"AOOOW!" Grey Wolf let out the biggest roar of its life, echoing thunderously through the valley, shaking the mountains.
Its eyes, almost bursting from their sockets in red fury, expressed its immense anger.
The black flames around its body erupted like a volcanic explosion, sending shockwaves in all directions.
As the mane dogs, thunder leopards, and scorpion lion prepared to tear the Six-tailed Spirit Fox to shreds, Grey Wolf descended like a demon, leaping onto the cliff wall and then springing down, traversing tens of meters and knocking the fastest thunder leopard away before firmly positioning itself in front of the severely injured Six-tailed Spirit Fox.
Despite only being at Silver Level Four, Grey Wolf completely disregarded the higher levels of its adversaries, its fiery eyes seemingly capable of burning the heavens and the earth.
With a skyward howl, Grey Wolf managed to frighten all six higher-leveled beasts into retreating.
The fallen warrior, initially startled by Grey Wolf's ferociousness, thought a Gold Level King Beast had arrived.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was just a Silver Level Four double-headed demon wolf without a contract and became overjoyed.
"Hahaha, what luck! The intelligence was right; that kid does have a sentient double-headed demon wolf. Staying behind to ambush was the right choice. Haha, I prefer a double-headed demon wolf over the Six-tailed Spirit Fox..."
The three Bronze Level Six mane dogs, realizing Grey Wolf was only strong in presence and not in level, charged forward in response.
They opened their massive jaws, their teeth capable of crushing wild buffalo skulls, and simultaneously lunged at Grey Wolf.
Meanwhile, one of the thunder leopards, cunningly avoiding a direct confrontation, leaped onto the cliff wall and prepared to pounce on the severely wounded and unconscious Six-tailed Spirit Fox.
As the enemies attacked, flames erupted from Grey Wolf's body.
Grey Wolf leaped high, transforming into a blazing meteor, and slammed into the side of the thunder leopard.
The Silver Level Five thunder leopard was sent flying by the impact, crashing into the cliff wall with a thunderous sound that sent snow and debris cascading down.
Before the thunder leopard could cry out, Grey Wolf pounced again. Its jaws locked onto the leopard's throat, while the other head clamped onto its spine. Its claws dug deep into the cliff wall as it ruthlessly slammed the leopard against the rock, deepening the bite and increasing the bleeding while preventing any struggle or resistance.
This was a hunting skill Eddie had taught Grey Wolf.
He had explained that many beasts have an instinct to feign death, and simply biting the throat might not be lethal. The best hunting method was to attack both the throat and spine simultaneously, especially since Grey Wolf had two heads.
During the attack, regardless of the enemy's struggle, it should deepen the damage, biting harder to maximize its bite force...
Grey Wolf, previously struggling with hunting skills, now unleashed them with mastery in this dire situation, driven by the sight of fresh blood from its prey.
It even surpassed Eddie's expectations, instinctively slaughtering its opponent without guidance.
Even the higher-leveled thunder leopard was helpless under Grey Wolf's assault.
Meanwhile, the lower-jumping mane dogs and another injured thunder leopard, limping away from Grey Wolf's strike, could only watch helplessly from below as Grey Wolf mauled their companion.
They could only furiously howl and provoke Grey Wolf from a distance.
The Silver Level Six scorpion lion, with its clumsy wings, attempted to fly and strike Grey Wolf with its venomous tail.
If poisoned, Grey Wolf's combat effectiveness would greatly diminish, possibly even leading to its death.
Before the scorpion lion could get close, Grey Wolf flung the thunder leopard from its mouth directly at it.
The scorpion tail pierced the leopard, pinning it to the lion's tail, eliciting a piercing scream that echoed through the valley.
Grey Wolf then leaped from the cliff wall, landing on the scorpion lion's back, ferociously tearing at its ugly wings and claws.
The scorpion lion, already overburdened by its own size and weight, further hampered by the additional weight of the leopard and Grey Wolf, quickly plummeted to the ground.
With a thunderous crash, the scorpion lion and thunder leopard hit the ground hard.
"Such intelligence?" The fallen warrior was astonished, finding the double-headed demon wolf a hundred times smarter than he had imagined.
Grey Wolf kept pressing down on the scorpion lion as they fell, rotating mid-air and firmly stepping on the lion's head.
Only when the lion crashed into the snow did Grey Wolf release its grip, nimbly bouncing up to offset the impact force.
The three mane dogs immediately lunged at Grey Wolf with ferocity, opening their lethal jaws to bite.
But it was too late. Grey Wolf, swift as lightning, targeted the severely injured thunder leopard.
