Free Web NovelChapter 22: Chapter 22: Whispering Forest
Kaelen walked out of the Crimson Aegis Guild with a rolled-up piece of parchment in his hand. The terrified receptionist had not asked a single question as she stamped his Bronze-rank party registration and handed him the bounty.
The busy streets of Aethelgard were loud, but Kaelen completely ignored the noise. Seraphina walked silently right behind his shoulder, her heavy brown cloak hiding her silver chainmail. High above them, completely unseen by the normal humans, Lyriel bounded across the clay rooftops. She moved like a silent ghost, keeping a perfect watch over her King.
They left the capital city through the massive southern gates. The dirt road quickly turned into a narrow, overgrown dirt path as they entered the Whispering Woods.
The forest was incredibly dense. Tall, ancient trees with thick green leaves blocked out most of the morning sun, casting deep, dark shadows over the forest floor. It was a dangerous place for normal merchants and weak mercenaries, but to Kaelen, the dark shadows felt like a warm, welcoming blanket.
’Lyriel,’ Kaelen called out through their mental Mana-Binding connection.
’I am here, Master,’ Lyriel’s smooth voice echoed instantly inside his mind.
’Move ahead of us,’ Kaelen commanded. Find the slaughtered trade caravans. ’Locate the wolf pack, but do not engage them until I give the order. We fight together as a unit.’
’Yes, my King. I will find them.’
A soft rustling sound echoed in the high tree branches as Lyriel used her incredible Level 60 agility to leap through the canopy. She was completely invisible in the dense foliage.
Kaelen and Seraphina walked at a steady, relaxed pace down the dirt path. Ten minutes later, Kaelen’s mind buzzed with a sharp notification.
’Master, I have found them,’ Lyriel reported through the mental link. ’There is a destroyed merchant wagon about half a mile ahead. I count exactly twenty mutated Iron-hide Wolves. There is also a massive Alpha wolf leading them. They are currently eating the horses.’
’Perfect,’ Kaelen smirked. Hold your position in the trees. Wait for my signal.
Kaelen and Seraphina moved quietly through the thick bushes until they reached the edge of a large clearing.
The scene was brutal. A large wooden wagon was smashed into pieces. Blood stained the green grass. Surrounding the wreckage was a pack of terrifying beasts. The Iron-hide Wolves were much larger than normal wolves. Their fur was thick, metallic, and jagged, looking exactly like sharp iron plates. Their eyes glowed with an ugly, unnatural red light.
Kaelen activated his Abyssal Aura to check their stats.
[Target Scanned: Mutated Iron-hide Wolf.]
[Level: 35]
[Status: Highly aggressive. Thick metallic hide grants high physical defense.]
[Target Scanned: Corrupted Iron-hide Alpha.]
[Level: 45]
[Status: Pack Leader. Possesses minor earth magic.]
For a standard Bronze-rank mercenary party, a pack of twenty Level 35 armored wolves and a Level 45 Alpha would be an absolute death sentence. It would require at least a team of twenty Silver-rank veterans to clear this forest safely.
Kaelen slowly pulled back his tattered black cloak.
"Seraphina," Kaelen said with a calm, cold voice. "Draw your blade. Take the front line. Break their armor."
Seraphina did not say a word. She stepped forward into the clearing and reached over her shoulder. She grabbed the hilt of her massive, heavy glass greatsword and pulled it out. The beautiful, translucent blade rippled with raw, suppressed power.
The moment Seraphina stepped into the open, the wolves stopped eating. Twenty pairs of glowing red eyes snapped toward her. The massive Alpha wolf let out a deep, terrifying howl that shook the trees.
The entire pack charged at once. They moved incredibly fast, their iron claws tearing up the dirt.
Seraphina did not flinch. Her beautiful golden eyes narrowed under her hood. When the first three wolves leaped into the air to bite her throat, she finally swung her greatsword.
She did not use any holy magic. She just used her pure, Level 85 physical strength.
SWISH. CRACK.
The heavy glass greatsword cut cleanly through the air. The terrifying physical force behind the swing completely shattered the wolves’ iron-plated fur. The three massive beasts were cut entirely in half before they even touched her. Dark blood sprayed across the green grass.
[Party Kill: Mutated Iron-hide Wolf (Level 35). +500 EXP.]
