Sacrifice

Wolves were sly and cunning creatures. It wasn't surprising that a magical beast of such type was able to sneak up on their group when they were being distracted.

However, Mark couldn't believe that the same creature could achieve such a feat if it had the size of the wolf he was staring at right now.

Mark enchanted his left glove and his sword.

Although the area was narrow, they had to make do until they create an opening and move over towards a more suitable fighting zone. Mark gritted his teeth as he engaged the gigantic wolf.

Their earth mage, Samuel, was the fastest one to snap out his shock. He enchanted his gauntlets and his boots and rushed forward together with Mark. Their target was the gigantic three-eyed white wolf in front of them.

The one who got blasted away was their third Seran, while the other four were all Remorans. Three of the Remorans started casting their spells while one of them moved towards the Seran who was lying down on the ground, bathing in his own blood.

The one who was rushing towards their injured teammate, Gavin, was already hyperventilating. He did not talk to Mark as he blabbered hysterically, so he was actually focused on the surroundings. He was assuming the responsibility as the lookout. Despite this, he was not able to detect the wolf approach. They didn't even feel a strong breeze from the wolf rushing towards them.

He kneeled in front of the Seran and yelled, "Doru, wake up!"

The Seran lying on the ground, Doru, remained motionless, and his head was bleeding. Gavin felt the pulse on Doru's neck.

It was still there. He was still alive.

He was relieved, but he couldn't leave Doru just yet. He pulled his staff hanging on his back and started casting a spell from a distance.

The crystal on the tip of the staff was special, a family heirloom. It concentrated earth magic casted by the user. It started glowing green as it sensed the spell's manifestation. Gavin charged his spell as much as he could as he waited for an opening to appear.

He observed as Mark and Samuel teamed up on the gigantic wolf. He prayed that they were able to slow it down so he could release his spell. Before the opportunity arrived, however, he saw a shadow move in the corner of his left eye. Subconsciously, he released his charged spell towards the shadow.

The ground beside him elevated rapidly as it formed a rectangular wall. The shadow that moved was trapped inside. This was Gavin's C-grade spell, Earth King's Coffin, from the Earth King Series. The coffin then rapidly shrunk inwards, attempting to crush the trapped creature inside. Contrary to his expectations, it wasn't that easy.

The area around Gavin dimmed, and he looked up. A gigantic bluish-grey wolf with three eyes was falling towards him and Doru.

It jumped through the whole coffin!

Gavin panicked and immediately dragged his companion out of the way. He casted an E-grade spell, Earth Pillar and stepped on top of it. It was slightly inclined, and when it extended, it launched both Gavin and Doru horizontally through the air.

When Gavin landed near the others, he immediately notified them, "There's another one beside!"

The three other Remorans looked left and saw the other gigantic wolf.

It was not their first time fighting against wolf-type magical beasts. They have already slain many, in fact. What was different about the one they were currently facing was that it was too big for its supposed size. In short, the two wolves passed as colossal magical beasts.

The wolf Mark and Samuel were distracting suddenly backed away, giving them time to breathe. The two looked behind them and saw that the Remorans were stacking protective spells on top of the other, trapping the other gigantic wolf near the wall.

Mark felt his sweat drop. There was another three-eyed wolf, probably the partner of the other one.

One of their Seran passed out so that only leaves him and Samuel. If they did not have one other Seran to hold off the other wolf, the Remorans would have a hard time casting their spells freely.

Even now, that was already apparent. After one defensive layer of the barrier they created broke, they immediately had to supplement it with another, so none of them were casting offensive spells. Mark gritted his teeth as he rushed towards the Remorans.

Samuel also planned on following, but after taking a few steps, the wolf they were facing reappeared. Samuel was forced to turn around and face the wolf all by himself.

Mark looked back as he hesitated. Fortunately, Samuel's mind was clearer.

"Kill the other one first! I'll hold this one off!" Samuel yelled. The battlefield was perfect for Earth mages because it was surrounded with walls of earth, so he was quite confident about stalling the white three-eyed wolf they were facing.

Mark woke up from his hesitation and nodded resolutely. He ran towards the other wolf as he casted his spells on his glove and sword. He took extra time to charge the enchantment on his sword so it glowed much brighter.

….

The white wolf Samuel was facing tried to go around him several times, but every single time, Samuel would stop it.

Samuel would step on the ground with his enchanted boots, making a part of the ground elevate and wrap around the wolf's leg. After this, Samuel would approach and punch on its leg. From his enchanted gauntlets, rocks would form around the spot in which he attacked, giving it a pseudo petrification effect.

