Chapter 48. Victory?

"Desire your death? A red name above your head? Rand of the Dark Moon clan? What nonsense are you spouting, Weed?" Rand asked meaningless questions, trying to buy time to process what was just said: "Seeing names... How is that even possible? I've never heard of such an ability. Or did he lie? But then, how did he know?

No, now's not the time to dwell on this, I need to decide what to do next. Probably should stall until the wolves arrive, and since he's so talkative, I should try to learn as much as possible about him. But I must remember that there isn't much time before the estimated appearance of wolves. And I'll keep the Ninth Moon Step ready, to escape instantly if the situation spirals out of control."

While Rand was lost in thought, Weed continued speaking:

"So, you don't want to confess. I must say, I'm somewhat disappointed, as I hoped you'd respond to my openness in kind. But it was to be expected. After all, you're a cultivator. As he said, all cultivators are vile, despicable, inferior beings, barely human. For longevity, power, authority, and strength, you'd do anything. If you encounter something valuable, you try to seize it, and if you can't, you destroy it so no one else can have it. You're worse than animals; they at least have some principles.

Don't tell me I'm wrong, that you're not like that. As soon as you and Eyron noticed my unusual persuasive power, which you lacked, you immediately wanted to destroy its possessor. You didn't even try to simply talk to me about it. Probably, it didn't even occur to you that there might be other solutions besides killing me.

I, though you might not believe me, genuinely wanted to befriend you and didn't fully trust him and the system's directives. I saw people in you, not just malicious mobs worthy of being my reward. I wanted to develop like everyone else.

I even felt sympathy for you, having lost everything: status, family, wealth. Yes, after you refused to answer my question, I found out much about your past, former prince, heir of the beheaded emperor."

"Cultivators are worse than animals? Worthy only of being your reward? So, for killing us, that entity, as you call it "he," "the system," gives you power. And "he" talks to you, tries to reshape your thinking to help you achieve his goals more effectively, right? Have you considered that your decisions might already not be entirely your own?"

"No, he doesn't influence my decisions, he's incapable of that, according to the contract... Wait, you're trying to manipulate me, right? Want me to reveal all my secrets while refuting your words? Nice try, but it failed, I don't want to talk about this with you, you don't deserve such trust.

Or... You didn't even hope I'd tell you everything. The real aim of your words is different. You want to make me talk and thus stall for time, hoping Eyron will arrive, and together you'll defeat me. Oh, did I guess it? Finally, I see fear in your eyes. You didn't think I believed that nonsense about someone kidnapping Eyron, did you? Of course not.

But honestly, all your efforts are completely useless. Even if he arrives, you won't stand a chance. No matter what tricks you use, not even your cultivator toys —artifacts and talismans — will save you. If it were otherwise, I wouldn't indulge my desire to talk with you one last time; I would've attacked and killed you right away.

But, perhaps, enough chat..."

Weed was about to put an end to their conversation, but Rand, noticing this, immediately intervened:

"What about the sect? How do you plan to return after killing us? An ordinary novice's death might be concealed, but not the murder of an elder's disciple. The sect and my master will do everything to find the culprit, and believe me, they will succeed. You won't be forgiven for killing me."

"Who said I plan to return to that cesspool of insane killers called the Fire Dragon sect? Now I've realized I don't belong there. If I show my talents, hundreds, thousands like you and Eyron will turn against me. And I'm not afraid of pursuit; the world is vast, I can hide."

At that moment, Rand, with his keener hearing, finally caught the sound he had been waiting for in the distance. A few seconds later, Weed heard it too.

Aaaaoooowwww

Immediately following was the sound of dozens of paws thundering, growing louder by the second.