Having its throat bitten, spine injured, pierced by the scorpion tail, and smashed into the ground, the thunder leopard would have been dead if it weren't already at Silver Level Five.
Struggling to escape back to its master, the leopard was suddenly rammed by Grey Wolf, sending it flying.
Grey Wolf, with a roar that echoed through the mountains, once again slammed the thunder leopard against the cliff.
With one wolf head firmly biting the leopard's throat, drinking its blood to hasten its death, and the other tearing at its belly, Grey Wolf remembered Eddie's advice: When facing a group of formidable enemies, start by killing the weakest one with a fatal strike.
Grey Wolf didn't understand Eddie's saying, "It's better to cut off one finger than to injure ten," but it had learned from Eddie's demonstrations the importance of killing one enemy completely.
As the thunder leopard neared death, it unleashed a desperate burst of electricity, shocking Grey Wolf but not deterring it. Despite being electrocuted and charred, Grey Wolf refused to let go.
Another thunder leopard launched an electric orb, but Grey Wolf dodged skillfully.
The leopard, attempting to save its comrade, bit Grey Wolf's rear and joined in the electrical assault.
Surrounded by electric currents, Grey Wolf endured the pain as it continued its vicious attack.
The three mane dogs and the scorpion lion kept their distance, wary of the electric onslaught.
Grey Wolf, through relentless biting and clawing, finally ripped open the thunder leopard's belly, spilling blood and entrails. Suddenly, a rune metal column descended from the sky.
The fallen warrior, 'Mane Hunter,' smashed it down on Grey Wolf's spine.
Grey Wolf, previously evolved into an Iron Spine Demon Wolf, withstood the blow that would have broken its spine.
It roared thunderously, shaking off the metal column and tearing the thunder leopard apart.
Fearful the leopard might still be alive, Grey Wolf even ripped out its still-beating heart and devoured it.
In three minutes, Grey Wolf had slaughtered its first enemy, a Silver Level Five thunder leopard.
Mane Hunter, enraged at the loss of his thunder leopard, swung the rune metal column furiously, sending Grey Wolf flying.
Grey Wolf tumbled through the air and crashed into the snow, leaving deep gouges in the ground. Blood dripped from its mouth, but its eyes blazed with demonic fury, coldly fixating on the fallen warrior.
The scorpion lion's tail launched a sneak attack, striking Grey Wolf's right hind leg with a swish.
Unfazed, Grey Wolf swiftly turned around, pinning the tail with its paws and ferociously biting along the scorpion lion's tail.
The scorpion lion, in pain, whipped its tail, flinging Grey Wolf onto the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Grey Wolf recalled Eddie's advice about exploiting a lion's weaknesses: lack of rear leg strength, inability to stand or jump, and difficulty in attacking enemies behind.
Grey Wolf attacked the scorpion lion's rear, inflicting severe internal damage. With instinct and Eddie's teachings, Grey Wolf fiercely tore into the scorpion lion, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
Stunned, the fallen warrior Mane Hunter couldn't believe the sight before him. The Silver Level Four Grey Wolf was brutally overpowering the Silver Level Six scorpion lion, even under his own attacks.
Enraged, Mane Hunter repeatedly struck Grey Wolf with the rune metal column. Despite the vicious blows, Grey Wolf tenaciously clung to the scorpion lion, tearing out its entrails with hundreds of claw strikes.
Grey Wolf followed Eddie's strategy: focus on killing one enemy completely.
The scorpion lion, though not yet dead, suffered immensely, desperately trying to flee but held back by Grey Wolf's relentless assault.
The three mane dogs hesitated to approach, intimidated by Grey Wolf's ferocity. Mane Hunter, recovering from his initial shock, attacked Grey Wolf with renewed fury.
Grey Wolf, undeterred, continued to maul the scorpion lion, enduring Mane Hunter's relentless pounding. Finally, Grey Wolf loosened its grip as the scorpion lion lay near death.
In the background, the mane dogs whined, too scared to engage the frenzied Grey Wolf, who was determined to kill the scorpion lion.
Mane Hunter, exhausted from repeatedly smashing Grey Wolf with the rune metal column, landed a final heavy blow on Grey Wolf's spine.
The scorpion lion, though still alive, was on the brink of death.
Grey Wolf, drenched in blood from both enemies and itself, staggered towards the Six-Tailed Spirit Fox. Mane Hunter, the fallen warrior, was exhausted and had never encountered such a resilient demon wolf.
In ten minutes, Grey Wolf had slain its second enemy, a Silver Level Six scorpion lion.
