Three wild wolves charged at Bai Shasha!
Two wild wolves lunged at Li Heng!
Seeing the two wolves rushing him ferociously from the left and right, Li Heng knew that sidestepping to counterattack was impossible.
He quickly dashed to his left, tightening his grip on his sword with his right hand and holding the longsword horizontally, parallel to his shoulders.
SLICE~
Thanks to his quick dodge to the left, both wolves missed their initial pounce. However, the wolf on the left, which had been lunging straight at him, ran right into the tip of his longsword, receiving a deep gash on its mouth.
The wolf’s head was injured. Although its mouth was wounded, it wasn’t a fatal blow. Judging by the increasingly ferocious looks on both wolves’ faces, their next attack wouldn’t be long in coming.
In the blink of an eye, the two wolves launched their second attack. This time, however, it wasn’t a simple leap to kill, but a direct charge, preparing to rush in and tear at Li Heng with their teeth!
Dealing with this kind of direct mauling was clearly much trickier than fending off a leaping pounce. For one, he couldn’t outrun a wolf, let alone two of them at once.
Seeing this, Li Heng couldn’t help but grit his teeth and unleash a series of slashes and thrusts from his basic swordsmanship.
He aimed a thrust at the uninjured wolf and a slash at the one that was already wounded.
He swung his longsword, keeping the two wolves from getting close!
The clash of metal against sharp claws wasn’t as intense as he had imagined, and the outcome was decided with surprising speed.
The examination longsword was harder and sharper than a training longsword. Both wolves’ forelimbs and mouths were soon covered in wounds.
As the fight dragged on and their attacks mounted, the two wolves’ injuries grew more severe. Their movements and the frequency of their attacks began to slow.
Unlike the wolves, Li Heng’s nerves were stretched taut, and the speed of his sword swings never faltered.
And so, the two wolves, slowed and wounded, were finally struck in their vitals by Li Heng’s longsword and perished.
The entire process only lasted about a minute. It wasn’t overly intense, but for Li Heng, it was an unforgettable life experience.
Throughout that minute of swinging his longsword, he had started with deliberate thrusts and slashes. But by the last few dozen seconds, his targets for each technique had become a blur; his only goal was to wound the wolves.
’This was the first time I’ve ever truly, from the bottom of my heart, craved a proper Swordsmanship technique!’
Not the basic swordsmanship from the Alliance’s twelve years of compulsory education, but a Soul Energy Skill—a structured, methodical way of using a sword!
According to the information from the system, the two wolves were completely dead, and 12 Soul Energy Value points had been credited to his account. Not only that, but a ball of white light floated up from one of the wolf carcasses.
Choosing to ignore the ball of light for the moment, Li Heng confirmed the two wolves were dead, then raised his sword and prepared to go help Bai Shasha.
He turned to look and saw two wild wolves already down beside Bai Shasha. The flat-chested loli was currently entangled with the last one.
Li Heng noticed that the two fallen wolves were both missing two legs—one foreleg and one hindleg—and were on the ground, barely breathing.
Seeing this, Li Heng understood. She had left them for him to deliver the finishing blow. Moreover, judging by Bai Shasha’s body technique and positioning against the last wolf, it seemed she didn’t need his help at all.
So, he first walked over to finish off the two downed wolves, successfully reaping the Soul Energy points, then reached out to touch the item that had dropped.
Name: Wolf Claw Curved Saber
Category: Soul Energy Equipment
Value: Common
Effects:
1. Wearer’s Strength +1.
2. Target’s Bleed Effect +1.
[Consume 10 Soul Energy to upgrade this equipment?]
Judging by its length, this curved saber was a short weapon. Since Bai Shasha practiced basic short-weapon combat, Li Heng felt that she was very lucky this piece of Soul Energy Equipment had dropped.
Since he intended to give it to Bai Shasha, Li Heng wasn’t going to waste Soul Energy points upgrading it. He just held onto it for now, planning to hand it to her after her fight was over.
Bai Shasha was as fierce as ever. Li Heng had barely been able to handle two wild wolves, yet Bai Shasha had fought three and managed to wound them without killing them.
Li Heng was now more certain than ever of Bai Shasha’s strength, and he felt fortunate to have found such a teammate.
It was over!
While Li Heng was still marveling at the flat-chested loli’s strength, Bai Shasha’s battle had already concluded. The last wolf’s foreleg had been severed by her dagger. Just like the other two, it lay on the ground, on the brink of death.
Seeing that Bai Shasha had finished her fight, Li Heng immediately went over and delivered the finishing blow to the wolf.
"This just dropped from one of the wolves. You should be able to use it."
After finishing off the wolf, Li Heng took out the Wolf Claw Curved Saber and handed it to Bai Shasha.
She didn’t say a word, simply taking the Wolf Claw Curved Saber with her left hand. The moment she took it, she gave it a few swings.
As if sensing something, Bai Shasha walked over to one of the wolf carcasses and slashed it with the Wolf Claw Curved Saber. Blood gushed out.
"This stalk of Wolf Blood Grass is for you. For any future Soul Energy Items, you get first pick."
Bai Shasha clutched the Wolf Claw Curved Saber in her hand, cut down the stalk of Wolf Blood Grass, and handed it to Li Heng. Li Heng didn’t act coy; he simply reached out and accepted it.
This "trade" wasn’t about who won or lost. Instead, the two of them were gradually starting to feel like a team. They didn’t argue over the spoils, nor did they turn on each other for a bit of profit.
They didn’t even mention exchanging Soul Energy Equipment or Items based on their value.
"Bai Shasha, if you don’t mind my asking, what’s the maximum number of wolves like those that you can handle by yourself?"
Li Heng felt he needed to figure out just how powerful this flat-chested loli was. That way, he’d have a baseline and wouldn’t be caught so off-guard in future situations.
Bai Shasha was wiping her curved saber and dagger on the fur of a wolf carcass. Upon hearing Li Heng’s question, she didn’t turn to look at him and said just a single word: "Five."
!!!
’So in a situation like the one just now, Bai Shasha could have actually handled it all by herself?’
Li Heng figured that if he went all out, he could probably take on three or four wild wolves by himself, and even then he might get injured. But Bai Shasha could take on five at once!
"So strong! You’re a beast, flat-chested lo— Sister Sha!" Li Heng had been holding back his praise, but after hearing that Bai Shasha could fight five at once, he couldn’t help but let a compliment slip, nearly blurting out what was really on his mind.
When Bai Shasha heard Li Heng affirm her strength, her movements as she wiped the curved saber and dagger faltered noticeably, only resuming after a few seconds.
After she finished wiping the dagger and curved saber, Bai Shasha slowly walked toward Li Heng. As she passed by him, she said in a very, very soft voice, "Th... thank you! You’re strong, too!"
Li Heng didn’t know if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but did he just see a blush appear on the flat-chested loli’s face?!
’She blushes when someone praises her?’
’Is she possessed by Chopper?!’
But before Li Heng could ponder whether his eyes had deceived him, Bai Shasha had already walked past and was continuing her exploration of the forest.
Seeing his teammate move out, Li Heng stopped overthinking it, quickened his pace to catch up, and continued exploring the forest.