Yun Lei braced for impact. It wasn't a big drop by any means but because he had lost his footing, he wouldn't be able to land safely.
With a painful thud, he landed on his side before quickly scrambling to his feet. It hurt quite badly but he didn't think he had broken any bones. He would get away with a little bruising at most. He walked backwards, toward the tree he had fallen from until his back was practically touching it.
The wolves slowly encircled him while letting out growls and baring their fangs. Their pitch-black eyes seemed full of starvation and madness yet, they made no reckless moves. Their prey was already trapped, after all.
Forest Wolves hunted prey far larger than themselves. Because of this, they were very well aware that a single mistake would cost them their lives and every wolf that was lost would severely weaken the pack, reducing their chances of survival. Due to this, they often employed the cruellest of tactics.
They would attack the prey, inflicting several wounds before backing off and letting them bleed. They would repeat this process over and over before the target was weak enough to finally go in for the kill.
Yun Lei watched on with cold eyes as the strongest of the wolves slowly crept towards him to deliver the first blow. He let out a snort as he used the rest of the crystal in his hand to form a long spear made of profound energy.
He wasn't very confident when it came to close-range combat. Against humans, perhaps, the many technique books he had read would help but against beasts, everything he knew about combat was practically useless. Maybe if he had a bow and arrow, he would have attempted to get on high ground before taking them down one by one but he didn't have that option.
He clutched the spear before lowering his body, preparing for combat. Escaping from the wolves was impossible with his speed, even if he reinforced his legs with profound energy.
Because of his lack of confidence, he had picked a spear as his weapon since it was the safest option. It would increase his range and help put some distance between him and his foes. While picking up a spear was a lot easier than most weapons, it was still a fact that it was the first time he would ever be using it. And that wasn't even the biggest problem.
I don't know how long I'll be able to last.
Using profound energy would cost him soul energy, something he didn't quite have in abundance at the moment. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to make use of the last crystal that still remained in his pocket.
While it would be beneficial for him to finish that battle as swiftly as possible, he knew he wouldn't be so lucky. Forest Wolves fought in a battle of attrition where they slowly wore down their target.
The alpha, who was nearly half as tall as Yun Lei when standing on all four legs, was still creeping forwards, keeping its body low and eyes on the target's throat. A single slip up and the wolf would instantly seize the opportunity and jump in.
But, before the wolves could even make their move, a chilling aura began spreading through the air, causing them to instantly stiffen. Yun Lei's orifices, which had finally gotten a break, began oozing out blood once more.
He didn't waste any time as he took a step with his right leg while thrusting forward. The spear, which was made entirely of profound energy, was extremely light and moved faster than even Yun Lei had anticipated. On top of that, the effect of his aura seemed to hinder the alpha's movements tremendously. It barely dodged with a scratch.
Yun Lei, of course, didn't let up. This time, he took a massive stride forward with his left leg while swinging the spear in a horizontal slash. The wolf didn't get lucky enough to dodge and the result was a nasty wound right above its eyes.
Something is wrong.
He immediately realised. The alpha reacted far too much for a wound of that kind. Sure, the spearhead had cut in deep but other than bothering its vision a little, it shouldn't have caused that much damage. So why had the wolf acted like one of its legs had been cut off?
Whatever the answer was, Yun Lei wouldn't waste the opportunity. He lunged forward, driving the spear as deep as he could into the retreating wolf's hind leg. But that wasn't all, he immediately extracted profound energy from the crystal, forming four knives that he let fly towards the wolves surrounding him.
The alpha let out a painful growl, pouncing towards Yun Lei's neck. It had thrown all caution to the wind; it was too injured to care about being cautious.
Yun Lei casually dodged the wolf that was half his size before driving his spear into the side of its head. The profound energy cut through its flesh like a hot knife through butter and only met some resistance when it hit the skull. But of course, it too was penetrated after he realised this and applied more force.
The other wolves didn't sit around either, immediately jumping him. He barely had enough time to pull out the profound energy spear that had completely penetrated through the alpha's skull and swing it in an arc in order to defend himself. It was a rather desperate move but he had still managed to cut a deep gash in the neck of one of the beasts, a gash deep enough to be fatal.
One of the wolves leapt into him, biting down on the staff of his weapon and forcing him to take several steps in retreat while the remaining wolves took the opportunity to attack him from each side. It was an excellent move that put him in a dilemma. Lose his weapon, or risk being attacked from three sides.
