Chapter 117: Storm Wolf Hunt
Arthur stood alone. The crystal colored egg rested securely beneath one arm while Dusk remained in his other hand. Thirty Storm Wolves slowly spread throughout the chamber, blue lightning crawling across the floor like living snakes.
Arthur’s gaze swept across the chamber once more.
The wolves.
The lightning.
The crystal walls.
Then his eyes settled on the egg tucked beneath his arm. For some reason it felt familiar like he had stood here before.
His brow furrowed and then a memory stirred.
Dark clouds.
A battlefield.
Vedas standing before a dark wolf and behind them a floating light.
Arthur’s eyes slowly widened at the shape and back then, he had only seen a silhouette. He had assumed it was a sphere but looking at the crystal shell now...
It wasn’t perfectly round.
It had never been.
It had been an egg all along.
Arthur instinctively tightened his grip around it. So this... was what the vision meant.
The vision hadn’t fully arrived yet, but he knew he was close now.
That only made him smile.
The lead Storm Wolf lowered itself, muscles tensing and then without warning. Every Storm Wolf disappeared at once, lightning exploding across the chamber.
Arthur’s instincts screamed and he twisted, and a pair of jaws snapped shut where his neck had been a heartbeat earlier.
Dusk flashed.
[Guardian Strike]
Golden power exploded from the spear. Boom! The wolf was blasted straight through a crystal pillar.
Before it even landed, another attacked. Arthur ducked beneath flashing claws and spun, his spear sweeping low. The wolf rolled away quickly.
"They’ve gotten stronger," he muttered.
One Storm Wolf deliberately stepped into Arthur’s view.
Another disappeared behind a crystal pillar.
A third remained perfectly still several meters away.
Arthur kept his eyes on all three.
Then a fourth lunged from directly above. "...A decoy."
He twisted just in time and the jaws snapped shut inches from his shoulder. Before Arthur could counterattack and the wolf that had been standing perfectly still suddenly moved as well.
He quickly lashed out with a kick that sent it flying back. "So you really are hunting as a pack."
Then Arthur glanced at the third Storm Wolf. Three wolves attacked in unison, and lightning burst out from them before rushing towards him.
Arthur immediately expanded a golden barrier around himself.
[Guardian Shield]
Lightning slammed against it from every direction. The shield trembled, cracks of golden light spreading across its surface.
Arthur smiled. "Still holding," he said.
The instant the attacks stopped, he released the shield himself. The wolves expected him to stay hidden inside it. Instead, Arthur exploded forward.
[Magic Burst]
Boom. The blast launched two wolves backward.
Before the third could recover, Arthur’s spear pierced straight through its chest, golden particles scattering across the room.
One down.
Twenty nine remained.
The wolves adapted immediately. They stopped charging blindly and began circling instead, watching him, waiting.
Arthur slowly turned with them. "So," he said. "Are you changing tactics? Good! "... It would be boring if you didn’t."
The lead Wolf growled.
Arthur spun Dusk once. "Come on. Let’s see what else you got."
One wolf feinted. Arthur ignored it. Another came from behind, and he blocked. A third attacked from above.
Arthur smiled. "There you are," he said.
Golden light wrapped around him, and his presence disappeared entirely.
[Guardian Growth]
The wolves froze, their instincts suddenly losing him completely.
Arthur moved and then he swung his sword. One wolf collapsed before it even understood what had happened.
The remaining Wolves suddenly stopped and looked around in confusion. Then every one of them sniffed the air.
Searching.
Listening.
All trying to find Arthur but none of them could.
Arthur watched quietly and the only thing he thought was how unfair this skill was. Then he attacked again. Another thrust, and another wolf dissolved into golden light. Arthur reappeared several steps away.
Twenty seven.
A grin spread across his face. "I like this skill," he said.
The battle became relentless after that.
Arthur never stood still.
Guardian Strike shattered ribs. Magic Burst blasted wolves across the chamber. Guardian Shield blocked impossible angles. Armor Pierce swept through multiple of them.
Every skill flowed naturally into the next, and golden particles filled the room around him.
Twenty six.
Twenty four.
Twenty two.
Twenty.
Arthur exhaled slowly, his breathing growing heavier. Not from exhaustion but because the wolves never stopped adapting. Every fallen wolf seemed to teach the others something new.
The remaining twenty wolves suddenly stopped.
Every single one.
Arthur frowned as he saw every Storm Wolf raised its head at once.
Then they howled together.
Roooooooooo!!
Darkness swallowed everything. Arthur couldn’t see. Couldn’t hear. Couldn’t even feel the floor beneath him. His body refused to respond.
