Ambush!

At that moment, faint voices could be heard. Upon hearing them, Aidan's wolf silently slipped into the nearby woods.

"Alex, your hunting skills are unmatched. Especially when it comes to hunting wild boars, your father is the king of hunters for miles around, well-known to everyone," praised voices could be heard.

"Yes, yes, Alex, you've inherited your father's skills. Catching a wild boar is child's play for you!"

"Alex, why isn't your sister with you today?"

After the flattery, a stern voice rang out, "Fuck off, don't think about my sister, or I'll beat you up!!"

Another voice retorted, "When a man reaches adulthood, he should marry. I like your sister, is that not allowed? Besides, it's not just me; don't the men in our village like her? Alex, you're already 24 years old, it's time to find a wife and have children."

The stern voice replied, "Hmph, a real man should not be tempted by mere beauty! One day, I will leave this place, venture out, and see the world. That's when I'll truly be a man!"

As they spoke, four young hunters emerged from the forest. The lead hunter was tall and muscular, carrying a bow and arrows, with a sharp gaze exuding a fierce aura.

Upon seeing Aidan, he frowned and shouted, "Hmm? Who are you, a kid from which village? You dare to interfere with my hunt. Get away!"

"Away?" Hearing Alex's words, Aidan's body lit up with Essence Conduit, transforming into a werewolf and pounced.

"Ascender?!" The hunters were shocked to see Aidan turn into a werewolf, and one of them screamed in astonishment.

Seeing the werewolf pounce, they quickly scattered and fled.

Thunk.

One person couldn't dodge in time, and his right forearm was clawed by the werewolf, bones and flesh separating, with his wrist and half of his forearm falling to the ground.

"Ahhhh!"

He fell to the ground, writhing in pain and fear, his left hand instinctively gripping his right arm.

Blood gushed from the severed end of his right arm, quickly staining the ground red.

"Mercy!"

"We didn't mean to offend!"

The other two, seeing their companion's plight, turned pale, kneeling before Aidan, repeatedly kowtowing.

"Hmph, a bunch of useless cowards. What are you afraid of? Just an Ascender student!" Only Alex remained standing, and seeing Aidan attack without hesitation, he was both shocked and angry. He raised his arms, drew back his waist, and did some sort of movement that brought the bow and arrow from behind him into his hands.

"Stop, if you come any closer, I'll shoot you through!" Alex shouted as he retreated, bending the bow and fitting an arrow, roaring.

"Hmm?" Aidan narrowed his eyes, finding Alex a bit strange. Ordinary mortals would be fearful upon encountering an Ascender, but Alex remained calm, displaying some courage.

Taking aim at Aidan's forehead, Alex snorted and fired an arrow.

　The arrow flew swiftly, with a swish, it shot towards Aidan's face.

Although Aidan had transformed into a werewolf using Essence Conduit, he was only a level-1 Werewolf, and his body had not been further strengthened. If the arrow hit his forehead, he would still die.

Aidan's figure lowered, his head slightly tilted, avoiding the arrow, and continued to charge forward, quickly approaching Alex.

Alex was very brave. He immediately threw away his bow and arrows, drew the large axe from his waist, and the shield from his back, boldly facing Aidan.

He was tall and sturdy, with a strong physique, almost as tall as the Werewolf Aidan had become. The sunlight shone from behind him, as Aidan rushed towards him, casting a shadow over his face. In the shadow, his eyes were as fierce as a wolf!

"No!" 

"Stop!"

The two hunters watched in horror as the two men were about to collide violently.

"Die!" Alex's eyes were fierce, his face twisted with muscles, ferocious and mad, like a bloodthirsty wolf.

He used his left hand's shield to block Aidan's claws, then his right hand's axe to chop at the Werewolf's neck.

Swish.

His axe was very fast, bringing with it the sound of wind!

Aidan watched as the axe grew larger in his pupils, his face unmoving, suddenly his feet shifted.

Whoosh.

Just as the situation was about to reach a critical point, he avoided the axe, forcibly twisted his body, stepped back, and jumped up, fiercely stomping on Alex's shield!

Dong!

Alex was impacted, unable to stop himself from retreating several steps. He saw in the reflection of his own axe, a gaping mouth opening right behind him!

Alex's whole body shuddered, feeling an unprecedented crisis.

"Watch out, Alex!"

"Behind you!"

"Wolf!"

Even the two hunters kneeling on the ground forgot to beg for mercy at this moment, their eyes widened in shock.

The glaring sunlight shone on their faces.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down.

The sounds around them seemed to disappear, and the world fell silent.

Even if a mortal's martial arts are strong, their bodies are still fragile!

A moment later, the giant wolf carried Alex's head back to Aidan's side.

The pupils of the two hunters kneeling on the ground shrank to the size of a pin!

Their mouths slightly opened, getting bigger and bigger, until they reached their limits.

Pa...

Pa...

Bright red liquid splattered onto their faces.

They immediately woke up!

In their perception, time suddenly returned to normal, and the noisy sounds returned to their ears.

There were birds chirping, the sound of flowing water, and the loud screams of their companion holding his severed arm.

"Alex--?" One hunter called out in panic. Alex had always been their leader.

"He's dead!" Another hunter wailed, his face turning to the extreme of grayness in an instant.

"Alex was our strongest hunter. Just a moment ago, he was joking with us, but now he's dead!"

"We shouldn't have provoked the Ascender, we mortals are no match for them!"

The two hunters were shocked and frightened. For a moment, they were like two statues, kneeling on the ground.

"This Alex was very strong, stronger than Gerrick, the servant of the Duke. If other students had encountered him, they would have been defeated without a doubt." Aidan glanced deeply at Alex's body.

Even during the Novice period, a few of the top mortal warriors were still a threat to Ascenders.

This Alex was indeed a strong one.

His arrows were fast and steady.

He was tall, and his martial arts had reached the pinnacle of mortals. His knife skills were proficient, like a seasoned special forces soldier.

Against any other student, he would have been unbeatable. Unfortunately for Alex, he encountered Aidan.

The moment he appeared, Aidan observed the bow and shield on his back, and the axe at his waist.

The enemy had a bow and arrow, while Aidan lacked long-range attack methods, so he immediately transformed into a Werewolf, quickly approaching the enemy for close combat.

Alex had no choice but to abandon his bow and arrows, and draw out his shield and axe.

Most importantly, Aidan was careful and shameless. Facing a mortal, Aidan still choose to use ambush tactics. He hid the giant wolf in the forest, and finally ambushed Alex when he lost his balance, ensuring victory with one strike!

"However, this Alex was truly strong. If I hadn't ambushed him, the fight wouldn't have ended so quickly. It would have cost me quite a bit of time."

But for Aidan, defeating such a mortal warrior was still a foregone conclusion. His 500 years of experience from his previous life made him top-notch in both tactics and strategy.

"Life and death is the main theme of nature. All things are equal, all things have the right to survive, and all things have the possibility of being killed. In survival, there can be distinctions of nobility and inferiority. But in the face of death, what's the difference between a person's death and a pig's death? It's all death in the end."

Aidan took one last look at Alex's body and sighed in his heart.