"Attack, kill it!" commanded Mane Hunter, pointing at the severely injured and bleeding Grey Wolf.
Against all odds, the badly wounded Grey Wolf let out a roar that caused the remaining leopard and mane dogs to retreat in fear.
"You're all useless!" Mane Hunter, infuriated, raised the rune metal column to finish off Grey Wolf.
Suddenly, six bloodied fox tails swept him away, and the Six-Tailed Spirit Fox's form expanded tenfold.
Its spiritual power erupted, and it emitted an aromatic fragrance as it released a burst of purifying light onto the dying Grey Wolf.
In an instant, Grey Wolf's wounds visibly healed, its black flame exploded, and it howled to the sky, echoing through the valley.
Revitalized, Grey Wolf was once again the indomitable force it had been. The Six-Tailed Spirit Fox, having expended its energy, shrank back to the form of the Three-Tailed Snow Fox, its eyes gently closing as if passing away.
Enraged, Grey Wolf launched a frenzied attack on Mane Hunter, its new target being this powerful human. No matter what, he had to die!
"I hate that look in its eyes, kill it!" Mane Hunter felt an unfamiliar fear under Grey Wolf's gaze.
Five minutes later, Grey Wolf viciously snapped the spine of the obstructing leopard, its third kill.
After half an hour, despite being torn and wounded all over, with even one of its heads shattered, Grey Wolf stood triumphant over the carcasses of all the mane dogs. It had killed its sixth enemy under the combined assault of Mane Hunter and his beasts.
Mane Hunter, bloodied and sweating profusely, trembled with fear.
For the first time, he was terrified by a battle creature he had once deemed insignificant. If this Silver Level Four two-headed demon wolf had been just a bit stronger, he, not the wolf, would have died.
As a renowned beast tamer in the Demon Palace, Mane Hunter had more expertise and taming skills than ordinary warriors and had encountered countless formidable creatures.
Yet, he had never seen a two-headed demon wolf with such unwavering determination to survive and kill.
Given its injuries, the demon wolf should have died long ago, but it didn't and even sought to kill him.
Grey Wolf's injuries should have left it unable to stand, waiting only for death. Yet, it continued to fight.
"Whether you're a two-headed demon wolf or a three-headed hellhound, I refuse to believe this. Today, you must die!" Fear gripped Mane Hunter.
He felt that if he didn't kill this two-headed demon wolf today, he might as well give up taming beasts. The mere thought of those terrifying, blood-red, murderous eyes haunted him.
"If you want to kill me, dream on. Do you really think you can kill me in your current state?" Mane Hunter sneered.
He knew Grey Wolf was completely exhausted and that one final blow would end its life.
Mane Hunter raised the rune metal column, channeling his greatest strength for a thunderous strike.
"Boom!"
Just as Mane Hunter was about to deliver a deathblow, a huge figure shielded Grey Wolf.
It was the Six-Tailed Spirit Fox, which had feigned death and sprung to life, using its body to take the fatal hit for Grey Wolf.
Grey Wolf watched as the Six-Tailed Spirit Fox, now reduced to a bloodied Three-Tailed Snow Fox, lay beneath the blood-stained rune metal column, sacrificing itself for Grey Wolf.
With its last strength, Grey Wolf furiously lunged at Mane Hunter, locking its jaws around his throat.
Ten minutes later, Grey Wolf, with a broken front leg, a shattered head, and bones exposed through its wounds, spat out Mane Hunter's head and laboriously crawled towards the Six-Tailed Spirit Fox.
A long trail of blood marked its path.
The fox, crushed under the heavy rune metal column, had made the ultimate sacrifice, its white fur stained red with blood.
Grey Wolf, lacking the strength to move the column and save the fox, could only bite and futilely tug at it. Memories of Yue Yang's instructions to take care of the Three-Tailed Snow Fox echoed in its mind.
Suddenly, tears of blood welled up in Grey Wolf's eyes, falling drop by drop.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-woo..." Grey Wolf let out the most sorrowful, heart-wrenching howl, a sound that resonated through the valley, lingering long and mournfully.
Grey Wolf, the indomitable fighter, finally collapsed, draped over the rune metal column.
As its blood-red world faded from consciousness, the once dull rune metal column began emitting a faint white light, growing brighter and revealing vivid runes that rose and swirled in the light.
Golden runes entered Grey Wolf's body, while white runes entered the body of the Three-Tailed Snow Fox.
After some time, the light weakened and vanished. The rune metal column shattered into pieces.
The noise awakened Grey Wolf, and its eyes snapped open.