Chapter 54: Tougher than Expected.
The wolves sensed the extreme, dreadful premonition, but it was too late to react as a weapon most were all too familiar with was revealed.
Unlike most humans who might doubt the power or presence of a gun in Arcana, beasts were too simple-minded to think that far. Those yet to pounce whimpered, taking fearful steps backward — and as for those in the air?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A torrent of rapid-fired bullets killed their momentum mid-air. The bullets were so fierce that a single one plowed through two to three wolves before losing momentum, some even mowing down those who hadn’t yet attacked.
Crimson red blood sprayed like geysers, and chunks of meat and organs flew across the rocky scape.
The wolves whined and whimpered in agony as they rapidly struggled to retreat.
Their fierce momentum died out like flickering embers doused with sea-cold water.
"You bastard!?" the wolf king growled with uncontrollable fury, its teeth grinding together, its fur bristling. It howled, its tone betraying fury and the pain of loss. "I’ll make you regret this!"
Awooooooo!
It flung its head to the dwindling sky as a powerful, enchanting, resonant howl reverberated from its maw.
The sun had only begun to set, dousing the sky in a resplendent orange hue. With a long, majestic howl from the wolf king crying toward it, it was a moving sight — sadly, this creature was doomed to die.
Roy shook his head, his heart hardening as he held fire, waiting to see what cards the wolf king might pull.
Since the moment the beast had antagonized him — and Roy had heard it was a canine — its fate had been sealed.
Roy had set his sights right away on both its territory and its Order. He planned to pass it to Alpha and make that little guy stronger, bolstering his potential along with it.
Carrack! Squelch!
The wolf king’s bone structure began restructuring, its muscles writhing beneath the cloak of deep black fur. It slowly grew larger as its form twisted and morphed into something greater — something familiar...
Roy saw red, as a painful premonition panged in his heart.
A maddened cackle rang out from the now-transformed wolf king. "Yes, you were right. I took your subordinates only because I saw their potential..." Its maw stretched into an unsettling smile, almost reaching its ears, its eyes cold with mad rancor.
"But what I was most excited about was a little pup among the bunch — one that seemed to have something I craved... something I had to plunder... and I did!"
Roy’s heart skipped a beat, his breath hitching. Don’t tell me he killed Alpha!
Click!
Without hesitation, the ammo was loaded and the Crimson Drake resumed spitting out flaming metal bullets.
[Wolf King Amon (Wolf King Order)
Level: 13
Strength: 188
Agility: 212
Constitution: 300
Intelligence: 19
Ether Unit: 28
Comprehension:
Devour: 10%
Skills: Alpha’s Howl (A), Claw Strike (A), Crushing Bite (A), Lethal Pounce (A), Pack Synergy (S), Iron Hide (S), Ancestral Descent (SS), Canine Domination (SS), Lord’s Territory Blessings (SSS)]
Not only had the wolf king’s stats shot through the roof — reaching numbers meant to be impossible for its level — but this wasn’t what bothered Roy the most. It was the skill Ancestral Descent (SS).
He was familiar with this skill. It was meant to be Alpha’s. His heart lurched. How did this beast get an identical skill as Alpha? Was it a coincidence? Or...
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The wolf’s fur took on a metallic sheen as the bullets bounced off, unable to do anything. Its constitution, along with its indomitable defense skill, made it too robust for the bullets to penetrate.
"Do you recognize this form? Hehehehehe... It’s a gift from a subordinate of yours. And it turns out... it fits me better!" the wolf king revealed with a mocking cackle as it suddenly lunged at Roy.
Beside Roy, Jake frowned. This monster had grown beyond what he could handle — only if he still had his divinity...
Without time to react, the wolf’s hulking figure appeared before Roy, its crunching bite intercepted by Roy’s arm.
Its claws dug into the rocky ground as its jaws clenched and pulled. This was a ferocious attempt at ripping Roy’s arm off.
Roy’s muscles bulged defiantly under the pressure of the jagged fangs. His gun vanished, replaced by a silver baton.
Whoosh! Bang!
An unbelievably heavy strike pounded into its skull, the wolf’s defense crumbling as the baton dented its head in a single beat.
Roy’s arm rose again, ready to deliver another — but the wolf king dared not take another hit. It released its grip and retreated.
"Where do you think you’re going?" Roy’s voice echoed coldly.
His figure dashed forward quickly, one arm dripping with blood — but that didn’t impede his momentum in the slightest. He caught up with the scampering mutt, and his baton arced and—
Crunch!
It plowed mercilessly through its hip, definitely crushing bone.
But something strange happened. The wolf king remained fine. Instead, a painful growl was heard in the distance as one of the grey wolves dropped dead.
Roy frowned and struck again at the wolf — but it vanished, leaving in its place a member of its pack!
It seemed it could transfer damage as well as swap positions with its pack. "This will be troublesome."
Squelch! The poor pack member was reduced to paste on impact.
He stopped, his eyes trained on the wolf king now standing in the distance. Its previous glee was nowhere to be found as it snarled at Roy menacingly.
"You... can you lock space?" Roy suddenly threw a question toward Jake.
"Ah, that... I can try. But this is his territory — the chances of me succeeding would be low." Pondering for a bit, Jake added, "But I can definitely interfere with each transfer, delaying it for a split second."
Nodding, Roy approved. "That will do..."
A pair of golden gauntlets appeared on his hands as his mutated ether — Genesis — brewed.
The mystical force traveled to his feet, the milky gold cadence tainting the ground, forming a vortex-like pull. The cadence on his feet formed a push. The opposing attract and repel forces formed a magnetic field.
Bzzzzzt!
Wind blew as Roy moved with a speed far beyond what he was meant to be capable of. The wolf king felt the dreadful premonition — it tried forcing a swap, but like flowing water turned quagmire, space suddenly became too hard to manipulate.
Jake heaved furiously, veins bulging acrod his head genesis ether blooming from the depths of his soul, the feat of overpowering a lords control over space in their own territory was a lot more difficult than it sounded.
Jake was basically trying to sever a connection between the lord and their territory, which failed of course, he staggered backwards His ether dwindling to nothing as his chest rose and fell violently, he failed Successfully.
This struggle lasted for a fraction of a second before space reverted back to normal. Unfortunately for the wolf king, that split-second delay was all that was needed for Roy’s annihilating force to connect!