"Agnes, focus on the battle at hand. Give it your all, don't hold back. Protecting His Highness is our top priority!" Seeing the large pack of wolves approaching, Alec yelled.
He then took a deep breath, his hands glowing with a teal light, the air filling with the scent of an ancient forest.
"Source of life!" He commanded himself in a low voice, beginning to chant a spell.
"Arise, forest guardian!" He shouted, slapping a nearby towering tree.
The glow in his hand spread over, seeming to crawl quickly over the entire massive tree like a living thing.
The tree let out creaking noises, its branches shaking violently, as if resisting the foreign power.
But soon, its posture became submissive.
And when most of it was bound by the glow, a horrifying distortion occurred, like dense liquid continuously morphing. Eventually it grew wooden arms and legs, transforming into a lumbering treant about 3 meters tall, standing on its own.
"Grr, grr!" The treant let out very strange sounds. It moved slowly but with tremendous strength, its bark extremely tough.
Seeing Alec successfully summon the treant, Agnes acted in perfect sync, taking out her bow and arrow and nimbly jumping onto the treant to gain height.
She swiftly nocked an arrow, glowing red with enchantment, like a shaft of burning light, especially bright in the dusk.
Whoosh!
Even in such dim and chaotic surroundings, Agnes' arrow shot out accurately, slicing through the air and piercing straight through a wolf's body.
"Awoo!" The wounded wolf howled, writhing on the ground, clearly done for.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Agnes moved quickly, sinking into position and repeatedly nocking and firing arrows at a high frequency, as if she didn't even need to aim, each time precisely hitting her mark.
But even so, she was unable to halt the wolves' heavy advance. They continued charging in droves.
"Onwards, for His Highness!" Emma worked up her courage, raring to go.
No matter what, they absolutely could not let any harm come to His Highness. For this, the Three Holy Maidens were willing to stake their lives.
"Roar!"
Just as Emma was about to join the fight, a giant wolf pounced and pinned her to the ground. Her delicate body seemed helpless and tiny in the wolf's jaws.
"Die!" Clara reacted swiftly, immediately injuring the wolf's head and rescuing Emma.
Leah also joined the battle, brandishing her longsword and desperately trying to drive back the attacking wolves.
Everyone was locked in bitter combat. Even as powerful as Alec and Agnes were, they couldn't quickly slay more enemies.
At this critical juncture, David and Christina remained useless within the protective circle.
They were forbidden from easily joining the fray to avoid risk.
To the others, ensuring the safety of the two Highnesses was most important.
"I should be able to handle beasts of this level..." David muttered to himself, but to accommodate everyone's feelings, he had no choice but to restrain himself from rash action.
Christina stuck close by his side without moving an inch, although she too was a protected one. Her mission was to protect David - she would not leave his side for even half a step.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Just then, Agnes' volleys of arrows continuously shot towards the distant wolf pack, giving off a cold glint. She struck down life after life with mechanical precision.
But she rarely attacked nearby enemies, resulting in them being surrounded at the treant's base.
"Grr, grr!" The treant grunted, lumbering and twisting its body, swinging and smacking at the pouncing wolves with its thick arms, trying to clear space for Agnes to shoot.
But it moved sluggishly, unable to effectively halt the wolves at close range. The situation grew increasingly dire for Agnes and the others.
Hiss, hiss!
Alec stood bravely at the forefront wielding his longsword, protecting everyone. He moved nimbly, his whole body wrapped in solid spiritual energy armor. Even when the occasional wolf bit him, it could hardly injure him.
Seeing three wolves pounce at once, even he struggled to fend them off. His left hand quickly emanated a muddy, turbid glow and heavily smashed the ground.
"Earth Shield!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A high earthen wall erected from the ground, temporarily isolating the wolf pack outside.
The battle raged fiercely. Most of the wolves were shot dead by Agnes' arrow rain, and a small portion were slashed by Alec.
