After numerous day and night cycles, the Alpha Dire Wolf was ready. It trained along with a select few of its pack members, and now it was confident that they could reach the peak of the mountain.
It let out a howl, and the eight elite wolves behind it joined with their own. With its signal, they started jumping on the highest branch that they could, and then they continued onto the visible ledges that they could step on.
In the middle of the night, the dire wolves along with its alpha made their move towards the peak of this mountain. They imagined a feast waiting for them at the top, and the alpha's hope for ascension in strength.
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It is the middle of the night. I am just planning to turn off the spiritual lamp that acts as the light in my room and go to sleep when I sense Kuro's feelings of disturbance and alertness. It quickly reaches a crescendo as that alertness turns into aggression.
"Kuro?"
My bond with Kuro let me know what it is feeling and now I can sense the same feeling as when it is fighting against those Bald Dodos. Though this time it is a lot more intense than when we are facing those monstrous birds.
I quickly reach out to my pistol and at my belt full of loaded magazines, wearing it as fast as I can before unfolding the laptop lying on the desk just besides my bed. The numerous security cameras I put around the vicinity of this place let me see what is happening, and what I see makes my blood run cold.
Wolves. Large wolves that reach my shoulder with their gait. If they sit, I am sure they will be taller than me. Kuro is a lot larger than them by half a foot, though there is one of the wolves leading this pack who almost reaches Kuro's height by a few inches. It is growling at Kuro while the others are positioning themselves on the other side, most likely wanting to flank Kuro to kill it.
I will not let them.
"Fluffy!"
With a single call, my shiba inu quickly realizes something is wrong as it growls at the door. I open the door, which it sees as an opportunity to rush outside without waiting for me.
That is fine. I trust Fluffy to take care of itself. It is a lot more nimble than Kuro and has shown its competence by dodging the dives from those Bald Dodos. Fluffy can also act as a distraction while I try and reduce the numbers of these wolves.
Still... it is surprising. How did they reach this spot? Isn't it impossible for demonic beasts to step on those narrow ledges?
If they can reach this spot, then does that mean the other wolves below can do it too?
... There is no time to think about it. I have to deal with this problem first before thinking about this.
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I can hear the barks, growls, and whimpers of the demon beasts more clearly when I leave the door of my house. Quickly, I point my gun at the first dire wolf I encounter. It is currently chasing Fluffy who is using itself as bait.
With its back turned, I can freely aim at it without worrying for a retaliation, and then pulling the trigger while activating True Shot. Shots imbued with my qi cut through the distance between me and that wolf, and it hit its rump with a cold silence and only its loud whimper as a sign that it was harmed. I shoot it once more to make sure that it stays down.
Then I look around, trying to find the other wolves. Alarm bells ring within my mind, and if not for me turning around, I will not even know how I died. Above the only roof of the ruined pagoda is a wolf standing there, already in a pouncing posture as it gazes at me.
I freeze up, but grit my teeth and force myself to aim my gun at it. It is too late because it pounces towards me before I can shoot. I still pull the trigger, and then let out a grunt as its weight slams against me.
Damn! It's so heavy!
I push it and then roll around before taking a proper shooting stance in the direction where I push that wolf. Thankfully I manage to hold onto my gun when it slams against me.
I can see that wolf whimpering which shows that it is still alive. It feels merciless shooting a downed enemy, but I shake my head from those useless thoughts.
A demonic beast will kill a person if they see one. If I don't give it the killing blow, then it will be me who will die here.
So I harden my heart and then shoot it even if it's down. The breathing of that wolf stills, and I just notice that the sound of creaking I can hear is my grip on my gun. I relax my fingers for a bit, taking some calming breaths before snapping my gaze around.
I am still not out of the danger. There are no other immediate threats planning to pounce at me. That means my pets are distracting them enough. I have to help them out before they get hurt!
