"No, no, not like this, not…" Fang Ling cried out in panic, dropping the formation core to the ground as blood drained from his face. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! There were supposed to be at least two people fighting to protect the barrier, to keep them safe!
Why was Wu Ling helping Xiong Dahuo instead of dealing with the beast at their very door? Fang Lin's panicked mind railed. How could Jin Wuya fail so badly at the beginning of the battle? Where had Wu Ling's stupid rabbit gone when she was supposed to help create barriers to protect them? Why? Why had everyone abandoned him when they were supposed to be keeping him safe!
"It's hopeless," he muttered, backing away from the failing barrier. Fang Lin's eyes cast about the forest, looking for even the slightest break in the underbrush that he could dash to in order to escape this madness. Everyone here was doomed to die, they were just too stubborn to realize it!
"If I don't go now, I'll never have a chance," he told himself, building the belief within himself that what he was about to do wasn't just the best choice, it was the only choice. The right choice. The rational choice. The Scholarly choice. The choice... To turn and run!
The final layer shattered like a bottle of wine smashed against the rocks and with it, the last shreds of hesitation holding Fang Lin in place. Turning away from the battle, he sprinted as fast as his legs would take him, rushing towards the protection of the trees!
"Brother Fang, no!" Wu Ling shouted, so surprised by the Scholar's attempt to escape that his latest 'Ice' talisman, a spear of ice aimed at the charging wolf, missed its target entirely.
The wolf, empowered by the aura of the Wolf King, ignored Wu Ling and the others who held their ground, focusing entirely on running down the feeble cultivator that attempted to flee. While Su Xiang, a late-stage Brawler who had cultivated the Shining Blade Hall's Radiant Flash Steps could dash faster than any of the wolves could run, a sedentary Scholar like Fang Lin had no hope of outrunning such a monster.
Pain exploded in Fang Lin's mind as the wolf's jaws snapped closed on his calf, shaking him mightily and sending him sprawling face-first into the mud. Bone cracked as the wolf bit down fiercely, tearing flesh and tendons alike as its fangs savaged the young Scholar.
"Ahhhhhh!" Fang Lin screamed in pain, too overwhelmed to form coherent thoughts, much less words. His hands clawed at the mud as he fought to get away from the merciless jaws of the wolf but no amount of thrashing would free it from the murderous beast's bite.
"Wu Ling," Jin Wuya called, standing weakly as she moved her fists in a circle, gathering all of the energy she could manage into a brilliant ball of glowing golden flame. "I might hit Brother Fang. Can you get it off him or should I…?"
"I can do it," Wu Ling said, dropping to his knees beside a rock and pulling out a paintbrush and paints. Briefly imagining a pure, resonant note on a zither, he blocked out the sounds of Fang Lin's screams and dipped the tip of his brush in dark pigment, quickly painting the sinuous shape of a Paralytic Asp.
Working with a speed that would astonish mortal painters, he used a second, smaller brush and a medium gray pigment to quickly give the form the hint of a scale pattern before he used the blood-letting dagger to cut his finger and press it against the painting.
The Asp Wu Ling released was weak and feeble compared to the one he'd prepared on his Zither to attack Nalan Jiang but he hadn't taken the time to paint another one since he doubted the wolves would remain still long enough for an Asp to find them. At best, the bite of this asp would give him only a few breaths of time before the wolf could shake itself free of the venom but a few breaths might just be enough.
While the asp slid across the ground and Jin Wuya gathered even more golden flame energy to her fists, Wu Ling retrieved a special zither string, similar to the one he'd used on Nalan Jiang, along with a talisman he'd prepared in the days following his duel with Xiong Dahuo. The character for 'Physical Strength' would temporarily give him the strength of a late-stage Brawler, he just hoped it would be enough.
Wrapping the end of the zither string around one hand, Wu Ling sprinted toward the wolf, trusting that the Asp would strike before he reached it. Thankfully, his faith was rewarded and a short breath before he arrived, the wolf went stiff as the Asp's venom invaded its veins.
A breath later Wu Ling passed the zither string around the wolf's throat, wrapping the other end around his other hand and pulling mightily just under the corner of the beast's jaw. The pressure of Wu Ling's zither string cut deeply into the wolf's flesh, tearing at the tendons of its jaw and forcing its mouth open enough for Wu Ling to pull it away from the thrashing Fang Lin.
Blood flowed from Wu Ling's hands as the zither string cut into his palms but he had no time to care about it as he flung the wolf to the side and grabbed the thrashing Fang Lin with both hands. Without his talisman, he had no hope of restraining the pain madened Scholar but with it, he had just enough strength to lift the other man from the ground and charge back toward the kneeling figure of Yu Jinqi who had already started preparing to treat Fang Lin's savaged leg.
Next to the focused Alchemy Initiate, Jin Wuya was far less calm as she fed every last drop of martial energy she possessed into the largest ball of flame she'd ever manifested. All of her fear, anger, humiliation, and shame at failing to prevent this nightmare, she turned into kindling for the flames until she felt like she was holding the sun itself! When she could do no more, when the ball of flame reached twice the size of her own head, she hurled it at the paralyzed wolf!
For a moment, the clearing was illuminated by a burst of light as though the sun had peaked above the horizon in their little clearing in the forest. A wave of heat followed, blanketing the clearing with the stench of burnt fur and seared flesh.
After releasing the blast of golden flames, Jin Wuya slumped to her knees, all of her energy exhausted, but when the smoke cleared a moment later, relief surged through her. White bones stood out in stark contrast against blackened flesh, making it clear to everyone that the wolf hadn't survived her desperate attack.
A moment later, however, a howl of rage split the night, ruthlessly reminding Jin Wuya and the others near her that the night's fight was far from over.