Seth was, regardless, happy to not be stranded to fend for himself outside the safety of the village.
The ick was that no one in the village was trusting enough to let him sleep inside their huts, and sleeping in the Chief's hut was considered a blasphemy. So he was camping outside, lying next to a warm bonfire. The elf was right beside him in warm-looking beast skin, unflinchingly watching him like a hawk.
'Sigh, talk about trust issues.'
Seth opened his mouth to make small talk but then closed it. There'd be no use in attempting a conversation with the stiff elf; he had established his contempt towards Seth strongly enough.
And that's when they heard it, a loud howl resonating near them.
Seth's heart sank. His mind immediately went to the Grey Lycans; had they sniffed his scent and followed him all the way to the village?
Several more howls followed, resonating in all directions all around the area.
They were surrounded.
" You...you led them here, didn't you? " The elf accused, his face twisted in both disbelief and anger.
Seth kept quiet, his mouth slightly gape - he didn't refute.
He looked around towards the villagers' huts, expecting to see groups of people already out and panicking. Seth managed to hear a few shuffles inside the huts - but the villagers were oddly quiet about the whole scenario.
'Shit... what should I-we do? If it's really those slow Grey Lycans out there, then I am sure I will be more than capable of escaping here if I want to. But the villagers-'
Seth focused on the elf, who was already making his way towards the chief's hut in large strides. He followed, and the elf surprisingly didn't turn him away.
They entered the Chief's hut, who was on his feet, armed with a long spear. His face was grave.
" It's the Lycans that have been active lately, by the sound of the howls, I fear they may have come in large groups and have surrounded us. " The elf spoke quietly and in a hushed voice, but the anger in his voice was clear.
" Those Lycans? How have they found us? The bushes were supposed to mask our scent, something must have led-," and that's when the Chief connected the dots, he quickly turned towards Seth. He looked utterly betrayed and pained as he looked towards him, but he quickly tried to hide his expression.
Three more people quickly entered the hut. It was Old Rio, Elder Gral, and the other younger adviser. Old Rio looked more than ready to verbally chew on someone.
" Beasts have surrounded us from all corners, escape will be difficult. " Old Rio said, his voice a mix of anger and frustration. And then his eyes looked around the room and landed right on Seth. " You! You're the bastard who led these beasts straight to our village! If you weren't here, none of this would have happened. " Old Rio cursed at him. voicing out what the Chief hadn't when he had looked at Seth with a painful expression.
Old Rio looked more than ready to make an attempt on Seth's life in that moment with the way his face twisted with loathing. Seth didn't blame him, he would have loathed himself too if he were in their shoes.
Which was why he felt so shitty at that moment, how had he slipped up this horribly? He should have covered his tracks far better.
" The Veil ! " Old Rio shouted , his voice slightly hopeful. " Can't we strengthen it somehow ? Maybe the beasts can be warded off more strongly. "
A Veil? What was that? Though the name 'Veil' suggested it was something used to conceal. Seth theorized it was probably an artifact that concealed - no , warded off monsters from an area therefore creating a Veil effect.
'I thought the bushes were all that were keeping them alive , I should have thought about it deeper - a few determinedly curious Doom Forest Monsters could easily stumble into this village. This village must be what kept them at bay.'
" The Veil... It's already in use, Old Rio - I boosted it with the feather an hour after Wung Dao's Disciple arrived...and these monsters sure have our positions pinned in their heads now - a slightly stronger warding spell wouldn't make them change their minds." The Chief spoke gravely.
" But what about the crown? " The elf asked , " Surely we can use it?"
There was a crown and a feather, as well? Seth truly had underestimated how well prepared the Grem village people are. He listened, unable to have input without context.
" The crown , we can't use it nilly willy - it has to be a last resort - we don't know how strong the monsters are. " It was Elder Gral who spoke now.
The room descended into gloomy silence , each second ticking - a second closer to a potentially life-ending future.
Before anyone could come up with another idea, a loud howl that resembled a whine startled the group - what made Seth's stomach twist was that it was far too close to them for comfort.
Everyone rushed out in panic.
