“Elite!!” The scream of a young wolf with orange fur died in his throat when a long paw, sharp as a spear and covered in black fur, pierced through his back and claimed his life in a single attack.
Dozens of wolves nearby trembled in fear as they watched the scene.
Countless roots began to move like restless snakes, revealing a tunnel that had been sealed for a long time.
From within it, twelve long black spears made of something resembling metallic chitin claimed the lives of another dozen wolves.
A little farther away, a young two-colored wolf pulled a medallion bearing the symbol of an eclipse from his chest.
A faint gray glow appeared, and a long sword with a two-colored blade materialized before him.
It was a little over a meter long, and its hilt seemed to have been woven using the same colors as the Duskfang lineage.
On its pommel, two wolves tried to devour each other within a circle, where the white wolf had black eyes and the black wolf had white eyes.
“Form a circle around it!
Use the roots that moved to gain the advantage of the terrain!
Any lineage that can’t attack from a distance must protect those who can!
Except for the veterans!” Rael barked orders as they ran across some of the roots that were still moving restlessly.
He knew the extent of an Elite’s strength.
How could he not?
He and every wolf who had awakened their lineage on their own had been sent to various battlefields throughout the Duskfang Archipelago to gain experience.
They were practically all children of the leaders of the smaller wolf lineages.
Proud of their own generation, and yet, every time an Elite fell, dozens of wolves died, and those were experienced soldiers.
Now, even with many hundreds of young wolves, there was no way to guarantee how many would live and how many would die.
This was supposed to be one of the generations with the most survivors…
What went wrong?
Rael knew…
He knew very well.
In the distance, the flames had visibly diminished, but it was still possible to see the devastation and the way the vines were moving in that direction.
As if that entire world of roots and flowers wanted to cover an open wound.
Elyra…
Elyra Igniviper!!!
For the first time, rage took over the face of the young Duskfang prince.
Fur covered his body, while fangs and claws tightened around the hilt of his sword.
All of them black as night.
He finally approached the enormous hole from which the paws had emerged.
The wolves moved quickly and obeyed.
But it was inevitable.
The difference in Ranks was an absurd factor, and it only became worse as they climbed the ranks.
Rael saw it up close.
Dozens of young people like him impaled alive.
Some still crying and begging.
Others already departing for the afterlife.
The bile from witnessing the traumatizing scene rose into his throat, and through sheer force of will, he held himself back from vomiting.
This would be one of the macabre paintings that would haunt him for a long time.
And then he felt it.
The winds changed, and a shadow emerged from the underground.
White.
Pointed ears, pure as the cleanest white.
Shimmering fur sculpted like a sacred statue.
Eyes of angelic silver…
And madness.
Pure madness!
On its forehead, a silver new moon seemed tattooed onto its skin, matching its eyes.
Even in its madness, it seemed to be evaluating every young person.
For a few seconds, the battlefield came to a halt.
Rael analyzed the creature’s sheer size.
Its four legs had been replaced by twelve spider legs covered in black chitin.
The rest of its body resembled a gigantic wolf, with more than three meters just in its torso.
How do you kill that?
Rael seemed highly competent, and he was, but how could a sixteen-year-old with just over six months of real experience possibly stand his ground against this abomination?
Through sheer force of will, he raised his sword.
The glow seemed to have caught the attention of the half-mad spider-wolf.
Rael expected a swipe.
In reality, he even expected some elemental power.
At this stage, creatures and even humans became far more connected to the natural elements than they were at Common Rank.
But what no one expected was for the lupine lips to move and utter a single sentence.
“None of you are him.” Something resembling a half-human voice, with bestial undertones and carried through vibrations filled with interference, reached the minds of the young people.
And a deep, piercing pain shattered their minds.
Fear!
Pure terror made Rael’s black fur, dark as night, stand on end as tears appeared in his eyes.
Thin blood trickled from his nose, and he was the strongest among the wolves after hearing the voice.
More than half a dozen wolves collapsed unconscious, while others who were already wounded met their deaths right there.
Him???
Who is he?
Half of the creature’s legs rose into the air before descending to reap the lives of the young wolves.
“You’re not him!” “Pow!” “You’re not him!!” “Pow!” “Where is he???!!” Amid a sea of ashes, a young serpent with scales made of something resembling magma slithered between the few remaining roots and the legs of a gigantic Elite.
That young woman was obviously Elyra.
Her red eyes were stained with streaks of blood, along with her ears and nostrils.
Her scales seemed somewhat faded, and her breath released hot smoke.
“My head is killing me!
Fuck!
I don’t know who you’re looking for, you crazy bitch!” She shouted at the creature and made an impressive leap toward one of the higher roots.
From there, she analyzed the full extent of the monstrosity she was facing.
Twelve long legs, covered in some kind of viscous liquid that had been preventing her from burning the creature for a long time.
The legs emerged from a sickly blue, scaled back that rose into a body more than three meters tall, ending in the face of a horse.
What the fuck is this abomination?
A seahorse with twelve spider legs????
Elyra’s disbelief died right there when the creature’s insane blue eyes found her and dozens of droplets began floating around it.
The slits in Elyra’s eyes widened.
This was the same attack that had extinguished a large portion of the fire she had been cultivating.
The same fire responsible for a message she had received in her system a short while ago.
[Igniviper Affinity Increased] Thanks to this discovery, Elyra’s body was completely covered in scales.
Like a fitted armor that protected her torso, arms, waist, and legs.
Very little remained exposed besides her face, with its light scales, and her loose red hair, now stained with ash.
It was common knowledge throughout almost the entire empire that, as you advanced toward Rank 2, you gained greater mastery over your first ability: [Transformation].
Few had managed to achieve something as advanced as Elyra so quickly.
Even a genius like Rael had taken months on the battlefields to approach this level.
Perhaps it was because of her royal training.
Or perhaps because of her imperial blood.
However, against a monstrosity that turned the sky before Elyra into a bombardment…
What good was being a genius?