Chapter 71

About five days had passed since I decided to stay with Lightning Wolf’s pack. During this time, I fulfilled my agreement with the Lighting Wolf and assisted his subordinates every time they hunt outside. Every day, the Lightning Wolf would rotate the hunting team that I would join as if trying to help me get acquainted with the wolves from his pack.

As of now, I got to join at least four elite hunting teams and it seemed like these elites were the only ones allowed to hunt outside of the Lightning Wolf’s territory. But if I remembered it right, this was different from how it was supposed to be in the past. Back then, as long as there were at least two experienced wolves in a group, they could proceed to hunt outside. This was in contrast to what they were doing right now in which every member of the hunting group was either an undisputed elite or handpicked hunter by the alpha. Though of course, I still couldn’t rule out the possibility that this pack’s way of doing things was just that different compared to the one in my memories.

Luckily, I have yet to encounter any huge problems during a hunt. So far, we haven’t clashed against another hunting group from a different pack nor have seen any of them from afar. To be honest, it was quite confusing for me especially since I thought that my whole purpose was to guard these wolves against an ambush from an enemy pack. The way I see it, it was as if the wolves were deliberately avoiding any confrontations against their own kind. To summarize the atmosphere in a few words; it was like “the calm before a storm.”

While observing the skirmish between the wolves and their prey in silence, I began to summarize the situation in my head. If it is true that these guys really had changed in order to adapt to the change of times, then the relationship of the three remaining packs might be worse than I initially imagined. Because in this case, it might mean that the alphas were trying to preserve their forces as much as they can. In essence, these guys were probably preparing for a battle. One that will involve the three remaining packs!

For now, it was still questionable whether the three packs would fight amongst themselves. Because all things considered, it might be possible that these wolves were gearing to fight against that unknown entity outside. After all, mass migration was one good option if they want to solve their problem regarding the scarcity of food resources. Basically, it was invasion; the same solution that the ancient human kingdoms had thought of in order to fill in on what they lack. It might be brutal and barbaric, but these guys were monsters so it wouldn’t be surprising if they had such an idea. In fact, those ants from before were actually doing the same.

It will explain why that Lightning Wolf seems to be trying to recruit me. But at the end of the day, it is just one of the possibilities. Besides, that would lead to the question of why they didn’t try to migrate using that collapsed path when it was still usable… Wait—

At that moment, I sensed some trouble brewing up ahead. To be specific, one of the vanguard squads that was chasing prey happens to encounter a wolf from another pack. But what surprised me was the wolf seemed to be alone and was separated from his unit. Furthermore, based on the reading of my ability, the aura of that wolf was weak as if it was fatally wounded or something.

A trap? Since I was only using my ability to monitor the situation upfront, I couldn’t visually check if the stray wolf was just faking it, or if it was actually real. Fortunately, all the members of the hunting group were elites, so they didn’t forget to be cautious and alert for any possible ambush. For now, they were simply observing the stray wolf from a distance.

Of course, the instant that I noticed the problem, I immediately rushed towards that spot whilst keeping a low profile. Looks like the other squads have also noticed it so they were all in their way. Using my radar-like ability, I checked if there were any hostile presence nearby. But except for the presence of the stray wolf and our platoon, I realized that there was no other presence nearby.

What the—

An ominous feeling ran up my back. Sensing that something was wrong, I stopped in my tracks and cautiously looked around. It was only then that I finally perceived the odd and eerie silence all around. And because the huge trees were blocking the dim lights from above, the area was also blanketed in the darkness of the night. More than that, my senses were also jumbled up. It felt as if everything was a mess making it seem like the spot was isolated from reality.

At some point, a soothing sensation rushed up in my mind. As a result, the menacing darkness that was about to swallow me whole broke just like a glass. And as my mind gradually cleared up, I detected a hostile intent charging from behind.

In a snap, I followed my instinct and leaped out of my spot. At the same time, I heard a sharp whistling sound tearing through the air as I felt something grazed past my fur. When I looked back, I saw a dark and blurry silhouette moving amidst the shadow of the trees. But before I even managed to get a better look at my enemy, my surroundings had become chaotic once again.

Fortunately, that sensation was resolved a lot faster than before, and the moment that the muddled world shattered into a million pieces, I saw a thin-black object arching towards my neck.

?!

In that split second, my survival instinct kicked in and went into overdrive. To save my meager life, I activated the last bit of my Shadow Augment and used it to cover the surface of my neck. Then, upon the activation of Accelerate, I weave my head to safety and let the sharp object brush past my face.

“Guh!” With a grunt, I hopped away from that follow-up slash that came after that. Amidst all of that, there was a chaotic world and a soothing sensation once again. And as I turned my head towards the assailant, I realized that it was already gone from that spot. Even after looking around, I still failed to catch a glimpse as if the assailant somehow appeared and vanished into thin air.

Realizing that I couldn’t rely on my visual perception, I instead focused on my other senses and made use of my radar-like ability. By canceling its wide-area effect and focusing the search on my immediate vicinity, I managed to enhance its tracing and sensory capabilities to the highest extent for now. And as long as it was on, I could sense even the slightest movement of dust as long as it was within the range of my ability. The only drawback of this ability was the resulting mental burden when deciphering the much-needed details among that vast amount of information that it was gathering in real-time.

Coupled with Accelerate, I felt the fluctuations of the air moving in what seemed to be slow motion. In the next instant, I perceived a chaotic interference coming from my right blind spot. On its way, that particular interference distorted my ability as it threatened to swallow me up. But before it even managed to reach my position, my mind released a force of resistance that easily broke that interference apart. From what I could tell, it seemed like it happened even faster than the second one from before.

Once it was taken care of, I immediately detected the assailant that was hiding beneath that chaotic interference. Though this time, I pretended to be still affected by the enemy’s ability until the very last second of its attack. Seizing that opportunity, the assailant lounges itself with all its might. And using my powerful perception ability, I waited till the monster arch its back, in preparation to launch a full swing on my neck.

Before the monster realized what was happening, I charged forward in a flash. And using the speed and time perception that was granted by my skill, I swiped my claws towards the enemy.

For split second, I saw a glint of surprise in the monster’s eyes. But as it vanished, the monster tilted its body and deflected the direction of my attack. Following that, the monster made another swipe to the side, but I dodge it using the additional effect of Accelerate—Air-Drive.

Upon landing a little distance away, I finally caught a glimpse of the enemy. I see. I thought as I prepared myself to battle the monster to death. But to my surprise, the monster seemed to sense an incoming danger and didn’t hesitate to dip out. Wha— In my stupor, the monster got away and disappeared into the thick forest all because I was late in chasing after it. The only saving grace was that I managed to use Assess on the monster, so it was at least possible to verify its race.

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Underclaw

Level: 31

Status: Healthy]