Only a scarce few that broke through their defense came close enough to pressure the Three Holy Maidens, but they too were defeated when working together.
Alec and Agnes were valiantly unmatched, temporarily steadying the situation, but the enemies kept streaming endlessly. The circumstances remained dire.
David keenly observed the battle, quickly calming down to analyze the situation.
"The wolves are completely at a disadvantage. If this was a head-on clash, wiping them out would just be a matter of time. Our side has two Enlightened ones. The combination of a Sentinel and Archer is just too powerful!"
This was his first time witnessing Alec and Agnes' strength.
One was a close combat Sentinel, the other a ranged Archer, working together with the summoned treant as a shooting vantage point for the Archer.
It had to be said, they were quite thoughtful when originally choosing their class transitions. This combination allowed them to seamlessly cover both close and ranged combat.
The current situation was highly advantageous for their side. As long as they patiently whittled away at the enemy, victory was already at hand.
"Awooo!!"
The wolf pack was thoroughly enraged. Only after deeply engaging in battle did they realize the immense disparity between them and their foe.
They were usually cautious, often only ambushing weaker targets. Who would have thought they'd encounter such stubborn, formidable enemies today, suffering heavy losses yet gaining nothing.
"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"
Just then, the Wolf King suddenly let out a series of urgent long howls, as if conveying some kind of signal.
In an instant, countless pairs of bloodshot eyes lit up in the surrounding darkness, an intense killing aura blanketing the entire area.
"They're still not ready to give up?" David thought. The wolf pack was already at the end of their rope. This irrational counterattack would only bring about the crisis of their annihilation.
Regardless, even gathering their strength would hardly change the tide of battle.
In the instant following the Wolf King's howl, the wolves seemed to go mad, charging forward recklessly, completely ignoring Agnes' arrow rain.
"This is a suicide attack?" Alec's expression changed. He suddenly realized their target: "No, they're aimed at His Highness!"
"Quick, protect Their Highnesses!"
The wolves were extremely clever and bore deep grudges.
Their earlier failures drove them into a frenzy. They finally saw through the chink in the armor of their foe - everyone was protecting the two children in the middle.
This meant those two young Highnesses were incredibly important, likely carrying even more valuable possessions!
Whether life medicine or something else, in any case, having fought to this desperate point, the crazed wolf pack had already paid an enormous cost. If they didn't stake everything on this final gambit, their days ahead would only grow harder!
"Ah! Ah!"
Facing the wolves' mad suicide charge, the Three Holy Maidens valiantly tried to block them but were unable to halt their steady advance.
The first batch of wolves finally broke through, coming before David and Christina.
Their icy gazes carried arrogance, seeming to mock everyone's incompetence and the two children's frailty.
"Awoo!" A giant wolf opened its gaping maw, its sharp fangs pouncing straight at Christina, wanting to viciously tear this weak girl to shreds.
If they could defeat the two children and obtain the potential spoils, then retreat, the wolf pack might still be able to recoup their losses!
"How interesting, I'm actually the target?" At this critical juncture, Christina suddenly revealed an enchanting smile. Her amber eyes flickered with excitement.
Facing the wolf's attack, she not only didn't evade, but went to meet it head on.
Hiss!
She didn't even use any weapons. Her hands nimbly grabbed the wolf's neck, flipped it over and slammed it into the ground. Then with astounding force she quickly twisted and snapped its throat.
Crack! Crack!
"Awooo!" The adult giant wolf was easily strangled to death by a ten year old girl. It thrashed violently but soon breathed no more.
Everyone was shocked speechless. No one expected Christina's strength to be so immense that she could easily overpower an adult wolf.
Unlike Christina, David's approach was a bit more elegant. He drew his sword and just as easily lopped off the head of another wolf.
After the two finished their actions, everyone was stunned dumbfounded.
"This...His Highness' strength is too powerful!" Alec couldn't help but exclaim.
