Edward was pressurizing the Regal wolf, not letting it have the occasion to recover. In his accelerated state he was faster than the monster, and the latter wasn’t able to parry all the attacks. Injuries were accumulating on its body and it was able to hold only because of its strong vitality and the delay its smoke form bought it. The only hope for the monster was that its brethren would overcome the guards before Edward could kill it.

A cry of pain echoed through the battlefield, soon joined by others. I can’t stay here. The guards are starting to get overridden. This isn’t working, I’m taking too much time to kill this monster. Even with all of the injuries I gave it, it’s still holding on. I can’t prolong the fight, I have to end it in one clean hit.

Instead of accelerating, Edward slowed down. He blasted his aura once more, forcing the Regal wolf into its physical form. Immediately after he teleported onto it, and pierce it with his dagger. Such an attack wouldn’t be enough to kill the monster and Edward knew it. While the blade was still inside the monster, he used his aura to elongate it. It was the first time that he was using aura while directly inside the body of a monster.

He felt resistance as if the Regal wolf’s aura was clashing against his own. However, the monster was already weakened through his numerous injuries. Edward was able to extend his dagger’s blade, piercing deeper and deeper into the monster. The latter tried to turn into smoke. Edward couldn’t blast his aura while still maintaining a part of it as aura blades. So, he tried something else. His aura surged pressuring the wolf form from every direction as if it was trying to hold the wolf in place.

The monster was still able to move, but it didn’t turn into smoke. The process seemed to have been stopped, or at least slow down because of Edward’s aura engulfing the wolf. Its black fur was shifting almost on its own as if it had already half turned into smoke. But its form was still solid, with Edward’s dagger deeply embedded into it.

The deadlock lasted for a few seconds before the wolf collapsed dead, Edward still on top of it. It wasn’t able to sustain this struggle while enduring those grievous wounds. Edward took another second to make sure that the monster was dead. As soon as he was sure of it, he teleported away to assist the guards in their battle against the wolves.

The wolves had managed to bypass the guards, one by one they were getting isolated and surrounded by the monsters. Instead of facing them frontally, the monsters were using a divide-and-conquer strategy. For now, they were focusing on the guards and ignoring the civilians that were yet easier prey. They knew that they didn’t pose a threat. Once the guards were dealt with, the villagers would have nowhere to run to.

What they didn’t consider, was that their leader would lose to Edward and that it would lose so quickly as well. With the addition of Edward on the battlefield, the situation stabilized before turning bad for the wolves. Edward was a hurricane of blades, cutting right through the wolves without slowing down. They weren’t his match, they were too slow to avoid his attacks, and his blades were cutting right through their hide.

With their leader dead, and an insurmountable opponent that was slaughtering them, the wolves left without further ado. There were still a lot of them but they couldn’t win this fight and they knew it. Before long, the Agripin’s inhabitants were left alone on the battlefield, the guards panting for rest.

Caspian and Balin took the lead, reorganizing the perimeter, even though this fight was over, it didn’t mean they were safe. They also listed the wounded and the levels of their injuries. There were a lot of guards who were slightly injured, but some had been unlucky and were in a grievous state. At least there were no dead, not yet.

The monster corpses were assigned to the wounded. Light injuries were healed without issues, even moderate injuries were healed after absorbing the blood essence of several wolves. However, one of the guards was in too much of a bad state to be able to absorb blood essence on his own. Not only had his right leg and arms been mauled by the wolves, but even his chest was cut deeply by claws.

The guard was heaving ragged breaths. Several comrades were near him, maintaining him awake. They had even brought a wolf corpse for him to absorb the blood essence, but he was in too much pain to focus on his aura and absorb the monster’s power. There wasn’t much that could be done. In a world with better health care, he may have been able to survive by patching his injuries and with the help of a blood transfusion. But in the present situation, he would die from blood loss before long. Already, his clothes were soaked with blood, and his complexion was getting paler.

Edward watched the scene, greeting his teeth. If only I had managed to rid myself of this Regal wolf, I would have been fast enough to save him. He wouldn’t have had to die if I was better. He was blaming himself even if he knew that crossing the Vipin Forest with all the villagers was a difficult endeavor. It was only to be expected that there would be casualties or even deaths.

