Chapter 73: A Pack of Wolves
Cain looked at her one more time.
Her silver-white hair was tied into a simple ponytail. The fear from earlier had completely disappeared, replaced by a growing sense of trust as she looked at him.
They then left the bedroom together.
The house felt different now. What had been a trap had become just another abandoned building filled with bodies nobody would bother burying.
Cain pushed open the front door and stepped outside.
"Let’s go."
Cain had barely taken two steps away from the house when he suddenly stopped.
Sonya, who had been following behind him, nearly walked into his back.
"What is it?"
Cain looked over his shoulder and focused on the information above her.
[Human | Level 1]
He had almost forgotten.
Sonya was practically an ordinary person.
She might have awakened when the apocalypse descended, but she had barely gained any Levels since then. If Cain traveled at anything close to his normal speed, she would probably lose sight of him within seconds.
Even jogging for a long distance would exhaust her.
Cain looked toward the eastern road.
The zoo was still some distance away, and he had no intention of wasting half an hour walking there.
He lowered his body slightly.
"Get on."
Sonya blinked.
"What?"
"My back." Cain glanced toward her and continued, "You can’t keep up with me and we don’t have all the time in the world."
She immediately understood and walked closer without complaining, then wrapped both arms around his shoulders before climbing onto his back.
Cain straightened his body and felt the two enormous soft mountains immediately pressed against him.
His movement stopped for half a second.
Sonya noticed it and asked, "What?"
Cain turned his head slightly.
"Your breasts are too damn big. They’re pressing against my back so much that I’m starting to reconsider whether carrying you like this is a good idea."
Sonya puffed out one cheek, then the annoyance disappeared from her face surprisingly quickly.
A meaningful smile replaced it.
"Well..."
Her arms tightened around Cain’s neck.
"If you can’t hold yourself back, I don’t mind helping you relieve it."
Cain glanced sideways.
Sonya leaned closer until her cheek rested comfortably against his shoulder.
The way she hugged him made her look completely different from the terrified woman he had met less than an hour ago.
Cain became speechless for a moment as he was surprised by how quick she switched up.
Not long ago, she had been trembling while begging him not to kill her.
Now she was clinging to him with a relaxed smile as though the two of them had known each other for years.
Cain did not know whether that change was good or something he would regret later.
He eventually shook his head.
"Hold tight."
His right hand remained free for his sword.
His left hand naturally had to support Sonya from below so she would not slide down whenever he accelerated.
Obviously, there was absolutely no other reason his palm happened to be resting against the soft curve of her ass.
None whatsoever.
Cain started moving, he restrained his speed considerably.
Even with Sonya holding onto him, suddenly accelerating too hard could throw her balance off or make her grip uncomfortable.
Of course, that was the only reason Cain traveled slower than usual.
It definitely had nothing to do with the sensation of her chest repeatedly pressing against his back whenever his steps became faster.
A few minutes later, Cain released a quiet breath through his nose.
’This might actually become dangerous.’
Not because of enemies, but because Sonya had been hugging him the entire time, and every slight movement reminded Cain exactly what kind of body was pressed against him.
If he carried her like this for another hour, he was more worried about himself than any zombie they might encounter.
’She needs to Level up.’
The thought was practical enough since once Sonya became stronger, she could travel on her own without forcing Cain to carry her everywhere.
Cain liked the sound of that.
A little bit.
His sense remained spread across the surrounding streets as he continued east.
Most of the presences nearby were weak.
A few zombies wandered inside residential buildings, but Cain ignored them. None were strong enough to justify stopping.
Several minutes later, he immediately slowed down as his attention shifted toward the road ahead.
Sonya lifted her head from his shoulder.
"What happened?"
"Just some animals." Cain chuckled.
Four powerful presences were gathered together somewhere beyond the nearby buildings.
All of them had already entered the 1st Echelon.
Cain’s lips curved upward.
"Good."
He changed direction immediately.
Sonya did not ask anything else as they crossed another street before moving through a narrow road beside several abandoned houses.
At the end of the road, the buildings opened into a wider area containing a small parking lot and several patches of overgrown grass.
Four huge wolves stood near the remains of another animal.
Each was far larger than anything Cain would have considered a normal wolf.
The smallest already reached nearly to his chest when standing naturally.
Dense gray fur covered their muscular bodies, though dark stains could be seen around their mouths.
Information appeared above them.
[1st Echelon Evolved Wolf | Level 30]
[1st Echelon Evolved Wolf | Level 32]
[1st Echelon Evolved Wolf | Level 33]
Cain’s gaze moved toward the largest.
[1st Echelon Evolved Wolf | Level 40]
The Level 40 wolf lifted its head first. Its ears turned toward Cain.
The others followed almost immediately.
Four pairs of eyes locked onto him and Sonya.
Low growls began filling the area.
Cain lowered Sonya from his back.
"Stay here."
Sonya stepped away and looked toward the wolves.
Surprisingly, there was little fear on her face as she had already witnessed what Cain could do to humans above Level 20.
More importantly, Cain himself looked completely unconcerned.
That gave her considerably more confidence than she would have possessed alone.
Cain sheathed his sword.
Sonya looked at him strangely.
"You’re not using that?"
"There’s no need for it—at least for now."
Four sharpened metal rods appeared from his Inventory.
Sonya’s eyes immediately moved toward them.
She had already seen Cain make objects disappear and reappear, yet watching him casually pull four long metal rods out of nowhere still fascinated her.
"What are those for?"
Cain smiled.
"You’ll see."
Ruin Dragon Force began circulating through his body.
Dark gray energy spread along his arm before entering the first rod.
Cain controlled the output carefully since putting too much Ruin energy would damage the metal before he even threw it.
The wolves sensed the change.
Their growls became louder, then the Level 30 wolf moved first.
Cain’s posture changed, his left foot stepped forward as the rod drew back beside his head.
Years of javelin training took over naturally.
Then he threw the javelin immediately.
Boom!
The sharpened rod vanished.
A violent whistle cut through the air.
The Level 30 wolf had barely begun moving when the projectile reached it.
Its skull exploded, blood and fragments of bone burst behind the enormous animal as the rod continued forward.
The corpse collapsed without taking another step.
By then, Cain was already holding the second rod and threw another one.
Bang!
The Level 32 wolf tried to leap sideways, but it was too late.
The rod entered through the side of its head.
The force tore through the skull before sending the animal tumbling across the pavement.