Whiz! Whiz! Whiz...
The familiar sounds echoed from all directions.
This time, Shulim was well-prepared.
She knew that once the melee wolves, who were susceptible to friendly fire, retreated out of range, the ranged attackers of the pack would certainly not miss this opportunity.
“【ᛏרᚺᛓᛟᛗᛜᚻᚠᛏᛖᛡᛣᛏᚠᚳᛜᛃᚾᚪᛜᛣᚠᛟᚺᛗᛜᚠᛖᚢᛗᛡᛞᚠᛈ】”
“Wind Barrier!”
The wind-element barrier spell manifested instantly, blocking the oncoming quills.
Shulim didn't just stand there waiting for the pack to surround her again; keeping her barrier active, she immediately began moving in a specific direction.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
The sharp sound of numerous Wind Blades cutting through the air echoed.
“【ᛓᚠᛏᚱוᚠᛃᛖᛜᛖᛗᛞᚪᛡᛖᛞᛃᚺיᛤᛜᛖᛚלᚠᛟᛜᛃᛋᛄᚠᚪᛜᛖᚾהᛤ】”
“Rock Barrier!”
The moment the wind wolves appeared in her field of vision, Shulim deactivated her Wind Barrier and switched to a different spell.
The Wind Blades, which were difficult for her Wind Barrier to withstand, were easily blocked by the thick stone wall.
“Rock Barrier!”
“Rock Barrier!”
“Rock...”
Under Shulim's deliberate control, a series of stone walls erupted from the ground at regular intervals. She used these intermittent obstacles to maintain her movement, steadily closing the distance to her target...
“Awoo—!!!”
Seeing that the pack was taking too long to bring Shulim down, the giant forest wolf grew impatient.
Its howling carried a commanding edge.
As the new order was issued, the cautious tactics previously employed by the pack dissolved, replaced by a much more bloodthirsty and tense atmosphere.
“Awoo!”
“Roar—!”
“Roar...”
At this moment, whether they were low-level horned wolves, grass wolves, or the spinetailed wolves and wind wolves that had been hiding in safe zones, all of them charged forward together.
“【ᛖᛃᚱᚪיᛏᚠᛜᛁᛄᚾᛒᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᛁᚾᛗᛚᚪᛜᛚᚠᛞᚳᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᚺᛓᚠתᛤᛜᛖᚷᚳᛄהᛤᛜᛞᛈᛃᛡᛚᛖᛋ】”
“Water Cannon!”
“【ᚹᛚᛖᛗᛜᛖᛃᚱᚪיᛏᚠᛜᛖᚾᚠᚲᚢהᛤᛜᛚᚲᛜᛖᛗᛞᚪᛡᛖᛞᛃᚺיᛤᛜᛏᛋᚠᛞᛜᚾᚠוᛃᚲᛚᛜᚻᛁᚢᛗ 】”
“Earth Spike!”
“Storm Blast...”
The high-pressure torrent of water shattered wolf after wolf, numerous Earth Spikes erupted from the ground to impale them in mid-air, and the violent storm kicked up from the flat ground sent the rest flying in all directions...
Meanwhile, her mana drained like water rushing from a burst dam. Yet Shulim couldn't stop. Facing this crazed onslaught, even a single moment's hesitation would result in her being dragged down and torn to pieces.
Shulim knew that if this continued, even if she wasn't killed by the wolves along the way, she would eventually share the exact same fate once her mana was completely depleted.
The situation was more desperate than it had ever been.
Yet, there was still a sliver of hope!
And Shulim was already drawing near to that hope—the hiding goblin lord.
...
When the wolves were rampaging and slaughtering across the goblin settlement, they had naturally noticed the massive goblin lord as well.
Daunted by its size and powerful presence, the pack did not act rashly. Instead, they began with probing attacks. The goblin lord had brandished its intimidating stone axe in an attempt to scare the pack off, but hampered by the poison, its weakened state was quickly exposed.
The wolves were ecstatic, thinking they had stumbled upon an easy feast. However, Shulim had engaged the pack right at that moment. Under the giant forest wolf's orders, the pack temporarily put the goblin lord on the back burner, planning to deal with Shulim—the greater threat—before coming back to harvest him.
But right now,
“Growl!”
The giant forest wolf, which had been commanding comfortably from the rear, suddenly grew restless. A faint trace of unease stirred in its chest.
