Chapter 30: A Bloody Battle with the Wolf Pack (Part Two)

“Hiss, hiss, hiss—” Lu Zhe was utterly absorbed as he honed the teeth before him. By now, he’d already finished several, shaping each one into a flat, elongated, and sharply pointed form.

He stood up with a sigh, wiped the sweat from his brow, and looked with satisfaction at the teeth in his hand. Glancing down at those he’d just finished, a trace of relief flickered across his face.

But as he bent to pick up another tooth from the ground, a sudden surge of murderous intent swept from the forest behind. Guided by his keen senses, Lu Zhe peered into the depths of the woods.

With his extraordinary eyesight and hearing, he finally made out what lurked there—three or four dozen Six-Fanged Blue Wolves. Their emerald eyes glimmered with savage light as they glared at him, and the faint sound of drooling made Lu Zhe shudder involuntarily.

He stared, frozen, at the pack. A chill ran down his spine and his scalp tingled. During his convalescence, he had once read a book in Old Six’s study: The Compendium of Myriad Wonders. It was a most extraordinary tome, written some three hundred thousand years ago during the ancient era by an unknown author. The original manuscript was now tattered and mostly lost to time, with only partial facsimiles circulating in the world. This compendium catalogued all manner of things—strange phenomena, ominous landscapes, monsters, demons, and rare treasures—divided into four volumes: Beasts, Objects, Marvels, and Phenomena. The volume Lu Zhe had studied was Beasts, and therein he found the following description of the Six-Fanged Blue Wolf:

“Six-Fanged Blue Wolves are a clever breed among beast kings. Their intelligence surpasses that of their peers. They dwell year-round in forests, grasslands, and deserts. They seek prey by scent and do not attack humans unprovoked. But once they fix upon their quarry, they will not easily relent. If they sense their target is formidable, they will attack as one, tearing it to pieces. Loyal to their own, they avenge any harm done to a packmate without fail, to honor the fallen.”

Recalling this, Lu Zhe’s head throbbed. How could he have forgotten such a thing? Here he was, deep in their territory. Run? His two legs were no match for their four. Fight? He was no spirit king—how could he face three or four dozen of these wolves at once?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but none seemed feasible. He was in real trouble now.

Meeting the pack’s hostile gazes, Lu Zhe gripped the sharpened fang tightly. Steeling himself, he thought grimly: If you want to eat me, let’s see if you have the stomach for it.

Yet the wolves didn’t launch an immediate attack. Lu Zhe wasn’t surprised—these were no ordinary beasts but cunning kings. They must be waiting for the right moment.

A low howl sounded from the forest depths, and Lu Zhe’s grip on the fang tightened further.

Minutes ticked by as man and wolves remained locked in a tense standoff.

Feeling sweat bead on his forehead, Lu Zhe cursed under his breath: These beasts are clever, waiting for me to wear down before striking.

With a flick of his sleeve, another sharpened fang appeared in his right hand. Holding its tip between his middle and index fingers as if ready to throw a dart, Lu Zhe fixed his gaze on the wolves in the shadows.

With a sharp swish, the fang flew from his right hand into the woods.

A dull thud followed, the sound of something hard piercing flesh—he’d struck a wolf.

A furious howl erupted. At once, four or five Six-Fanged Blue Wolves burst from the trees, their size marking them as fully grown males.

Lu Zhe regarded the charging wolves with icy calm. Shifting the fang to his left hand, he gripped it tightly and, locking onto the lead wolf, took a deep breath and thrust at its head.

But the wolf, no ordinary foe, dodged nimbly and snapped at his hand.

Lu Zhe swiftly withdrew his arm and channeled his spiritual power into his right fist, swinging it at the wolf’s skull with a rush of wind.

His punch landed with a resounding thud, sending the wolf flying several feet.

Without pause, Lu Zhe twisted the fang in his left hand, reversed its tip downward, and, supporting himself with his right hand on the ground, slashed at a wolf lunging from behind as if wielding a dagger.

The fang tore across the wolf’s neck, and a hot jet of blood spurted forth.

He braced against the ground and, channeling energy into his legs, spun his body, kicking the dying wolf away.

Landing on both feet, Lu Zhe executed a backward somersault, narrowly evading the snap of another wolf. But before he could steady himself, a third wolf leapt at him.

As the wolf closed in, Lu Zhe readied a counterattack with his right hand, but suddenly another wolf lunged from the side, locking its jaws onto his sleeve.

Gritting his teeth, he saw his right hand was trapped. Switching to his left, he gripped a fang and prepared to strike, but at that moment a wolf from behind sank its teeth into his left shoulder.

Blood spurted from the wound, trailing like droplets from his shoulder.

Lu Zhe’s pupils contracted sharply as, with a twist of his left hand, he drove the fang deep into the wolf on his shoulder, then released the weapon, seized the wolf’s fur, and hurled it over his shoulder with all his might.

“Damn!” Lu Zhe channeled his power to his right leg and kicked the wolf still clamped onto his sleeve in the belly.

The beast whimpered but refused to let go. Infuriated, Lu Zhe drew another fang from his belt and stabbed it into the wolf’s eye.

With a sickening pop, blood spurted from the ruined eye, splattering Lu Zhe’s enraged face. He followed with a fierce kick, sending the wolf flying.

Clutching his bleeding left shoulder, Lu Zhe glanced at his arm, where fresh bite marks stood out starkly.

Panting heavily, he stared grimly into the forest. More pairs of eyes glowed, unblinking, in the darkness.

Tearing a strip from his sleeve, Lu Zhe tightly bound his wounded shoulder.

Then he looked up, fixing his gaze on the wolves before him.

“Will I survive this?” he wondered silently.