The Dance of the Furious Winds slammed into Fars's magical shield with tremendous force. Although the shield absorbed nearly a third of Fars's mana, it ultimately held against the spell. However, the impact still sent Fars flying. He was genuinely grateful for the robe Master Perugino had gifted him. The defensive magic embedded in the robe was not even activated; its material alone was enough to withstand the wind blades that pierced through the magical shield. This was why, despite being knocked back, Fars was able to rise without any visible injuries.
While he appeared unscathed, his internal organs had indeed taken a severe blow. Fortunately, as a vampire, his physique was quite resilient. A normal mage would have been spitting blood by now.
This time, Fars was not going to stay behind Durl and play the support role. He knew that staying in the air, where he had the advantage, was the only way to ensure his safety. Spreading his massive wings, he floated above Durl and the blue wolf king, taking in the entire situation in the Wolf Valley.
Things were not looking good. Joanna and the others were struggling; the number of blue wolves surrounding them was increasing. Although Joanna could inflict serious injuries or even kill a blue wolf with each swing of her sword, and Master Perugino's massive fireballs could push back some of the wolves in front, the sheer number of blue wolves was overwhelming. If they continued to fight like this, they would likely exhaust themselves before even reaching the valley's exit.
The wolf king fought with the dignity of a ruler, refusing to let its subordinates join the battle. Facing a knight clad in solid armor and a vampire that only hovered in the air, the wolf king was not having an easy time. Each swipe of its claws could temporarily push the knight back, and every powerful attack spell it cast caught Fars off guard. Yet that damned armored human was still in front of it, occasionally displaying incredible combat prowess that temporarily suppressed the wolf king. But what it truly wanted to eliminate was the vampire flying above; if it weren't for the constant interference, the knight would have had no chance to counterattack.
It could no longer hold back its strength. While it was tied down by these two, its pack of wolves surrounded the other intruders, but their strength was not enough. They were currently sacrificing the lives of the wolves to stall for time. To deal with these damned humans, it had to take action itself.
Fars felt a chill run down his spine; he sensed that the situation was changing. The moonlight that had naturally gathered on his wings seemed to be drawn away by something below—the dangerous blue wolf king.
As the wolf king's aura surged, Durl felt the pressure mounting. After being pushed back once more, the great knight summoned a golden-maned lion.
A phantom beast! This was Fars's first encounter with someone else's phantom beast since learning about Denise's bloodline. From its aura, the golden lion had just entered the realm of advanced phantom beasts. If it were sent to fight the wolf king directly, it likely wouldn't last more than a few rounds. However, the true power of a phantom beast lay not just in its own strength but in its ability to cooperate with its master to unleash even greater power.
Durl promptly commanded his phantom beast to transform, donning golden armor. The lion's head formed a golden helmet that completely enveloped Durl's head, and the armor, adorned with lion motifs, made him appear even more imposing. Now, Durl stood before the wolf king like a golden giant.
The wolf king's aura seemed to reach a peak, and Fars was astonished to see its body begin to transform.
A werewolf! It turned out that the wolf king had werewolf blood coursing through its veins. With the moonlight's enhancement, it broke through its blue wolf form and stood upright on its hind legs. Although its werewolf form made it slightly smaller, standing at just over two meters tall, it was still taller than Durl. No one dared to relax; its aura was now significantly stronger—almost double that of its blue wolf form.
The wind generated by its overwhelming presence made Fars unsteady in the air, while Durl felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him. If not for his fusion with the phantom beast, which greatly enhanced his strength, he would have had no choice but to retreat and regroup with Master Perugino and the others to deal with the wolf king.
The werewolf wolf king arrogantly lifted its head. It had not encountered an enemy capable of forcing it into this form for a long time. But before it dealt with the armored knight, it wanted to eliminate that annoying vampire first.
With a bend of its legs, the wolf king unleashed a tremendous leap, causing the ground around it to sink nearly a foot under the immense force. Now in its werewolf form, it slashed at Fars in the air with its claws. Fars was too astonished to ponder how the wolf king could leap so high. The rapid swipe of its claws tore through the air.
There was no time to transform Denise; fortunately, Fars had maintained his magical shield even while airborne. As the claws struck the shield, he managed to activate the high-level defensive spell from his robe. The claws, diminished by the shield's magic, lost some of their momentum before crashing into the high-level elemental armor provided by the robe. They were unable to shatter the armor or tear through Fars.
