Wolf Pack 2

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

The pursuer leader grabbed a wolf by the neck with such force that the wolf's eyes rolled back almost immediately.

However, it wasn't just one wolf. Another wolf that had pounced on him quickly sunk its teeth into his throat.

Then several more wolves leaped out from the woods, tackling the pursuer leader, tearing and biting into him relentlessly.

"Argh... all of you... go to hell!"

The pursuer leader despaired, cursing with his dying breath, though he didn't know who he was cursing at.

He relaxed his muscles completely, allowing the pack of wolves to tear into his body, quickly ending his life.

"Elder sister, get into the carriage!"

Seeing this scene, Ladia immediately pulled the Grand Duchess Helen, who had gone limp and pale, into the carriage.

Inside the carriage, a girl who looked barely ten years old seemed to be "sleeping" on her seat.

The little girl was very cute, with features resembling Helen's, undoubtedly destined to be a great beauty when she grew up.

This was Fanny, the younger sister of Grand Duchess Helen.

Ladia firmly shut the carriage door.

The attack on the mercenary leader seemed to be a signal, as more and more wolves jumped out of the woods.

The pack of beasts first targeted the three horses, launching their attack with lightning speed.

The horses wildly kicked their hooves in self-defense, but they couldn't withstand the sharp teeth of the wolf pack. Eventually, they too fell to the ground, torn apart and devoured by the hungry wolves.

Ladia thought to herself, "I hope the three horses will satisfy these hungry wolves!"

But she was soon disappointed as more wolves emerged from the woods. Instead of fighting for the horses, they began circling the carriage.

Clearly, these newcomers' target was inside the carriage with them.

After circling several times, one wolf couldn't restrain itself any longer and leaped towards the carriage.

The carriage shook violently as the wolf lunged. The Grand Duchess screamed in terror.

Ladia pulled out a short crossbow and handed it to Helen, saying, "Elder sister, if a wolf breaks through the glass and jumps in, use this to stab it hard. Let's hope this carriage from the church is sturdy enough."

Trembling, Helen nodded.

As fate would have it, with a "crash," the window glass shattered, and a large wolf's head thrust inside.

Ladia took aim and precisely jabbed the short crossbow into the wolf's eye.

The wolf howled in agony, retreating and rolling on the ground beside the carriage in intense pain.

Seemingly deterred by their companion's plight, the wolves around the carriage temporarily ceased their attack, continuing to pace around the carriage.

Ladia muttered an incantation quietly, carefully calculating the area the carriage occupied and the distance between it and the wolf pack.

Finally, she softly uttered, "Ring of Flames!"

Soon, a strange light illuminated the ground around the carriage from its center, forming a ring with a diameter of about three meters, enveloping the carriage perfectly.

With a sizzle, flames ignited within the ring.

Wild animals feared fire. The wolves around the carriage jumped back in fear, scattering away from the burning circle.

Several wolves caught within the ring had their fur ignited. They whimpered pitifully, rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames before scampering away with tails tucked.

However, from the continuing howls around them, it was clear that more wolves remained lurking in the surrounding forest. Their numbers sounded like there were hundreds.

Originally intended to unleash a sudden burst of towering flames against surrounding enemies, this "Ring of Flames" was controlled by Ladia to burn at a lower intensity, ensuring a prolonged deterrent effect against the wolf pack.

With the immediate danger temporarily averted, the Grand Duchess calmed down.

She exclaimed, "Ladia, your mastery of magic is becoming more refined. Truly, you've surpassed me now. Even if I try my best, I can't catch up to you anymore."

Despite receiving praise from her senior sister, Ladia wasn't in the mood to be modest. Though she had already exerted her utmost effort to control the burning rate of the Ring of Flames, it would eventually extinguish after a period of time.

"These wolves are howling so loudly. Niceport must have heard it too. Won't the city guards send someone to check?"

"They would only do so at daybreak tomorrow. Right now, they'll just tightly shut the city gates."

"Elder sister, we can't rely on outsiders for help. We need to come up with a strategy ourselves. The only thing I can think of right now is to take turns using the Ring of Flames to protect the carriage until dawn. Do you have any better ideas?"

Magicians couldn't cast the same spell consecutively; they had to wait for some time before they could reuse a previously cast spell.

If Paul Grayman knew this, he might understand it using the concept of "skill cooldown" from his past life's electronic games.

The interval of time depended on the magician's mastery of the magic; it could range from a few hours to several tens of minutes, or even as long as several days.

As for how to explain this "mastery," there was still ongoing debate among magicians' circles, much like the intelligence quotient among ordinary people, with no unified standard.

In any case, the more one used a spell, their mastery wouldn't necessarily be higher. Some could cast a powerful Lightning Spell every hour but only manage a Light Spell once a day.

And Lightning Spells were obviously more complex than Light Spells, requiring more preparation with spellcasting materials and more complex incantations.

In short, even magicians themselves were quite ignorant about the essence of magic. Much knowledge remained hidden behind mysterious and vague veils, requiring constant exploration.

Most magicians only became magicians through experience, understanding the 'what' rather than the 'why'.

Moreover, they were also immersed in this sense of "mystery," believing that magic should be like this—unexplainable, incomprehensible.

Only in this way could they differentiate themselves from common folk like blacksmiths, carpenters, and mechanics who also possessed certain skills, allowing this special group, which the world didn't readily accept, to find some solace.

Upon hearing Ladia's question, Duchess Helen shook her head in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I don't have a good idea either. And..."

"And what?"

"I can't control with as much precision as you. I might... I might end up setting the carriage on fire, or even... set the forest on fire."

The normal version of the Ring of Flames centered on the caster, suddenly generating a circle of flames that spread outward from small to large.

If she couldn't control it as precisely as Ladia, forcibly casting it inside the carriage might really...

"Alright, elder sister. After the flames die down later, we'll summon the clay golem again."

"Okay, I can do that."

With their discussion concluded, they quietly watched the surrounding flames gradually diminish.

As the flames weakened, the surrounding wolf pack grew restless again.

"Let's prepare to summon... wait, elder sister, did you hear something?"

Ladia seemed to have caught a sound and listened intently.

The Grand Duchess also held her breath, trying to catch the sound Ladia mentioned.

"It's all wolf howls... Oh? Indeed, there's a different sound!"

The sound approached from afar, sounding like "bang! bang!".

Seeing Ladia suddenly look happy, she exclaimed, "It's gunfire! It's the sound of gunfire! No wonder it felt so familiar."

"Gunfire?" The Grand Duchess was puzzled.

"Yes! Elder sister, the crew of the Southern Star ship is coming to rescue us!"

(End of the Chapter)