along the walls to leap over one by one. The ones that leaped over caused scores of casualties within a whirlwind of blood, guts, and shattered bones before being cut down by swords and spears.
"Master, quick!"
Chen Wentian zoomed down at the top speed and dropped Wu Qianyu onto the town walls. Her purple sword immediately shot forth and cleared all the wolves from walls. The defenders all stared at their beautiful savior and cheered. She didn't stop and instead leaped off the wall to meet the wolves directly.
The giant dire wolves ramming against the gate were as tall as horses but twice as wide. Their jaws could snap a person in half. They were slightly weaker than the Jueyuan demon monkeys but might be even more intelligent. They also liked to attack in groups.
"Awooooo!!"
The wolves were scared by the spiritual pressure of Chen Wentian but they became ferocious again when they saw only Wu Qianyu was in front of them. They howled at her and snapped their jaws.
"Aruuu!"
A commanding howl sounded and the massive wolves launched themselves at her. She reacted in kind and her Purple Jade Sword drew a deadly painting of blood in the air.
Splat!
All ten or so wolves that charged forward were slaughtered without mercy.
More wolves charged in without regard for their fallen comrades, commanded by their leader. However, they stood absolutely no chance against Wu Qianyu. The dead bodies started to piled up until she stood on top of several hundred wolf corpses. The beasts finally were no longer as zealous as before as they started look at each other and backing away in fear.
"Awoo!"
A sharp howl came out from the rear of the horde and all the wolves turned tail and ran. As they retreated, they spread out into small packs, making chasing difficult. So intelligent! Looked like it wasn't their first time facing an unstoppable opponent.
"Qianyu! Go after the leader!"
"Yes, master!" She took off after the large alpha wolf she had spotted in the rear.
The chase ended up lasting a long time. The alpha wolf was very strong, at the 7th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm, and very fast. It commanded its pack to continuously attack her and delay her advance. By the time she caught up with it, they had arrived at a cliff face and a wolf den was visible inside an open-mouthed cave.
The powerful dire wolf ran no more. It turned and furiously snarled at Wu Qianyu. It couldn't shake her so the only option was to fight to the death. A pack of female wolves in the den also charged forward to support the alpha wolf, including a large alpha female, as they made their last stand.
The dire wolves' spiritual energy wrapped around them, sharpening their claws and fangs. They charged forward, swiping at her and snapping their jaws. The wolves in the den were all at the Spirit Initiate Realm and facing so many alone might be tough for any of the other participants in the monster hunting competition. However, Wu Qianyu was already an expert in such battles.
"That's more like it!" Wu Qianyu shouted as she charged towards the wolves.
Her blade clashed against the claws of the beasts. Blood flew and so did severed limbs. She was unstoppable but they were desperate and relentless. The wolves did not give up even as they were slain one by one. After a long melee, all the wolves except one were slain. It was a tough fight and she suffered several bloody wounds.
The last wolf, the injured alpha female, looked at the dead wolves and howled in sorrow. It turned around and retreated. Wu Qianyu chased after it and cut it down as it entered the cave den. The female wolf grunted in pain as it tumbled to the ground. The deep slash across its back was enough for it to bleed out.
Wu Qianyu stared impassively at it until she met its eyes. Those large watery eyes looked back at her and she felt a mysterious connection instantly form. She continued to stare as the wolf's pain and sorrow flow into her. She was shocked. What she assumed was a beast acting on instinct to hunt and kill instead had such intelligence and capacity for emotion.
The alpha female crawled over to a bed made of beast hide where there was a large number of small black furballs. Wu Qianyu realized with a jolt... they were its babies... no, her babies... The mother wolf licked her babies that were blind and helpless. She growled softly in pain, or was it heartbreak?
Wu Qianyu stood in silence as she watched. It was like she could feel the emotion that were so human-like. Just a few hours ago, she had shared the pain and suffering of the villagers that had suffered a tragedy, cried among mothers, fathers, husbands, and daughters. Yet now she was here, causing the same exact pain to these intelligent beings. She didn't think much about being able to empathize with other people, but with a beast was completely out of her expectations. Wasn't this an ironic twist of fate?
The female wolf knew death was approaching. With her last bit of strength, she turned her head and looked at Wu Qianyu again. Those eyes were no longer resentful but silently pleading for mercy.
Wu Qianyu felt her heart stir. She knelt beside the wolf and stroked her. "I'm sorry... I'll take care of your babies, I promise."
The wolf's tense body seemed to relax as if understanding those words. The wolf's breath became ragged and it finally passed away. Wu Qianyu stayed beside the wolf for a long time, as if trying to atone for her actions. She was still like that when Chen Wentian found her.
"Hey, time to go. What are you doing?" He looked around and saw the sleeping little fur babies. "Oh, can't bear to kill the them? I'll do it."
Chen Wentian was about to reach over but Wu Qianyu stood and block him. "Master! No!"
"What?"
"Don't kill them. I made a promise..." Wu Qianyu said gloomily.
"...what?" He was very confused.
"I made a promise with the mother wolf." She pointed to the dead wolf beside her.
"This is a monster invasion. We're wiping out beasts and demons that are killing humans, not collecting pets."
"I know that! I don't know! It's hard to explain!" Wu Qianyu cried in frustration.
She didn't know how put what she had experienced into words. The pain was so raw and vivid in her mind. Yet it also made her sound crazy.
"Please?" She begged.
"Fine, let's talk about this later tonight." Chen Wentian bagged the baby dire wolves, all ten in total, before grabbing her and flying off into the setting sun.