The Variant Night Wolves King seemed to realize that it had been targeted. It can be seen lifting its muzzle upwards before its loud and beautiful howl begins to sound and echo in the surrounding area. Unlike the cry of the Big-Footed Night Bear, which sounds like an explosion that shakes the entire area to intimidate its opponent, the howl of the Variant Night Wolves King sounds like the humming of a song dedicated to its own pack.

"Shit. What is this?! What's going on?!"

Hee So was the first to realize that something had changed since the Variant Night Wolves King howled.

After the howl was heard, suddenly the other Night Wolves not only became much more aggressive and ferocious but also became faster and stronger than before—as if the howl had another additional effect.

Could this be a unique ability it possessed?

Xiao Ling realized that the changes in the Night Wolves were thanks to the unique abilities possessed by the Variant Night Wolves King.

The Night Wolves were essentially devoid of any special abilities—even if it was the alpha leading the pack. This meant there was only one possibility that could explain their current situation.

Was this some kind of reinforcing effect that the Variant Night Wolves King's had given to the group through the howl? But... Aside from the reinforcement, there seemed to be other effects as well.

All the Night Wolves seemed to be out of control—in addition to being aggressive and ruthless, they attacked regardless of their body condition. They continued to attack brutally no matter if they had lost limbs—as long as they were alive, they would continue to attack until they finally fell limp and motionless.

"This status..."

"Yes, it seems like this is the price of the strengthening effect."

Su Han and Jie Jiu seemed to start realizing the side effects received by the Night Wolves physical strengthening.

"Damn. This has become very troublesome." Hee So clicked his tongue, seemingly disliking the change.

What the Night Wolves were currently experiencing was a frenzy.

This was quite a troublesome condition for Xiao Ling and the others, as the Night Wolves would be in a state of madness in exchange for the sudden increase in strength. Those in this state would usually behave much more savagely and lose control of themselves. This was an apt performance to describe what was happening to the Night Wolves.

If it were like this, the effect of the formation would not have as much effect as before!

Xiao Ling learned that his current formation no longer had the effect it had before because the Night Wolves were currently in a state of frenzy. Thanks to the physical strengthening and loss of control, the Night Wolves could almost move as before, but with much greater ferocity than usual.

In frenzied conditions, even a magical beast like the Night Wolves can turn into a dangerous threat to cultivators—it can keep attacking until death can stop it. What a terrifying display!

From then on, the conditions and atmosphere became more somber than ever—including the laughter and jokes that were previously seen as if they had never happened. Everyone was fighting with all their might and risking their lives.

Xiao Ling tried to think of other techniques at his disposal, hoping to change the situation to what it was before, but unfortunately none of them yielded much better results than this. There weren't many techniques he could use as a cultivator who was still in the Essence Condensation realm.

He couldn't even engage in direct combat while maintaining his formation. If he tried to fight directly, he would lose concentration on maintaining his formation, and it would be the worst-case scenario if his formation was canceled.

But while Xiao Ling was still pondering, trying to think of a way to turn the situation around, there was a scream. When Xiao Ling turned around to try to figure out what was going on, it turned out to be from one of them who was pounced on by the Night Wolves, and a torrent of blood could be seen coming out of his neck.

Witnessing the incident made Xiao Ling's expression turn grim, bringing the number of casualties to four.

A gap in the defense had occurred due to the fall of one person, but thanks to Hee So, who managed to come quickly to close it, the gap that could have disturbed the balance of the defense finally failed to become a significant threat—but not without a price. Hee So lost one of his hands, which was severed up to the elbow.

"Hee So!" Xiao Ling shouted.

"Don't worry! I was just caught off guard. It's no big deal." He was so panted, sweat pouring down his face. "Xiao Ling, you must stay focused on maintaining the formation. Otherwise, we'll all be in danger."

Hee So forcibly ripped off part of his clothes and tied it around his severed arm to cover and block the blood flow—there was a look of pain behind his brown hair as he did so. Before finally returning to his original position.