But this was all Samuel could do alone. The rocks forming on the wolf's body would easily shatter and break after it shook, and the earth shackles would lose its effect. Samuel and the wolf appeared to be in a deadlock, but the one with the advantage was obvious.

Samuel was still an E-grade mage. The magic reserve inside his body was still little. In order for his attacks to be effective, he had to sacrifice a substantial portion from his reserves. Meanwhile, the wolf didn't. It merely performed natural movements. If the fight dragged out, Samuel would surely die.

Thankfully, they were experiencing a similar scenario. The white wolf couldn't wait until its partner died, so it had to make a breakthrough somehow. It jumped back and let out a deafening howl.

AWOOOOOOO!

The six mages felt their consciousness shake from the loud noise, and they all felt dizzy.

Samuel felt disoriented and was having a hard time standing straight. This did not escape the white wolf's three eyes. It crouched then…

Shhhhhh!

It suddenly disappeared from Samuel's sight. He felt the shock and terror as he realized what had happened. It was just like earlier when they did not notice it approach them.

When he looked back, the white wolf was already there, rushing towards his other teammates.

It looked just like teleportation, but Samuel knew that it wasn't.

It was a moment of extreme speed.

Samuel scrambled to run towards his teammates as well. None of them were aware of the beast behind them, and it was silently approaching like a phantom.

It was too late.

The wolf once more swept its claws.

Samuel barely made out the two figures tossed away by the wolf. Everything happened in a blink of an eye, he didn't even have enough time to scream.

It was over for them.

Suddenly, Mark's body surged with fire! A full body enchantment!

From his sword, six gigantic snakes were released and headed towards the face of the white wolf. The snakes opened their mouths as each of them took a bite on the white wolf's flesh. The bites singed the wolf's body as it yelped in pain.

Gavin found an opening and casted a spell. He released a D-rank spell, Earth King's Claws. Ten huge and sharp fingers emerged from the ground and pulled on the white wolf, trapping it.

Gavin was overjoyed and was waiting for Mark's follow up. He waited, and waited. But…

No attack came.

The other Remoran, Harold, who was not caught up by the white wolf's attack suddenly realized what had happened.

Mark was kneeling on the ground, half dazed.

He must have overdrafted his magic with that strong attack. He wanted to help, but he was the only one keeping the bluish-grey wolf at bay. They had no follow-ups.

"AHHHHH!"

They heard someone yell.

Samuel jumped up, his gloves glowing brightly. His body arced through the air as he crashed towards the ground, and banged on it with his two gauntlets.

BOOOM!

Boom! Boom!

Several smaller explosions followed the bigger one as the ground quaked. Several spikes emerged from the ground, rapidly creeping towards the trapped white wolf.

When the spikes impaled the wolf, its body trembled. After a few moments, a pool of blood formed beneath it.

It was dead.

SHATTER!

AWOOOOOOOOO!

The remaining wolf broke the last layer of defense that trapped it near the wall. It howled, but it wasn't as strong as the white wolf's, so all of them managed to endure it, except Mark.

Mark's consciousness finally faltered and he fell unconscious.

Gavin and Harold shivered. Gavin was completely exhausted. Harold could still manage, but only barely. Only three of them were left. They had to pull through.

They were all tired but determined.

After the wolf's howl, they prepared themselves and faced the beast. However, after they looked at it, their determination crumbled.

Hot air escaped from the wolf's gritted teeth. But that wasn't all. Its forelegs were twice the size from before. Also, instead of looking like a normal wolf's paw, it looked more like a human's hand with sharp nails.

As it lifted its paw, Gavin and Harold subconsciously backed away.

Then the paw fell down.

Swoooosh!

BOOOOOOOM!

The sound from the explosion made their ears ring. Dust covered the entire area. Gavin had no idea if Harold had managed to escape successfully. He kept on running back, away from the dust cloud.

After he exited the area, he saw Harold limping. His legs were hit by the rocks that shot towards him from the explosion.

Not good!

Then, they both heard rapid footsteps from behind them.

It was Samuel.

"GET EVERYONE AND RUN!" Samuel screamed as he shot himself in the air with an Earth Pillar.

Gavin and Harold's eyes followed Samuel as he flew. Just above the dust cloud, the face of the wolf was barely visible. They knew what he was trying to do.

Gavin, with the last ounce of his strength, swerved left, towards the three unconscious members of the group. Gavin forced himself to carry three people at the same time while Harold piggybacked the unconscious Mark on his back despite having a leg injury. The two ran outside the area.

Before making the turn and leaving the area with Harold, Gavin gave one last look at Samuel.

The person was relentlessly bashing the wolf's head. But with every strike, it was getting weaker and weaker.

Gavin turned away and continued running.

….