The Alpha Wolf sighed, “It seems we have lost the chance to survive together.”
“It was never possible for us to coexist,” Li Qiuchen said, borrowing a famous quote from a certain Red-haired Imperial Princess.
“The end of a Magical Beast is the joy of all things.”
“Awoo—!”
With a wolf howl, thousands of the Wolf Tribe Magical Beasts howled in unison.
Terrifying waves of sound struck in succession, as if they intended to bodily upend and crush The Inn.
On that vast wilderness, waves of sound charged forward, battering the already fragile psychological defenses of everyone inside The Inn.
“Uncle Wright,” Li Qiuchen shouted.
Immediately, a sound of feet stomping on the floor came from behind.
“Thump! Thump! Thump!”
It was like a powerful war drum beating against everyone’s hearts, making them ignore the wolf howls outside the door.
“Mars Defend Nos.”
The strange and coarse accent Wright used sounded like a vulgar street curse at this moment, filled with the power of rage.
A burst of white light scattered from his Silver-white Wand.
A sense of anger and fervor spreading from the depths of their hearts instantly dispelled the inner fear.
“Nuo! Nuo! Nuo!”
Wright’s roars, accompanied by heavy stomping, reached the peak of fury.
Each sound felt like a provocation to death itself.
It was full of power and fervor.
Yes, fervor.
It was the feeling of standing at the front of a charge on a battlefield, with nothing blocking the way, facing the enemy’s massive army formation—a state of despair so deep that one simply stops thinking and instead focuses entirely on a feverish desire to do something.
You are likely only two hundred steps away from death.
At this time, the best way is to grip the spear in your hand tightly and stab it in fiercely later, so you don’t die like a coward.
Fear?
It was meaningless.
“Nuo! Nuo! Nuo!”
The people at the front and back doors clashed their spears and swords together, making crisp clanging sounds like a response to the wolf howls outside, filled with provocation.
The provoked wolf pack began their charge.
“Fireball!”
Kairui and Aili each launched a massive Fireball from the front and back doors.
Several Magic Wolves leaping in the air, preparing to pounce, were struck by the Fireballs and sent flying backward while engulfed in flames.
The Flame Burst Spell contained within the Fireball exploded in mid-air, and the terrifying heatwave injured a large number of Magic Wolf cubs.
Li Qiuchen’s right hand quickly formed seals in the air.
The Magic Array into which Kairui had injected Mana quietly activated, and streams of pure fire element power flowed slowly outward along the Inscription Patterns in the ground.
Then, Jocelyn, wearing Heavy Armor at the back door, and Kaili, gripping her longsword at the front door, both took a step forward and stood within the doorways.
“Hold them back!”
Kemel shouted.
The people at the front and back doors placed reinforced long tables horizontally across the doorways, forming half-man-high low walls to prevent the enemy from rushing directly into the room.
They rested their spears on these “low walls” to support the main attackers standing outside.
The Magic Wolf pack charged forward. Kaili’s longsword, shimmering with golden light, and Jocelyn’s Destruction Fist stood before the narrow doorways like two meat grinders.
The Magic Wolves simply could not break through.
The few that slipped through were fiercely stabbed by those behind the walls holding spears.
Kairui shook off a Magic Wolf carcass from his spear tip and subconsciously glanced at Naili beside him to confirm her safety before refocusing on the wolves constantly pouncing before him.
Ruby gripped her long-handled axe, looking at the exceptionally brave Jocelyn before her with yearning.
She saw the bites and pounces of the Magic Wolves leave no marks on that Heavy Armor, while a single punch from Jocelyn sent flesh and blood flying.
On the front door side, looking at the densely packed Magic Wolves crowding forward, Aili subconsciously wanted to trigger the Rain Spike Technique she had silently practiced hundreds of times in her heart.
Unexpectedly, at the moment she was about to trigger it, Li Qiuchen beside her shook his head at her.
“Wait until the density is a bit higher.”
In the Perception state, he could easily see the water elements rapidly gathering around Aili, and he could naturally guess what she wanted to do.
But in Aili’s eyes, it wasn’t like that at all.
It felt as if Li Qiuchen had seen through her cowardice at a glance.
She nodded, wanting to deny it out of indignation, but ultimately said nothing.
Aili bit her lower lip.
