In the heart of the forest, where the trees formed a dense canopy, an elf was in a desperate race for his life. His breath came in ragged gasps as he sprinted, with thirty wolves hot on his heels. The underbrush clawed at his legs, and the shadows of the towering trees blurred past him.
This elf was none other than Herris.
His heart pounded like a war drum in his chest, and his lungs screamed for air as he pushed his body to its limits. The weight of the sword in his hand and the stick he had grabbed from the ground seemed to slow him down.
Yet, Herris kept running. He had no choice but to keep moving forward.
"AWOOO! AWOOO!" The wolves' howls echoed through the forest, their synchronized calls a chilling reminder of their coordinated hunt. Herris's pulse quickened as he glanced over his shoulder, seeing the wolves closing the gap.
Each wolf was a majestic creature, standing nearly 38 inches tall. Their muscular legs and sharp paws brought them closer to Herris with each stride.
Their fur was thick and well-groomed, their ears alert, tracking Herris's every move. Their eyes were locked onto him, nostrils flaring as they picked up his scent. Drool ran from their mouths, their sharp teeth eager to sink into him. Their single-minded focus was to hunt down Herris.
Herris led the wolves through the dense forest, using himself as bait. He deftly maneuvered through the uneven terrain, using the unpredictably growing branches to his advantage.
But Herris was in a tight spot. He had expected ten wolves, as per the daily mission tab. The appearance of 30 wolves was a curveball he hadn't anticipated.
Thinking on his feet, Herris headed towards the one place where he could stand his ground and fight: The lake.
Upon reaching the lake, Herris stood at the shore, bathed in sunlight. He could now see all the wolves clearly. Their eyes glinted with hunger as they slowed their pace, cautiously approaching him. The calm water of the lake provided a stark contrast to the tension in the air, creating a serene backdrop to the impending confrontation.
With the lake at his back and the wolves in front of him, Herris stood his ground, formulating his plan.
Herris, having been in countless street fights during his youth, recognized the look in the wolves' eyes. It was the same look he had seen in the eyes of those who had tried to end his life during his days of selling counterfeit goods. He knew the only way to escape this was to fight back to survive.
These snow-white wolves were unfamiliar to Herris, but he knew they hailed from snowy regions. He found himself questioning whether the wolves of his home planet behaved similarly to these creatures.
"AWOOO!"
As if announcing the start of the hunt, one wolf among the pack howled. This wolf stood out from the others, its left eye conspicuously missing, replaced by a gaping hole where the eye had been gouged out. It stepped forward slowly, its singular eye fixed on Herris with a menacing intensity.
"So, you're sending your weak one to test my strength, huh? Quite clever!"
Herris deduced the wolf's tactic and held his position, gripping his sword in his right hand and a wooden branch in his left.
"AWOOO!" The wolf sprang towards Herris with a powerful leap, its fangs exposed and claws outstretched, before the howl had even faded.
The wolf bridged the gap in a matter of seconds. Herris swung his sword from the wolf's blind side, but the wolf was one step ahead.
The wolf contorted its neck in an owl-like manner to target Herris's hand, oblivious to the fact that Herris had never fought a fair battle in his life.
"THUD!" The stick, propelled from beneath the wolf's head, splintered upon impact. The force fractured the wolf's jaw and sent it flying. Before the wolf could regain its balance, Herris plunged his sword into its remaining eye, ending its life before it could comprehend what had transpired.
[Wolves Hunted: 1/10]
**[Not bad]**
"Shut up!"
Herris silenced Val before she could utter another word, his attention solely on the task of eliminating the wolves.
"GRRR…" Another wolf pounced at Herris, hoping to catch him off guard after his previous kill and his self-dialogue. The strategy might have worked if it had attacked from behind, but Herris had a clear view of the battlefield and was fully alert to the danger.
The wolf lunged, its front paw aimed to rip open Herris's throat, but Herris was quick to react. He used the carcass of the dead wolf as a shield, thrusting it towards the attacker. The collision caused the attacking wolf to lose its footing and tumble to the ground, momentarily stunned.
Before the wolf could recover, Herris swiftly cleaved its head in two. Blood sprayed onto his charred clothes as the lifeless body of the white wolf slowly turned crimson. Soon, a gruesome pool of wolf blood covered the ground.
[Wolves Hunted: 2/10]
Herris flashed a broad grin and kicked the severed head towards the pack to provoke them, hoping to capitalize on their anger, but they remained composed.
"AWOOO!" The wolves howled in harmony. Moments later, three more wolves emerged, each noticeably more robust and intimidating than the others. These three wolves clearly surpassed the rest of the pack in terms of strength and aura.
"So, you're finally bringing out the big guns."
Herris realized that these wolves were different from those on his planet. They employed strategy, cunning, agility, and intimidation to dominate the battlefield.
In that field, Herris was number one.
The three wolves positioned themselves strategically: one directly opposite Herris, the other two flanking him, evidently planning a multi-directional assault.
Before the wolves could launch their attack, Herris pivoted to his right and charged at the nearest wolf. Seeing its target rushing towards it, the wolf reciprocated, followed closely by the rest of the pack.
Herris leaped at the wolf, determined to get within striking distance before the others could reach him. He brought his sword down in a swift arc while airborne, but the wolf nimbly sidestepped and sprang at Herris. The collision was inevitable, and Herris steeled himself for the impending clash.
"AHHHH…" Herris let out a blood-curdling scream as a wolf's fangs pierced his left hand, blood spraying and bones splintering under the brutal force. He crumpled to the ground, the wolf looming over him, its jaws gnashing mercilessly at his wounded hand.
The other two wolves seized the opportunity to join the assault, closing the distance with rage in their eyes. Their snarls filled the air as they coordinated their attack, moving in perfect unison.
Despite the agony etched on his face, before the other wolves could join and shred him into pieces, Herris reached under his shirt to retrieve an object and deftly placed it on the wolf's head.
The instant Herris positioned the object on the wolf's head, the wolf released Herris's hand, spun around, and decapitated the wolf charging from the right in one swift movement.
[Wolves Hunted: 3/10]
This unexpected turn of events caused the other wolf to hesitate and retreat a few steps.
The remaining wolves in the pack watched in horror as one of their own turned against another. Fear gripped them.
The creature that now stood before them was no ordinary wolf. The magnificent white beast, crowned and with eyes glowing a fierce golden hue, was a sight to behold. Its muscular physique was prominently outlined beneath its dense fur.
The crown shimmered increasingly brighter as the wolf's body expanded to a towering height of 60 inches—double the size of the other wolves. Its muscles bulged, becoming denser and stronger than a mature grizzly bear.
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…"
The wolf's colossal roar reverberated through the forest, generating a powerful soundwave that shook the trees and sent a tremor through the ground.
Herris, his blood seeping into the ground and his bones shattered, had risked everything to identify the strongest wolf in the entire pack.
Sporting a broad grin, Herris hoisted himself up using his sword, extended his weapon, and gestured at the pack, taunting,
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let the real hunt commence."
[End of Chapter]