What can I do? He wondered feeling helpless. I don’t have any healing power. That’s when he remembered the healing syringes. He had used one during his fight against the first Regal wolf he had encountered, he still had two of them left.

He took one in his hand, marveling that something so small could save a human life. He knew it was precious and that it could help him in the future. However, he didn’t hesitate. He just couldn’t watch someone die in front of him while knowing he could save him.

“Let me through!” Edward asked firmly. He kneeled near the seriously injured guard. “Don’t worry, everything will be all right.” He pierced the syringe into his chest, injecting its content. The others were looking at him inquisitively, wondering what he was up to. They didn’t have to wonder for long. The wounds closed, and the flesh knitted on itself to seal the injuries. The bleeding finally stopped.

“I’ve only used it on myself once and for lighter injuries. I don’t know exactly how effective it will be. I think it is for the best if he rests. Once is he feeling better, he can drain a monster to recover.”

“Won’t the blood essence dissipate by then?” one of the wounded friends asked.

“That won’t be a problem,” Edward answered, engraving the durability rune into the wolf’s corpse laying right next to the wounded.

He stood up and walked away, beholding the state of the encampment. People were slowly calming down now that the encounter was over. However, even though it was already late, he doubted much of them would be sleeping through the night. For many, it was their first time seeing a monster of the Regal wolf caliber, especially outside the relative safety of the walls. I wouldn’t be surprised if the children or even their parents have nightmares for several nights.

They had been lucky, there had been no deaths in this encounter, and even the injured weren’t maimed and would be able to recover. What about the next encounter? Edward couldn’t help but think. He let out a breath. It’s just two more days before we are out of the forest. We can make it. He told himself, only half believing it.

He settled into the middle of the camp, sitting cross-legged. This time he didn’t meditate, he actively monitored the surroundings with both his aura and his regular senses. He could sense how people were twisting and rolling in their blankets not able to find sleep, how the guards were peering into the dark anxiously not knowing if another monster was ready to jump at them. The convoy had been emotionally shaken by this encounter. Even the guard that had been killed by an unknown monster the previous night had been pushed to the back of their mind.

Edward had not forgotten about it, and he was cautiously watching everything. Everything seemed to be calm. He couldn’t detect any teleportation, nor was he sensing any monster in the vicinity. It may not be following us. Or the wolves have spooked it.

The guards rotated once, and then twice. No monsters attacked for the whole night. We must be in wolves’ territory. Now that we have vanquished them, it may be the safest place in this forest for the time being. Other monsters must be too afraid to come close. Though I doubt this will last.

Edward watched as people groggily stood up once the first rays of dawn shone upon them. It was still early, but they were already up, not having slept during the night. The night hadn’t been restful. Although the fight had been a victory the convoy’s mood didn’t match it. People were tired and grumpy. Even if they had woken up early, they were slower than usual. In the end, the convoy departed at the same time as the day before, not benefiting from an early awakening.

Tensions were also raising within the group, with small altercations happening here and there. However, the guards didn’t have to intervene yet. Things stayed mostly civil, limited to grumbles and sometimes insults, no one had resorted to fist fights yet.

Edward wasn’t feeling the fatigue yet. As a predator, one night without sleep was okay. It wasn’t that he was enduring the tiredness, he simply felt fine for now. However, he still had two more days to go, and he was certain he would feel the lack of sleep before the end.

The group was slowly moving ahead. Edward felt thankful that he didn’t have to maintain such a low speed and he dashed ahead, scouting for monsters.

The path was clear for now, he didn’t sense any monsters, not even wolves. We haven’t killed all of them yesterday. A good part of the group managed to flee away. It seems they have given up on confronting us. Without a Regal wolf, they know they don’t stand a chance. Or it could be they simply separated into smaller packs without a leader to direct them.

As the hours passed and the convoy steadily advanced, Edward felt a change in the surroundings. A faint smog was raising from the ground and the forest seemed heavier. The animals were quiet and the eerie silence made any noise seem louder by comparison. Edward felt watched as if every gesture he made was judged.