A stun.
His eyes widened.
That’s bad.
Fortunately for him, one of his titles activated and cut down the effect. And then he saw it, a Storm Wolf was already in front of him.
Its jaws opened wide with lightning dancing between its fangs. Arthur immediately tried to bring Dusk up but his arm barely moved.
"...Not fast enough."
He could already feel the heat of its breath.
A calm voice echoed through the chamber. "You always find the interesting fights."
SHING!
A golden line flashed across Arthur’s vision.
The Storm Wolf froze.
A thin red line appeared across its body and then it slowly split into two perfect halves. Golden particles drifted through the air.
Arthur blinked.
Standing before him was Mithra casually lowering Kusa and then she smiled. "Sorry. I think I stole your prey."
Arthur laughed. "You can have that one."
More footsteps echoed through the chamber.
Athena rushed in first, Aegis unfolding instantly into a defensive wall.
Sun spun Long onto his shoulder. "You couldn’t wait five minutes?" he said.
Kong grinned the moment he saw the wolves.
Melo jumped beside Arthur, and Athy circled overhead.
Vedas stepped up beside Arthur, and the two of them exchanged a single glance.
No words because none were needed.
Behind them, Mara arrived atop the Blazefang Lion, already scanning the battlefield. "They’re changing formations!" she called out.
Arthur nodded. "I noticed," he said.
Now the hunt became even.
The wolves attacked again, and this time they met an organized team. Athena intercepted every lightning strike before it reached anyone else.
Sun constantly disrupted the wolves’ formations with shockwave after shockwave. Kong wrestled one wolf to the ground before throwing it bodily into another.
Mithra moved through the openings Arthur created, each of her strikes claiming another wolf.
Melo healed injuries before they could slow anyone down. Athy harassed the wolves from above, and Mara called out every coordinated attack before it happened.
Arthur and Vedas remained at the center of it all. One attacked, the other finished. The teamwork became seamless. One wolf fell, then another, and the chamber slowly emptied, golden particles drifting through the air like glowing snow.
Golden light wrapped around Vedas.
[Level Up!]
[Goblin Commander]
[Level 27 → Level 28]
He smiled. "Twenty eight," he said.
Arthur grinned. "Not bad," he said.
The final Storm Wolf collapsed, and silence returned to the chamber. The lightning faded, and everyone finally caught their breath.
Sun leaned on Long. "Please tell me," he said, "that’s every one of them."
Arthur looked down at the crystal egg cradled beneath his arm. It pulsed once, warm and alive.
Then the chamber shook. Not from beneath but from above.
Boooooooom!
A pillar of azure lightning crashed into the center of the chamber, the impact forcing everyone backward. When the light faded, a wolf stood there, twice the size of every other Storm Wolf they had fought, lightning crawling continuously across its black fur from shoulder to shoulder.
Its azure blue eyes calmly studied Arthur.
It didn’t snarl, bare its fangs, or rush forward. It simply stood there and yet somehow... It felt more dangerous than every other Storm Wolf combined.
Arthur stared.
The battlefield from the vision.
The dark clouds.
The wolf.
It was the same one.
The realization settled quietly inside him. So this is where the vision was leading. Before anyone could react, lightning flashed again, and one Storm Wolf appeared behind the giant one.
Then another.
Then another, until forty more Storm Wolves stood arrayed behind their leader, the chamber filling with low growls.
All of the Storm Wolf lowered its head.
Not one growled.
Not one moved.
They simply waited.
Sun slowly lowered his staff. "Seriously?" he said.
Kong only laughed. "Now that’s more like it!" he said.
Athena tightened her grip on Aegis. Even Mithra’s smile grew more focused. Vedas stepped forward without hesitation, planting his spear before him.
The massive wolf took one slow step forward, its gaze never leaving the crystal egg beneath Arthur’s arm.
Then it spoke, its deep voice echoing throughout the chamber. "Give up the egg," it said. A brief pause. "Or be burned to a crisp. This is the mercy of the Great Lightning, Kyne."
Silence.
Vedas smiled, his grip tightening around his spear. "I refuse," he said.
Kyne’s eyes narrowed as dark clouds gathered beneath the Temple ceiling, and lightning rolled endlessly between them. The temperature in the chamber dropped sharply.
Kyne lowered its body. "So be it," it said. "The hunt begins again."
Forty one Storm Wolves crouched together, lightning erupting across the chamber. Arthur adjusted his grip on Dusk while the crystal egg pulsed softly beneath his arm.
Then every Storm Wolf leaped forward at once.