Demon Wolf

The Brilliant Gate’s newest camp bustled with nearly identical activity as it did a few short hours ago. Marie did not have to bother with the initial roll-call. Everyone took their task, following some rotation rule Wolf did not bother cracking. The only exception were the twenty-four disciples who had scribed the defensive Spell Formation. They drew another copy, along with its glaring redundancies.

The giant seal sheltered another group of fifty-odd disciples who had suffered debilitating injuries during Wolf’s assault, leaving only a third of the wounded. Finally, while everyone worked or patrolled, the same group of six hundred went to sleep.

I see. They divided the defenseless people in three groups to increase their survival chances. A decent plan.

While Wolf would not attack those harmless people, Corpsewood had more than enough roaming Monster Beasts, not to mention the plethora of sects Brilliant Gate had offended during the short while since the secluded world had opened. It was likely those people would vent their hatred on their defenseless enemies.

Following them around like this is a waste of time. Do I have better alternatives?

“I could meditate and increase my realm. However, they have the map with that soul-reinforcing treasure, and for me that thing is worth more than the benefit of a few days of cultivation.”

Wolf bit his lip and decided to bide his time. He would wait for an opportunity to snatch Marie, or whittle at Brilliant Gate’s numbers.

Hours passed, and the enemy slowly advanced through the jungle, making two more camps, and ridding themselves of their wounded.

After almost a full day of stalking, Wolf found the disciples below capable. They slew and robbed a group of five female disciples in tight-fitting robes the color of cherry blossoms, and eliminated several roaming Monster Beasts without suffering a single injury.

Wolf had long since relaxed, eating and drinking when he felt like it as he stalked his prey. However, this leisurely situation could not last.

Suddenly, while he crawled through the branches, Wolf froze, his hair standing on end. An eager, predatory gaze had locked onto him.

Eviltongue manifested in his right, and Wolf glared towards the hostile intent. Off in the distance, three branches below, he saw a dark, bark-colored serpentine form with eyestalks protruding from its bulk. The protrusions resembled bare twigs, giving the monster a wide field of vision.

Grinder Constrictor? Wolf recognized the Monster Beast and exhaled a quiet sigh of relief while recalling the creature’s bestiary entry.

He glanced about and noticed a dozen more swarm members.

Just as the Brilliant Gate’s main group passed and the unsuspecting rear guard walked beneath the Grinder Constrictors, the Monster Beasts struck. They leaped off the branches, falling five to ten meters, each striking its target without error.

The moment the brown-shelled beasts came into contact with their prey, they wrapped around their victims, crushing them with their weight and digging their saw-like limbs into the soft human flesh. The poor souls did not have the time to react, but their horrified comrades screamed in terror, alerting the rest of the group.

The centipede-like monsters coiled around the women and squeezed, filling the air with wet crunches as bones shattered. They looped their forms around the already deceased victims, leaving only two meters of their bulk free to scuttle towards the towering trees as they carried off their dinners.

What peculiar lifeforms. They really didn’t spill a drop of blood. Wolf observed the scene without moving a muscle, his flamberge still drawn.

“They are going to start looking up after this,” his second Mental Aspect commented. “Marie’s gonna have people watching the canopy around the clock, and stalking them will become harder.”

Wolf cursed under his breath as the Grinder Constrictors dug their chitinous limbs into the trees and climbed with uncanny dexterity, fleeing before their prey mounted a counterattack. For a second, Wolf awakened his senses and saw the serrated appendages milling the bodies of those they had captured and countless tiny mouths greedily devouring bits of blood, flesh, and bone, not wasting a speck.

“Do not pursue,” Marie shouted. “Shoot the stragglers!”

Three dozen glowing arrows screamed through the air, striking the trailing monster’s carapace. The beast sent a surge of Qi and its armor glowed in the faint orange-red, revealing its mid stage Blood Saturating realm. The first twenty-odd missiles bounced off the Qi screen, but each shot weakened the barrier’s radiance.