And that's when they saw it, a Grey Lycan was sinking into the ground at the only open entrance of the bush enclosure and had fallen into a booby trap - the quicksand that had almost swallowed Seth.
It was sinking fast, thrashing violently - but its situation was inescapable - in just a few seconds, the quicksand swallowed it.
Seth was too stunned to speak.
'How close to a horrible death I was , but what else is new?'
"Everyone, prepare your weapons - the quicksand should be able to swallow some of the Direwolves that fall into the trap, as for those who don't - we'll see what to do then. " The Chief's voice was now authoritative.
Everyone except Seth and the elf dashed into the chief's hut, and they quickly came back carrying metal spears.
" Old Rio , Elder Gral, and David - you three go to the back and closer to the village huts, tell everyone to prepare to move and use the underground tunnels. "
Old Rio rose in protest.
" You fool! where shall we- "
"Old Rio! Our situation is compromising and could turn grave at any moment!! those Direwolves hunt in packs; more fierce wolves must be on the way. We have no choice but to abandon this village and flee. I order you, as the Chief to listen to my orders. " There was a finality in the Chief's voice. Old Rio now could do nothing against the orders but snarl in displeasure. " David , direct everyone to the outer forest, we will follow after you when most of everyone has left. " The three ordered left in a hurry.
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" You , Wung Dao's disciple and Velron. You two shall be with me for the frontal defense. We will hold back any Direwolves that come but you two will be the frontal line and I will be the last line." Despite their grave situation, the Chief had the strength to smile at Seth. " I guess I'll see now how strong Wung Dao's disciples are when he is serious, though it's a shame it's under these circumstances. "
So the Chief had known all along that Seth had been holding back against him when he first interrogated him with a knife at his throat.
The Elf - Velron drew his bow from a pouch on his back Seth hadn't really noticed. And the Chief put his spear in position.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, they didn't have to wait too long before another Lycan appeared, this one was more robust than the previous Grey Lycan that had drowned in quicksand - its fur was dark Grey, and it was almost twice as big as the Grey Lycan.
"A Warrior Direwolf... this battle will not be easy in any way. " The Chief lamented seemingly to himself.
It was in that moment that Seth had the mind to use <
'The fuck?! A decent body that is built to tank attacks and strong enough to dismember humans? These Lyca- ehh, Direwolves are menaces!'
They might have been deadly to a normal human, but Seth was anything but normal as a resident of Doom Forest - he compared the Warrior Direwolf to the Silver hunchback gorilla in his head. The silver hunchback was much fiercer!
The Warrior Direwolf seemed smarter than the previous Grey-Scout Direwolf and jumped over the quicksand after a few seconds of sniffing , it must have picked up the scent of one of its pack members in the unassuming quicksand.
But Velron was just as quick to shoot his first arrow, which seared towards the Warrior Direwolf that was still in the air after the leap. It landed right at its left shoulder , embedding itself despite its presumably hard-to-penetrate skin.
However it didn't do much to slow it down , let alone disable it. It growled at them after landing, then it charged towards them in large strides.
Velron shot another arrow , and it stuck on the right this time. However it did little to slow it down.
Velron glanced at him in exasperation , he gestured towards his arrow pouch that had a countable number of arrows - Seth estimated them to be eight or ten. 'I have a short supply, it's your turn now' that's what Velron most likely tried to wordlessly say.
'I guess it's my turn now.'
Seth removed the pale Wyvern dagger from his waist. He had managed to fashion a crude sheath for the Wyvern dagger out of animal skin. He unsheathed it and lunged at the Warrior Direwolf.
In a split second, he thought of all the possible ways of attacking it or blocking an attack.
If it lunged at him , Seth could duck at a moment's notice and carve it open from below. If it launched a claw attack from either of its paws ,Seth could evade and pierce it from the side.
But of course, that plan was excellent if the Direwolf had no skills of its own, the silver hunchback made Seth come to the conclusion that Monstrous beasts had at least a Trump card skill as a last resort.
Two seconds had passed.
Seth decided on a ranged attack , it was safest considering he knew next to nothing about the Warrior Direwolf's attack pattern or if it had a Trump card skill.
When he was close enough for the attack to reach , he made a slash in the air using his Wyvern dagger.