Frustrated, the wolf king realized it could no longer leverage its aerial advantage to continue attacking. Reluctantly, it abandoned the opportunity to eliminate Fars. Shaken, Fars thought to himself how fortunate he was to have the robe from Master Perugino; otherwise, his vampire body would not have been able to withstand the claws of a top-tier magical beast.
Taking advantage of the wolf king's attack on Fars, Durl adjusted his stance and charged at the wolf king the moment it landed. His sword, empowered by the phantom beast, manifested a more robust golden lion illusion as he infused it with his fighting spirit. This technique resembled the one Fars had used to summon an illusion of the Thunder Python during his earlier hunt. The power of Durl's strike was far superior to that of the Thunder Python. This full-force attack showcased the prowess of a level nine great knight.
Just as the wolf king landed and was unable to effectively defend itself, it saw Durl's sword descending toward it. In a split second, the wolf king twisted its body with a speed that even Fars couldn't track. When Durl's sword struck, the resulting dust cloud obscured the scene, leaving only the silhouettes of two figures clashing. However, thanks to Fars's heightened sensitivity to blood, he could smell the fresh blood pouring from the wolf king. The scent was intoxicating, and Fars felt an overwhelming urge to dive down and drink deeply from the wolf king. It seemed Durl's earlier efforts had paid off. Although the wolf king had narrowly avoided a fatal blow, Durl's sword had still left a deep gash on its arm.
The wolf king's formidable regenerative abilities quickly healed the wound on its arm. However, being injured by two opponents much weaker than itself ignited all of its ferocity. With blood-red eyes, the wolf king began to attack recklessly. This was no longer a battle Fars could participate in.
Both the wolf king and Durl had reached their limits in speed. Fars, unable to lock onto either the man or the wolf, could hardly provide any magical support. Durl's figure was still somewhat visible, but the werewolf form of the wolf king was nothing but a blur in Fars's eyes.
Since he could no longer intervene in this battle, Fars quickly flew to Master Perugino and the others, summarizing the situation. The mage understood that Durl, with his strength, could only withstand a desperate attack from a top-tier magical beast for so long. He quickly issued a few commands and took to the air to assist Durl. Before leaving, Perugino gave Fars a stern order to protect the young nobles until he and Durl returned after dealing with the wolf king.
With the departure of a mage, the pressure from the wolf pack diminished significantly. The situation shifted from a slow advance to Joanna, Agno, and Fars forming a protective circle around the weakest member, Panasus.
The group remained remarkably composed, executing both offense and defense with precision, making few mistakes. Fars observed the gap between himself and these elite scions of noble families. Panasus, being only a level five swordsman, hardly contributed to the fight, merely using a military crossbow to shoot down the blue wolves outside. Joanna, on the other hand, was fully utilizing her skills as a high-level assassin. Each time she launched an attack, her form blurred, and she would inevitably take down an adult blue wolf, seamlessly returning to the safety of Fars's group.
While fewer blue wolves fell to Agno's sword than to Joanna's, the reason their defensive circle remained intact was due to Agno's broad sword. His swordsmanship clearly bore the mark of elite training; even in such perilous circumstances, he maintained a methodical approach, balancing offense and defense. The sword circle he created with his long sword prevented the wolves from crossing the line.
In contrast, Fars's contributions seemed rather dim. Without powerful spells to support them, and with skills only slightly superior to Panasus's, he reverted to his role of providing support behind Durl. Fortunately, they all understood that Fars was a vampire whose primary means of attack was magic, so they did not push him to the front lines. This allowed Fars to comfortably enhance their abilities or send the blue wolves some minor magical gifts.
The battle against the wolf king was far more intense than what was happening on their side. The impact of Master Perugino's involvement was beyond what Fars, as a half-hearted high-level mage, could compare to. The wolf king might not fear Fars's mid to low-level spells, even ignoring his attacks entirely. However, the magic wielded by Perugino was genuine high-level magic. Even the occasional minor spells carried significant power, and the wolf king dared not confront them directly.
Another Death Finger spell shot toward the wolf king, forcing it to dodge hastily, giving Durl another opportunity to inflict a new wound. The two had already reversed the tide of battle, beginning to pressure the wolf king. Durl was now free to unleash his attacks, and with Perugino's enhancement of Earth Guardian, the great knight could showcase his unparalleled swordsmanship even more effectively.