Free Web NovelChapter 23: Battling the Wolf Alpha [3]
Three figures burst out from the shadows, moving with silent, predatory grace.
They emerged from the depths of the forest like assassins, their movements coordinated and swift. Their forms were cloaked in darkness, their features obscured, their presence deliberately hidden. They had been watching from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Lucien grinned, not baffled by their sudden emergence. He had been waiting for them.
It was the three Shadow Wolves from the pack. He knew there was no way they would watch as he reaped the life of their Alpha. They would rather die trying to protect their leader than flee like cowards.
The Volkoids here seemed to have no fear of death.
Lucien changed his direction of attack to one of the Shadow Wolves. He swung his sword, cutting the Shadow Wolf into two.
The blade sliced through flesh and bone like paper, the two halves of the wolf crumpling to the ground. There was no scream, no cry of pain, just the wet sound of steel parting flesh, followed by the thud of its lifeless body hitting the earth.
Shadow Stride.
From the shadow of the second wolf, Lucien burst out, his flaming blade ready as he claimed its life with a single swing. The wolf had no time to react, one moment it was bracing for an attack from the front, the next it was falling, its head separated from its body before it could even register the danger.
The Abyss Carver hummed in his grip, still hungry.
Flicker Step.
The third wolf was still looking at Lucien’s afterimage, its red eyes locked onto the fading illusion. It didn’t know he was already beside it, blade raised, ready to claim its life.
As it sensed the danger, it wanted to move, but Lucien was already beside it, swinging his blade.
The flaming Abyss Carver carved through its neck, and the wolf collapsed, its lifeless body falling, joining its fallen kin in hell.
Lucien stood amidst their corpses, their blood on the blade already evaporated to nothing by the heat of the flames.
HOWL!
A furious howl sounded through the forest, raw and guttural, shaking the leaves from the trees. Lucien turned to see the Alpha Wolf, who had already escaped, now standing at the edge of the clearing.
But seeing all its pack had died, its anger drove it to insanity. Its red eyes burned with madness, no longer calculating, no longer patient. It had lost everything, its pack, its pride, its control.
Its form began to twist. Shadow tendrils extended from its body, writhing and pulsing like living serpents of darkness. Its aura skyrocketed, pressing against the air with suffocating intensity.
Lucien creased his eyebrow, the change of the Alpha Wolf causing his expression to fall. The beast was no longer the same creature he had been fighting moments ago.
He noticed that even though the Shadow Wolves were weak, their bloodline potency was high. This transformation was proof of that.
He moved, not planning to give the Alpha Wolf any chance to do whatever it wanted. His figure blurred as he closed the distance, his flaming blade swinging in a wide arc, ready to strike it down.
But at the nick of time, the shadow tendrils extended, lashing out like whips of darkness. They coiled around his waist, tightening with crushing force.
This sudden attack shook Lucien. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, his vision spinning as he was yanked from his feet. He could only watch as he was smacked to the ground, the earth slamming into his back with brutal force.
The air left his lungs. His grip on the Abyss Carver faltered for a moment. Intense pain jolted through his body, white-hot and unrelenting.
It was when he felt the changed aura of the Alpha Wolf that he forced the pain down and got back on his feet, breathing heavily. His chest heaved, his lungs burning.
His stamina was starting to run out.
Its appearance hadn’t changed, but it looked more menacing. Its golden eyes were pitch black like the shadows, and shadow tendrils extended from its body, writhing and pulsing like living serpents.
Lucien held the Abyss Carver, flame igniting around it again. He had to end this battle quickly.
Before his eyes, the Alpha Wolf disappeared. His instinct picked up danger immediately, a cold warning flooding his senses.
From his shadow, the Alpha Wolf burst out. Lucien didn’t think twice, running from where he was.
Shadow Stride.
Two meters away, he appeared from the shadows, but the danger hadn’t left.
He still felt it. He looked before him; the Alpha Wolf was still there.
He immediately remembered the ability of the Alpha Wolf. It could create shadow clones.
Flicker Step.
He moved again, not thinking twice. His figure appeared a few meters away.
His face turned ugly. The sense of danger hadn’t disappeared.
There were two Alpha Wolves before him.
How could there be more? He cried out in his mind.
He quickly moved, trying to outrun and defend himself at the same time.
It can create two clones. Lucien roared out in his mind.
With such cultivation, there’s no way it can create two clones.
Lucien was wrong. This wasn’t only a bloodline transformation, the Alpha Wolf was burning its bloodline.
It was planning to kill Lucien even at the cost of its life.
The Volkoid had abandoned all reason, all survival instinct. It had thrown away its future for a single moment of vengeance.
Lucien barely had time to process what was happening before the Alpha Wolf moved.
It simply appeared before him from his shadows, its shadow tendrils coiling like serpents, its black eyes burning with killing intent. The force of its presence alone made the air grow heavy, pressing down on Lucien like a collapsing sky.
He raised the Abyss Carver to defend himself, but it wasn’t enough.
The Alpha struck.
Numerous shadow tendrils fused together to form a massive shadow tendril, lashing out faster than Lucien could track. It slammed into his chest like a battering ram, the impact sending a shockwave through his body. He felt his ribs crack, his organs shift, the breath torn from his lungs.
He was sent flying.
The world became a blur of trees and darkness as he crashed through the forest. His back slammed into one trunk, then another, each collision jarring his bones, stealing the air from his lungs. Branches snapped against his body, leaving gashes across his arms and face.
He finally came to a stop, crashing into a massive tree with a sickening thud. The impact was so violent that the bark cracked beneath him, splintering under the force.
Lucien slumped against the trunk, his body screaming in agony. Blood dripped from a gash on his forehead, blurring his vision. His ribs ached with every shallow breath. His grip on the Abyss Carver was weak, his fingers trembling.
He could barely stand.
The Alpha Wolf appeared before him, its form wreathed in shadow. Its breath came in ragged, heavy gasps, steam curling from its jaws. Its body was trembling, the bloodline burning was taking its toll.
But its eyes still burned with killing intent.
Lucien forced himself to his feet, using the Abyss Carver as a crutch.
His body screamed in protest, his vision blurred. Was he going to die?
No. Hell no. He wasn’t going to die after tasting death once.
