Part Thirty-Two

Me and my big fucking mouth.

“Awoooooo!”

“Gah! You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me! Where the hell do they keep coming from!?”

We knew that there were more targets to kill, so we’d used the compass we were given to track them down. Only, they found us first. We’d been set upon by two wolf packs, each led by an alpha. That fight had been rough, but it was only the beginning.

More and more wolves had joined the fight, continually replenishing their numbers. There were so many that we couldn’t even keep up our formation and were reduced to fighting side-by-side. Everyone except Kalia and the archers were fighting in a loose circle, doing their best to kill as many wolves as possible.

The only positive side was that we’d killed both alphas, thus completing our mission. So if we could just get away from the wolves, we would be free and clear.

How the hell do they keep finding us? Are they attracting each other or something, because I’ve got no fucking clue what else it could be. There’s too many for this to be normal!

We were in a precarious situation. We needed to break through soon, because one strong monster could tip the scales away from us.

“Awoo! Grrrrrrr!”

And that dreaded moment had arrived all too soon. Two Shadow Wolves had arrived, bringing dread with them. I’d hoped we had killed them all last night, but I guess not. I hate these things!

The two wolves pounced on us immediately. One came after me, while the other went around to the other side of the circle. I could hear screams and yelling, so I assumed someone would kill it. I had my own problems to deal with.

*Clang!*

As it jumped at me, it swung its left foreleg at my head, which I dodged by stepping to the side. As I did so, I slashed at its leg and chest with both swords, but the cuts were much shallower than I was used to. This was because I had to conserve my mana pool. I had just under half left, enough to use Beast of the Nightmare twice, so I was forced to limit how much I used Sword Aura in order to keep from running out.

And the wolf must’ve sensed that. Its next attack was a lot more aggressive, as it lunged straight for my throat. Which was a mistake.

*Thunk*

My blade pierced through the bottom of its mouth and went right through its brain. While I might’ve been preserving my mana, I still had Skanda. Since that Skill didn’t require mana, I was able to use it as much as I wanted, so long as the cooldown was off.

Yeesh that was scary. It doesn’t matter if I know I can dodge it, watching its mouth come at me like that is still terrifying. I mean, its mouth is as big as my head! How wouldn’t that be scary?

I didn’t have long to appreciate my brush with death. While I had dealt with that one, the other was giving Braddock a hell of a time and he needed help badly. Everyone else was occupied, leaving few who could help. The Shadow Wolf had scared off the other wolves for a moment, giving me the time necessary to aid him.

I did have to stop to yank my sword out of the Wolf’s head though. I wasn’t going to make the cliché mistake of forgetting it.

“Michael, behind you!”

But just before I could rush off to help, Kalia yelled out to me. Since I wasn’t one to ignore a blatant warning like that, I turned around.

“AWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

And a shockwave almost immediately knocked me off my feet. It sent me flying over the heads of the other mercenaries and into a tree. Luckily, I had activated Beast of the Nightmare while I was mid-flight and because the skill boosted my Endurance, I didn’t pass out from the impact.

Endurance, by the way, didn’t increase your defenses, but rather your ability to endure something. It was the vaguest of the abilities strengthened by the System, but I figured it affected your ability to resist being knocked out or stunned. It might also affect your resistances to things like poison or disease, but I didn’t have a way to determine that.

Though even if I didn’t pass out, it still hurt. I had probably fractured another rib, something I was starting to get used to. Which I assume is a bad thing.

“Ergh, pituh! And now I’m spitting blood again. Get out here you fucking wolf!”

As if in response, the damn thing burst out of a nearby shadow. Maybe it had watched my earlier fight and thought it could deal with me, but I was on a whole different level right now. With Beast of the Nightmare active, a Shadow Wolf wasn’t going to be a real threat.