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Gu Rou watched the strongest threat among the intruders carefully. The others had left, and only one of its pack members remained to help it. His small compatriot, Fu La Fei, had taken the attention of the others who would ambush him.
They circled each other, posturing while they growled and tried to intimidate the opposing party. They checked each other out. The movement of their limbs, their posture, their positioning, and even where their eyes were pointed.
Gu Rou could sense great delight from it, and the drool from its lips almost made him lose composure.
'This mutt is so daring to covet my flesh? It's courting death!' Gu Rou thought in anger.
But it stilled its burning wrath, and waited for the other party to move. It knew that it was strong, and a wrong move would be bad for him. The other party also knew that he was strong, so this large and ferocious-looking dire wolf waited for his move.
They waited, and then waited, until something happened. The wolf that was trying to flank him finally lost its patience as it kicked the ground with a snarl. Gu Rou's eyes lit up as he turned his head towards it, and swung his claws at its approaching maw.
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He hit it precisely on the side of its face, wounding it with his sharp claws. Blood was drawn as that fodder whined in pain. Even with that small success, the dark forest wolf was attentive. He saw a silhouette fast approaching from its periphery.
He swiftly dodged to the side before the claws of the alpha clamped on his neck. After a weave, he retaliated with a bite which was quickly avoided by his assailant. He quickly followed up with a swipe of his claws, and the opposition retreated a few steps. Both growled at each other with intense hostility in their eyes.
That first exchange signaled the start of their deadly dance.
Without taking rest, two gray furred wolves faced the singular one that guards this peak. Their movement was deadly and precise. Their teamwork was mesmerizing that normal beasts would be fooled.
Such teamwork was useless in the face of pure power. In a few exchanges of swipes and bites, the smaller dire wolf fell victim to his bite. His teeth broke through flesh and bone, and separated the spine from its neck. Such a result was normal as a dark forest wolf has better capabilities than dire wolves.
The death of the smaller one affected the leader of these night raiders. It barked as it pounced on him with a fierce expression. Its body seemed to have bulked up as a malicious aura covered its entire body. The speed that it pounced shocked him, and his surprise was taken advantage of as it got close to him.
It slammed against him with a fleshy thud. The two rolled on the ground, growling on each other as they swung their claws at each other. Reaching out vital parts with their fangs while they thrash around. It only took a short moment before Gu Rou managed to disengage and reevaluate his enemy.
He felt a burning sensation from his side. His dark fur has been matted red by the large gash on it. Still, it wasn't worse compared to the dire wolf who nursed one of its hind legs. There were some scratches from its body and the tip of one of its ears was missing.
Gu Rou's heart soared at this challenge. This was the only foe it fought that wounded him. He welcomed this type of challenge. His contempt against this interloper changed into something more.
'A worthy opponent!'
The two knew that the next exchange would be the final one. They lowered themselves, and then lunged at each other. Their fore limbs and teeth primed for the final blow.
In that single exchange, the winner was decided as the sound of teeth sinking onto flesh. The whimper of the loser echoed on the night sky as crimson blood stained the ground of this peak. There, the moonlight shone upon the dark furred victor of this deadly bout.
The alpha wolf lay twitching on the ground, whimpering its death throes as Gu Rou stood proudly on the moonlight. Then it straightened its posture, and then bellowed with its victorious howl. Letting the Heavens know of its exploit.
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The former mortal dog weaved through pack formations, expertly dodging beasts much larger than her. Instead of fighting, Fluffy simply ran. Then she stopped before she turned around with a dopey smile on her face, her tail moving like a fan.
Fluffy saw this dangerous activity fun. She loved leading intruders with her provocation, then dodging their attempts to attack her. It was so much fun for her whenever she successfully evaded attempts on her life. It made her heart pumped much more intensely compared to when she played fetch with her Master.
Her natural expression caused the three wolves to snarl, their faces turning ugly as they moved to flank her. Seeing them provoked by her dopey grin made her heart flutter in excitement as it turned around and led them around the place.