"I get it. So that's your plan. You bring me here, and Eyron somehow lures the wolves to us. Something's wrong with the potion, right? Not a bad plan, but it won't be enough against me because…"

Before he could finish, a huge wolf, nearly two meters long with eyes red from rage, leaped at him from the bushes beside Weed. This was no ordinary beast but one that had harnessed Qi and reached the third level of Qi Condensation. The leap was so quick and unexpected that even the current Rand would have had difficulty reacting adequately to such an attack. But not Weed.

Without even turning towards the beast leaping at him, he swatted it away with his right hand, as if shooing a pesky fly. But the force of his blow was of an entirely different magnitude. When Weed's hand reached its target, it not only stopped the several-hundred-kilogram wolf mid-air but also sent it flying backward, cracking its skull in the process. And after such a collision, the wolf, falling several meters away, could not get up.

Watching this swift fight, Rand analyzed Weed's abilities:

"The strength he displayed is at the seventh, no, the eighth level of Qi Condensation. Frightening development speed, without a doubt. If that's all he can do, he won't make it out of here today. But I doubt that's the case."

After killing the wolf, Weed wanted to shout something, but he was interrupted by six more wolves bursting into the clearing, immediately attacking him. These wolves were slightly smaller than the first, at the first or second level of Qi Condensation. And the amazing fact was that, they completely ignored Rand standing nearby, who decided to take advantage of the moment and retreat.

As Rand slowly backed away, the wolves surrounded Weed and attacked him simultaneously from all sides. But Weed didn't panic. He killed the two attacking from the front with swift punches as soon as they got within striking distance. The wolves attacking from the sides and back managed to sink their teeth into Weed's flesh. Or rather, they tried to; their jaws clamped onto his legs and torso, but even with all their strength, they couldn't pierce his skin. They couldn't even budge him. Yet they still refused to let him go and continued to try to tear the young man to pieces or at least just knock him down.

Over the next twenty seconds, Weed tore the wolves that clung to him, breaking their jaws and smashing their skulls.

But when the last one fell, Weed had no time to celebrate the victory as another wave of wolves, nearly fifty strong, arrived. Among them were a few large specimens at the fifth or sixth levels.

Unlike the previous group, these wolves surrounded Weed at a distance of thirty to forty meters and, though itching to pounce, waited, howling loudly.

This pause gave Weed a moment to catch his breath and look around. Only now did he notice his real opponent was already gone, infuriating him. He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Coward! Sooner or later, I will find you and Eyron, no matter where you run, no matter how long it takes, no matter the cost. I won't forgive you for trying to kill me. But first, I'll deal with you foolish dogs."

Finishing his words, Weed touched his chest, and twenty-one tiny red-brown balls appeared in his hand, which he immediately threw to the ground before him.

Upon hitting the ground, all but one of the balls began to transform and grow, turning into two dozen humanoid wooden sculptures, each radiating the aura of at least the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

Each sculpture was unique in appearance, and they were so well-crafted that from a distance, they could be mistaken for real people. If Eyron were here, he would have noticed that many of the sculptures resembled greatly the bandits Weed had killed.

The last ball sank into the ground, transforming into a small mole underground, which immediately began to burrow away at an impressive speed.

As soon as the transformation of the balls into sculptures was completed, Weed gave them an order:

"Protect me."

The sculptures immediately surrounded Weed and assumed fighting stances.

At that moment, a massive figure, nearly four meters tall and nine meters long, emerged from the forest. It was the wolf leader, a ninth-level beast at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage. The ground trembled slightly under its steps. Its fangs, each like a small dagger, were so large that they bulged out of the mouth.

The beast didn't immediately charge at Weed. Instead, it surveyed the wolf corpses around Weed, then scrutinized the young man and his sculptures. Apparently, it deemed them capable of handling the threat that smelled of its dead pups, as in the next second, it opened its mouth and unleashed several dozen wind blades directly at Weed.

However, the blades didn't reach their target because the sculptures shielded Weed with their bodies, absorbing the impact. They withstood the attack but with difficulty. Deep gouges appeared where the blades had struck, and one sculpture even lost an arm.