Unfortunately for the wolves, the weapon in Yun Lei's hand was no ordinary thing. It was made entirely out of profound energy and as such, it could change shapes. The part of the staff the first wolf had been biting down on grew a massive spike that penetrated through its head, instantly killing it. After that, it was a simple matter for him to make his escape.
Three of the five wolves were dead. By now, they should have already understood that facing Yun Lei was an immense danger. However, they didn't retreat like they should have if the books he had read on their behaviour were to be believed. He knew the reason behind that very well. They could sense how close he was to collapse. They were so close to the prize, they couldn't bear giving up.
Yun Lei and the two wolves were engaged in an intricate dance-like battle, if the former progressed the latter retreated and vice-versa. Unlike before, the remaining wolves were working as a unit, with a lot of caution. It was clear that they were no longer underestimating the weak human before them.
While the battle continued, Yun Lei had been carefully observing the Forest Wolves. The way they moved and coordinated with each other in order to supplement each other's weakness, the way they attacked, the way they could almost sense when he was about to press forward. Everything he saw, he had already read in a book before but studying with his own eyes was far better after all.
"Argh!" Yun Lei let out a guttural growl as he began feeling a sharp pain. He couldn't determine where it was coming from but it was agonising. There was only one thing that could cause him that much pain. He had pushed it too far; his soul was beginning to suffer permanent damage.
He had become very aware of his reality at that moment. He was so close to death that he could practically feel King Yama breathing down his neck. If he didn't stop using every bit of his soul energy, he would be dead before the wolves ever got the chance to kill him.
In a desperate attempt to break through the stalemate, he threw the spear at one of the wolves. It tried to dodge but was ultimately unsuccessful. The spear pierced through its neck and hit the ground.
Normally, any amount of profound energy under his control would slowly fade away as the heavens and the earth reclaimed their aura. However, the profound energy he had used to fashion the spear instantly shattered like glass upon hitting the ground, fading out of existence shortly after.
Yun Lei stood shakily, staring at the final wolf in the eyes. His red eyes had long turned back into their usual pitch-black colour. He had already lost his weapon and he no longer had any means of defending himself. He couldn't even use the final bit of profound energy from the crystal in his pocket because doing so would undoubtedly kill him.
With the condition his body was in, he could barely even stand, let alone keep up with the relatively uninjured wolf.
I have no options left.
That was the only thing left in his mind as he watched the wolf run towards him. As soon as it got close enough, it pounced.
However, unlike its expectations, the beast didn't land atop the human but on empty ground. Yun Lei had only taken a single step towards his left but that had been enough to dodge the attack.
Of course, even if he had no options left, Yun Lei couldn't just die while doing nothing, right? Even with his body on the verge of collapse, he was not entirely done yet.
The wolf pounced again but once more, it missed. With a few simple moves, Yun Lei could dodge attack after attack the beast was hurling at him.
He hadn't noticed it at first. Perhaps, it was because there were too many thoughts in his mind before. But, even as he had battled the beasts, he had been carefully watching them, analysing their every move and finally, all of it had clicked in his head. He was beginning to understand something he should never have been able to.
The instincts of a beast.
There was no technique to any of their movements, there was no patterns to their attacks, no way to predict what would come. Yet, each move flowed into the next, effortlessly. Like several rivers that flowed into a massive ocean, the randomness all combined into one cohesive picture.
When Yun Lei realised this, he noticed something peculiar. He could smell it. Just like he could smell what a human was feeling, he could smell what the beast would do next. And unlike with humans, there was no hazy fog that obscured his senses. He could see in his mind, every single breath the beast would take before it even took it.
Yun Lei continued dodging the wolf when he noticed a chink in its armour and instantly took advantage of it, taking a step forward and landing a punch on the wolf's snout. He no longer had a weapon but he would punch the damn thing to death if he had to.
The frustrated beast let out terrible growls before attacking again but it was just as fruitless. With the same simple moves, Yun Lei continued to dodge its attacks while landing several punches on its snout, over and over.
The wolf looked severely battered after about five minutes of combat but Yun Lei wasn't any better. His knuckles were bloody and his entire body ached but, his eyes remained focused and full of fire. He wouldn't rest until he pelted that damn wolf to death.
Unfortunately for him, just as he was getting comfortable with his new fighting style, a new crisis struck him. He remained standing but he completely lost control of his legs. Try as he might, he couldn't move them even a single inch, even a single millimetre.
Like a cornered rat, he could only watch as the fangs of the Forest Wolf got closer and closer towards his throat.