The Wind Marked Black Wolves are indeed social creatures, but in the game, they wouldn't appear in a swarm like this. After waiting silently for a minute without any signs of a wolf tide, Sean finally remembered some forgotten details.
In the Starfall Forest, occasionally you can come across small groups of three to five Wind Marked Black Wolves. These wolves are not hunting or competing for territory; they are simply "taking a walk." Many players enjoy encountering these "solitary" Wind Marked Black Wolves in the heart of the forest. Apart from the Wolf King, who is a boss-level creature, the other wolves found here are ordinary Wind Marked Black Wolves that don't drop anything special. Only these small groups of three to five solitary wolves have the possibility of spawning a Captain-level entity.
Based on the game's classification, monsters within a group can be ranked from strongest to weakest as Lord-level, Boss-level, Captain-level, and Elite-level.
Sean wasn't certain if this real world had a similar distinction, but it was apparent from the current appearance of Wind Marked Black Wolves that the game's experience in monster distribution and spawning still held some relevance.
With three Wind Marked Black Wolves, it meant there wouldn't be the swift Wind Marked Black Wolf, commonly referred to by players as a "Captain-level monster." Dealing with them would be relatively simpler. However, even if it was easier, there was still a time limit. Social creatures always have a "call for help" trait. If they couldn't resolve these Wind Marked Black Wolves and leave within the ten minutes from when the wolves howled, they would likely face an endless onslaught from the pack.
"Cecilia, force the two Wind Marked Black Wolves apart," Sean calmly gazed at the two wolves and issued a new command.
Cecilia and Sean had been cooperating for a long time, developing some understanding between them. Upon hearing Sean's words, Cecilia immediately knew what to do. As she finished her final chant, the magical energy around Cecilia surged, and a fist-sized fireball took shape.
Minor Fireball!
Guided by Cecilia's focus, the small fireball whooshed out and landed between the two Wind Marked Black Wolves, causing an explosion.
The explosion of the fireball caused shockwaves, vibrations, and splashing sparks, forcing the two Wind Marked Black Wolves to let out a low growl and temporarily separate. However, this separation didn't have any significant impact. As long as the wolves bypassed the small patch of flames, they could easily reunite, making no difference from before.
Upon hearing Sean's tactical command, Durun furrowed his brow.
As a noble from the Kingdom of Polorea, even though Durun didn't know the specifics of the Wind Marked Black Wolves, that couldn't be an excuse for his limited perspective. Every citizen of the Kingdom of Polorea was well aware of the theorems of the magical world, and the principle that fire magic triumphed over wind magic in the field of elemental magic was fundamental. As a derivative law of this principle, using fire magic against wind-based creatures would undoubtedly inflict greater damage.
Even with the Minor Fireball spell, which was only an apprentice-level magic, if it was cast on a Wind Marked Black Wolf, it would still cause significant harm.
At least, Durun was aware that if he were in charge of commanding the battle, he would have instructed Cecilia to focus her Minor Fireball spells on a single Wind Marked Black Wolf, utilizing the collective power to eliminate one wolf first, instead of wasting a Minor Fireball as they were doing now. After all, Cecilia was only an apprentice-level mage, and she lacked the necessary spiritual and magical power to cast too many Minor Fireball spells.
Durun shook his head slightly. He was prepared to take command and engage in a fierce battle, knowing deep down that they might have to sacrifice one or two people in this fight.
As expected by Durun, after bypassing the small patch of flames, the two Wind Marked Black Wolves quickly reunited, and this time, they were even faster than before, clearly angered by the disturbance caused by Cecilia's Minor Fireball spell.
The faces of the four guards showed obvious signs of panic.
"Stay steady, don't be afraid!" Sean shouted coldly. "The big one in the middle, step back half a meter... Cecilia, fireball, force them apart."
"Do you know how to command?!" Durun was stunned for a moment, then immediately started scolding, "They are wind-based magical beasts! Don't you know that fire magic counters wind magic? You actually wasted a Minor Fireball spell in a situation like this! An apprentice-level mage can only cast the Minor Fireball spell three times at most!"
Sean completely disregarded Durun's point and simply glanced at the guards. Seeing them hesitate under Durun's words, he immediately shouted, "You two idiots in the middle, if you don't step back half a meter, you'll be the first to die! The other two, stand your ground, not even a step back!" With a hint of anger in his voice, Sean finally took a moment to give Durun a sideways glance. "Don't forget, this is the Starfall Forest!"
With just one sentence, Durun's momentum was momentarily stifled.
Meanwhile, Cecilia, having just cast a spell, was in a relatively active state of mind and magical energy. As a result, her second Minor Fireball spell was noticeably faster than before. Following Sean's instructions, she focused her mind on a spot not far from the four guards and unleashed another Minor Fireball spell.
