Free Web NovelChapter 262: Chapter 260: Wear Me Down? I’ll Wear You Out!
"Awooooo——!!!"
Wolf howls echoed one after another, endlessly, scaring every other creature in the area into shivering and wishing they could dig three feet underground to hide themselves.
Even the mercenaries stationed at the outskirts could hear these sounds.
The overwhelming might conveyed in those howls sent the hearts of many mercenaries thumping fast, and the more cautious among them had already begun to leave.
They were all curious about what on earth had happened to cause such relentless wolf howling.
Wolf pack infighting? Or a magical beast war?
Nope.
It was Miss Hilia besieging the wolf pack!
More than twenty Icefield Wolves surrounded Hilia, pacing in circles, eyes fixed on her with predatory intent.
Before the Icefield Wolves attacked, Hilia placed her Magic Puppet on a tree at the edge of the clearing, setting it to standby. She cast Disguise Skill to make it look like a branch, hiding it and ready to use magic at any moment.
Because Hilia drew so much attention, the wolves hadn’t noticed that chunk of iron at all—they only had their eyes on Hilia.
Hilia provoked the wolves with a confident beckoning gesture.
"Is that all? Not much to brag about. If you’re tough, try a group assault!"
An Icefield Wolf circled behind Hilia and launched another attack, only to be knocked back by Water Reversal Disperse.
Hilia was getting more skilled with this magic’s effects.
From just slowing the wolves’ pounce, she could now fully repel them.
However, she still hadn’t reached the stage Rose described—where the repulsion would also cause damage at the same time.
And it hadn’t become a passive effect; it was still manual activation.
Hilia scrutinized the situation and muttered, "No good, I’m still only surrounded by Tier Two Icefield Wolves. None of the Tier Three ones have come out..."
Saying this, Hilia paused, then snorted lightly: "Are they treating me as practice prey for the wolf pups?!"
Tier Two wolves weren’t enough for her to master her passive skill.
Hilia made up her mind: "I’ve got to ramp up their attacks and force the Tier Three Icefield Wolves to show themselves."
She stopped defending and chose to take the offensive.
"Ice Blade!"
Ice Element condensed around Hilia, swiftly forming several ice blades that shot outward.
The most basic usage of Ice Blade Impact—Hilia hadn’t used it this simply for ages. Normally, she combined it with other spells for Combination Skills.
The ice blades tore out with shocking speed, nearly disappearing instantly into the bodies of the wolf pups who strayed too close, sending them flying to the pack’s edge with pained howls.
Feeling for the coldest direction, Hilia lifted her leg and headed toward the coldest spot.
"These Icefield Wolves have created a chilly little zone in the Star Spirit Forbidden Land. The coldest spot must be where the Wolf King is. Let’s go pay it a visit~!"
"Ice Blade!"
Hilia launched several more Ice Blades in succession, blasting away every Tier Two Icefield Wolf around her.
The wolves weren’t actually dead—just injured and, honestly, looked a bit miserable, blood puddling everywhere.
The main thing was, these Tier Two Icefield Wolves weren’t grown yet—not worth much.
"Let’s see how panicked you lot get."
Hilia raised her hand, readying one last Ice Blade to finish off the wolves lying on the ground.
A tremendous sense of danger washed over her—so intense that even Water Reversal Disperse wasn’t enough to block it.
Quickly using Water Reversal Disperse, Hilia instantly conjured an ice wall without hesitation.
Bam!
Claws shredded the ice wall, and the massive jaws of a gigantic Icefield Wolf lunged for Hilia’s neck.
But without the momentum of a full charge, it couldn’t actually bite her.
The girl frowned, gripped her Magic Staff in both hands, and swung it down hard.
Thunk!
"Awooo!"
Hilia shook her hand out.
"Damn, that’s a tough skull."
With a wave of her hand, she launched an Ice Spike right at the wolf she’d just smacked on the head.
The Ice Spike struck its skull and burst apart with a bang, enveloping the wolf’s head in a frosty mist.
Being an Ice Element magical beast, the wolf’s ice resistance was sky-high. That bit of damage wasn’t enough to take it out of the fight.
So—
"Shatter."
Hilia gave a low command, and the frost shrouding the Icefield Wolf immediately fractured. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Pumped full of Magic Power, although the wolf’s skull didn’t actually crack open, its body jerked and it collapsed.
An arc of Ice Blade slashed across, cutting deep into its belly, releasing a gush of crimson blood.
The thick scent of blood flooded out, and the Tier Three wolves lurking nearby began growling with agitation.
The sense of danger only grew stronger.
Hilia barely glanced at it—after confirming the wolf’s death, she kept moving forward.
This Icefield Wolf wasn’t actually dead, just knocked out; after all, it was Tier Three, an Ice Element beast with exceptional ice resistance.
So all Hilia did was bleed it out, both to incite the pack and ensure it would die from blood loss while unconscious.
"Tier Two Icefield Wolves aren’t worth much, and they’re not tasty either. But Tier Three? Their bones, their fur, their tails—all valuable... I’ll come back for the corpse later."
Hilia pressed forward slowly. Now she was encircled by Tier Three wolves, but they didn’t attack. They just followed, tightening the formation as she advanced.
Until a wave of intense danger rolled in.
Water Reversal Disperse triggered instantly, but the threat didn’t abate. From a hidden spot, her Magic Puppet raised its hand, casting a metallic net behind Hilia, blocking the source of the threat.
"It was an Ice Blade, huh."
Hilia looked over at the Icefield Wolf that launched the Ice Blade and, seeing it was much bigger than the others, put two and two together.
"The Ice Plain Wolf King, is it?"
Hilia shot the Wolf King a taunting look and beckoned come hither.
"Come on then—let’s see if you can wear me down before I wipe you all out!"
The Wolf King was clearly smarter than the other Icefield Wolves. Recognizing Hilia’s provocation, it immediately let out a furious roar.
The surrounding Tier Three Icefield Wolves instantly launched their assault on Hilia.
However—
"Even so, you’re still bound by your instincts. Until the prey falls, you won’t attack all at once. That works for me."
As the wolves pounced, Hilia countered with Water Reversal Disperse.
When spells flew at her from behind, Hilia dodged, letting the spells hit other Icefield Wolves instead.
It didn’t take long before the wolf pack stopped using spells entirely and focused on seizing opportunities to pounce, attacking more fiercely with each try.
Whenever Hilia turned around, a wolf or two would charge in from behind or the sides.
Put anyone else in the same situation, and they’d have been completely overwhelmed by now.
But Hilia wasn’t worried at all.
Combining Water Reversal Disperse with her danger sense became smoother by the minute. What was once frantic defense turned into effortless maneuvering.
Her magic, too, was getting sharper with each use, bit by bit morphing from manual to passive mastery.
Encircled by the pack, she strolled along with ease, gradually approaching the coldest point.
There, she spotted an enormous cave.
Cleverly sidestepping the Ice Blades that even Water Reversal Disperse couldn’t fully block, Hilia examined the cavern mouth before her. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"So this is the den? Time to see if there’s any treasure inside."
With that, Hilia strode right in.
Suddenly, she noticed the Icefield Wolves abruptly stopped attacking, circling outside the cave and refusing to go in.
At the same moment, an odd, almost undetectable pollution seeped into her body.
She paused, looking deeper into the cave. Mage’s Hand materialized, forming threads that probed into the cavern wall.
Moments later, she blinked in surprise.
"Rune markings of an Array? Is this a heretic base?"