Although the others were busy maintaining their positions, Xiao Ling could see the worry on everyone's faces. Losing one person made everyone remaining try harder in such a way as to keep the defense intact.

The battle had been going on for quite some time. Fatigue was starting to show on everyone's faces and movements, including Xiao Ling, who was mentally and physically exhausted.

If this continued without any significant changes between the two sides, then it would be a battle of endurance between the two. Either the cultivators will continue to endure to the end and survive, or the magical beasts will succumb to trampling the cultivators.

Xiao Ling had thought of every possibility he could think of, but after considering everything, he finally made a decision. Of course, this was not a decision that was made lightly—it was a very risky decision because if it failed, then they would most likely all die here.

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But still, if this works, then we will definitely be the ones who survive.

But as if mocking the plan Xiao Ling had made—it was unexpectedly the Variant Night Wolves King that moved first, exceeding the expectations and possibilities he had thought of.

"Be careful. The Variant Night Wolves King's starting to move." Xiao Ling shouted to warn everyone.

Perhaps it was because Xiao Ling and the others lasted longer than expected, or after losing more than half of its flock, the monster finally started to move—perhaps realizing that it could not let its pack die any longer.

Even so, this was a change that Xiao Ling had to welcome—no matter if it was to his advantage or disadvantage, but certainly if the previous situation continued, it would probably be Xiao Ling and the others who would fall early.

Everyone had noticed the moment the Variant Night Wolves King first made its move—they didn't let their guard down despite still fighting with several other Night Wolves who were trying to rush in.

The Variant Night Wolves King moved quickly and gracefully like the wind, but even so, there was a strong and definite movement before it finally entered the formation area. Even after entering the formation, it hardly showed any significant changes like the others—the Variant Night Wolves King gave off a majestic and powerful aura, proof of its status as the leader of a pack of over a hundred Night Wolves. With unimpeded movements, the Variant Night Wolves King bypassed the rest of its pack to stab straight into the center of the circle before finally being intercepted by someone.

Jie Jiu quickly left his position to directly face the new threat, leaving Su Han, who came to cover his position. He charged straight at the Variant Night Wolves King to stop its movement. With a powerful slash, he forcibly cut off the Variant Night Wolves King's steps before making a sharp stab right where it stopped.

The Variant Night Wolves King moved nimbly to avoid Jie Jiu's attacks—although its movements looked unobstructed, upon closer inspection, the Variant Night Wolves King's steps actually looked very tense, as if a weight were pressing down on its body. Forced to deal with the person in front intercepting it, the Variant Night Wolves King seemed focused on taking out the person in front of it first.

Jie Jiu swung his sword powerfully and smoothly, a technique that had been honed through many battles and experiences. He parried and deflected the incoming attacks while looking for an opening to counterattack.

Xiao Ling observed the interactions made by Jie Jiu and also the Variant Night Wolves King and concluded that the latter was quite intelligent compared to the average of Night Wolves.

There is no doubt about it. The Variant Night Wolves King seems to understand very well that I am the biggest nuisance to its pack.

Xiao Ling realized the first time the Variant Night Wolves King moved and entered the formation—the first thing it did was dodge the others and move straight to the center of the circle—trying to attack the mastermind behind the formation that had caused many of its pack to die.

It seemed being the Alpha who had led a pack of over a hundred had not only made its ego and pride rise—but also its intelligent. Even as the battle began, it simply stood still and watched its pack die one by one under its command before finally making its move after more than half of the pack was dead.

Even when fighting with Jie Jiu, the Variant Night Wolves King was able to put up a tremendous resistance that kept Jie Jiu at bay. Perhaps the multiple wounds on its face showed that it also had a lot of experience in battle. By fighting against other pack leaders, the monster takes on the subordinates of the slain pack leader. That way, the Variant Night Wolves King could gather many subordinates as well as experience in fighting.

Perhaps that was how the monster was able to give such a fierce fight to Jie Jiu and was also able to gather over a hundred subordinates.

