At that moment, the wolf king was in a very difficult position. With Wood stuck in its mouth, it couldn't bite down, nor could it shake him off. It was like having a bone lodged in its throat.
But the wolf king quickly came up with a solution and immediately put it into action.
Magic began gathering in its mouth, and as a red magic circle appeared, the heat started building rapidly.
Clearly, the wolf king was preparing to shoot another high-temperature fireball.
Wood was now trapped in front of the wolf king's mouth, unable to move, with both hands occupied holding off the wolf's teeth. There was no way he could shatter the fireball like before.
This meant the wolf king had the perfect opportunity: once it launched its fireball, Wood would have no choice but to take the hit head-on!
He could either try to block the fireball and get bitten to death, or he could continue resisting the bite and suffer the full force of the scorching flames.
"So, you're going to use magic, huh? Seems like we had the same idea," Wood muttered. "I wonder if your fire-resistant fur means your insides are also immune to fire. I'm curious to find out."
As the wolf king continued building up magic in its mouth, Wood freed one of his hands and formed a red magic circle in front of him.
Sensing an unfamiliar magical presence inside its mouth, the wolf king panicked. It immediately tried to clamp its jaws shut to crush Wood before he could cast his spell.
But it was already too late—the wolf king quickly realized that even with only one hand holding its mouth open, Wood was still too strong for it to bite down.
Though Wood's body bent slightly under the increased pressure, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
However, the wolf king didn't have much time either. If it couldn't crush Wood before the spell was released, it knew what would happen when two fire spells collided inside its mouth—and it wouldn't be pretty.
As a wave of heat burst from the wolf king's throat, an even more intense blast of heat erupted from the magic circle in front of Wood.
"Saint-Level Fire Magic: Crimson Nova!"
Regular fire burned orange and yellow, but the flames that exploded from Wood's magic circle were a deep crimson, like fresh blood.
The temperature was far higher than that of ordinary flames, and the crimson beam shot forward like a meteor, colliding with the wolf king's own fiery breath.
"Boom!"
The moment the two flames clashed, Wood swiftly pulled himself free and leaped back.
As it turned out, while the red wolf's fur was highly resistant to fire, its insides were not.
When the two powerful fire spells collided inside its mouth, the intense heat flooded the wolf king's throat and nose.
At the same time as it coughed up fire, the wolf king also spat out a torrent of blood. With a loud crash, its massive body collapsed to the ground.
This was the first time Wood had used Saint-level magic in front of others. Although the spell's power had been somewhat weakened due to his unfamiliarity with the staff, it was still a Saint-level spell.
And no matter how strong a magical beast might be, taking a direct hit from a Saint-level spell was no small thing.
Considering that the wolf king had been struck internally, it was impressive that it was still alive, let alone breathing. Wood had to admit the creature had remarkable vitality.
Walking up to the nearly-dead wolf king, Wood gripped his staff tightly, ready to give it a more dignified death.
"A magical beast with intelligence is incredibly rare, even among the beast kings.
It's a shame you picked the wrong opponent. But since you are a beast with intelligence, I'll give you a proper send-off with magic," Wood said solemnly.
As he raised his staff and the magic circle began forming in the air, the wolf king struggled to stand, despite the overwhelming pain surging through its body.
"Oh? Is this about your pride as a wolf king? You want to die standing up instead of lying down?
If that's what you want, I can grant your last wish," Wood said, respecting the wolf king's final stand.
To Wood, this magical beast was acting more like a warrior than an animal.
But just as he was about to deliver the final blow, the wolf king did something that took Wood completely by surprise.
Instead of continuing the fight, the wolf king lowered its massive head in front of Wood, its tail wagging slightly behind it.
This posture didn't look like a creature ready for its final battle.
Could it be…?
As Wood considered the possibility, a weak voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Powerful human, I wish to form a contract with you. I will serve you as my master. Please forgive my earlier disrespect toward you and my pack."
The sight of the giant wolf king, now sitting on the ground like a massive husky, left Wood stunned.
"You can communicate through telepathy?"
Wood was speechless for a moment. "Even if I agree to take you in as my… servant—uh, I mean, as my companion—your injuries are too severe. You wouldn't survive much longer."
If Wood could tame the wolf king, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
After all, intelligent magical beasts were already rare, and a beast like the wolf king, with the ability to communicate and such impressive strength, was even rarer.
Plus, with its potential, the wolf king could become a valuable ally in the future.
More importantly, it was a beast from the dungeon. After living here for so long, it might even know a way out of the labyrinth. That was something Wood was very interested in.
"That won't be a problem," the wolf king said weakly. "Although my internal injuries are severe, my body is highly resistant to fire magic.
If I receive treatment with Saint-level healing magic, I can recover."
The wolf king's voice was growing weaker, and it was clear it was hanging on by sheer willpower alone.
If Wood didn't heal it soon, the beast would die for real. That was why the wolf king had chosen to submit to him.
For a creature like this, survival outweighed pride. It wasn't a mindless beast; it knew when to bow to a stronger power.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 380+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a