Chapter 10: Wolf Warriors

“My cousin left less than ten minutes ago. I’m a bit worried. Grey wolves may not be the fiercest of beasts, but with so many of them, it’s still dangerous. I heard there are over fifty of them—my cousin alone may not be able to handle it.” Young Zhang ended his words with evident concern.

Even after Zhang finished speaking, no system dialogue popped up to prompt Li Zhan to accept a quest. This puzzled Li Zhan, but upon reflection, he realized that fifty grey wolves weren’t that daunting; he was already level seven, had Zhao Ming at his side, and moreover…

Li Zhan’s thoughts drifted to the priest standing nearby. The priest met Li Zhan’s gaze and immediately grasped the situation, hastening to say, “Ah, suddenly I feel terribly tired and sleepy. It must be that I didn’t rest well last night. I should go take a nap first.”

With that, the priest turned and hurried toward the gangplank, his steps quick as if afraid someone might call him back.

Li Zhan acted as though he hadn’t heard the priest at all, his face expressionless, eyes gazing into the distance as he muttered to himself, “The tribe’s food stores have been dwindling lately—perhaps it’s time to impose restrictions on certain freeloaders.”

Hearing this, the priest immediately stopped, coughed twice, and said, “Although I am indeed tired and sleepy, the thought of those vile grey wolves wantonly harming innocent people makes my heart uneasy and restless. I’ve made up my mind—the priest shall join you in saving those in distress and eradicating those wicked grey wolves!”

Li Zhan chuckled inwardly at the priest’s shrewdness. If he didn’t exert some pressure, he could never count on the man to serve him obediently.

With the priest now on board, Li Zhan felt there was nothing more to worry about. If this wasn’t a system quest, then it would simply be a good chance to gain experience. Fifty grey wolves—no small number. Near the tribe’s center, wolves would only ever spawn in packs of about a dozen at most. After this hunt, gaining two levels should be quite easy.

After asking Zhang for the exact route and location, Li Zhan decided to head out without delay. It was still early, and by Zhang’s account, the forest wasn’t far—half an hour’s journey there and back. He should be able to return before the county magistrate’s meeting concluded. (Calling it a “meeting” might not be the most accurate term, though.)

Leaving Wang Hui and the fisherman behind, Li Zhan set out for the forest northwest of the county with Ruoyan, Zhao Ming, and the priest. He’d thought to have Ruoyan stay behind as well, but she insisted on helping, seeing it as a perfect chance to gain experience. Considering that grey wolves didn’t pose much threat to a level five like Ruoyan, and with so many companions at her side, Li Zhan agreed to bring her along.

The group hurried along the road, heading northwest for about ten minutes. Amid the priest’s complaints, a dense forest finally came into view. Li Zhan led them to quicken their pace, soon reaching the edge of the woods.

The forest was thick, the trees of varying height and girth, their tangled branches closing off any line of sight. One could see nothing of any wolves within, only trunks and leaves.

Just as anxiety mounted, the sharp howl of a wolf leader rang out from within the woods, followed by the answering cries of the pack—growls and snarls, signaling the presence of an enemy.

It must be Zhang’s cousin. Li Zhan paused, listening carefully for the direction of the sound, then led the group as they charged into the forest.

The trees grew so densely that they had to push aside branches with every step, making slow progress. Li Zhan took the lead, snapping off a sturdy branch, stripping it of twigs, and wielding it like a mighty staff. Seeing Ruoyan eyeing a thinner branch with some frustration, Li Zhan broke it off without a word and handed it to her.

With their makeshift staves, the group’s pace quickened. They followed the sound, and before long, the trees thinned to reveal a clearing. There, a pack of grey wolves was slowly pressing a young man against a large tree. His clothes were torn in several places, blood streaked his face. He gripped a drawn bow, a quiver strapped to his back, and over a dozen wolf corpses lay scattered at his feet.

Behind the pack, five war wolves crouched in a line, their fur gleaming with a bluish sheen as they watched the fight coldly. The one in the center had almost entirely blue fur—a clear sign it was the pack leader. War wolves differed greatly from grey wolves: at level one, they were similar, but as they leveled up, the gap widened. War wolves had much greater potential—according to official data, their growth even surpassed that of tigers by a factor of two. A level five war wolf could take on five level five grey wolves at once, with a high chance of victory.

In terms of attack and speed, grey wolves were no match for war wolves. Grey wolves could only level up to twenty-five, while war wolves could reach fifty-five. Of course, wild war wolves seldom leveled as quickly as players; a level thirty wild war wolf was already exceedingly rare.

Seeing war wolves among the pack made Li Zhan’s heart skip a beat. This was going to be far less easy than he’d imagined.

Just then, one of the grey wolves at the front let out a snarl and lunged at the young man. The young man released his bowstring; the arrow flew with a sharp whistle, burying itself in the wolf’s forehead. The beast’s body went rigid mid-leap, crashing dead to the earth. Several other wolves pounced at once, but the young man drew a dagger from his belt, meeting them at close quarters. Blood sprayed as, one after another, the wolves collapsed, howling in pain—though the young man’s clothes grew ever more tattered in the struggle.

Though he fought bravely, the sheer number of wolves was overwhelming. They surrounded him in three tight layers; at this rate, it would not be long before his health was depleted and he lay dead under their fangs.

Anxious at the sight, Li Zhan cast aside all hesitation, cried out, and burst from the undergrowth, his companions close behind.

As Li Zhan had hoped, his shout startled the wolves besieging the young man. The grey wolves turned their heads toward him, and in that moment of distraction, the young man’s dagger slit the throats of several more.

The four war wolves and their blue-furred leader also turned to look. After a brief pause, the leader howled; the pack immediately split—over twenty wolves continued to encircle the young man, while the leader and the four war wolves, leading over a dozen others, charged straight at Li Zhan and his party.