Chapter 77

The battle between the Flame Wolf and Tempest Wolf continued to rage on. To be honest, the sheer scale and duration of their battle had long since surpassed that battle between the Frost Wolf and Tempest Wolf in my memories. Despite that, the two alphas had still yet to show any signs of fatigue as if both of them have some boundless stamina and energy. And since their subordinates hadn’t joined the fight, the two alphas didn’t have to worry about accidentally committing a friendly fire. As a result, the two of them were able to unleased the full extent of their elemental powers without holding back.

Well, the circumstances of the battle back then were quite different so I guess that’s why… After accepting the offer of the Lightning Wolf, the two of us decided to split up whilst waiting for an opportunity to strike. According to our agreement, I would be in charge of Tempest Wolf, while the Lightning Wolf would handle the other one. The reason for this arrangement was that the Tempest Wolf was all the more likely to listen to me than the Flame Wolf. At such, in an ironic turn of events, I became in charge of stopping the violent rampage of the monster that I had been planning on hunting down.

What a ridiculous story… I lampooned inside.

Of course, in order to avoid tipping off the two alphas as well as their subordinates, both Lightning Wolf and I hid our presence before we start our operation. Because of that, no one except the Gigarillon knew that the two of us were lurking near the epicenter of the fight. And since the ape chose to remain impartial and just watch all of these unfold from the sidelines, we didn’t have to worry about him interfering with our plan.

Since the two alphas were too focused on their battle on hand, they didn’t even notice me as I crept up from behind. And though, I had no idea where the Lightning Wolf was, I was still quite certain that he was on standby somewhere nearby.

Seriously though, I can’t even find him unless I compress the range of my skill. But I guess I should have expected no less from a long-time alpha of a species that specialize in hunting. Although I had already seen some bits of what these alphas were capable of, I still found it quite concerning that they could pretty much rival me when it comes to my own fighting style. After all, this style was what brought me this far, so I consider it to be a specialty of mine. To make matters worse, my Shadow Manipulation skill also couldn’t measure up to these guys' elemental powers when it comes to a drawn-out fight.

With all that thought in mind, I could only let out a sigh. And then, I also can’t use it now because of the lack of stack. Worse, it is pretty much impossible to stack up in this place unless I want to stave… What a pain… I complained inside.

In the midst of my lampooning, the Tempest Wolf and Flame Wolf spread apart. And after creating such a distance between themselves, both of them made a sudden stop. But in the next instant, I sensed a huge accumulation of energy converging on their spots.

This… Once I saw that a single scene from my memory played out in my mind. Now’s my chance! I concluded in a flash.

Taking advantage of that opportunity, I immediately activated Accelerate and dashed forward. In the corner of my eyes, I saw a sudden flash of light coming from the other side. At that same moment, the two alphas released all the energy that they gathered into a powerful blast—each of which corresponds to the respective element that they command.

*BOOOOOOM!!*

A thunderous explosion ensued when that two blasts collide. What followed after that was a massive shockwave that swept everything in its path. But amidst all that chaos, I used the additional effect of Accelerate to combat that force and push myself forward. In the next instant, I swooped through that cloud of dust towards the silhouette still standing nearby.

When everything subsides, I was already standing beside the Tempest Wolf, with my claws pointed at his neck. That is enough. Stand-down. I commanded, ready to pounce on him anytime. But despite my threat, the Tempest Wolf remained collected and calm.

“Who are you?” He asked, looking straight into my eyes.

A humble passerby. I replied.

Switching his gaze upfront, the Tempest Wolf further inquired, “The Lightning sent you?”

For some reason, I got the impression that the Tempest Wolf was asking about our mutual acquaintance. No. I’m here as per agreement. I’m not working for him. I clarified.

“I see.”

At that, the Lightning Wolf stand-down. But even after doing so, he still kept his guard up. The proof of that was the wind swirling around his neck. And from what I could tell, that wind was capable of repelling my claws, thus effectively acting as some kind of pseudo-barrier to protect his neck.

