It was already noontime. The dappled sun shone through the canopy, creating mysterious shadows on the ground littered with dry leaves. The summer breeze occasionally swept through the trees, causing the refreshing fragrance of the jungle to reign supreme within the forest.
There was a small trail within the forest. Along that trail, a large majestic black horse was slowly advancing forward. On the back of the horse were two humans. One was a female, while the other was a male.
The female, who was breathtakingly beautiful even by the strictest of standards, sat in front, holding the reins of the black horse. The strands of her long purple hair occasionally swayed along with the forest breeze as she guided the horse forward with expert ease. The male sat behind the gorgeous female with one hand wrapped around her hourglass-shaped waist. His tall and big-boned frame bobbed up and down as the horse galloped forward along the forest trail.
The two were obviously Tamara and Tyrak. Their speed was neither slow nor fast as they advanced toward Ellwich City.
"Why is your thing poking me again?" Tamara suddenly snapped. "You need to control yourself! We're still on the road."
Tyrak smiled sheepishly. "That's a natural reaction of any man after getting close to a pretty girl. I can't do anything about it."
"You're one bad egg!" Tamara whined, but she didn't stop the horse.
Tyrak grinned and decided to tease Tamara for a bit more. "My dear Tamara, please bear with me. I'm just a bad egg."
Tamara groaned. "It would be much better if you sat in front and took over the reins. Do you really not know how to ride a horse?"
"Nope!"
"You're hopeless."
"Yes, I'm hopeless. I can only depend on the beautiful Tamara to get us to Ellwich City."
Tamara harrumphed. She was trying so much to make herself appear angry.
The grin on Tyrak's face widened. He was very conscious of Tamara's gorgeous body, with all its alluring curves hidden beneath her leather armor and riding pants. The galloping horse had already forced him to be in close body-upon-body contact with the attractive girl. The thin layer of clothing between them did nothing to stop the sparks from flying after certain parts of theirs repeatedly rubbed against each other.
Tyrak could feel intense waves of stimuli originating from the point of contact between his crotch and Tamara's round and pert butt. His heart shuddered blissfully, and his member became painfully erect.
He inclined his face and noticed that, at some point, a rosy hue had manifested around Tamara's dimpled cheeks. She looked even more bewitching, causing him to lose control of himself. Within moments, memories of their intimacy together floated to the surface of his mind. And just by reflex, he extended his other arm and wrapped it around her slender waist.
"Slap!"
Tamara slapped Tyrak's hand and grumbled. "Damn it, Tyrak. Stop with your mischief! We're still on the road."
The stinging slap woke up Tyrak, and he came back to himself. His cheeks turned pink as a feeling of shame swelled within him. He couldn't believe that he had lost himself and fallen for the charms of the same lady who intended to enslave him the previous night. "I'm sorry!" He mumbled.
Tamara slowed down the horse as a teasing smile outlined her gorgeous face. She leaned sideways and inclined her head before watching Tyrak out of the corner of her eye. "If you really can't hold it in, we can stop for a few minutes. I'll let you have your way with me right here in the middle of the forest. Any style you desire, I'll comply. What say you?"
On hearing her words, something seemed to explode within Tyrak's mind. He swallowed hard as his primal instincts threatened to overwhelm him. But just then, something else interrupted his thoughts. Out of the blue, the horse started trembling and quickly became restless. It was as if it had been frightened by something.
"Another wild beast is attacking us?" Tyrak exclaimed and cast away the erotic thoughts from his mind.
"Seems like it." Tamara's expression became grave.
Tyrak's eyes darted around the place until they landed on an area between a few tall trees some sixty to seventy yards away. A group of four ferocious wolves had silently appeared there. The white fur around their necks was dyed with a tinge of red, and their saw-like teeth looked menacing. The wolves were staring daggers at both Tyrak and Tamara.
"Blood wolves!" Tyrak narrowed his eyes and jumped off the horse. "I will take care of them. Support me from the back."