A blue mana arc sailed in the air , headed towards the diving Warrior Direwolf. It recognized the danger of the attack and noticeably tried to slow down its momentum. It was too late to dodge , it could only adjust its body for a less lethal blow. The mana slash hit its left front leg, severing it. It collapsed, unable to support its weight.
Seth had gotten far better at combat in the 5 years he spent in Doom Forest, he now knew the spots to target on a monster to lower its combat effectiveness.
Velron shot a finishing blow to its head through the eye, a few seconds after it collapsed. It was dead in minutes.
'Wow , that actually went well.'
Seth was amazed, he hadn't expected it to be like this - it certainly hadn't been an easy victory , but living in Doom Forest had made him always expect the worst to happen.
After having gauged the Warrior Direwolf's defensive capabilities, Seth was already formulating a strategy. He would cripple or weaken enemies with his ranged attacks , and Velron would finish them when they were down.
'But his strategy only works if we assume the Direwolves will be entering one by one , if several ente-'
Several howls came from the entrance. Two Dark Grey Direwolves appeared at the entrance and a single Grey one.
'But of course I had to jinx it, and I didn't even say it out loud.'
They sniffed for a moment and jumped right over the quicksand. Seth would have been keenly impressed by how intelligent these wolves were , if he didn't have to fight them.
The Direwolves spread apart, the Scout Direwolf in the middle and the Warrior Direwolves on the sides. Now that they were far apart, being surrounded by them would happen too quickly and easily if Seth gave even a tiny amount of extra attention to any of them.
But it seems he didn't have to worry about being surrounded, the Warrior Direwolves had decided on their own prey. They launched themselves at the three - Seth, Velron and the Chief. Seth evaded a combo - a claw and tail sweep strike from one of the Warrior Direwolves with his footwork, defensively moving back.
He quickly glanced to see how others were faring - Velron was agile , Seth had to admit and it was working to his advantage as he managed to evade the attacks coming from the remaining Warrior Direwolf and simultaneously counterattack - shooting arrows at timed intervals. A Good Archer. It seemed elves were really unmatched in archery.
Seth dived under a lunge attack and made a counterattack simultaneously - a lethal attack from under the Direwolf's belly as it had left itself open because of the wide attack. He successfully pierced it from under and slid away.
He glanced at the Chief. Despite being the least powerful of the three, he was holding his ground with his metal spear - using it to parry and pierce the Scout Direwolf from a distance. The Scout would be down in no time.
' These monsters are more than just a bit smart; they also came with a strategy of their own. The stronger Direwolves took on me and Velron and the weaker one attacked the Chief, we really need to wrap things up before they end up ugly. Who knows if-Ah, you know what, I am not going to think it !'
Seth refocused his attention on his own battle. He dodged a double paw swipe by jumping over the Warrior Direwolf , while in mid-air , he used the skill <
The blue mana crescent sailed in the air, striking it at a perfect angle. Its head fell cleanly off, and blood sprayed from the open wound like a burst pipe.
Gore didn't even bother him anymore.
He took a peek at Velron; he had just finished off his own Warrior Direwolf, but it had cost him several of his arrows despite his excellent aim. Seth saw now that there were only three arrows in his arrow pouch left.
He looked at the Chief. The Scout Direwolf was already riddled with several holes and slowing down from the blood loss, but Seth noticed the decay in the Chief's moves as well. He might have had excellent spearmanship, but in the end, he was a powerless mortal fighting a monster.
The Scout Direwolf collapsed after a few more exchanges. The Chief looked like he would collapse at any moment. And Velron had three arrows left.
'Our combat power has decreased.' Seth came to the harsh conclusion that he was the only one whose combat power hadn't dived.
It seemed he would have to carry the team.
A familiar face rushed from behind them. It was Elder Gral.
" Most of our people have left with Old Rio and David directing them. . . It's only us four and an old woman that remain." Elder Gral reported gravely.
An old woman?
"An Old woman?" The Chief asked in confusion, but his face fell when he realized who it could be. "Oh no, is it-"
" Yes, It's Mei Li. . . She refuses to leave the village. "