The Amber Sword

In a few moments, the eleven Dire Wolves began to weave in and out of the black water like sharks, driving their own forward in order to surround the races.

Brendel did not waste this opportunity. The Wind Spirit Spiders he summoned earlier were commanded to hide in the trees when the centaurs appeared, and it allowed the wolves to lower their guards. Two hundred golden lights shot out into the sky when the youth raised his hands, flying over to the Dire Wolves in a packed formation.

A golden pillar of light shot out at a steep angle.

Brendel did not use the Holy Swords conservatively and focused them at the area that was dense with wolves, forming the singular pillar of light that devastated the ground, before it dimmed and another pillar of light shot at a different place.

– 7 XP gained

– 7 XP gained

– 7 XP gained

– 8 XP gained

– 7 XP gained

He watched the reported XP in his retina change like a waterfall. It might appear to be impressive, but it was actually quite low since it was on a battlefield.

The golden pillar of light changed into a net that went for numbers, causing the black wolves that passed through the net to burst into flames. The net went up and down, causing countless sources of light as the wolves writhed in burning pain. Finally, they stopped moving after screaming in agony for a few seconds.

This process repeated several times until the Holy Sword card finally spent the EP in it.

The centaurs had stopped moving forward. Even though Wydall had seen many harsh battles and even fought an Earth Dragon, he and the other centaurs still took in a deep breath as they watched the scene unfold.

A hundred feet around where they stopped—

The sea-like wolves had been completely massacred, and there were only burning ashes. It took less than a minute and hundreds of wolves were completely wiped out. The monsters even looked like they hesitated to approach.

[5250 XP in total.]

Brendel paid 2 Earth EP to replenish the Holy Sword card again, and the Wind Spirit Spiders glowed once more, waiting for the Dire Wolves to drive more wolves to them.

But the wolves continued to run around the empty space.

“We should move now!” Wydall shouted to Brendel. Indeed, it would be a good time since they were unchecked. But this was not what Brendel’s current objective.

The youth’s eyes narrowed and stared at the extreme limits of the encirclement, where clumps of fogs filled it.

Quinn was also staring in the same direction—

“Wait, something isn’t right.” He said.

Brendel nodded. The reactions from the wolves proved this point. He used the Holy Sword card not to carve out a path, but to watch the reaction of the wolves, which appeared to be ‘logical’.

[Beasts corrupted by Mana are typically berserk and lack intelligence, especially if it’s a Black Wolf. They will not act as a normal wolf pack or become afraid from watching its own die. They will only become more rabid if they are injured. But they retreated. This proves that a Warg is in their midst. The creature is nearly as intelligent as a human adult, and would order the horde back in order to cut its losses.]

This reaction exposed the Tyrant amongst the wolves.

But a long bellow pierced through the black sky. It was low and vicious, as though to announce something.

“He realized that we have discovered him.” Quinn’s expression changed and he immediately took out his longbow.

The black wolves started to rush towards them again.

There was an unsettling feeling spreading throughout everyone. A beast that was as smart as a human, planning to tear out their throats with a plan. Brendel felt it had seen through his intentions to test it.

“A wild beast that’s this clever?” Even Carglise who was always bold had a worried expression, though his tone was one of disbelief.

“Hush—” One of the Tree Elves said.

“Do not doubt the abilities of a Warg. Beware that it will tear your throat while it’s dreaming.” Another Tree Elf said; the contents of his words were equally mysterious.

The strange words made not only Carglise shiver but also Roland and Janos too. Brendel did not find it funny when he saw them.

The description in the game for a Warg was this:

‘Every one hundred years, when the two moons shone in the night, the young wolf that was born under the red moons will eat its siblings and parents, becoming a gargantuan wolf that was stronger, more cunning and cruel than a normal wolf.’

‘The Warg is the mate of the Wolf of Calamity, Skoll. When they mate in summer, their descendants would be able to walk humans and cause endless chaos for a thousand years within the Dark Forest; an aberrant shadow of the night.’

And it was the truth.

Brendel stared at the distant fog, but he was unable to see past it.

“Amandina,” he said.

“What?” The girl took a deep breath and turned to the youth with a pale face with tightly pursed lips.

Her heart was racing, but the constant howling drowned out the sound of her heartbeats. She felt like she was on a boat in the ocean, facing against strong waves that threatened to capsize at any moment. At the same time, there was an acrid smell within the air from the smoking corpses of the wolves, and she felt like she needed to empty her stomach when she realized how violently the wolves died.

In fact, there were many youths who had the same expression as she had.

But she resisted her urge to puke, raised her skirt a little higher to avoid the filth on the ground as she came over.

“What is it, my lord?” She asked.

“The potions are with you?”

“Yes.”

“Please pass me the grey potion.”

Amandina opened the hard bag on her waist, allowing Brendel to glimpse at the vials and potions that were packed neatly in the bag. It was organized so well that he could easily identify them, and he could not help but knit his brows together.

Despite being a level 130 warrior, he was pretty much used to throwing all his potions into his bag, and it was like a mysterious surprise each time he took one out.

[Shameful. How shameful. I definitely can’t do something like this, but this is reminding me how I took out a bottle of tomato paste instead of a healing potion in the game.]

It was a fatal blunder that happened several times, but Brendel was starting to appreciate how Felaern and Amandina worked when he saw this scene.

The girl took the third vial from the left and passed it to Brendel in less than a second.

“Amandina,” Brendel could not help but call out to her.

“Yes?” She was a little confused.

“I feel that compared to Dia,” he took off the potion’s cork, “I feel like you’re more like sisters with Felaern. But who’s the older sister?”

Amandina glared at him while she carefully closed the bag.

When Brendel looked at the fog again, it actually increased in density. Wolves with red eyes continued to pour out, getting closer towards them.

[Each Warg has their unique name, along with their unique ability. Perhaps it’s Shadowmist? It’s capable of moving quickly within the fog and attack those who lose their senses in it.]

He frowned. Wargs related to nature were the hardest to deal with. It was easier if they were related to physical attributes instead. He hurriedly drank the potion that murky liquid grey in it. It was a Potion of Eagle Eye, raising 20 OZ worth of Perception through the vision. The materials used to create it were Griffin’s feathers and Mana Fern. They were sold at a ridiculously low price in the Green Tower, and the potion itself was quite useful, so Brendel made a few.

His eyes sharpened immediately. The fog seemed to turn translucent and saw a wolf that was the size of a hill.

[Shit!]

He immediately cursed in his mind. Wargs were dangerous Gold-ranked monsters with Element Powers. Everyone started to realize the fog was getting thicker and starting to affect their vision. The ambassadors and their guards in green armor got closer to the centaurs for protection, causing the mist around them to swirl about.

Everyone was tense.

[Even with a thousand Druids just to make a distraction isn’t enough to lure them? Did the Warg think it’s a trap instead? Just one Warg would be difficult for this group. Shit, it’s moving. F-fast!]

The gargantuan wolf sprinted in the fog, and the youth immediately roared: “There is a Warg approaching us! Cease all chatter and be on the alert now!”

The Dark Forest became still.

And a terrified scream suddenly broke the momentary silence.

It was the sound that belonged to a human’s death throe.