Chapter 48: The Tide Turns

The Level Two magical beast—Light Wolf—had its entire coat of gray fur bristling at that moment. The reason was that the gazes from the two figures ahead, cast in its direction, were exactly the same as the way it looked at them: the delighted eyes of a predator who had set its sights on a delicious prey.

“Have they discovered me? No, that can't be. I didn’t make the slightest sound just now. They must have noticed something else. Yes, that's it; I mustn’t scare myself!” The Light Wolf comforted itself. Then, to calm the unease in its heart, it crouched low and sprang forward, launching a fierce attack at its own prey.

When the Light Wolf suddenly burst from the grass to attack, not only were Rollin and Little Black unfazed, but the smiles on their faces grew even brighter. This expression, falling into the Light Wolf's eyes, gave it a faint sense of foreboding. However, having already leapt out, there was no turning back; gritting its teeth and steeling itself, it stretched out two sharp claws and pounced at Rollin.

When the Light Wolf was less than half a meter from Rollin, a conical flame burst forth at his side, hurtling rapidly toward the wolf. At the same time, several small sparks of lightning flickered across Rollin’s body as he suddenly retreated backward.

A careful observer would have noticed several “fireballs” and “fire webs” tightly clustered within the cone-shaped flame, emanating a violent, destructive aura. This was a Level Three fire spell—Explosion of Flame!

If the spell struck its target and triggered a vibration, the fireballs and fire webs inside would collide and set off a tremendous explosion, inflicting massive damage on the enemy. The force of the blast was so great that Rollin had no choice but to retreat further to avoid the impact.

The Light Wolf sensed the danger of the fiery explosion as well, but with its body already airborne, it had no way to dodge. In desperation, it let out a furious howl, a flash of white light flaring within as it opened its blood-red maw and spat out a white energy orb, sending it hurtling toward the cone of fire. The huge recoil from the blast also forced the wolf’s body backward, halting its forward momentum.

A deafening explosion roared as the energy orb and the cone of fire collided, the resulting high-temperature shockwave instantly reducing the nearby grass to ash. Although the Light Wolf was thrown backward, it could not escape unscathed. Its gray fur curled up in an instant, and both fiery shrapnel and fragments of the energy orb riddled its body with wounds. With a plaintive whimper, the Light Wolf crashed hard to the ground, rolling over several times.

The donkey, long prepared, leapt forward and delivered a brutal kick with its forehooves to the wolf’s body. With a sickening crack, several bones broke at once, drawing an agonized scream from the wolf. The intense pain awakened the beast’s ferocity, and with a sudden effort of all four limbs, it sprang up and lunged at Little Black. A gleam of excitement flashed in Little Black’s eyes as he raised his forehooves high and brought them down with a thunderous blow.

Knocked to the ground once more, blood gushed from the Light Wolf’s mouth and nose. A glint of malice shone in its eyes. Just as Little Black charged at it again, the wolf threw its head back and, mustering the last of its strength, let out a long, piercing howl.

“Awooooo—” The sound echoed far into the distance.

With that final howl, the Light Wolf’s life came to an end, finished by a single brutal kick from Little Black. Such was the way of the Maya Mountains: either you killed and feasted on your enemy, or you became the meal for another.

“Not good!” Rollin hurriedly stowed the wolf’s corpse into the Necromancer’s Space and called out to Little Black to leave at once.

The tremendous explosion just now had likely already alerted the surrounding magical beasts, and now the Light Wolf’s howl had probably signaled its companions. It was far too dangerous to remain here.

However, Rollin and Little Black had only covered a few hundred meters before the chilling sound of rustling from the grass reached their ears.

Both came to an abrupt halt. Ahead of them, seven or eight massive Light Wolves stared coldly their way. The pair quickly turned and fled in another direction, but after only a few steps, they were blocked again by more Light Wolves appearing from the brush.

Soon, from all around, gray Light Wolves began to emerge from the thickets, tightly encircling Rollin and Little Black.

Rollin drew a sharp breath. In an instant, he and Little Black found themselves surrounded by forty or fifty Level Two Light Wolves, led by a formidable chieftain with a blue pelt—a Level Four Light Wolf.

All eyes in the pack were filled with savage light as they stared at Rollin and Little Black. Who was the prey now? The tables had turned in an instant!

This was the first time since coming to the Maya Mountains that Rollin had faced so many magical beasts at once. His heart pounded with tension. At that moment, Kus flew out from the White Stone, his expression grave.

“In a moment,” Kus said, “you and the donkey must charge together in one direction. Break through the encirclement. Remember—do not get entangled with the Light Wolf chieftain. If you’re held up by them, you’ll be in real danger.”

Rollin nodded and quickly communicated the plan to Little Black, readying themselves for the assault.

But before they could act, the Light Wolf chieftain suddenly let out a low growl toward the pack. At once, a white glow began to flicker within each wolf’s body.

“Not good, run!” Rollin broke out in a cold sweat. From their movements, it was clear the wolves were about to unleash powerful energy orbs. If so many hit him and Little Black at once, there wouldn’t even be bones left!

Rollin and Little Black dashed toward a cluster of the weaker-looking Light Wolves.

The wolves saw the pair charging and abandoned gathering energy orbs, choosing instead to meet them head-on with vicious snarls.

When they were close, Little Black unleashed the full strength of a Level Four magical beast, his immense power sending several wolves flying and opening a gap in the encirclement. Seizing the chance, the donkey and Rollin broke through.

But already a dozen Light Wolves had spit their energy orbs, which hurtled toward them, while the pack gave chase at full speed.

Through the thunderous explosions all around, Rollin and Little Black staggered and dodged, narrowly avoiding the deadly projectiles.

Behind them, the Light Wolves continued to bombard their path with energy orbs, forcing Rollin and Little Black to flee in disarray, constantly changing direction.

Suddenly, Rollin heard a sharp rustling—something large was hurtling through the grass at great speed. Turning, he was shocked to see the blue-furred Light Wolf chieftain, who had yet to attack, now charging toward them with terrifying swiftness.

“So fast!” Rollin gasped, pushing himself to run even faster. But before long, he had to stop—because the enormous Light Wolf chieftain was already blocking their way ahead.

If Little Black, a Level Four magical beast renowned for speed, had fled alone, the chieftain might not have caught up. But burdened by Rollin, their pace slowed. Even with Rollin mounted, the extra weight would soon allow the chieftain to catch them.

Now, the Light Wolf chieftain’s eyes gleamed with a cold, eerie light, fixed unwaveringly on them. In a heartbeat, the Level Two Light Wolves had also caught up, closing the ring around Rollin and Little Black.