-Midday. Nefiru's POV-

The black wolf rolls on the ground for a couple of hums then struggles to get up and keep his distance to recover from a pain that should have broken something.

Ouch, that must have hurt quite a bit...can't underestimate tails. I crouch down slowly while keeping an eye on the fight unfold with repeating attack patterns from my left eye then brought my tail to the front, and began inspecting in a C-position. It's an unconscious thing most of the time and feels it when it acts as balance or when it hits something while walking, but have to be aware of it during a fight because it is a Dragon's weapon unless the enemy grabs it then it's a liability. My tail is an arrow tip ideal for stabbing rather than bashing things like brother's who has a round tip with spikes or sister who has blades above and the sides like a fish tail, but flat below. Though aesthetically speaking Dragons would look really weird without them...

The rear tip of my body is a purple-blue arrow shaped bone structure bigger than an adult hand with the thickness of one too and the purple-blue hairs growing at its base look like some Chinese spear but can cover it or fan out to provide stability when flying. Ranking up in Lightning has allowed me to feel my nervous system better and even made possible controlling the thick hair fibers on my body to some extent, but my tail is also more controllable than before because I trained chopping wood. I recall the exchanges of firewood for cooked meat with the red-haired chef lady.

Furthermore, the spikes that have been growing from the top of my head, the neck and along my spine where they reach a human pinky-long, and finally enhance my tail in a decreasing manner towards the tip. They are not malleable like the hairs, so Shaila can't ride me like before even with thick clothes, but I'm not wearing something demeaning like a saddle or trim them...

My affinities were not helpful to strengthen the tail tip unless I use a different state of Ice...Ice-16. Under extreme negative temperatures and high pressure, ice it's predicted to become a metal, and although it is something complicated to achieve under normal circumstances, that's without the elementals that control water molecules and lower their temperature depending on Rank. Still, making ice-16 will cost a shit ton of magic energy, so I already made the Magic channel all the way from the core in preparation, but being ice, it will decay over time, so maybe the very tip would be efficient for penetration, though it would suck getting impaled by my own limb if it can go through my scales like paper...

It seems to be a cliche thing for water arts to have an opposing effect to Fire magic since it's tough to increase the temperature of water molecules higher than ambient, but quite easy to lower it and each Rank allows for even lower temperatures. I wonder at what Rank it's possible to reach absolute zero and what would happen...maybe time will freeze? Though if Fire magicians can do the opposite, produce hydrogen in large quantities and control combustion depending on Rank, then at what rank can they create a star?

...

The fight progressed under the unchanged rainy weather past midday, and both sides sustained wounds increasing the smell of blood in the air, but their decreasing reaction speeds indicates exhaustion of both physical and magical. I indulged in the surreal scene as an outside spectator trying not to lose myself in the excitement created by the various sounds of growls, whistling of tails moving through the air and sloshing noises from paws running in the mud.

They are too focused on their fight to notice me and seem determined to take down their prey without sharing since the howls for help stopped a while ago, but...I won't have the time to eat every beast here anyway since this is wolf territory. I analyze the hairy predators while the enticing smells urge me to take part in the clash and hunt both sides without distinction.

Okay, calm down...don't get drunk in the scents pervading the air... it's almost time to make an entrance, once the participants are too tired to make a run for it. I stare at the two dragons who have become slower and started to preserve their energy by doing sudden movements with their free body parts.

"GHUA!" Brother screams as a wolf rip out a scale from his chest as big as two adult human palms then carries it off and starts crushing it before swallowing.

...I think the wolves watched the guide to disassemble a dragon... plucking the scales with such precision then biting chunks of meat to cause intense bleedings, but that much is necessary to take down a dragon and I can relate from experience. I think back to the jump from the volcano where my body almost reached the limit but still managed to recover without the need of hospitals or healing potions. However, they are getting close to the artery in brother's chest after managing to pull out those thick scales, and that is no easy task with the shape or toughness, but can't underestimate the bite of a giant wolf with the jaws strengthened with magic. I admire the crimson contour formed by blood flowing on the scales of the gray dragons which then soak the mud below in a dull red.

