Equipping the knife resting in the sheath strapped to his waist, Felix ducked, narrowly dodging the snap of a Thorn Howler’s jaws aimed at his throat.
Slashing at the underside of the Howler, Felix managed to make a shallow cut across the creature’s belly, drawing blood and causing it to yelp in pain.
Gripping the hilt of the dagger tightly, Felix kept his nerves as calm as he could in the situation, focusing solely on the Howler before him to distract himself from the panic threatening to consume him should his thoughts begin to wander.
Despite the Thorn Howlers mostly comprising Grade-10 and Grade-9 Monsters, it remained a fact that even a Grade-10 Monster required at least the strength of an F+ Rank to face properly.
Being a mere F-Rank, he barely stood a chance against even a Grade-10 Monster, much less the Grade-9 Monster before him.
To make matters worse, the dagger he wielded was merely a second-hand weapon he had purchased from the guild after completing multiple low-rank missions. The blade possessed sharp tips but dull edges, making it more suitable for stabbing than slashing.
Originally intended to be used as a pair, the dagger lacked effectiveness on its own. But since he had to use nearly all his strength just to inflict meaningful damage on anything, Felix had only purchased one for the time being, knowing he wasn’t capable of efficiently wielding both at once.
Glaring hatefully at the weak human that had dared to injure it, the Howler snarled before lunging again, this time aiming to bite off his head entirely.
Barely managing to dodge once more, Felix used the opening to make another shallow cut, this time across its neck.
Struggling to catch his breath, his lungs burned painfully within his chest as he felt his Stamina nearly depleted from only a few exchanges with the Thorn Howler.
Glancing toward the others, a similar scene unfolded all across the battlefield as members of the group struggled to hold their own against the Howlers.
Unlike Felix, however, most were forced to face two or three at once, making it nearly impossible to find an opening to land a finishing blow. Whenever one of the group members attempted to go in for the kill, another Howler would immediately attack, forcing them to retreat or risk getting killed in the process.
Hans and the Vice-Leader, however, were in an even worse situation, as the majority of the pack had concentrated their numbers on the two strongest among them.
Initially, aside from Hans and the Vice-Leader, the group had planned to remain close together in order to better coordinate their attacks while protecting those who had exhausted their Stamina or Mana.
However, as though sensing their intentions, one of the Howlers had suddenly pounced directly into the centre of their formation, forcing them apart and leaving each member isolated against the Monsters. Panic slowly began creeping into the group as their Mana and Stamina rapidly dwindled while they remained unable to kill the enemy, turning the battle into a brutal war of attrition.
‘A lower Rank’s worst enemy.’
Gritting his teeth as he struggled to maintain his pace against the Howler, his legs trembling slightly from exhaustion, Felix continued the desperate back-and-forth exchange.
‘We need an opening, and fast. Or we’re all going to die before even reaching our destination.’
Realising they would all eventually die if the battle dragged on any longer, as the others had already begun slowing down, causing them to sustain more injuries with every passing moment, Felix’s mind raced desperately for a solution.
Something. Anything.
Anything that could draw the Thorn Howlers’ attention away long enough for them to regroup and recover.
‘Shit!’
Tripping over a pebble after narrowly dodging another bite aimed at his ribcage, Felix failed to react in time, his thoughts too occupied with surviving, evading attacks, and formulating an escape plan all at once.
Seeing the opportunity, the Thorn Howler immediately lunged to finish him off with a violent bite aimed directly at his skull.
As its jaws closed in on his face, Felix felt his life flash before his eyes.
Suddenly jolting in pain as something attacked its leg, the Howler’s movements slowed just long enough for Felix to dodge away.
Rolling across the ground, Felix looked up in surprise to find several snake-like creatures made entirely of flames biting into the Howler’s ankles.
A similar scene played out elsewhere across the battlefield as tiny flaming serpents assaulted the Thorn Howlers, buying the exhausted group members enough time to narrowly avoid fatal attacks.
Recognising the ability instantly, Felix already knew who it belonged to.
However, unlike earlier, the molten red vein-like markings now spread far slower through the creatures’ bodies, allowing the Howlers to continue moving despite being bitten.
Taking advantage of the distraction as the Howler’s attention shifted toward the flaming snakes, Felix and the others immediately regrouped at the centre. Forming a defensive ring, they cautiously watched the Howlers while using the brief opportunity to catch their breath and assess the situation.
Despite the number of enemies sent against Hans and the Vice-Leader, only a few remained now, allowing Hans an opening to assist the others.
Yet the Thorn Howlers were far from finished.
