Descendants of werewolves? A hybrid werewolf?
Everyone was confused. Everything Alex had said was completely beyond their comprehension.
As they were trying to come to terms with what they had heard, a shrill wolf howl sounded from the other side of the valley.
Then the hybrid werewolves raised their heads and howled as well. Now over a hundred werewolves were howling at the same time, the sound loud enough to shake the entire area.
Everyone trembled, and the hairs stood up on the back of their necks as they listened to the eerie sound.
Only then did they recall that this group of hybrid werewolves, no matter how weak their bloodlines, still possessed tremendous strength. Moreover, there were more than a hundred of them, and the warriors were filled with despair.
"It's impossible for us to defeat an enemy that strong," someone said bitterly.
"Even if there is a difference in strength, it will still be fine," Asher said, his tone somber. "When I fought them before, I had to battle hard before I could kill one, but I still prevailed."
No one was comforted by this, and they all felt hopeless.
Someone turned to look at Alex, and then, gradually, more of the warriors turned to look at him. In the end, even the Fool and Asher looked at him.
They were all placing their hopes on him. The strength that he had displayed had convinced them that he was more than capable of taking on this fight. But even Asher wasn't sure if Alex could defeat over a hundred of the creatures.
Facing the pack of wolves, Alex called out, "Withdraw from the valley, or die!"
His voice burst out from his body and swept across the entire valley, transmitting his message into the ears of every werewolf.
The wolves suddenly broke off howling and looked at Alex in surprise.
A tall werewolf arrogantly took a step forward. Then, with bloodshot eyes, he looked provocatively at Alex.
Clearly, the werewolves were extremely intelligent, and this one was staring at Alex with obvious contempt.
Alex responded to it with a blast of his inner power, which slammed into the wolf, who half-heartedly raised his claws to defend himself.
The wolves behind him watched the action dismissively. Some of them even patted their mouths with their claws and yawned like humans. They didn't think Alex would be very strong, so they expected the werewolf to brush the attack aside. Instead, the power crashed into the werewolf, pushing him to the ground.
The werewolf howled crazily. His muscles bulged, and his claws desperately tore at the ground, trying to resist the enormous pressure. But he had never experienced anything like this before, and he simply couldn't withstand it.
Within a moment, all that was left was a depression in the ground, and there was no sign of the wolf.
The werewolves stood there in shock and disbelief. The red light in their eyes flickered intensely, revealing their sense of injustice and their rage. They couldn't believe that Alex had killed one of their own so easily.
One werewolf snarled, and the others followed suit. Countless pairs of eyes filled with hatred stared at Alex, wishing they could tear him into pieces.
Everyone grew nervous, and it seemed inevitable that a great battle was about to begin.
Then a voice carried across the sand, saying, "Stop!"
Immediately, all the wolves stopped, as if they were obeying a sacred command.
Under everyone's bewildered gazes, the wolf pack parted, and a straight passageway emerged between them. An old man with a hunched back and a head full of white hair slowly walked toward them, holding a wooden staff. He had layers of wrinkles stacked on top of each other, making him look truly ancient. He stepped forward, breathing heavily.
The powerful and savage werewolves around him all lowered their heads respectfully.
The old man walked to the front of the pack of wolves and looked at Alex.
"Respected human," he said. "Please forgive the rudeness of my people. They do not know that they're facing a legend."
"Are these hybrid werewolves all your descendants?" Alex asked with interest.
Although the man looked old, Alex could sense an enormous power emanating from him, and he had never felt anything like it.
"Yes," the old man said. "Many of them are my children, grandsons, and even great-grandsons. I'm the leader of this tribe, and you can call me the Dark Wolf King."
"Great-grandsons?" Alex asked. "How old are you?"
"I'm afraid I don't remember," the old man said, shrugging. "I only remember that I became an adult before the first world war broke out. After that, I left this desert and traveled around the world."
Everyone was shocked.
It seemed that he had been alive for well over a hundred years. On Earth, where spirit energy was scarce, it was unheard of for someone to live for so long.
The Dark Wolf King was clearly intelligent, and his gaze was sharp. If anyone knew about Alex's origins, then it would be him. No one else quite understood Alex's background. After all, Alex had displayed an earth-shattering strength at such a young age, and he had all kinds of skills, abilities, and even magic. And yet, nobody had heard of him before now. He seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
"I've never smelled such an aura from anyone else before," the Dark Wolf King said, tilting his head as he looked at Alex. "It's so vast, like the endless blue sky. It's like nothing I have ever seen. Ancient legends tell of a group of people who once lived in the east, but that's nothing but a myth. How could you possibly be their successor?"
The Dark Wolf King shook his head and dismissed the idea as being too absurd. He paused for a moment, and then he looked at Alex with a serious expression.
"Respected sir," he said. "You have stepped into the territory of my tribe. Out of respect for your strength, I will allow you to leave unharmed. But you cannot tell anyone about what happened today."
Before Alex could reply, someone shouted, "If he can leave, then what about us?"
A mocking smile appeared on the king's wrinkled face.
"Since you have dared to step into our land, then you can stay here as food for my people," he said. "With the amount of energy within you, I'm sure that consuming you will make us all stronger."
In response to that, several of the wolves opened their mouths, displaying their sharp teeth.
Louis felt a chill shoot down his spine.
When they realized that the Dark Wolf King was going to kill them all, the warriors started to panic. They looked at Alex expectantly, in the hope that he wouldn't abandon them.
Alex shook his head and looked straight at the Dark Wolf King. "As expected," he said. "You're fickle, hostile, and can't be trusted." Then he added, "It's fine if you want me to leave. Just let me take all the spring water and the tricolor flower."