It looks...beautiful, but even after the pain subsides from getting the bullet-shaped scales plucked out, the missing feeling is still quite uncomfortable and reminds me of the times I lost my nails as a human... There is also a psychological effect of feeling vulnerable when losing the protection of scales, and it's uncomfortable when the surrounding ones touch the exposed sensitive skin when moving until the missing scales finally grow back.

Within the orchestra of battle sounds, the first casualty appeared when brother managed to free his left hind leg from the binding and kicked with all his strength a darkness wolf in the head making it do a turn in the air before sliding over the mud towards the middle of the open space.

Hmm...it was instant death, claws pierced the skull and reached the brain. I stare at the three gashes on the wolf head pouring blood and making a pool in the mud. This was bound to happen... even my slow siblings have better chances since the wolves exhausted their magic energy doing pointless techniques, but... the lizards are also getting tired. I review the effect of increased magic density on the muscles while praising the siblings to have realized the drop in speed of their enemies.

After witnessing the effectiveness of his kick, brother calculated the trajectory of the beasts running in a circular pattern and launched another kick behind with his free leg which connected with a black wolf trying to avoid his tail by going under it.

"HIEEK..." Screamed a black wolf with a high-pitched sound as big as a horse when all the air in its lungs were forced out by the kick on his side then bounced on the ground and struggled to get up but lied trembling on the ground.

Hmm, pitiful...it was a female wolf, and she's agonizing trying to breathe, but...her lungs are crushed under the sunken ribcage where the paw landed. I turned my neck to the right and stared at the golden Alpha. You are not going to let your whole pack die and eat Dragon meat alone, right? As I wonder of the leader's next actions, he strolled out of the woods and stops outside the range of my brother's tail before starting to concentrate.

Looks like he's going to use a great technique... maybe just petrify the dragon's brains since they don't have much magic to resist? I observe the scene switching my gaze between the golden wolf positioned next to brother on the right and sister to my left who is unaware of the Alpha's movements as he is not in her line of sight. There's no behavior change in my siblings, but the mud around their paws is trembling...let's see what you can do. I stare in anticipation while every beast else is playing a deadly game of tag.

I've noticed this before when fighting wind snakes, but magical beasts don't have a habit of producing magic arts inside their enemies huh? I recall the troublesome fights with green serpents that could produce air shields to deflect my attacks or use it to decrease friction and run quite fast. They're no longer a problem with my affinities, but still very hard to catch unless I trick them to get close or find a powerful one that is confident to kill me.

Perhaps his magic control suck and if the Spirit becomes bare as soon as he produces a grain of sand inside their heads, then further magic usage will be interrupted. Regardless of the creature, a Spirit clash in a magic battle would be no different from being stunned in a game with no stun-breaker skills. I don't think many beasts with a hierarchy like wolves or the solitary snakes can practice Magic control the way I do with Shaila, and maybe they don't see the need or find it worth the time. I infer that gathering mana during a fight would dangerous for them, but as creatures used to run, their passive magic recovery improves just by moving.

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It was good advice from Shaila to practice Magic control none stop since not only do the chances of Spirit clash decrease, but magic arts and Mana gathering also become more efficient. Magic control is exactly like clothes...if it sucks then it's like loincloth full of patches, but an excellent magic control like Shaila's or healers is like a finely tailored tuxedo while mine is like a T-shirt from the dollar store. Spirit clashes lessen after Rank 7 since the soul becomes a stage stronger but beyond Divine Rank, it no longer happens, so a Divine can touch the Soul of another being and even probe their memories to some extent.

A few breaths later, ripples in the mud increased, and suddenly both dragons sink a human arm deep more in the soil before quickly solidifying, then the two surprised dragons start doing erratic movements in desperation.