This time, the two Wind Marked Black Wolves clearly saw the landing point of the Minor Fireball spell. Instead of showing any fear, their eyes revealed a bloodthirsty excitement.
At the same time, their four legs generated a faint whirlwind. With a light leap, the two wolves swiftly leaped to the left and right, evading Cecilia's attack with the agility of feathers.
Then, in the instant they landed, they pounced on the two guards who were standing out in the formation, moving like lightning.
Although they were still nearly four meters away from each other, in the eyes of the two Wind Marked Black Wolves, this distance seemed nonexistent.
It was a consecutive leaping attack!
This was one of the two attack skills of the Wind Marked Black Wolves.
The speed of the wolves' pounce was incredibly fast, leaving almost no time for the two guards to react.
But at that moment, Sean's voice rang out again, "The two on the sides, take a big step back. The two guards in the middle, move half a meter forward and attack the Wind Marked Black Wolves' necks!"
Sean's voice was so abrupt that the two guards didn't have any time to think or process their emotions. They acted purely on reflex: instead of preparing to shield themselves, they immediately took a step back. The two guards who had already moved half a meter back now swiftly ran forward, covering the half-meter distance in an instant.
The lightning-fast pounce of the two Wind Marked Black Wolves happened to land where the two guards had initially stood. If the guards hadn't stepped back, they would have been pounced on and brought down by the wolves. But unbelievably, it wasn't just that the pounce of the two wolves failed. As the two guards charged forward half a meter, they had already returned to their original positions. At this moment, they were standing right next to the two Wind Marked Black Wolves, almost arriving at the same time.
Without any need for thought, the curved blades in the hands of the two guards swung upwards towards the necks of the Wind Marked Black Wolves.
The airflow surrounding the wolves erupted immediately, blocking the blades' strike. It seemed no different from Durun's previous attack, or even worse, considering that these guards were primarily focused on defense and not particularly skilled in offensive techniques.
However, a hint of astonishment flashed in Durun's eyes as he witnessed the scene before him. He saw the two Wind Marked Black Wolves glance at the guards, fully exposing their throats.
"Shoot the one on the right!" Sean said in a deep voice. At the same time, he activated his sprinting skill and charged towards the Wind Marked Black Wolf on the left.
Bang!
The sound of the bowstring releasing the arrow came just half a second after Sean's charge, indicating the exceptional reaction speed of the archer.
But what truly surprised everyone was Sean.
In the eyes of the onlookers, Sean charged towards the Wind Marked Black Wolf on the left with a speed that was no less than when the wolves pounced on the two guards. Then, when he was close to the wolf, Sean abruptly stopped his momentum—a technique known to all experienced warrior players but was not perceived as such by others.
The sudden halt after high-speed movement would cause internal organ damage and shock. Only high-ranking experts dared to perform such a maneuver, but the problem was that Sean's rank was only Tier 1, a mere "Mercenary"!
Amid the astonished expressions of the crowd, Sean stood expressionless in front of the Wind Marked Black Wolf. At this point, the airflow turbulence caused by the sudden stop finally alerted the wolf, evident from the panic in its eyes. Just as it was about to leap away from Sean, his sword had already pierced through the wolf's throat, shattering the crystal nucleus inside and completely ending the monster's life.
Meanwhile, the arrow shot by the archer was clearly a skill they possessed. Regular arrows would have a hard time penetrating the tough fur of a monster. Originally, Sean intended for the archer to attract the monster's aggression since Durun, the knight, was still present. Sean's task was to swiftly deal with one Wind Marked Black Wolf and then focus the group's efforts on killing the other one before assisting Old Peter.
However, the current situation indicated that the archer's strength was quite impressive, which saved Sean a lot of trouble.
At the moment of the two Wind Marked Black Wolves' deaths, a surge of intense heat suddenly rushed into Sean's body, as if he were being burned by flames. In the blink of an eye, Sean's complexion turned somewhat pale, and his exhaled breath even carried a hint of heat, leaving the nearby guard in shock.
Nevertheless, Sean refrained from taking action and said, "I'm fine."
In stark contrast to this sudden burning sensation, Sean was ecstatic. After killing the two Wind Marked Black Wolves, his experience points had increased significantly. Although he had already guessed that experience points could be obtained through contract missions, he never expected that this real-world setting still retained the reward system for surpassing enemy levels.
However, from the current situation, it seemed that surpassing enemy levels might not be entirely beneficial. If the burning sensation were any stronger, it could cost him his life.
As the burning sensation in Sean's body subsided and he let out a muffled groan, the third mournful cry sounded. Sean turned his head in astonishment towards the other ignored battlefield, where he saw Old Peter, enduring injuries from a claw strike, impaling the Wind Marked Black Wolf's throat with a spear.
Likewise, almost at the moment the wolf died, the fading burning sensation in Sean's body erupted once again. While it made Sean grunt, it also directly raised his level to seven.