Noticing that, I couldn’t help but admire the guy for his precision in controlling his elemental powers. After all, one wrong move and that wind could end up backfiring on him, decapitating himself in the process. Furthermore, his ability to deploy that thing in just a mere split-second was also quite troublesome. Because of that, I couldn’t help but wonder what could have happened if I decided to seriously push through with my attack. Would I be able to decapitate him first, or would he be able to protect himself in time?

Burying those questions deep inside, I turned my head to the side and stared straight forward. In that direction, I saw the Lightning Wolf pointing his claws on the Flame Wolf’s neck. But unlike me, the tip of the Lightning Wolf’s claws was so close to the Flame Wolf’s neck that I could even see a drop of blood flowing down. Furthermore, the said claws were also covered in this erratic crackling light, it flowed through those sharp claws, towards the small wound on the Flame Wolf’s neck.

If my guess was right, this would be the result once the Lightning Wolf augments his claws with his lightning powers. And since I could see some traces of sparks coming from the Lightning Wolf’s body, it should be safe to assume that he had done the same to his body before he rushed in. From what I could tell, the effect of this technique or skill was a drastic increase in both speed and agility, which based on my experience far surpass the capabilities of the combination of Shadow Augment and Accelerate. Most likely, this was the reason why the Flame Wolf wasn’t able to react on time.

Despite being cornered, the Flame Wolf still had the stubbornness to growl in rage and indignation. But what interests me the most was the fact that the Flame Wolf was now looking at the Lightning Wolf as if he had been betrayed. And though I wasn’t in range to hear what they were talking about; I was almost certain that he was demanding the Lightning Wolf to answer his question. It was, in a glance, obvious from his expression alone.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but be more confused about the relationship between these alphas. After all, the memories within me clearly portrayed these guys as mutual enemies fighting for the ultimate supremacy in this forest. This was even further backed up by the fact that their subordinates would inevitably clash every time they stumble upon a group from another pack during a hunt. Such incidents not only happen on neutral grounds but also when a hunting group invaded another pack’s territorial grounds. But now that I saw the interaction between these three alphas, I couldn’t help but suspect that there might be something more to it than that. In all likelihood, the Frost Wolf might even be involved in whatever it was.

As both Tempest Wolf and I watched in silence, I noticed that the Flame Wolf was becoming more heated each passing time. To be honest, it felt as if the Lightning Wolf would fail in his attempts to talk him down. Like seriously, it looked like another fight was about to start.

Just as that thought flashed into my mind, I sensed the Flame Wolf’s intent to pounce forward. But before he succeeded in doing so, the Lightning Wolf increased the intensity of the lightning in his claws and let it flow through. In a blink of an eye, I saw the Flame Wolf tensed up as he got electrocuted by that attack.

*CRSSHHHHH!!*

Despite being hit by the full brunt of that attack, the Flame somehow managed to withstand it using only his grit. Moreover, he even had the strength to release the heatwave that pushed the Lightning Wolf a few meters back. But as he was about to dash forward, the Lightning Wolf shot a thunderbolt to block the Flame Wolf’s path.

That attack made the Flame Wolf stopped in his tracks. And during that split-second time-lag, there was another flash of light that made a beeline on that same spot. When the cloud of dust subsides, I saw the Lightning Wolf standing there surrounded by these crackling and flashing lights.

Tsk! Looks like negotiations broke down. At that moment, I seriously considered killing the Tempest Wolf right then and there. After all, the said bastard was still exhausted from his previous fight, whilst the Lightning Wolf would be busy dealing with that other one. But for better or for worse, before I could make my decision, something happened and it caused all of us to freeze on our spot.

*FWOOOSSSSHH!!*

A wave of dark and sinister aura swept me up sending shivers down my spine. And in that brief moment, that inexplicable sensation spread around, filling the air with this chilling and ominous pressure. And while I stood there in a daze trying to figure what had happened, a bunch of notifications appeared in front of my eyes.

[A superior Authority had influenced this domain.]

[Notice: Activating Authority’s resisting effect.]

[Notice: Conditions were not satisfied.]

[Notice: Authority’s resisting effect wasn’t fully activated.]

[Status: Weakened.]