The wolfbears were only common rank spirit beasts. Of the enlightened beings they were the least powerful rank. However, I wasn’t convinced they’d lose a fight against too many superior-ranked spirit beasts. The lowest rank of lancers, a page, would most likely be killed in a one-on-one battle. A skilled rook might be able to bring one down without injury, and a squire could probably kill a small pack.
A week ago, I would have never dared to face the beasts out in the open. Of course, being in a recursion boosted my confidence a hundred times. If death was power, then I might as well get to dying.
The mana wolfbears possessed contributed more to their physical prowess than anything else. It made them tough in a physical fight and susceptible to mana attacks. Their most significant advantages were their size and numbers. Besides a weak resistance to mana, their predictable nature was another glaring flaw. Leave out food, and they will come to the feast.
It was a little past midnight when I heard the first call of the beast. The shrill laugh tore the peaceful night like a cracking whip. Ten seconds later, more beasts caught onto their secret inside joke. Growls accompanied their depraved cries. The night had turned to utter chaos in a matter of minutes.
I remained silent in my snow globe. When I heard the first fit of laughter, I placed my wet pelts over the blazing flame. Smoke filled my safe haven, robbing me of precious air. I didn't let the smoke ventilate. Instead, I added fuel to the smoldering flame, increasing the intensity. My eyes burned, and breathing was becoming painful. I inhaled my last and waited. The beasts were now feasting, and I was fuming.
There was no more oxygen in my globe. The fickle coward of a flame starved out three minutes ago, abandoning me to my lonesome as smoke filled my home. After another three minutes, my ice box, like my lungs, was about to burst. I gritted through the pain for one more minute as I filled the outside air with a dense fog that hovered seven feet away from the ground.
I wasn't typically a schemer, but after a night of inhaling bloodwood, my mind got to thinking, and now I feel like a first-rate strategist. Sasha would've been proud.
Down below, the feasting was coming to an end. My guests were furious, not that they were feeding on their own, but that there was not enough food to satiate the lust. The taste of blood was fresh in their mouths; the small appetizer was the fuze for their frenzy. They ran wildly below, searching for more. They didn't care about the slick footing. They didn't care about their clouded senses. They just wanted more. The frenzy turned to fight. The weakest of the pack were consumed in a ritual gorging that ended in heinous laughter.
Amid the chaotic frenzy, I slipped a few pounds of meat outside my home. The scent of flesh was discovered, and the wild pack of wolfbears began to climb. My plan wasn't perfect, and I was having regrets. Seconds felt like hours. I wanted to explode my home then and there. It took all my constraints to hold. One beast made it to the top, followed by another, and then another. I held off for a few more to join.
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I added more mana to my globe, building the surmounting pressure. I smashed my fist into the bursting dome, using my energy to command the ice to break. Shards shot into the wild pack, slicing and lacerating flesh. Smoke billowed and then spread out as it could not escape the thickness of my fog. I had to wait a few more painful seconds before I could inhale; even then, the air was tainted with my smoke, and instead of sweet relief, I was met with a bitter, painful swallow. My head ached, eyes watered, and lungs burned. I couldn't see anything or hear above the laughing and wailing. All I had was my water sense to guide me. That was all I needed.
I slid to the closest target. The wolfbear had ice piercing its leg and was coughing on the smoke-filled air. Experience told me to ignore the injured, battle lust begged me to strike. Lust won over. I swung my heavy sword in a downward cleave, separating the beast's head from its body.
My sword wasn't ideal for combat; it was heavy and slow, but that was precisely what I intended. I skated to the next beast and capitalized on my momentum to cut straight through it while I moved on to the wolfbear behind it. I added a spin to generate more power and cut through that one as well. Strength was the equalizer for what my heavy sword lacked.
No more spirit beasts were in my direct vicinity. A few were struggling to stand, and a couple died from the initial blast. I glided to the opposite side of my hill. A wolfbear barely phased by my ice blast locked me in its glare.
I hurled an ice spike at the beast as I neared. The spike glanced off the beast. My throw wasn't strong enough to pierce the thick hide. That didn't stop the wolfbear from turning its head away for protection. When it turned its head back to me, it was met with another spike. A high-pitched howl escaped its mouth, and before it could recover, I'd already killed it and moved on to the beasts at its flank.
Three spirit beasts take the place of the one I just killed. My momentum was gone. Smoke spread around me. My cover wasn't going to arrive in time.
The wolfbears lunged in a coordinated assault. I grabbed a rune core, filled it with mana, and threw it at my feet. I had to duck as a frozen wolf flew over my head and then lean to my right to avoid the outstretched claws of the other attacker. The wolfbear that flew over my head slammed to the ground, cracking the layer of ice and snapping its legs. As its legs slid in separate directions, the body plowed into several beasts reaching the summit. I was not as fortunate with the other two frozen beasts. They land on their sides, one sliding down the hill, the other remaining on top.
My flash freeze was different from my piercing freeze. My arrows froze deep enough that unless an enlightened or awakened being had strong enough mana resistance, they would be frozen solid. Flash freezing froze the target solid on the surface. The victim would suffer some frostbite and would be frozen for a few seconds. They would ultimately thaw out in a matter of seconds. I guessed these low-ranking enlightened beasts would stay frozen for at least thirty seconds. I would have plenty of time to kill them... if I wasn't already surrounded.