Year 0002, The Imperium
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August's sub-stealth stats have activated; he silently approached the unaware Grimfang from behind.
Slash, it was decapitated in an instant; its head rolled on the snow below, dyeing the land red with its blood.
It had no chance to fight back against August's stealthy attack.
He did not linger on the place and immediately rushed to get to the other end of the wall.
Before that veteran Grimfang could realize that its kin had already been slain.
And that they are now the ones being flanked and cornered.
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At the gates of the village, the Grimfangs main force had begun their assault.
Jonathan stood there like an unmovable fortress, soaking up all the damage.
The boy actually gave him a shield before they began to execute their plan.
Where August got that shield, he didn't know, but it was 10x better than his previous one.
And he is using it to defend and hold the line right now, and he could only thank him for that.
Since blows that would have otherwise destroyed his previous shield already were nothing compared to this shield.
The shield is very durable and well built; it is evident from him still standing on the front lines.
Without him buckling from the different claws and maws that came at him, it has been a good 5 minutes already.
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On the backlines of the main assault force, you can see a battle-scarred wolf staring at them menacingly.
The veteran Grimfang stayed behind and oversaw the overall layout of the current battlefield.
The humans were holding on pretty well; they even managed to injure some of the Grimfangs that are assaulting the gate.
When it saw that they could not break the solid defense.
It barked its orders; the other wolves would have to flank their enemies.
There is just one problem, though: Erik and Red were on a vantage point; they saw the complete picture of the enemy's strategy.
And they're completely denying their advance through the wall.
While still punishing the massive wolves, he exposed their sides with arrows.
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The veteran Grimfang saw this; they were stronger overall.
But why are they the ones currently losing their ground against these measly humans?
It seems the one tasked with guarding the gate is pretty sturdy.
The veteran Grimfang hasn't moved out of the backline yet.
It was wary ever since it lost the powerful entity's presence.
It began to doubt itself.
What trickery is this?
They are being bested in both fields, where they should've reigned supreme and unbeatable.
Both their excellent teamwork and their senses are being beaten by the enemy, and they have no answer for it.
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In another part of the forest...
Another unaware Grimfang has fallen victim to August's blade.
He slowly climbed up the tree where the Grimfang was standing below.
A moment later he leapt down, thrusting the spear downwards to its cranium.
*Pukkk
Another one down and 8 more to go.
He looked back in the direction of the village and whispered to himself.
"Finally a duel with the wolves leader."
He was running through the woods, and then he arrived near the back of the massive Grimfang.
August hurled his spear again towards the massive wolf.
A whistling sound cracked the air; the spear was flying through the trees while breaking the sound; it was fast and strong.
*Bang!
The lobbed spear was struck on the ground, and with a terrifying force, it sent snow and dirt flying in the air.
When the debris has settled, there was nothing there; it seems like August's spear missed its intended target!
The veteran wolf has managed to detect the oncoming threat on its back, and it leapt away immediately.
Avoiding the would-be mortal blow that could've critically injured it or worse, killed it.
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The veteran Grimfang was now alerted to August's terrifying presence.
It looked at the place where it was standing before.
There, it could see a spear that was struck on the ground, and a small crater appeared on it.
Pushing away the snow and dirt that was there before.
No wonder this entity killed the advance force with ease.
They couldn't have avoided this blow that was hurled at them even if they wanted to!
It growled and gnashed its teeth, showing its massive fangs towards its enemy; its hackles rose from its back, showing its very aggressive stance.
Its eyes were now blinded with rage; its mind was chanting inwards, towards its intended foe.
"KILL! KILL! KILLLLL!"
It has already activated an active skill of its own, Class V - Expert [Lvl. Max—Beast Berserk!]
Throughout the years that it had fought, the beast had managed to survive and utilize this skill very well.
It was now honed on the many territorial battles that it took part in.
The skill was upgraded to its highest class on the expert rank.
One more level up and it would be upgraded to become a Master Rank Skill.
And maybe, just maybe, his long ambition would be answered.
To be able to fight for the position of Chief Alpha in their wolf pack once again.
