The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 200: Hunting at night (2)

Chapter 200: Hunting at night (2)

Hidden in the bush, Hex peeked through the gaps, watching a few young wolves devouring the carcass of their prey.

The stench of the fresh kill wafted over with the wind in his face. His eyes darted around. Although his energy sensors didn’t detect anything nearby it didn’t hurt to use all his senses.

’The pack is spread out, hunting and feeding, along their path. They leave some for the weaker members.’

It was already close to midnight. Hex spent hours skirting around the edges of the wolves’ territory. As an experienced hunter, he knew the importance of observing his prey before making a move.

His days as Crevice Hunter taught Hex to treat an innocent-looking bunny and a ferocious snake with the same caution. One mistake could turn the tide, enabling an ant to kill an elephant.

’The wolves, even the Disaster ones, don’t leave their territory. They treat these lands as their kingdom, ruling within its borders.’

Hex combined the information he learned from his hours of observations with his years of experience in the mountains. While lying still, his mind ran rapidly, coming up with various ideas and scenarios.

After some time, his lips curled into a smile. The plan was ready. It was time to act.

...

The male figure in robes leaned against the tree, resting his eyes while remaining aware of his surroundings. Thanks to his years of experience he always prepared for the worst situation. Even in a seeming forest, he was on full alert.

Now and then, his eyes hidden behind the hood, darted toward the female figure on the ground. Despite the wide robe, the well-endowed figure of his female partner couldn’t be concealed. The gentle motion of her chest moving up and down caused his throat to dry up.

If he still was in his prime there still might be a chance. But with more than fifty years between them, with him being close to his lifespan, he didn’t wish to ruin the woman’s future.

The only way to prolong his life was to advance to the Transformed stage but that was easier said than done. More than ninety percent of people fell during the process of transformation. And he wasn’t even at the peak of the Refinement stage to attempt such an arduous process.

As he contemplated all these things, his ears twitched suddenly. It was far but the ferocity of the noise caused his spine to tremble.

Howl.

There it was again.

’It’s the wolves. They stay in their territory. But something happened.’

He traversed these lands multiple times. He knew the creatures and their habits like the back of his hand. That’s why, despite detecting the fury in the howls, he relaxed. The wolves never left their lands. Not even when they killed the giant Murkweed Toad ruling over the marshes.

Howl!

’T-They are coming this way?’

The man couldn’t remain calm. Although the beasts were at a distance, they had left the borders of their lands.

"Hurry up, Alvira. The wolves are almost here."

He shook his partner while readying himself for battle. They were capable of escaping the pursuit of the wolves but weren’t allowed to move toward the Temple. His lords would rather have him die than compromise their project.

Alvira jumped up on her feet and was ready to face the pack in the blink of an eye. She oozed more killing intent than the elder figure.

"How? They never left before."

"I don’t know. We need to deal with them first before searching for an answer."

HOWL!

The pack arrived. At the front stood a wolf with a height of four meters. It growled dangerously as its dark eyes locked onto them. Two, three-meter-high wolves stood behind it, with smaller ones spreading out in a circle. None moved their eyes from them.

Alvira and the male figure stood still. They hoped that the wolves would retreat soon. Although they didn’t fear a battle, they rather not engage with three Disasters at once, especially if all three seemed to be close to going berserk.

The distance between the alpha and them was around ten meters. The thick bush hid half of the beast’s frame.

Neither human understood the reason behind the strange behavior of the wolves. They observed in silence.

The alpha lowered its head and seemed to sniff something on the ground. The wind rustling the grass whispered of a storm to come. But the humans couldn’t phantom the reason behind the oncoming storm.

HOWL!!!

Suddenly, from behind the bush, the alpha howled loudly as it jerked its head up in the sky. At once, the others joined in. The symphony of howls tore open the silence and released an aura of grief and death.

The two humans saw the alpha lower its head. The fury inside the alpha’s eyes had disappeared. But, looking into the still and dark eyes, the humans felt a shiver unlike anything ever before.

"On your guard!"

The male figure shouted. Immediately, a wall of mud appeared. But the next moment, the wall was cut open. The claws cleaved it open as if it were made of butter.

Thousands of needles appeared in the air, shooting at the smaller wolves.

"Kill them!"

Alvira shouted frantically. The traces of beauty disappeared from her face. She looked more like a banshee from hell at the moment.

The male figure didn’t need to be told to kill. He knew, only one group would leave alive from this battle.

Seeing more wolves fall under the attack of the needles, infuriated the three Disaster stage wolves. They attacked frantically.

The alpha unleashed wind blades with each of its attacks. The other two turned into a hedgehog-like creature, using their fur to counter the needles.

Although their strength was above the humans and they outnumbered them, the humans weren’t reliant on their strength alone.

The robes tore open revealing their figures. Their armor shone brightly in the night. The attacks scratched them but couldn’t break through them.

In just a few minutes the smaller wolves were killed. Alvira’s strategy worked. They now only faced the combined attacks of the three Disasters.

These three were extremely dangerous. The death of their pack made them go berserk. Their voracious attacks broke through their defense, injuring Alvira and the elder man extremely. The prolonged battle also drained their energy.

Suddenly, the male figure jumped back, creating some distance between him and the wolves.

"Get back."

The male figure shouted. Alvira complied. They worked long enough to understand each other without requiring many words.

The male figure pulled a scroll from his pouch and unfurled it, revealing a complex rune flashing on it. Alvira only glanced at her partner and rushed to increase the distance even more.

Just as the three Disasters reached the elder male, the rune flashed brightly. The alpha sensed the ominous light but it was too late to warn the others.

The light flashed and turned into a five-meter-long scythe.

The scythe rotated before one could even blink. In the next instance, all three Disasters had deep and grave injuries on their bodies.

Howl.

The three wolves survived but none were capable of fighting anymore. The elder figure and Alvira didn’t wish to squander this chance.

With gritted teeth, they gathered their low energy reserves into a final attack. The storm of needles devastated the area, uprooting all the bushes. The wolves, unable to defend, finally succumbed to their deaths.

Silence returned.

"What is that?"

Alvira pointed at the place behind the corpses. She remembered the alpha sniffing something. With the bushes destroyed, they could see what enraged the alpha so much.

A pile of corpses. Corpses of wolf pups.

"That...wasn’t there," Alvira said slowly. The elder man beside had a solemn look on his face. Indeed, the pile wasn’t there upon their arrival.

"The boy!"

After some thought, they both spoke in unison. They approached the pile cautiously.

"There is a blood trail. Should we follow?" The elder man asked.

"If I was the boy, I would be long gone," Alvira said.

The elder man’s face fell. He agreed with Alvira. Not only did the boy escape their senses, he even laid out a fatal trap for them. Looking at each other, they saw the shame and fury in each other eyes.

"If I get my hands on that boy, I am going to rip him from limb to limb." Alvira angrily kicked the pile of pups. The corpses tumbled and scattered. But right then, both caught something lying on the floor. Drenched in blood, lay a human.

Just as they turned to get a better look, the bloodsmeared eyes opened. In his hand, the boy held a tool.

"It’s him!" Alvira shouted but her voice quickly disappeared in the blast the next instant.

Alvira and the old man fell a few meters behind. They felt shocked but quickly the feeling of excruciating pain overcame them.

"AAAHHHH! MY LEGS!"

Alvira screamed. The elder man whimpered but his eyes caught the size of the boy walking over. He despaired. They were at the mercy of the heartless boy. After all, his partner and he were missing the lower halves of their bodies!

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