She knew he was right, but the waiting allowed fear to gnaw at her heart like ants.
She couldn’t help but glance at the Northlands youth beside her—he had the Copper Mirror in his pocket and held a spear with both hands, his gaze focused on the battlefield as if the terrifying scene before them was merely a chess match that needed to be solved.
This abnormal composure acted like a silent barrier, strangely settling her restless heart.
In front of the door, Kaili once again entered that mysterious Flow State.
This time was different from the time she faced Mankor; it wasn’t a march toward death, but a journey alongside a fellow traveler.
She was certain that Li Qiuchen was standing behind her and would protect her.
Instead of fear, her heart was filled with courage.
Holding a heavy knight’s longsword, she thrust or slashed; every strike was so clean and efficient that not a single bit of power was wasted.
The trajectory of every wild wolf became incredibly clear in her eyes.
She could even sense which wolf would leap and pounce.
Her longsword was almost covered in blood.
With a flick of her wrist, the blood transformed into a bloody arrow and flew out, piercing through the skull of a charging Magic Wolf.
The wolf pack gathered together again, almost tail-to-head, forming a dense mass.
“Now.”
Li Qiuchen, gripping a spear in his right hand, nodded to Aili beside him.
Aili raised the Magic Staff in her hand.
Her chant was nearly instantaneous.
She pointed the Magic Staff toward the sky.
“Fall!”
Streams of heavy mist scattered from her Magic Staff, rising from the front door into the sky.
She entered a state of meditation, and the large patches of mist in the sky slowly transformed into raindrops.
A single drop of rain fell first.
During its descent, the originally rounded shape of the raindrop suddenly became conical and began to rotate at high speed.
The unremarkable raindrop pierced through the hide of a Magic Wolf outside the house and drilled directly into its flesh.
A Magic Wolf let out a pained howl.
A fine drizzle fell, and the rainwater covered a ten-meter radius around the entire hotel.
Every tiny raindrop was transformed into a lethal weapon under the young girl’s control.
Large numbers of Magic Wolves howled and collapsed to the ground as raindrops pierced their bodies, drawing out bits of blood.
The Rain Spike Technique was the famous skill of the Qi Bing Mage Lumin.
This single-element mage from the Northlands had modified the second-level magic—Falling Rain—into a terrifying area-of-effect lethal spell.
Outsiders speculated that this magic required a powerful Spirit Element as a foundation; otherwise, it would be impossible to control every single raindrop.
Aili’s hand trembled slightly.
She felt that her Master’s strict requirements were right.
Now, she wanted her Master and Father to see this, along with that guy who bragged all day.
She wanted to know what he thought.
She turned to look at Li Qiuchen, only to see the man staring fixedly outside the door.
She retracted her intent to ask, secretly wondering why she cared about his opinion anyway.
“Awoo—!”
The Magic Wolves retreated out of the range of the rain one after another, still watching greedily.
The rainwater quietly washed over the corpses of the dead Magic Wolves.
The fires Li Qiuchen had lit were all outside the range of the rain, burning fiercely and illuminating the green ghost fires burning in the eye sockets of those Magic Wolves.
The two sides seemed to have reached a tacit stalemate, waiting for the rain to stop before starting the great battle again.
The Magic Wolves gathered around the fires to remove the moisture from their bodies.
Li Qiuchen stared at the Alpha Wolf, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
As if in provocation, his right hand tapped rapidly in the air—Flame Burst Spell!
The Alpha Wolf’s keen intuition instantly sensed a terrifying threat, but it didn’t know where the threat was coming from.
Li Qiuchen took out half of the Mana from the mirror to drive the Magic Array Inscription Patterns he had arranged in advance.
This Magic Array extracted the marsh gas from the nearby Swamp, transforming it into streams of incredibly pure fire element Mana that were released into the fires.
This Black Shop had existed for a long time.
Before being controlled by illusions, they were already in the business of preying on travelers.
The amount of marsh gas formed by the decomposition of a large number of corpses in the Swamp was terrifyingly high.
“Boom—!”
The fires around The Inn exploded like bombs, letting out an earth-shattering blast that resounded through the clouds.
The terrifying shockwave even affected The Inn.
On the front door side, the sword qi quickly slashed out by Kaili’s longsword neutralized the shockwave, while Jocelyn at the back door was blown directly into the room by the blast.