A hundred years ago, this veteran Grimfang also challenged the current chief of its position.
But it badly lost; they were comparable in terms of strength.
What made the gap widen was when the chief activated its battle skill and overpowered the veteran wolf.
And right now it has a chance to bring its own skill to a higher rank if it manages to kill this entity before it.
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The wolf charged at August; it leapt and powerfully swept its large paws at him.
But he managed to evade it while also launching a few arrows towards it.
But every time, it manages to bite off the incoming arrow, evade it, or swat it with its paws.
This is going to be a long and hard battle.
August ran around while launching his arrows towards the beast.
Some of it managed to land, but mostly it would be deflected by the beast.
So he mixed it up with his Class II-Novice [Lvl. 2—Wind Blade.]
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The beast was covered with wounds and had some arrows stuck on its hide.
But the beast seems to take no mind with his injuries, or rather, it felt no pain with its current wounds?
August looked at the Grimfang intently; it seemed to be in a berserk state. Is that the beast's skill?
A second later, huge fangs were already on his face; the wolf was offended by this entity's behavior towards it.
It dared to space out in the middle of their fierce battle!
How dare he mock and further humiliate the veteran Grimfang!
Its anger has now reached an intense level that it had never reached before.
Its attacks grew more intense and fierce; it wanted to rip apart this arrogant being that was in front of it.
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Swoosh! Woosh! bite!
August felt the intensity of the attacks rise; he was beginning to feel the pressure of it.
He evaded, blocked, and even countered with his short sword and shield.
He lost the range advantage; the wolf had ignored its arrow and Wind Blade wounds.
And it absentmindedly just rushed forward towards him, making the fight a close-quarters combat.
A couple of minutes later, slowly wounds appeared on August's body, his armor had been ripped in some places, and his shield began to show cracks.
The advantage he once had has now been lost completely; he looked at his current MP [1,100/1,656].
It was enough to use a powerful 10% [Piercing Bolt] from his Guardian Beast 'Aetherwing.'.
He looked for his spear and found it not too far from them.
He took their battle towards there.
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When they reached his spear, he pulled it out of the ground, momentarily leaving his sight away from his opponent.
The beast did not miss this chance; it clawed and swiped his exposed back.
Which sent him flying and barreling on the ground till he finally hit a tree and stopped.
The damage further took 30% of his remaining HP.
HP [755/1,889]: His current HP has fallen down to only 40%.
His health percentage, thankfully, hasn't fallen yet to 20%, or his title, "THE ONE WHO STRUGGLES WITH DEATH," would have activated itself automatically.
Luckily he hasn't had any use for it since then and has saved it up for times like this.
And right now he might be forced to use it; his sustained wounds are going to bleed him out.
His current HP REGENERATION isn't sufficient in negating the increasing HP wounds that he was inflicted with.
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August could only groan on the ground for a moment; thankfully, he wasn't knocked unconscious again.
He stood up quickly because he felt the beast's paws and fangs rushing towards him.
A moment later, the Grimfang arrived and launched another attack.
August jumped up the tree branch to evade.
It was now or never.
He used a 100 MP and launched his [Lvl.2 - Wind Blade] towards the beast.
Distracting it for a moment and sealing movements with the many Wind Blades that are coming towards it.
Then he used all his might to hurl his spear towards the beast; this time he would not miss it!
* Puiiikkkk! crrrckkkk! Bang!
The spear was lodged in the body of the beast, impaling it on the ground; it could no longer move from that spot.
August pooled all his mana to summon the [Piercing Bolt]; the air around him crackled, streaks of golden light were dancing on his right arm, and the whizzing sound of the sharp lightning could be heard all around him.
He threw it towards the veteran Grimfang!
* Bzzzzzkkkk! Puck! Bzzttttt!
It illuminated the wolf for a moment, and it pierced its head; it was now dead.
But August was also severely injured in this battle; his back has a huge claw wound.
And with his remaining strength, before he would collapse down on the ground, he went down the tree.
He grabbed the beast and dragged it towards the village.
Leaving a trace of their blood on the snow-filled ground....