Woah! AOE Earth bind... manipulating earth like that is no easy task, and even Lester can only dream of doing that... it feels like a waste to kill Midas. I'm calling him that, but he's probably decades older than me and might already have a name, so I should just put him out of commission first then see what he does. I pull my back head from within the bushes at the tree line then get up to start moving counterclockwise through the forest towards the Golden Alpha's former hiding spot.

Dragons are not made for sneaking around... my steps are heavy, the tail smacks into things, and my breathing is loud, but at least the brown leaves on the ground are soft from the rain. I make a mental note to figure out a way to camouflage with lightning while advancing through the tall trees and small bushes that find a way to grow in the dark forest.

I encounter a path with a narrow line of sight with the Golden Alpha at around ten-hum away then raised my neck over the branches to observe how the fight is going before starting my attack.

Oh! Sister finally got her first kill, though it's another unawakened black wolf who miraculously lasted this long. I examine the battlefield taking notice of my sibling's progress.

They are...doing rather well for their first hunt of their lives huh? I'm not sad! I'm not... sighs, way to kill the mood Nefiru. I stare at the two dragons snapping their jaws trying to bite the wolves when they get closer.

It bothers me a little how they treated me before and it makes me wonder if they are smart enough to know I'm here to help them, which is why I waited until they were in distress. Well, they won't run very far now, then either gain their trust or dominate them by force since I'm gonna need their help hunting Magic beasts with a little bit of teamwork or I'll use them as bait, like now. I stop looking at the two lizards and rest my gaze on the Earth wolf struggling to keep the dragons bound with the little magic he has left.

Now that I think about it... does this golden mutt have a mate? I'm not sure how packs work with different Ranks, but he does command all these wolves and the previous ones by the stream had a leader too. Perhaps one of these wolves is his mate or he's just a sub-leader... I continue slowly approaching the golden rear with the tail raised high to indicate his position in the pack, but then I stopped my advance staring at him.

...Just occurred to me since I had a wolf son with a yellow coat in the past, but...who can be a true child? Souls reincarnate many times, but they come into existence first, just like mine did around the celestial fragment. The origin life form where Soul is born...could have a connection with the__ My thoughts are interrupted by a scream.

"GRUAARG!" Cries with a growl, a high-rank black wolf while thrashing as Sister's jaws press strongly and swing her head sideways to inflict more damage.

The Wolves saw an opportunity then immediately rushed to the distracted dragon who had her jaws occupied, but a high-rank wind wolf had a different idea and propelled himself to her back.

"GHRAAAAAA!" Sister dropped the wounded wolf and her wails resound through the forest as the wind wolf mauls the folded left wing around the second joint.

She shakes her body and moves her neck to the back trying to bite him, but the wolf jumps down to the opposite side of her brother while still latching on and causing many cracking sounds loud enough to reach my position. Meanwhile, the wounded wolf retires from the fight and staggers into the trees as his black fur dyes with red stripes from the holes on his sides.

What a painful exchange, but Sister has too many broken bones on the wing for the natural healing...she's not flying again unless we get a very good healer, and if I don't act now, there won't be siblings to save. I lock on the golden wolf up ahead while hearing sister's desperate outcry from inside the forest as the wolf finally let go of the bloody mess her left wing became.

The claws on my four legs sink into the muddy ground covered with leaves while staring at the golden furball then crouched down taking a pouncing stance and strained all my muscles to the maximum capacity until it began to hurt.

I came in like a wrecking ball... A song played in my head as I did an explosive charge towards the rear of a giant wolf fast enough to make the wind whistle around my body.

I lowered my head with eyes closed then lift it up before contact and catapulted the golden wolf through the air for three-hum before it impacted the right side of my elder brother who was pulling himself out from the ground using the free hind leg. The wolf head hit the belly side of the bigger dragon with enough force to send both tumbling in front of Sister who was startled by the scene but couldn't move as her legs were still bound underground, then all beasts stopped in their tracks.