The wolf leader, seeing the damage to the sculptures, was pleased and opened its mouth again, preparing to release another wave of blades. Weed, bitterly realizing that the giant wolf wouldn't engage in close combat but planned to attack from a distance, and knowing he had no ranged attack to respond with, issued a new command to his sculptures and began to close the distance with the leader:

"Don't let the small ones approach me, but don't engage the big one."

The sculptures attacked the wolves standing in the distance while Weed, now wielding a wooden stick resembling a sword, ran straight through the new wave of wind blades, dodging some and deflecting others with his weapon.

While Weed and his sculptures fought the wolves, a nearly invisible figure sat on a low tree a few hundred meters away, observing the battle.

"An unknown spatial artifact hidden in his chest. Marionette sculptures, hmm, I didn't expect that. They are quite durable, almost invulnerable to weak wolves below the fourth level. If they were a bit stronger and faster, they would quickly eliminate this small pack and go to help their master.

But there are too few wolves. I expected the whole pack to come, but not even a fifth of them are here. Something unexpected must have happened. Although, it seems like this will be enough since Weed is losing. He's good with a sword, but what's the point if the opponent maintains distance, attacks from afar, and he can't even get close to counter attack? Deflecting the blades is becoming harder and harder for him, and he's already taken a hit and is bleeding. If this continues, Weed will fall in a few minutes. Somehow it's all too simple."

While Rand pondered, the wolf, who had been retreating almost all the time before, noticed that its kin were struggling with the sculptures and decided to end the fight quickly to avoid unnecessary casualties.

The leader stopped retreating, and lunged at the unsuspecting such an action Weed, and struck with its front paw. Weed managed to dodge at the last moment, but the wolf seemed to use unknown technique as five deep, bleeding wounds appeared on Weed's chest anyway.

And after that, the situation changed dramatically, if earlier Weed was chasing a wolf, now on the contrary the wolf was chasing a young guy. And the latter clearly did not like this change. As he ran away, he whispered as if to himself:

"Perhaps you are too strong for me right now. I didn't want to use this on you, but so be it. Die."

As soon as he said "die," Weed's eyes turned white for a second, and at the same second, the wolf leader collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Seeing their leader fall, the other wolves fighting the sculptures immediately began to flee.

Rand, observing from a distance, couldn't believe his eyes:

"What was that? How did he kill it? I don't understand..."

And again, Weed could not rejoice in his victory for a long time, because a couple of seconds after the destruction of the wolf leader, he was attacked by a new threat. A massive snake emerged from the ground and, without wasting time or hesitation, sank its venomous fangs into Weed's back, piercing through him. It then tossed his paralyzed body into the air and swallowed him whole. Everything happened so fast that Weed only managed to feel the horror when the snake's mouth closed around him.

Rand, witnessing the scene, almost shouted out loud:

"Did it work? Is he dead?"

But before he could finish his thought, the snake suddenly froze and silently fell dead to the ground.

Rand stayed in the tree for another half hour, not taking his eyes off the snake's motionless body. He then decided to approach to confirm Weed's death, looking for his body or any remains.

But he couldn't find anything like that, the only unusual thing he found was a sculpture of a mole that came from nowhere in the snake's stomach.

The End of The First Volume.

Author's Afterword:

And so the first part of my book has come to an end. I still can't believe I did it.

I want to thank everyone who supported me with kind words, reviews, power stones along this journey. And especially, I want to thank the two people who subscribed to my Boosty. Without all of you, Rand's journey would have been more arduous.

This story has been in my head for years, but only recently did I decide to put it on paper. It was not easy, and writing each line and paragraph was fraught with difficulties, taking an incredible amount of time. The character dialogues were particularly challenging. But I am very happy, dear readers, that my work was not in vain, and that you enjoyed the book enough to read it to the end of the first volume.

I wanted to say much more in the afterword, but now I realize it would be excessive. So, I'll just say this:

See you in the next volume.