One of the wolves almost got close to her, but then it whimpered and fell to the ground later. The other two stopped in confusion for a moment, their head turning left to right in alert. Noticing that, Fluffy stopped and then barked at them before she sat.
Her bark took the attention of these two, and seeing her face made their eyes burn in anger. They followed her once more though before they could reach her, unseen projectiles pierced through the air and downed the two wolves.
Fluffy strutted towards the dead wolves, putting her paw on one of the wolves whose eyes became glassy. A hole on the side of its skull could be seen with blood spurting out from it.
She was sad that playtime was over, but her mood quickly rose as she saw her Master emerge from his hiding spot. She knew her Master used a mysterious hidden weapon to slay foes. It was why she wasn't as worried. Her Master was there to protect her.
"Good job, Fluffy."
She was happy with the compliment. She quickly moved towards her Master and waited for head pats. She liked the warm hand of her Master, and preferred to experience those fingers and palm rubbing against its head and ears.
It was why she liked this kind of activity. Whenever they were done with their playtime, her Master would always praise her.
She hopes more intruders come so she can have more head pats.
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"Phew..."
Finally, all of the monsters are dead. Now I can relax.
I believe in Kuro. It is the strongest pet that I have, though it surprises me when I find out who it was fighting. It's the alpha of the dire wolves. They say it is a lot stronger than a normal dire wolf, and they can unite a hundred dire wolves to their cause.
I tense up thinking that a hundred more might come, but coming back and looking at the security feed doesn't show any wolves coming as back up. I think it's only the nine of them who try to attack us.
I am curious how they manage to reach this place. This spot is more than a hundred and fifty feet above the nearest stable ground. How did they get up here?
Is it even safe to stay here?
I almost got hurt awhile ago. Kuro got wounded in its fight against that alpha wolf. If this is the kind of result we will get just fighting a group of 1st Stage Demonic Beasts then what about the stronger ones?
2nd Stage Demonic Beasts are known to be ten times stronger than a 1st Stage Demonic Beast. What if they arrive here and decide that the people living here are their next meal for the day?
Should I relocate my base?
... No, it is too early to think like that. I have been staying here for two years now. It's only now that those wolves manage to reach this peak. I can't just expect other land-based monsters to also do that the next week.
There is still some time. I can still grind more points, spiritual roots, and multipliers before something bad happens. I have to be optimistic here!
Talking about being optimistic, there is one good thing that happens in this fight. When I first arrived at Kuro's side to help, I saw it feasting upon the flesh of that large dire wolf. I think it might have eaten its core because I sensed a change in its aura.
Kuro has successfully reached a breakthrough. It is now a 2nd Stage Demonic Beast.
There were some bad things that happened tonight, but something good came out of it. The original Xie Wen will think this is Heaven's Will and such an opportunity is normal in a life and death scenario. I don't want to be put in a dangerous scenario as much as I want!
I'm not foolish enough to throw my life away just for a chance to rise to the top!
I have my cheat ability, so there is no need for me to compete for resources or look for trouble.
That sense of crisis is looming behind my mind once more. This time, something within my mind is telling me to push myself beyond the limit and find more ways to strengthen myself.
I admit, I have been neglecting my research for a bit as I feel a bit complacent with my gun, my pets, and the speed of my cultivation. I am already satisfied with my progress. I thought nothing bad would happen for the foreseeable future if I stayed here.
Now I know I am just being too naive in my thoughts. I am still a weak person in this world. I have to build up more power than ever.
I can't also leave this place. This spot has more qi than doing it below. The room I am using also has a qi gathering array in it. This spot is the best cultivation spot for a weakling like me.
So the next thing I have to do is to build up defense, and strengthen myself. I also have to find a way to strengthen my beast more. I wonder if the Prestige Shop has other things in it that can help with my growth. I only know about increasing affinity and spiritual roots.
Those are my thoughts as we clean up the corpses of the wolves around our area.