Cassian moved aside, allowing the Beta sons to clear the way and all the members of his pack to leave the forest first.
"Liliana, hurry and follow them!" Cassian shouted.
Liliana shook her head.
"Brother, you know my wolf’s ability."
"Listen to me. Your ability is useless against them," Cassian shouted. "Don’t worry about me. Having you by my side will only burden me," he added.
Liliana stared at Cassian’s face for a few moments before finally nodding.
She mounted her horse and hurried to follow the other pack members.
However, as her horse rushed to follow the group out of the forest, a sharp gaze was directed at Liliana.
The girl who had caused the chaos earlier—the daughter of one of the pack elders—smirked faintly as she looked at Liliana’s back, then directed her horse toward her.
She threw a needle toward the back of Liliana’s horse. In an instant, Liliana’s horse let out a wild whinny.
"You! Be quiet!" Liliana shouted.
On the other side, the group of Nightfangs heading toward the road they were on was now right beside Liliana’s crazed horse.
"Damn!" Cassian cursed as he saw everything from behind.
"Liliana, jump off your horse!" Cassian shouted as he directed his horse toward Liliana.
"Brother, my foot is stuck!" Liliana said in a panic as she tried to free her foot from the stirrup.
Liliana’s horse continued whinnying and rushed toward the Nightfangs.
The pack members saw Liliana’s crazed horse and turned around, intending to help.
"Move forward!" the Beta sons shouted. "Obey the future Alpha’s order! Leave the forest immediately!"
Everyone showed reluctant expressions, except for the girl who had screamed earlier.
Seeing that Liliana was still struggling to get off her horse, Cassian struck his own horse, forcing it to run after the group.
He immediately dismounted and transformed into a black wolf in an instant.
The white tiger growled around the Nightfangs that were targeting Liliana’s crazed horse.
"Ah!" Liliana cried as she fell from her horse.
Two Nightfangs immediately rushed toward Liliana’s horse, while the other four moved toward Liliana.
Liliana’s horse, having completely lost control, no longer felt any fear and instead rushed toward the Nightfangs.
"Liliana, transform and retreat immediately!" Cassian shouted as the remaining Nightfangs began surrounding Liliana.
Liliana nodded.
In an instant, she transformed into a wolf.
With the earrings Viktor had given her, Liliana’s wolf form was no longer silver-white. Her body changed into an ordinary-class gray wolf.
Liliana growled as the Nightfangs began approaching.
"Slash!"
Cassian and the white tiger worked together.
One Nightfang collapsed instantly.
Seeing one of their companions die, the remaining Nightfangs immediately advanced, abandoning the horse’s carcass and rushing toward Liliana.
A long howl came from their mouths before they advanced again.
Cassian stood beside Liliana together with the striped white tiger.
"Liliana, they’re calling their pack. We can’t fight them. I’ve already used half of my strength to its full extent to kill that Nightfang earlier," Cassian said.
"Retreat and run as fast as you can," Cassian said in the wolf language.
Liliana nodded. "Striped, follow us!" Liliana shouted as she glanced at the striped white tiger beside her.
Cassian, Liliana, and the white tiger ran away from the location without looking back.
However, in an instant, Nightfangs hiding in the darkness emerged.
Liliana’s body immediately stiffened.
Cassian growled low.
The white tiger looked at Liliana and Cassian, then slowly backed away.
Liliana looked up and counted their numbers.
"One... two... three... four... ten... twenty."
"Brother, their numbers..."
Cassian nodded.
"That’s their advantage," Cassian replied in a low voice in the wolf language.
Cassian looked around, trying to find a way out.
"Liliana, we’ll die if we face them."
Liliana looked up at him.
"What should we do?"
Liliana looked ahead.
She did not want to die yet. She had only recently gained her life. She wanted to enjoy her life properly. She wanted to have a family, friends, and good teachers.
"Brother, at three o’clock, ten meters ahead. There’s a river there," Liliana said.
Cassian sharpened his hearing for a few moments, then nodded.
"You’re right," Cassian replied.
"Liliana, use the combat skills you’ve been learning all this time. Break through the path ahead of you and don’t look back," Cassian said.
"Striped and I will protect you from behind."
"You want me to sacrifice your lives?" Liliana asked unhappily.
"This is the only way."
"No. We go together. I’ll use my power to protect both of you," Liliana said.
"Didn’t Father already tell you not to take off those earrings?"
Liliana shook her head. "I won’t take them off. Lady Mega taught me how to use this power this morning, even though I’m still wearing Father’s earrings."
Cassian looked at Liliana, then nodded after seeing the confidence on her face.
"Alright, do it. On the count of three, we run together toward three o’clock. Ignore them even if they try to block us," Cassian said.
Liliana nodded in understanding.
"Striped, do you understand?" Cassian asked.
The striped white tiger growled low in response.
"Liliana, you run in the middle. Protect us with your power. But remember, never force yourself if you can’t handle it," Cassian added.
"Alright, Brother," Liliana replied.
"One... two... three!"
Cassian, Liliana, and the white tiger shot forward at full speed, breaking through the crowd of Nightfangs surrounding them.
"Slash!"
One of the Nightfangs attacked Cassian’s shoulder.
Cassian used his claws to fend them off.
Cassian had no intention of fighting them. His strength clearly would not be enough if he had to face all of them at once.
Liliana glanced at him. She closed her eyes for a few moments until white light flowed from her body toward Cassian, trying to heal his wounds.
Slowly, very slowly. But it was enough to keep the blood from continuing to flow from Cassian’s shoulder.
Cassian glanced at Liliana, then nodded.
"Slash!"
The striped white tiger’s abdomen was bitten by several Nightfangs at once.
"Roarrrrrr!" The white tiger roared loudly. Its movements slowed, then it moved to tear apart the Nightfangs that dared to bite its abdomen.
Liliana frowned. Her power was being restrained by the earrings in her ears. She could not use it as freely as she had yesterday.
"Heal Striped first," Cassian said.
"Striped, don’t slow down! Keep running!" Cassian shouted in the wolf language.
Striped roared again. It moved alongside Liliana and broke through the group of Nightfangs.
Liliana gritted her teeth. She focused her mind and redirected her healing power toward the striped white tiger.
The wounds on Cassian and Striped’s bodies continued to increase. Yet neither of them stopped.
They continued running and moving, protecting Liliana, who was in the middle of them.
"Hold on. We’ll reach the river soon," Liliana said as she looked at their increasingly wounded bodies.
They nodded and continued running with all their strength toward the river.
Meanwhile, behind them, dozens of Nightfangs continued chasing them, trying to take the lives of all three of them.