“Li Zichen, you’ve done every bad deed possible!”
Jocelyn shouted as she lay on the ground.
“Thank you for wishing me a thousand years of life,” Li Qiuchen replied.
“When did she praise you?”
Aili asked, confused.
“Children don’t understand anything. This is a Northlands proverb: ‘Good people don’t live long, but a scourge lasts for a thousand years.’ Haven’t you heard it?”
Li Qiuchen said proudly.
Aili raised an eyebrow.
That wasn’t exactly a compliment, was it?
In the distance, the dust cleared.
The effect produced by the explosion was extremely shocking.
Only a few dozen injured Magic Wolves remained standing around the Alpha Wolf.
The rest of the Magic Wolves were nothing more than charred corpses, burning on the ground that had also been scorched black by the internal explosion.
The Alpha Wolf’s golden pupils turned blood-red, and its voice was so raspy it sounded nearly broken.
“I will tear your limbs apart one by one and carry your head and body for a thousand miles. Until you are rejected by the Kings and die like a maggot!”
Its words came to an abrupt halt.
The golden Thunder Law Track at the wounds on its old body glowed brightly, like a red-hot branding iron trying to restrict its movements, even making a “sizzling” sound.
The Magic Corruption around its body shattered inch by inch.
The intense pain caused it to let out a howl mixed with anger and despair.
Its massive old body began to collapse from within, flesh and blood shattering amidst the flying gore and dissipating Magic Corruption.
A brand-new form broke free—its size had actually shrunk to that of an ordinary Magic Wolf, but its entire body displayed a dull metallic texture, as if forged from Black Iron.
It had sacrificed its long lifespan as a price, using this method to escape the damage of the lightning element in its old body in exchange for temporary power.
At this moment, the Alpha Wolf’s pair of golden pupils appeared majestic and terrifying under the black Nightfall.
For the continuation of the pack, it had to do this.
The previously weak voice became incredibly steady at this moment.
Its eyes stared fixedly at Li Qiuchen.
“Are you ready to welcome your tragic end?”
Li Qiuchen ignored its provocation and merely recited a spell silently, “Vis Elementorum Incantation.”
The remaining Mana in the Copper Mirror was drained completely, even the Mana used for engraving the Inscription Patterns was drawn out.
All the Mana was used by him to mobilize the elements flowing in the air.
Metallic elements were drawn and gathered onto Kaili’s body, transforming into a brilliant set of armor, light yet hard.
Lightning and fire elements were introduced into the longsword in Kaili’s hand, flickering with flames and electric sparks like an indestructible weapon.
Feeling the armor draped over her and the sharpness of the blade, Kaili felt an endless supply of courage within her.
The moment the armor was donned, she felt as if a pair of nimble hands had tightened the buttons at her waist and ribs.
Li Qiuchen.
She engraved the name bit by bit in her heart and charged forward with great strides.
Elemental power, forging your invincibility.
This magic was a work from when he had just become an Archmage.
He had only used it on two people.
He remembered the Princess’s joy after receiving the blessing, which soon turned into a domineering possessiveness.
“Ellen, you are only allowed to use this magic on me.”
Later, he blessed Hestia, which made the Princess fly into a rage, warning him never to use it on anyone else again.
He had promised.
He hadn’t expected that now…
A promise meant that both parties knew there was a risk of betrayal.
When he made the promise back then, he never would have thought that one day his Mana would be gone, his source shattered, and he would fall into a situation like the one before him.
Just as Belinda had promised him time and again that she would respect his opinion and no longer be stubborn, yet time and again she continued to act willfully and domineeringly.
He wasn’t saying that because the Princess broke her promise, he should do the same.
He just suddenly understood that when a person makes a promise, they likely truly want to keep it and believe they won’t betray it.
And when they give it up, they also truly feel that they have no choice but to do so.
Therefore, a promise is something that cannot measure loyalty nor judge right from wrong.
At this moment.
He actually found himself somewhat understanding Belinda.
That girl controlled by her emotions might have truly been unable to control herself time and again, unable to control her terrifying possessiveness, and thus trampled on her promises repeatedly.
The angry roar of the Alpha Wolf came from the distance.
Li Qiuchen suddenly thought that if she were here, the burning rage would probably be a hundred times more terrifying than the thunder of the Magic Wolf before him.