[Party Kill: Mutated Iron-hide Wolf (Level 35). +500 EXP.]
The rest of the pack hesitated for a fraction of a second, shocked by the brutal display of power.
’Now, Lyriel!’ Kaelen commanded in his mind.
The shadows beneath the trees suddenly rippled. Lyriel activated Shadow Step. She instantly teleported from the high branches directly into the shadow of a large wolf at the edge of the pack.
She rose from the darkness like a demon. Her twin steel daggers flashed in the dim light. She didn’t try to pierce their thick iron armor. Instead, she used her terrifying Level 60 precision. She drove her daggers smoothly into the soft, unprotected joints behind the wolf’s knees, dropping it to the ground, before instantly slicing its throat.
Before the surrounding wolves could even turn their heads to bite her, Lyriel vanished back into the shadows and reappeared behind another target. She was a flawless, invisible blender of death.
[Party Kill: Mutated Iron-hide Wolf (Level 35). +500 EXP.]
[Party Kill: Mutated Iron-hide Wolf (Level 35). +500 EXP.]
Kaelen watched his two generals fight with deep satisfaction. Seraphina was an unstoppable wall of brute force at the front. Lyriel was a deadly, teleporting phantom picking off the edges. Their synergy was absolutely perfect.
Seeing his pack getting completely slaughtered, the Level 45 Alpha wolf roared in pure fury. The giant beast ignored the two women and locked its glowing red eyes directly on Kaelen, sensing that he was the pack leader.
The Alpha slammed its heavy iron paws into the ground. A sharp spike of solid rock suddenly shot out of the dirt, aiming directly for Kaelen’s chest. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Kaelen didn’t even blink. He tapped into the Level 60 agility he had stolen from Lyriel. He tilted his body just an inch to the left. The rock spike missed him completely, whistling harmlessly past his ear.
The Alpha charged forward, opening its massive jaws to bite Kaelen completely in half.
"Too slow," Kaelen whispered darkly.
He channeled a thick burst of dark void mana into his right fist. He stepped directly into the giant wolf’s attack. Using his stolen Level 85 physical strength, Kaelen punched the Alpha directly between its glowing red eyes.
BOOM!
The impact sounded like a cannon firing. The terrifying physical force, combined with the explosive void mana, instantly shattered the Alpha’s thick iron skull. The massive beast was thrown violently backward, crashing through two thick trees before landing dead in the dirt.
[Target Eliminated: Corrupted Iron-hide Alpha (Level 45). +2,500 EXP.] [Level Up! Host is now Level 56.]
The remaining three wolves stopped fighting. Seeing their powerful Alpha killed in a single punch completely broke their morale. They whined in fear and tried to run away into the bushes.
"Leave none alive," Kaelen commanded coldly.
Seraphina threw her heavy greatsword like a spear, perfectly pinning one wolf to the ground. Lyriel teleported twice, easily catching the last two wolves and slicing their throats from behind.
Silence returned to the Whispering Forest.
Kaelen breathed in the smell of fresh blood and dirt. He felt incredible. His raw stats were so overwhelmingly high that surface monsters felt like fragile toys.
Lyriel stepped out of the shadows, elegantly wiping the blood off her steel daggers. Seraphina walked over and pulled her greatsword out of the dead wolf, resting it easily on her armored shoulder.
"Flawless work," Kaelen praised them both. He walked over to the massive dead Alpha. "We have proven that our party synergy is perfect. Now, let’s claim our prize." freёwebnovel.com
Kaelen opened his system inventory. With a wave of his hand, he used the system’s auto-harvesting feature. The dead bodies of the wolves dissolved into purple mist, leaving behind twenty pristine Iron-hide pelts and twenty glowing monster cores.
"We will turn in five pelts to the Crimson Aegis Guild to complete the quest and collect our silver coins," Kaelen calculated smoothly. "The rest of the pelts and the monster cores will be absorbed by the Primordial Core to generate more Dungeon Points. Our wealth is growing quickly."
Lyriel looked at the massive pile of loot and smiled. "The Church Inquisitors called you a weak Heretic, my King. If they knew how easily you slaughter Level 45 beasts, they would never sleep again."
"They will find out soon enough, little shadow," Kaelen smirked, his dull brown disguise eyes flashing with hidden violet light. "Let’s return to the capital. We have a bounty to collect, and an empire to fund."
