Chapter 68: A Loss Right Before Your Eyes
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The source of the sound wasn’t far away. He Yan hurriedly rode her horse, followed closely by Shen Hong who shouted while running, “Hey, wait for me!”
Moving further ahead on the mountaintop, crossing over the ridge, the shade made the forest even denser and more humid. The sunlight barely filtered through, making it seem like night, cold and eerie. He Yan stopped in front of a thicket of trees.
Ahead, Zheng Xuan and his companions were visible. Their horses were anxiously pawing the ground, hesitant to move forward. Zheng Xuan’s face was pale, and the other two were on the verge of tears.
Four wolves were crouched low around the three men, emitting low howls. As He Yan and Shen Hong approached, the wolves turned their fierce gaze towards them.
At this time, in this moment, how could there be wolves? He Yan found it strange.
Looking at Zheng Xuan and the others, they appeared disheveled. He Yan also noticed that Zheng Xuan’s blade was missing from his waist. A pack of wolves would attack a lone person, but they wouldn’t inexplicably attack the three of them. He Yan asked, “What did you do?”
Zheng Xuan remained silent with a pale face. The new recruit behind him, with a quivering voice, spoke up, “We, we went ahead and found a burrow. There were sounds coming from inside. We went closer to look and found a den of wolf cubs…”
“You disturbed the wolf cubs?” He Yan sternly asked.
Her sharp tone startled the new recruit, who quickly answered, “N-No, we just wanted to bring them back to raise. But not long after, we… we saw these wolves.”
He Yan felt like prying open these people’s heads to see what they were thinking. Spotting a wolf den indicated that the mother wolf was nearby. They didn’t leave and even took away the wolf cubs. Did they really think the mother wolf wouldn’t follow their scent?
“Where are the wolf cubs?” He Yan inquired.
“We got scared and quickly returned the wolf cubs to them, but…”
“But what?” A sense of unease suddenly crept into He Yan’s heart.
“But one of them fell on a sharp rock, it seems like it died,” the person said.
“You!” He Yan was furious. These wolves wouldn’t leave now.
“Why are you yelling?” Zheng Xuan retorted angrily. “Aren’t they just a few wolves? We can kill them! Are you saying a few beasts can kill us humans?”
He Yan sneered, “Is that so? Then where’s your blade?”
Zheng Xuan’s expression grew uglier. After he dropped the wolf cub to death, he had faced off against this pack of wolves with his blade. But these cunning wolves took advantage of his nervousness, and he almost got injured, eventually losing his blade. If not for that, they wouldn’t be in this dire situation now.
“Stop the useless talk. We either die together or find a way out,” he forced out a few words from between his teeth.
Just as he spoke, Shen Hong arrived on horseback. Seeing the scene, he was taken aback and his voice trembled, “S-So many wolves! How can there be so many wolves?”
The wolves were now crouched low, baring their fangs; the attack was imminent.
If they had a firestarter, it would be better since wolves feared fire. But they were out in broad daylight without one. Just as this crossed their minds, the four wolves lunged at the three people huddled together.
The three of them screamed in panic. One of them had his leg bitten and nearly fell off his horse. Shen Hong was on the verge of tears, “Help us!”
Calling for help now is useless; there’s no one else here. He Yan made a decisive move, charging in on horseback. Her charge broke the encirclement the wolves had formed. Several wolves turned their attention to her and charged.
He Yan urged, “Where are your spears? Take them out and use them!”
“O-Okay.” The two new recruits snapped out of their daze and finally remembered their spears. They clumsily brandished them, clearly lacking skill. He Yan’s heart sank.
Counting on these people was impossible. He Yan wanted to draw her own blade, but she realized that Shen Hong had borrowed it earlier. She only had a makeshift bamboo pole now. She shouted, “Shen Hong, throw my blade over!”
Shen Hong complied, tremblingly unsheathed the blade and threw it, but he was too nervous and fumbled the throw. The long blade fell in mid-air, leaving only a short blade hanging in its sheath, which He Yan caught mid-air.
The wolves were still circling, waiting for an opportunity to strike. He Yan said, “When I tell you to run, turn around and run without looking back. Head downhill, all the way to camp, and inform the instructors. Got it?”
Shen Hong asked, “And you?”
“I have a way to shake them off.”
“He Yan, how can we run? We’re surrounded. They’ll bite the horses’ legs; if the horses’ legs are bitten, we won’t be able to escape…”
“It’s not entirely hopeless,” He Yan said. With that, she swiftly hurled her short blade. The blade was small, her movement was fast, and in the blink of an eye, a flash of silver passed by. A pitiful howl followed, and the scent of blood filled the air.
The largest wolf fell to the ground, blood bubbling from its throat. The blade had gone straight through, leaving only the hilt visible. The wolf struggled for a moment before finally going still.
“Run!” He Yan shouted.
Without daring to take a breath, Zheng Xuan and his companions, along with Shen Hong, shouted “Charge!” They used all their strength to spur their horses and dashed out of the dense forest. They expected the remaining wolves to chase after them but didn’t dare to look back. In the blink of an eye, their figures vanished.
The remaining wolves didn’t pursue them. After a moment of chaos, they turned their attention to He Yan with fierce and malevolent eyes.
He Yan had killed the alpha wolf.
Wolves are pack animals, and among these wolves, the largest one was their leader. They followed its lead, and with its death, they were now leaderless and less coordinated. But at the same time, He Yan had to face the revenge of the remaining wolves for killing their leader.
One wolf bared its sharp white teeth and lunged at her, its claws capable of tearing a person’s head apart. He Yan swung her staff fiercely in front of her, sending the wolf rolling forward, narrowly avoiding its attack.
A faint sound, almost imperceptible, reached He Yan’s keen ears, and her heart sank.
The bamboo pole she was wielding had developed a crack and might not withstand more attacks before breaking.
“Such bad luck!” She muttered under her breath, her laugh bitter. Just three wolves left, and she could handle them alone, but now she had nothing but this rapidly deteriorating pole. Wasn’t it said, “A hero is helpless without money”? No, it was more like fortune bringing double blessings, while misfortune followed closely.
A person can’t be killed by beasts. He Yan thought of Zheng Xuan’s words and chuckled softly.
On the battlefield, besides launching an offensive, she had another skill she excelled at: running away.
“Run!”
The girl’s voice echoed through the forest, startling countless birds into flight. The bamboo pole seemed to possess an infinite amount of strength as it cleaved forward, creating a path ahead.
She rode her horse, wielding the long pole, seemingly vanishing into the vast woods.
With a pack of wolves chasing behind, the situation was as tense as a boiling cauldron with fish swimming inside, on the verge of eruption.
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