More continued emerging from the forest, most focusing on the two strongest fighters while steadily wearing down the rest in an attempt to slaughter them all.
“Hey brat! You better do your job right, or these pups will be the least of your problems.”
Hearing the Vice-Leader’s irritated voice as he effortlessly split a Thorn Howler in two, Felix gritted his teeth internally.
‘I’m not exactly messing around here now, am I?’
Having activated an Attribute upon regrouping, Felix used it to keep the Howlers at bay.
[Hallow Pods has been activated.]
Tiny pod-like orbs immediately materialised around him, floating harmlessly through the air while emitting a soft glow.
Surprisingly, however, the Thorn Howlers avoided them like the plague, recoiling whenever Felix directed the glowing pods toward them.
This finally gave the group an opportunity to breathe, none of them having expected a weak F-Rank to possess an ability capable of frightening higher-grade Monsters.
In truth, Felix hadn’t expected the skill to be effective on them either.
Having only ever used it against weaker, unranked Monsters before, he assumed it would be useless against Thorn Howlers due to the vast difference in strength.
Not to mention, their relentless assault earlier had barely given him the chance to experiment with it at all.
However, thanks to Hans creating an opening, he had finally been able to test it.
Rather than outright fear, the Howlers’ reaction resembled how wild animals instinctively avoided fire without needing to come in contact with it to understand it’s danger.
Though Felix subconsciously came up with a few reasons why this was the case, he ultimately found the discovery to be a pleasant surprise.
At the very least, he no longer needed to constantly fear that the next attack might end up ripping his throat.
Instead, he focused on ensuring the others recovered enough before they had to confront the Howlers again.
However, hearing the hidden threat within the Vice-Leader’s words, Felix realised he needed to speed things up.
Yet another issue quickly surfaced with the solution he had found.
In order to use the ‘Flora Echo’ Attribute, it required complete concentration. Meaning he wouldn’t be able to maintain ‘Hallow Pods’ simultaneously, exposing the group to the Howlers’ assault once more.
Seeing that time was rapidly running out, and that even the two strongest among them wouldn’t be able to hold forever, Felix gritted his teeth and shouted,
“We’re attempting Plan B! I need you guys to hold them off while I find the Alpha, or else we’re all going to die!”
Cold sweat trickled down the group’s spines upon hearing his words.
Though visibly shaken at the prospect of facing the terrifying Monsters again, they understood exactly what he meant.
Once Hans and the Vice-Leader fell, it would only be a matter of time before the rest of them followed.
Gritting their teeth, those still capable of fighting nodded in agreement while forming a defensive circle around Felix and the heavily wounded members unable to continue fighting.
Seeing this, Felix took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
Placing his palm against the grass as he cancelled ‘Hallow Pods’ Attribute, he immediately activated another Attribute.
[Flora Echo has been activated.]
As the familiar network of monochromatic information flooded his mind, Felix instantly expanded his perception far wider than usual.
Rather than focusing only ahead of him as he normally did, his awareness spread outward in all directions like a sphere.
A trickle of blood dripped from his nostril as the overwhelming influx of information threatened to overload his mind. Yet, scrunching his face in barely concealed pain, he gritted his teeth and pushed onward, extending his senses further and further.
Realising something was wrong, the Thorn Howlers immediately charged the group the moment ‘Hallow Pods’ Attribute cancelled, resulting in the glowing podlike orbs dissipating into the air.
The group barely managed to repel the initial assault, even killing several Howlers as the creatures recklessly prioritised reaching Felix above all else.
For a brief moment, some believed they finally had a chance after noticing the Howlers’ loss of coordination.
That hope vanished instantly when they saw an entire pack of over fifty Thorn Howlers charging toward them like a tidal wave of frenzied beasts.
On getting close to the group, the nearest Howler leapt through the air as its jaws aimed directly at Felix’s head.
A blur shot from the shadows.
The creature’s head separated cleanly from its body before it could even bite down.
Arriving beside the group, Hans unleashed over a dozen flaming serpents toward the charging Howlers while simultaneously cleaving through several more with his blade.
The moment Felix activated ‘Flora Echo’, every Thorn Howler in the area had immediately abandoned their previous targets and rushed toward him, including those originally fighting Hans and the Vice-Leader.
As a result, the two strongest fighters had no choice but to return and defend the group while holding the pack back from reaching Felix.
The battle continued fiercely for several more minutes, the Vice-Leader repeatedly cursing at Felix to hurry up while continuing his relentless slaughter alongside the others.
Until...
Wiping away the streak of dried blood beneath his nose, a smile slowly appeared on Felix’s face as he whispered.
“Got him!”