"Okay," Tamara agreed. "But be quick. These blood wolves might only be wild beasts with little power. But the challenge is that they usually move in groups of hundreds. Moreover, their pack leader should be a true-blue rank-1 savage beast. We must wipe them out quickly and leave before we catch the attention of their entire pack."
"Okay," Tyrak complied. He summoned his bow from his spatial ring and glared at the slowly approaching blood wolves. From morning to noon, he had continued training his archery by battling the wild beasts that tried to assault them. His skills had improved considerably after dozens of battles, and he was a much better archer than he had been hours prior. He had the confidence to swiftly take care of the four wolves, especially since Tamara would be helping from the back.
"Ahh-rooooooo! Ahh-rooooooo..."
The blood wolves let loose savage howls and finally pounced forward. Their blood-red eyes glinted with brutality as they sprinted through the gaps between the trees.
Tyrak had already prepared himself for the battle. An arrow appeared in his right hand, and he nocked it onto the bowstring within anything but an instant. His recently increased perception and incredible grasp of archery allowed him to zero in on the approaching wolves with just a glance. His eyes narrowed, and his mind turned and churned as he compensated for the wind direction and speed of the advancing wolves. Then, he aligned his bow arm and fired four arrows in quick succession.
"Ahh-rooooooo! Ahh-rooooooo..."
The blood wolves reacted accordingly. They howled and dodged the first volley of arrows before continuing their charge toward Tyrak and Tamara.
At that point, the charging blood wolves were only forty yards away from their position. Tyrak could already feel the brutality they exuded right to the bones. However, he forced himself to remain calm, and with skilled motions, he shot two more volleys at the charging wolves.
"Whoosh! Whoosh..."
That time around, Tyrak had placed his shots so meticulously. He had utilized all his mental faculties to seal all the possible dodging routes of the charging wolves. As such, only two arrows missed, while the remaining six hit home. They impaled themselves into vital parts of three of the charging beasts, sending them tumbling to the ground.
"Ahh-rooooooo!"
The remaining blood wolf howled and stopped its charge. It quickly turned around, probably hoping to escape. However, at that moment, Tamara took action. Everything happened almost instantaneously, and four earth spikes rose from the ground before piercing its belly. They swiftly ended the beast's life before it could realize what was happening.
"Hurry up and collect the beast carcasses," Tamara urged before Tyrak could relax. "We need to leave before the rest of the wolves arrive."
"Okay."
Tyrak immediately got into action. He sprinted around the place and collected the four carcasses into his spatial ring. Then, after sweeping his gaze around the site, he ran back to Tamara and jumped onto the horse.
"Hold tight. Let's go."
Tamara's expression was somber. She wasted no time pulling the reins, and the horse accelerated to top speed within seconds. It galloped along the narrow forest trail and quickly disappeared into the distance.
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Half an hour later.
The summer breeze had already swept away most of the smell of blood from where Zachary and Tamara battled the wolves. Everything in the forest appeared serene, save for a few arrows impaled in tree trunks and those few drops of blood left by the blood wolves slain by Tyrak and Tamara.
Suddenly a pack of twelve-plus blood wolves appeared in the distance. Among their ranks was a blood wolf the size of an elephant. The fur around its neck was a deeper shade of red than its counterparts, and it seemed to be the pack leader. It exuded a brutal majesty as it rushed through the forest with its minions.
Very quickly, the beasts arrived at the site where Tyrak and Tamara had battled the four blood wolves. The gigantic wolf, which happened to be the pack leader, sniffed around for a few seconds. It quickly discovered the droplets of blood from the slain four wolves before turning its vicious gaze towards the arrows impaled into the tree trunks. Then, it let loose a savage howl as its ferocious head quickly turned toward the direction in which Tyrak and Tamara had escaped.
"Ahh-rooooooo! Ahh-rooooooo..."
The other wolves responded with howls of their own. Then, together with their pack leader, they started sprinting along the trail, heading toward the outskirts of the forest. They seemed to be going after Tyrak and Tamara.
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