"Too amazing. As expected of His Highness. Clearly just 10 year old children at the Initiation level 1, yet able to instantly kill giant adult wolves..." Agnes was also deeply shocked.
They were very clear that the strength of a level 1 Initiation was limited. Among ordinary people they could be considered strong, but when facing beasts like these they were sorely outmatched.
The Three Holy Maidens raised by the Goddesses should be stronger than average Initiations, but their combat performance wasn't outstanding.
For the two merely 10 year old Highnesses to unleash such tremendous power, it was truly unbelievable!
"I might be witnessing the birth of two peerless geniuses!" Alec couldn't help but sigh.
Even managing to advance to Enlightened was a one in ten thousand chance, but compared to the two Highnesses, his own talent was negligible.
David and Christina's casual slaying also greatly shocked the wolf pack.
They seemed to be stunned dumb by the two's power. The entire pack froze for an instant, at a loss for what to do.
The wolves originally thought that as long as they broke through the perimeter and overwhelmed the two weakest children, they could easily seize the treasures and recoup their losses.
But now they were startled to discover that the two protected in the center weren't weak at all. On the contrary, their power was terrifying, possessing vicious predatory instincts.
When the two released their auras, it was as if ancient dragons had awakened, bringing a mighty killing intent that chilled the beasts' hearts.
"Awoo, awoo!"
The lead wolf far away issued another urgent long howl. The rest of the pack responded in succession. This appeared to be a signal to retreat.
The remaining wolves began fleeing every which way, their speed in retreating completely unlike their previous arrogance and impetuosity when they arrived.
Reaching this point, the wolf pack finally recognized the cruel reality - this was a slaughter with no chance of victory.
They had been duped. The enemies before them had extraordinarily formidable strength, while they themselves were already in a hopeless situation.
"Agnes, now!" Alec yelled.
"Got it!" Agnes already understood Alec's intent. This was an optimal opportunity.
She nimbly dropped down from the treant and gripped her bow with one hand. Her figure swiftly pursued the enemies through the woods.
Night had already fallen deeply. Agnes' silhouette flickered ambiguously amongst the shadows of the trees as she moved, nimble as a phantom.
Ordinary people couldn't make anything out clearly, but her gaze remained steady as she continued hunting forward.
Hummm!
At a certain moment, the profound blue in Agnes' eyes emanated a dim glow, locking onto a target in the distant darkness.
She smoothly nocked and drew her arrow in one breath, her feet never ceasing their tracking strides.
"Is it really okay for her to take such risks alone? At such high speeds, how can she aim?" Emma worriedly asked.
Because in these pitch black woods, she couldn't even make out Agnes' figure clearly. It was truly hard to imagine how dangerous going in alone was.
"Don't worry. Her Archer profession grants her night vision and far sight." Alec explained on her behalf.
"As long as she stays calm, she can even sense living creatures' body heat to determine enemies' locations behind obstacles. She'll be fine, she can do it."
Sure enough, just as Alec said.
After vanishing into the darkness, Agnes concentrated her power to form an enormous light arrow, preparing to deal the enemies a fatal blow.
Whoosh—
A beam of light arrows tore through the night, producing a sudden piercing sound. It cut through the layered shadows, growing even brighter and more powerful in flight!
It even directly pierced through a large tree, accurately lodging itself into the Wolf King's skull!
"Awooo!!" The Wolf King let out a miserable shriek then toppled over, dead.
The wolf pack instantly fell into chaos, fleeing every which way without coordination, completely losing cohesion.
"Mission accomplished! The wolf pack suffered heavy casualties. The alpha is dead. This pack is probably finished. They won't be able to threaten this road again for at least three to five years." Alec, as a veteran adventurer, accurately assessed the situation.
Agnes went deep into enemy territory alone and used her Archer's ultra long range attacks to kill the Wolf King, perfectly leveraging her occupational advantages.