It could not understand. Under the current circumstances, this human should have been a dead woman walking. Yet, it couldn't detect even a shred of the fear or despair it usually saw in its prey. On the contrary, her gaze was resolute, as if she still had a card up her sleeve.
“Awoo—, growl~!”
The giant forest wolf's unease triggered a commotion among its surrounding guards. They looked around tensely, trying to identify where the threat causing their king's anxiety was hiding.
“Great Fireball!”
Boom!
A massive ball of fire blew the dilapidated hut where the goblin lord was hiding into smithereens.
Staring at Shulim, who had her wand aimed directly at him, and the dense horde of wolves behind her, the goblin lord was utterly bewildered and shook with sheer terror.
Without a moment's hesitation, the tip of Shulim's wand flared with light, aimed straight at the goblin lord.
Watching this play out, the giant forest wolf suddenly bolted upright, a look of solemnity crossing its eyes.
It could not fathom the human's actions at all. No matter how it looked at it, now was not the time to go after another piece of prey.
This was far too abnormal. And because of that, such an unusual move had to be harboring a danger it did not yet know of.
Therefore, there was only one thing to do—
“Storm Spear!”
The Third-Tier spell, Storm Spear, shot directly toward the goblin lord's head. In its panic, the creature raised both hands to shield itself; its hands were instantly skewered, but its head was saved as a result.
“Gah—!!!?”
The goblin lord shrieked in agony.
Shulim frowned slightly. This guy's vitality was so resilient, making him a real pain. Trying to kill him while dealing with the wolf pack was no easy task.
Even so, Shulim did not pause for a second, already beginning to prepare her next spell.
“Awoo—!!!”
Just then, the giant forest wolf's howl echoed through the entire forest.
The surrounding pack froze in unison, but they instantly sprang into action upon receiving the command.
“Storm Spear!”
The second Storm Spear shot toward the goblin lord's head once more. Terror filled its eyes, but its injured hands were too heavy to even lift at this point.
“Awoo—!”
Just then, a dire wolf suddenly leaped out from behind the goblin lord, throwing itself directly in the path of the flying Storm Spear. Though it was killed instantly by the impact, it successfully shielded the goblin lord from the blow.
“What—?!”
Shulim's heart skipped a beat as she quickly whipped her head around in the direction of the giant forest wolf.
“Did it figure it out this quickly...?”
By now, the giant forest wolf's previous unease had vanished completely, replaced by a mocking gaze fixed upon Shulim.
Although it had only issued the order based on the logic that the more abnormal its prey's behavior, the more it needed to be stopped, her reaction proved that it had guessed correctly!
“...”
Looking at the wolves now shielding the goblin lord behind them, Shulim tightened her grip on her wand.
At this moment, the goblin lord had absolutely no idea what was going on. It only stared blankly at the pack that was now protecting it. If these wolves hadn't been trying to eat him from the start, he might have actually shed tears of gratitude for their self-sacrifice.
“Awoo—!”
Having ensured that there were no lingering threats, the giant forest wolf issued another order.
The temporarily halted pack sprang back into action. Leaving a portion to guard the goblin lord, the rest charged straight toward Shulim.
The subsequent battle was brutally difficult, unlike anything she had faced before...
Her mana continued to plummet, and her physical stamina was rapidly failing. Every time she tried to attack the goblin lord, the pack would retaliate with desperate, suicidal fury. But the moment she turned around to deal with the wolves, they would pull back their main force, leaving only a small contingent to incessantly harass her.
Shulim knew she had fallen completely into the pack's rhythm. What wolves excelled at most was a war of attrition, wearing their opponent down until they were utterly exhausted, and then securing an easy victory.
The scales of victory were tilting inevitably toward the pack.
“A breakthrough... I must find a breakthrough...”
Her eyes continuously scanned the entire battlefield, attempting to find a way to break this deadlock. Even as several wounds were carved into her skin by the sharp claws and teeth of the wolves, Shulim seemed completely oblivious to the pain. Her focus reached an unprecedented level, her mind racing at a speed she had never achieved before.
“Take to the air and attack the goblin lord again? No... the pack won't make that mistake again.”
“Retreat? Impossible.”
“Only by defeating the pack... No, with a King-Species wolf king leading them, this pack is simply too powerful. There's no way to win... Wait—”
“The wolf king...”
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