Ugh, my face just hit a giant wolf's ass, and it wasn't fluffy either.... Still, he didn't even make a sound from the shock, and now has a dance partner to worry about. With all the creatures in the clearance frozen and staring at the toppled beasts kicking their legs trying to distance from each, I register their position then began my assault. Surprise motherfuckers!

I rush towards the closest black wolf on the left that was distracted, but the vibration of my footsteps alerted it and tried to dodge while my magic carrying elementals reached as my current ability range is eight hum radius.

Too late! You are already inside my magic range. I target the thin wolf while commanding water elementals to freeze the mud around three of its paws then coated the tip of my tail with ice but a portion of elementals remained on standby.

Now it's Lightning's turn! Ah~ love two affinities. I affirmed while recalling that Magic can travel that distance through the air in a second, but it also gets faster with higher density.

"HYARGH!" Cries the Rank 3 Darkness beast as I raise the voltage until it spasms on the mud with foam coming out of its mouth.

Nice she didn't die and even has some magic left to test an experiment which require small size...but I wonder how high was the voltage that took her down? I'm only aware that high voltage and a few hertz with low amperage can take down any living creature, but I have no way to measure anything besides the frequency which is just changing the direction of the flow each second or make continuous. High voltage is like the speed or pressure pushing the electrons out of the elementals while amperage is a number of electrons coming out at a given time and doing both consume way more magic.

I always considered the attack limit being only one as a fundamental problem in any fight I've experienced, being in games or martial arts in reality. It was always one skill per turn allowed in games or connect a single kick, and it has many problems, but it doesn't mean it's not viable when I managed to pull it off in martial arts. Yeah, people find uncomfortable getting hit in two places at once because they also expect only one attack coming, and these guys will help me test my multitasking ability since I haven't fought powerful groups before. I lock on the next three wolves near sister left hind leg and rushed to the middle one who also noticed a blue dragon rushing at him.

After rushing to the middle Darkness wolf, the other two of the same affinity dodge on each side of my body, but after seeing them do that with the other dragons, it was easy to predict their path.

I send out a torrent of magic and elementals to paralyze the wolf on the left with electricity while whipping my tail coated in ice on the right to stab the second black wolf in the base of his neck where arteries are more exposed.

""HYERK..."" The two wolves cried out almost simultaneously and fell to the ground after pulling out my tail then turned to finish the one spasming on the left.

Before cutting off the electrical flow of the lightning bolts jumping on the ground while making high-pitched sounds which stop the left wolf, I freeze the muddy water soaking the fur on his right side then grow crystals rapidly that stab the wolf on many places until it stops moving.

I think that was overkill and doesn't look like it will be annoying to eat it but at least I recovered some mana since my magic was there when it died. However, I lost some time when my tail lodged on the right wolf then finishing the one on the left, but now is not the time for review and must go after that Rank 4 hairball. Once more, I take a pouncing stance and sprint after the last surviving black wolf that ran away clockwise around the gray dragoness towards the tree line southeast after feeling my probe.

I accelerated again chasing the wolf in the front while opening my maw then twisted my neck to turn my open jaws ninety degrees before closing down and sinking many pointy teeth on the hairy backside.

"HYACK..." The beast cried in terrible pain as the muscles were pierced during a run then twisted its body and tried to bite while screaming but my long neck made it hard to achieve.

I pressed down on the hind legs then lifted his backside before pulling the wolf body closer and used my right paw to hold the beast's neck on the ground. The snakes are better than wolves who are loud, hairy and taste bitter. I chewed on the screaming wolf while covering it with my magic and drove my claws in the neck, ending its life then turned to look at the other side of the fight.

Two wind wolves are blasting compressed air balls at brother's neck who is biting the golden wolf by the left hind leg and another wind wolf keeping my sister busy while she is making some progress to pull out of the ground. I lick my lips then turn right to approach the fight...however, the female Rank 4 Green Wolf leaves my sister and stops my advance by growling with her hackles raised all over the body.

This is... the golden Alpha's mate. A smirk appears on my lips at the realization.