Free Web NovelChapter 20: Shadow Wolves [2]
Lucien looked at the transformed shadow wolf before him.
The remaining four wolves underwent the same change. Their aura was twice as strong as before, radiating a ferocious, bloody presence that pressed against the air like a physical weight. The pressure settled on his shoulders, making each breath feel heavier.
Lucien frowned, his expression turning more serious as he focused on the transformed shadow wolves. Their molten gold eyes locked onto him, burning with ancient hunger.
It seemed he couldn’t only depend on his physical stats.
The shadow wolves charged again, their speed doubled. Their blade-like claws lashed out, attacking Lucien from all directions. The air whistled as each claw sliced through it, the dark sheen on their tips promising death.
Lucien immediately began to circulate his Originat, drawing the energy from his core and channeling it through his body. The familiar warmth spread through his limbs, sharpening his senses and reinforcing his muscles. His veins pulsed with power, his vision sharpening, his movements becoming more fluid.
He swung the Abyss Carver in his hands, and from his hands, the blade was coated in flame. The fire danced along the edge, casting flickering shadows across the ground.
According to what he had read, Shadow Wolves had a weakness to the light origin element and fire origin element. He hoped it worked in their transformed state.
He charged forward too, his speed faster with the use of Originat as he appeared in front of one of the shadow wolves. The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from the force of his launch.
CLANG!
Claw and blade clashed. Sparks flew as metal met bone, the impact sending a shockwave through the air. At the moment of impact, Lucien realized he might have underestimated the strength the Shadow Wolves now possessed. A jolt ran through his arm, the force pushing against his blade, vibrating up through his wrist and into his shoulder.
The other shadow wolves took this opportunity and attacked him. They moved in perfect synchronization, their claws aiming for his exposed sides.
But Lucien had been prepared for the worst possibility.
He swung his sword with a fast, fluid movement, deflecting their claws before they could reach him. The blade met each strike with precision, turning aside the razor-sharp claws with a series of sharp, ringing clashes.
All that sounded was the ringing of weapons clashing, metal against bone, fire against shadow. The noise echoed through the forest, a symphony of battle.
Their movements seemed fast in the eyes of mortals, but before true experts, they were slow. Lucien’s trained senses tracked every twitch, every shift of muscle, every flicker of intent.
Lucien pressed forward, his sword weaving between the wolves’ attacks. He ducked under a sweeping claw, the wind from the strike ruffling his hair. He spun, and brought the Abyss Carver up in a rising arc. The flame-coated blade caught the wolf’s chin, forcing it back with a sharp crack.
Another wolf lunged from his left, its jaws snapping. Lucien pivoted, driving his elbow into its snout with enough force to send it reeling. Before it could recover, he slashed horizontally, the blade scoring a shallow gash across its jaw. The wound smoked, the fire searing the flesh.
But they were relentless. The transformed wolves moved with brutal coordination, their claws aiming for his throat, his ribs, his legs, anywhere they could find an opening. Each attack was precise, each movement calculated to overwhelm him.
Lucien frowned when he saw this and decided to take things to the next level.
The shadow wolves charged at the same time, attacking Lucien simultaneously. Their claws converged from all directions, from his left, his right, from above, and from the front, leaving no room to escape, no gap to slip through. Each claw was aimed at a vital point: his throat, his chest, his ribs, his legs. A coordinated assault designed to overwhelm and kill.
There was no way he could dodge them all at once.
At the nick of time, flaming golden circular runes filled with unknown characters materialized in the air.
They appeared in an instant, blazing to life with intense golden light. The characters within them were ancient, unreadable, pulsing with a power that felt older than the forest itself. Each rune spun slowly, radiating waves of heat that warped the air around them.
They were five in total, appearing individually in front of each attacking shadow wolf. The runes hovered at chest height, their golden glow casting long, flickering shadows across the wolves’ snarling faces.
The runes blazed with intense heat, their golden light cutting through the crimson shadows of the forest. The characters within them pulsed with ancient power, radiating a warmth that pushed back against the wolves’ oppressive aura.
Dragon’s Scorching Breath.
Lucien called out in his mind.
From the center of each rune, a flaming dragon head emerged. The heads were formed of living fire, molten gold and crimson, with eyes that burned like miniature suns. They opened their jaws wide, revealing throats filled with swirling flames, and released a scorching breath that surged forward like a tidal wave of fire.
The flames roared outward, consuming the space between the runes and the wolves. The heat was so intense that the dead leaves on the ground curled and turned to ash before the flames even reached them.
The charging wolves immediately sensed the danger. They put up a defensive front instinctively, releasing a black, sticky energy that coated their bodies. The energy solidified into a dark, glistening layer, like pitch-black armor that clung to their fur and skin.
The scorching breath engulfed them, flames washing over their forms. The golden fire clashed with the black energy, producing clouds of dark smoke and the hiss of opposing forces. The wolves braced against the assault, their muscles straining, their claws digging into the earth to hold their ground.
But...
If one looked at where Lucien stood, it was empty.
Before one of the Shadow Wolves, Lucien appeared.
The flame around the Abyss Carver burned fiercer, radiating a fiery aura that scorched the air around it. The blade itself seemed alive, the flames dancing along its edge like hungry serpents, hungry for blood.
Flaming Slash.
He swung the Abyss Carver beautifully, the blade cutting through the very air itself. The flames trailing behind it left a golden arc in the air, a crescent of fire that hung for a moment before fading.
The shadow wolf, still defending against the scorching breath, sensed the danger instinctively, but it was too late. Its eyes widened, its body tensed, but there was no time to react.
The Abyss Carver claimed its life. Its head was severed cleanly, the blade passing through flesh and bone as if they were nothing but air.
No blood was spilled. The remnant flames around the wound had already burned it away. The severed head fell to the ground, already charred and smoking. The body followed a moment later, collapsing to its knees before falling forward, the black energy still clinging to its form as it dissolved into ash.
One down, four more to go.
Lucien moved, his body flowing like water through the chaos of battle. The shadow wolves, still unaware that their comrade had fallen, were locked in their defensive stance against the scorching breath. Their focus was fixed on the blazing dragon heads, their attention consumed by the golden flames that pressed against their black energy shields.
They didn’t see him.
They didn’t sense him.
Their senses were dulled by the scorching breath.
Lucien reappeared behind another wolf, the Abyss Carver already in motion. The blade sliced through the air, cutting through the wolf’s neck before it could even register his presence. Another head fell. Another body crumpled to the ground, the black energy around it dissipating like smoke.
Three left.
But as he moved to claim the third wolf, his blade rising for another strike, Lucien felt it.
Intense danger.
