Seeing the bat coming after him, his smile widened as he continued running towards a small cave made from piles of white stones. Under the influence of his Curse Eyes, he had long spotted the wolf slumbering inside the cave.
Picking up a large stone, he hurled it straight into the cave, hitting the wolf.
The wolf was startled! It howled in extreme anger and scuffled out of the cave, causing the stone's edge to crumble from the impact.
By the time Han Xiao had departed the area, the saber-toothed wolf spotted the black bat diving downward.
The wolf's howl echoed through the forest, a cry of betrayal as if the bat had shattered the longstanding agreements of the Willow Forest, upheld by those residing within its core.
Unperturbed, the bat pressed on in its pursuit of the human youth, leaving the enraged wolf behind.
The wolf opened its maw wide, channeling its bloodline skill to ignite its blood. A flickering silver electric bolt crackled into existence and shot toward the bat.
As the bat hovered in the air, it was an easy target for the electric bolt. The silver bolt struck its torso, causing the bat to shriek and fall, its body convulsing from the shock of the electrocution. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
The bat crashed onto the verdant grass field, skidding to a halt as it struck its head against a mid-sized Willow Tree. Han Xiao, standing atop the piles of white boulders, watched as yellow electric arcs coursed over the bat's body. He felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him after narrowly escaping the beast.
"Let's see if the mid-stage Saber Tooth Wolf is stronger or if the late-stage bat is superior," he muttered to himself.
Naturally, the bat would be stronger than the wolf, but because of its bloodline, the wolf had the power to fight back. The electric bolt attack was effective against the aerial nature of the bat, so the only option for the bat was to engage in a ground fight.
The bat quickly recovered from its paralyzed state and shrieked in agony and anger. Instead of focusing on its prey, it redirected its bestial intent toward the Saber Tooth Wolf. This reaction was precisely what Han Xiao had anticipated. He had set the stage, and everything unfolded as the two beasts engaged in a tussle.
With his arms folded across his chest, Han Xiao watched the scene unfold as if he were watching a captivating television series, where he was partly the producer and a full-time audience member.
The fight scene unfolded as an unruly melee exchange between the two beasts—the bat used its sharp claws and flexible leathery wings to engage with the pair of sharp sabers protruding from the wolf's mouth. Physically, the wolf was gradually forced backward, retaliating with its long, black tail whipping through the air, causing the bat to bleed from its legs and neck region.
The more the bat bled, the more it went berserk, growing stronger with each passing moment. With a loud bang, the wolf was slapped away and tumbled into a thorny bush. The bush, naturally inclined to trap its prey, ensnared the wolf.
The bat didn't miss its chance, bursting forward with remarkable speed to claw at the wolf's throat. But just as the bat's sharp claw was about to strike, the wolf swiftly reacted, igniting a surge of its bloodline power. Ten bolts of silver electric arcs crackled around its body, converging at its tail. With precision, the wolf whipped its tail, landing a direct hit on the bat's torso.
With a loud "Peng!" the sonic thrust of the electric strike blasted the bat backward, rolling it over the grassy field. Groaning in pain, black smoke with a thick odor of burning meat permeated the air. The bat's body was covered in several long scars, but there was no blood, just burnt wounds. It convulsed from the electric shock, struggling to regain control of its body.
After blasting the bat away and inflicting heavy damage, the silver electric bolts concentrated around its tail surged back and incinerated the thorny bush trapping it. In just a quarter of a breath, the thorny bush turned to black powder, freeing the wolf from its entrapment.
By that time, the bat had also stood up, its claws gripping the umbrella-like wings for support. Glaring daggers at the wolf, it unlocked its bloodline skill. Igniting its blood, a strong bloodlust emanated from it as it began biting its own body in several places, mutilating itself. Most of its bite marks were over the burnt wounds on its skin.
Bleeding profusely from all over its body, its aura had reached another height!
Han Xiao saw a new notification flash in the vertical interface and muttered with a frown, "Not good. The bat is halfway through the next level, with one foot already in the next stage, which is Four Stars of the Soldier Rank. At this rate, the battle will end soon." He began to ponder what to do to ensure that everything went as planned.
But his worries were unfounded as the wolf began to howl, and the silent night was instantly shattered by the echoing cries of a thousand wolves from all directions. It seemed its entire pack was nearby.
"Hahaha, that's more like it," Han Xiao laughed aloud, clapping his hands with satisfaction.
Soon, he spotted hundreds of saber-toothed wolves lurking in the dark mist of the night. The surroundings reverberated with the furious howls of the pack.
Instead of shrieking, the bat showed an excited expression as white saliva kept drooling. The bloodline technique caused it to lose the last vestige of the intelligence it had gained.
The Saber Tooth Wolf King howled, commanding its large pack to join and attack the hateful bat for encroaching into their territory.
The Wolf King's strategy was a stroke of cunning, a testament to its innate intelligence. The disparity in strength was now redressed by the addition of its entire pack into the fray.