I didn’t even bother to parry its first attack. I just unleashed an Aura slash and cut straight through it. Both its arm and head dropped to the ground. And then I turned my sights on the other wolf. Braddock was still struggling with it and it had clamped its mouth onto his shield. It looks like they’re playing tug-of-war with it.

Deciding to make the most of the situation, I charged straight into the wolves surrounding the others, killing those I passed by. Not a single one was able to react before I cut off its head. Though I wouldn’t stay for too long.

The third Shadow Wolf sensed me coming and let go of the shield just before I could kill it, lunging for me afterwards. It must’ve determined I was the greater threat and tried to preempt me. Too bad I was faster.

*Shink, thud!*

Once again, I cut clean through both the wolf’s foreleg and head in one slash, a feat only possible through the combination of Sword Aura and the effectiveness of my Twin Swords. And I guess Beast of the Nightmare helped too.

It was a good thing I finished it off too, as Beast of the Nightmare ended seconds later. The one minute time limit was the only flaw to that Skill. That plan had been rather risky because of that, but it paid off handsomely. My killing spree had opened just enough of a gap to give us some breathing room.

Anyway, once the Skill wore off, my abilities returned to normal and so did the pain from my fractured ribs.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. Ribs, broken. Pain, intense.”

“Ah, I see. Get in the middle there. Kalia should be able to deal with that.”

A very good thing, as I didn’t have any Treant's Fruit. I sorely missed those bundles of joy. I ducked aside as Braddock re-brandished his shield, sending two wolves backwards. Seeing someone pull off a shield bash in real life sure was surreal.

“Michael!? Are you okay!?”

“Ribs, broken. Mostly okay though.”

I had taken the brunt of the shockwave, but it had hit a few others. They’d only received minor injuries, which had already been dealt with by Kalia. She works way too fast.

She placed her hand on my chest. I thought it was kind of weird, until I felt the pulse of mana go through me. It must’ve been some sort of Healing Magic to detect injuries.

“Well they’re not broken, but they are cracked in twelve different spots. You’re just lucky none of them did break or it could’ve punctured a lung. That would’ve been hard to heal. As it is, you need to stay still and let my magic work.”

I was in too much pain to try and argue with her. After seeing my acquiescence, she began to focus on a spell, scrunching her face up in the process. Her breathing became deep and rhythmic as she continued to focus. To be honest, this was starting to make me a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t until the glyphs started forming that I was able to calm down.

“[Mend]!”

Her shout caused the glyphs to circle around me, gently applying Healing Magic to my body. I could almost immediately feel my ribs knitting back together. My breathing soon evened back out and all the pain faded.

Phew, that’s better. Thank goodness for Healing Magic. Still, I didn’t know Kalia was the type to shout her spells' names like that. It’s kinda endearing.

“Thanks Kalia. I owe you for that one.”

“No you don’t. This is my job, the one thing I’m good at. Don’t go acting like you could’ve kept fighting even without Healing.”

That’s weird. She’s being very self-deprecating. No, it isn’t my business. I should stop trying to pry into other’s affairs. That’s gotten me into trouble in the past.

The fighting had dwindled while I was being healed. Most of the wolves were dead and the few that weren’t were fleeing. It was safe to say that we’d weathered the attack. All in all, close to three hundred wolves had died, but due to Kalia, we hadn’t had a single casualty.

“Everyone okay!? Does anyone else need to be healed?”

A chorus of denials affirmed that we hadn’t had any casualties. And that was when it set in. We’d not only survived against a difficult attack and held out all by ourselves. We had also completed our mission. The compass confirmed it. All of our targets were dead. Everyone wanted to head back to celebrate.

And in that moment, just before shit hit the fan, we all felt really good. For all of about three seconds.

“”””“MRAAAAAAAGH!!!”””””

“”””””AWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOO!””””””

“””””””””OOOOOIIIIINK!!!”””””””””

“RUUUUUUUUN!”

It was naïve of us to think it was over. Our ordeal had only just begun.