That was what Xiao Ling concluded based on his observations of the Variant Night Wolves King so far.

"Ugh!"

Xiao Ling heard a groaning sound, which made him turn his attention back to the other area to see that the source of the sound turned out to be Hee So, who was injured quite severely. Hee So was clawed on the left side of his body—the part where his arm was severed.

Xiao Ling could clearly see Hee So seemed to be moving awkwardly—the loss of one hand had made him lose his balance. But Hee So wasn't the only one who was injured quite badly; almost everyone else was in the same boat—though not as badly as him.

When Jie Jiu left his post to fight against the Variant Night Wolves King, everyone had the additional task of maintaining the defense. But even then, it seemed that everyone had reached their limits both physically and mentally—it was only a matter of time before everyone ran out of spiritual essence.

If it continues like this, none of us will survive.

Xiao Ling contemplated his worsening situation. He was faced with two choices at the moment. Stay put and wait until Jie Jiu manages to kill the Variant Night Wolves King, or ask someone to help Jie Jiu so that he can defeat the Variant Night Wolves King sooner.

Xiao Ling struggles to choose between the two remaining options that are both equally high-risk—deciding to observe Jie Jiu's fight with the Variant Night Wolves King before making a final decision.

But when Xiao Ling observed the fight—

"—Su Han. Hurry up and help Jie Jiu."

Xiao Ling, at that instant, quickly made his decision without a second thought.

"—What?! Are you serious, Xiao Ling?" Su Han looked surprised by Xiao Ling's words.

"Yes." Xiao Ling replied quickly.

At that moment, Su Han left his position and said, "I'll finish it quickly."

"No problem. I'll hold it until the end." Hee So replied with a weak smile.

After temporarily entrusting his position to Hee So, Su Han went straight to help Jie Jiu, but what he saw seemed to shock him. Jie Jiu looked to be in bad shape—even worse than before, when he went to fight the Variant Night Wolves King.

This is what made Xiao Ling make a quick decision—he saw Jie Jiu was in a losing battle against the Variant Night Wolves King.

Although it was a Variant Night Wolves King, it was still a species derived from the Night Wolves. Unlike the Magical Beast that was at the level of the Big-Footed Night Bear, Even if Jie Jiu was in his prime, it was still very difficult to defeat one-on-one.

The true strength of the Night Wolves are essentially the pack. They are usually always in a pack, no matter if fighting or hunting led by an alpha. They shine in pack battles, not in individual fights. This applies even to the Variant Night Wolves King, even if they are born with abnormal physiques or have gained unique abilities.

Although this Variant Night Wolves King seems to have a lot of fighting skills and experience, its true strength lies in its ability to lead and control its pack members. This is evidenced by its ability to influence its pack. And Jie Jiu should have been able to fight against the Variant Night Wolves King one-on-one, but the results said otherwise.

Xiao Ling had discovered the reason behind it as he watched him for the second time. This was because Jie Jiu was fighting without using his Spiritual Essence.

Jie Jiu seemed to have exhausted his Spiritual Essence.

Xiao Ling did not know how long Jie Jiu had been fighting like this, but he concluded that Jie Jiu had exhausted his Spiritual Essence from the start. There was no way Jie Jiu would run out of spiritual essence before the others.

But, Why...? Was there a reason why Jie Jiu had run out of Spiritual Essence in the first place?

Xiao Ling deeply pondered the reason behind it.

Could it be? It couldn't be that, right?! But if it was, why would he do that?!

Xiao Ling remembered that they were short of one Essence Replenishment Pill due to insufficient quantity. He was very certain that he did not see Jie Jiu eat the Essence Replenishment Pill, but he only saw Jie Jiu eat the Fasting Pill.

I have to stay focused on what's ahead for now, I can ask about it later when it's over.

Xiao Ling decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being and focus on observing the development that had just taken place. No matter how he thought about it, there was nothing he could do to find out the reason at the moment.