"Vili!"
Vilin was the first to react. "Vili, come back!" she shouted.
She didn’t understand why Vili had suddenly leaped off his horse and was running toward the center of the wolf pack.
’Is he trying to save Vincent? But with just a long knife, there’s no way he can change Vincent’s fate. He’ll just get himself killed, too.’
By the time Kariel and Lanni snapped out of it, it was too late. Both wore expressions of disbelief.
"I’ll go save him! You guys go on ahead!"
Kariel brandished his Long Spear, yanked on his reins, and turned his horse around.
Vincent’s consciousness was already fading, but he vaguely heard Vilin shouting Vili’s name. He struggled to look into the distance and saw Vili rushing toward him, long knife in hand.
He wanted to stop Vili, but he found he couldn’t make a sound.
Everyone was worried and terrified by Vili’s actions, yet Vili himself was as calm as still water.
He had been a little panicked just a moment ago, but after locking onto the alpha wolf, all his nervousness vanished. It was as if he had become a seasoned hunter. It seemed nothing in the forest could stop him now.
It wasn’t just Vilin and the others who couldn’t understand Vili’s actions; the fiercely attacking black wolves were even more bewildered.
They couldn’t figure out why their prey, who had been desperately fleeing for its life just moments before, had suddenly turned back.
This hesitation lasted only two or three seconds, but it gave Vili more than enough time.
Vili’s physical abilities were already thirty percent greater than that of an average adult. Coupled with the release of his potential in this life-or-death moment, his speed reached its absolute limit.
In the blink of an eye, he covered twenty or thirty meters and was right in front of the alpha wolf.
AWOOO...
The alpha wolf was the first to realize something was wrong. It clearly sensed that the Human rushing toward it with a long knife was coming straight for it. A chilling sensation spread through the alpha wolf’s entire body, and its fur bristled in an instant.
The alpha wolf instinctively wanted to retreat; it didn’t even have the thought to fight back.
"Die!"
Vili wasn’t about to give the alpha wolf a chance to dodge away.
Surrounded by the pack, he had only one chance to kill the alpha. ’If I miss this,’ he thought, ’I’ll probably be buried in Morse Forest forever.’
Vili leaped, clearing a five-meter distance in a single bound. Gripping his long knife in a reverse hold, he stabbed viciously at the alpha wolf’s head.
SQUELCH!
Vili felt the tremendous impact of his long knife striking the wolf’s skull. He finally understood why people described wolves as having heads of bronze.
Even so, he used every ounce of his strength, leveraging the force of his descent to drive the long knife completely into the alpha wolf’s skull.
In an instant, white brain matter and red blood splattered everywhere.
"Get back!"
Vili roared, hoisting the alpha wolf—still impaled on his long knife—high above his head as a display of dominance to the other black wolves.
The alpha’s blood slid slowly down the long knife onto Vili’s clothes. His entire body radiated a murderous aura he had never possessed before.
GRRR...
The remaining black wolves froze in place. Seeing their leader killed in an instant, they were at a complete loss, only letting out low growls as their aggression immediately waned.
Vili remained motionless, continuing the standoff with the black wolves.
Finally, after a few breaths, one of the black wolves gave up the attack and fled into the dark forest, quickly vanishing from sight.
Then a second, and a third... one by one, all the black wolves abandoned the hunt, turning to disappear into the darkness, leaving behind a barely breathing Vincent and a few dead wolves.
"We’re saved."
Vili tossed the long knife and the wolf aside, then dropped to one knee, taking deep, forceful breaths.
That series of movements had not only consumed his focus but had also been incredibly draining physically.
"We need to get out of here, fast. The smell of blood will attract more beasts."
After resting for three to five seconds, Vili stood up and said to Vilin and the others, "Hurry, come help me get Vincent onto a horse."
Vilin, Lanni, and Kariel finally snapped out of their daze.
’What in the world just happened?!’
Vili had leaped off his horse with his long knife, charged against the wolf pack, killed the alpha wolf with a single strike, then hoisted it overhead to scare away the pack and save their captain, Vincent.
It was unbelievable. Vili was like the hero of an adventure story.
Kariel was the first to react, urging his horse over to Vincent’s side. Vilin and Lanni followed close behind.
They were all stunned by what Vili had just done, but they suppressed their curiosity. This was hardly the time or place for questions.
Vincent was covered in blood, both his own and the wolves’.
A quick glance revealed several wounds that cut deep into his flesh and bone.
"I’ll get the chief onto my horse."
Kariel handed his Long Spear to Lanni, then gently lifted the unconscious Vincent onto his own horse.
Vincent’s own mount was dead, having been torn apart by the wolves.
"Let’s go," Vili urged.
The three of them quickly complied. In their eyes, Vili had just ascended to a whole new level.
The sun had completely set. Only the moonlight and the faint glimmer of stars illuminated the path in Morse Forest.
The group rode without stopping, traveling a long way in the dark before finding a quiet stone cave to rest in.
Kariel moved Vincent off the horse and turned to Lanni. "Get the medicine."
Lanni nodded quickly.
She took a white cloth pouch from her pack and pulled out a bottle of potion.
Kariel pinched Vincent’s jaw to open his mouth, and Lanni poured the potion inside.
"What is that?" Vili asked.
"It’s a potion that prevents infections from beast attacks," Vilin explained to Vili.
Vili nodded. ’It’s probably something like a vaccine from my past life.’
’Wolves can carry rabies. If you don’t stop the virus from spreading, it can be fatal.’
A spark of curiosity ignited in Vili. ’I can’t believe the Pharmacy in this world is so advanced. I’ll have to look into it more when I get the chance.’
After Vincent drank the potion, Lanni took two boxes of ointment from the white pouch and began applying it to his wounds.
"The chief’s wounds are too deep. These two boxes of ointment aren’t nearly enough," Lanni said with worry after discovering she couldn’t cover all of his injuries.
"We can only hope his wounds don’t start to fester."
Vilin placed a hand on her chest and prayed softly.
Kariel also bowed his head, murmuring something under his breath.
After a long moment, Kariel looked up at Vili and said, "We owe you for this one."
Vilin and Lanni came to their senses as well and thanked Vili.
If not for Vili, their respected captain, Vincent, would likely have ended up in the belly of a wolf.