Finally, the last ten arrows struck the chitinous exoskeleton, exploding it. Yellow ichor sprayed. Screaming, the Grinder Constrictor fell, crushing bushes with its bulk and landing on the ground with a dull thud.

The monster thrashed, splashing yellow and red as its blood mixed with that of its victim. Archers put the shrieking creature out of its misery, while others surrounded it, their swords and sabers drawn in case the beast lashed out at them.

Crap.

Wolf stored his weapon and ducked, hugging the waist-thick branch he stood on.

Over a thousand sets of eyes scanned the branches above their heads, and just as he could see them, they could have spotted him.

This just became a whole lot more troublesome.

“A thirty-seven arrow barrage handled that Constrictor like nothing, even though the monster is two to three stages above them.”

Oh, crap. Wolf felt the hostile intent’s sudden return.

Grinder Constrictors had climbed the trunk beyond his branch and three of them had their eerie, vesicular eyes focused on him.

Please, not now. We can fight later. By sheer luck, the monsters heeded Wolf’s silent plea and focused on their meal rather than on the intruder.

Below, the Brilliant Gate’s disciples kept staring up, clenching their weapons.

I’m certain every last one of them had scanned my location at least a dozen times by now. Wolf lay atop his branch, revealing nothing but the corner of his head as he observed the jittery women.

“Collect the corpse and we’re moving on. Everyone, keep your eyes wide open, danger may lurk from above.” While issuing orders, Marie inwardly cursed the braindead scouts who had missed a den of Grinder Constrictors so close to their home base.

The group moved on, and Wolf sighed with relief.

Tracking them by ground is dangerous, but using the low branches just became even riskier.

“I should climb to the taller branches, using the lower ones for cover. It’s not like I have to monitor their every move. I could just descend, or awaken my senses when commotion occurs.”

Wolf shifted his gaze to those higher branches which concealed the feasting Grinder Constrictors.

I shouldn’t provoke them. They are refining the Qi they had just consumed from Brilliant Gate’s people, meaning they are unlikely to attack unless I threaten them.

With that thought and another sigh, Wolf backtracked to the previous tree and circled around the Grinder Constrictors’ nest, following Brilliant Gate’s disciples with greater caution.

“How do I handle a barrage of Qi-infused arrows?”

Dodge, maybe some carefully constructed defensive Spell Formation? I can’t take it head on.

“Meaning, if I want to fight these women, I have to limit their visibility, identify and eliminate all their archers, or fight in an environment which makes it difficult for them to utilize their advantage.”

Realistically speaking, it’s almost impossible for them to get a chance to shoot at me. I have to climb a tree slowly enough for them to react, take aim, and riddle me with arrows. I mean, if I do it, my death is on me, not on the archers who took the free shot.

If I just crawl through the bushes, they will never hit me. However, that approach is useless. I could kill five or ten of them, but by doing so, I would alert them to my presence.

“They already know I’m here. That’s why they are doing all of this.”

Wolf clenched his teeth at that thought, but he could do little about it. The enemy changed direction at random after every rest, preventing him from setting a trap. As for attacking them to kill a dozen or two, it not only risked his life but also put the enemy on higher alert against future attacks, ruining a potential future opportunity.

Ten hours later, the chance he sought presented itself.

Wolf caught sudden crashes and snapping of branches while dipping homemade Lindworm sashimi into a mustard-like sauce, which he had made with the ingredients he had bought in the House of Fairness.

That’s big, angry, and it’s heading this way. He gobbled the juicy slice of meat before awakening his senses. As the world slowed down around him, the sounds grew clearer. While he could not form an image based on what he had heard, he deduced certain details.

There’s only one creature, it’s running in this general direction, and it has three sets of legs.

Just based on the number of limbs, Wolf already had a hunch what the monster was. However, it sounded much more massive than the beast he had slain earlier.

 

sleepydad88

Random Roll -

Spoiler

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the monsters courteously decided not to attack Wolf, but it was a close call.

Wolf got his lucky break near the end of the chapter.

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