Chapter 94: Fighting Against the Steelspine Wolf
Growl—
The Steelspine Wolf slowly circled around the two siblings. It snarled, thick strands of viscous drool swinging from its bared fangs, splattering onto the forest floor with a wet slap.
Yesterday, I hadn't seen clearly, but now, with the ample light of morning, this Steelspine Wolf looked truly wild.
Especially those thick steel spikes protruding from its back—attacking from behind was also not an option. And especially with bare arms, I wouldn't be able to really hurt it. Only I would end up injured in the end.
The two siblings huddled together, the sister clutching her brother's arm tightly.
I didn't dare to advance any further than I already had. Wolves were known to have sensitive noses and ears. If it had smelled me, it would've surely shown some reaction.
My instinctual reaction was to turn my back and run away. But the guilt would slowly corrode me from the inside out.
I clenched my sweaty hands, trying to control my restless nerves. Forcing my heart to calm down—or else the alpha would notice me.
I was also unsure whether the leader was out here hunting alone or if the rest of its pack was nearby.
[Host, do you need strategies on how to help those siblings? Right now, this system has 40 ways in which the siblings can be saved without the host getting into trouble.]
"Let me guess? You'll charge me some points for it to happen."
[Yes.]
"Forget it."
I started running wild horses through my thoughts again. All of this happened within a few seconds, and the Steelspine Wolf seemed to enjoy watching the expressions of its prey slowly lose hope.
"I... know."
My ears perked up when I heard a new voice—one that didn't belong to the siblings. It sounded like a middle-aged man's voice.
"There... is... someone... else... here."
I looked again and was shocked to see the sound was coming from the Steelspine Wolf.
All traces of color vanished from my face.
If the Steelspine Wolf was able to communicate, that changed everything. This was no longer an ordinary beast.
It was a Profound Beast.
And it knew there was one extra person besides the three of them.
However, the good thing was that it still didn't know my exact location—or my strength. If I used that smartly, I could leverage this situation to my advantage.
I hid my presence to the limit, filled my lungs with more air than usual, and tried to mask my youthful voice by putting extra pressure on my vocal cords.
"If you know someone else is here, why haven't you run away yet?" I spoke in a mature and manly voice, loud enough for it to echo in all four directions of Readsack Woodland.
Grr—
"Why... should I run away... from someone who... is afraid to even appear in front of me?"
The alpha still spoke with the same inconsistency as before—like it had to think before speaking.
The siblings' expressions brightened when they realized someone else was also here.
"Senior, I request you to take my sister away and report to the Hidden Dragon Sect while I try and stall for time," the brother said, his eyes darting around, trying to glimpse me.
I clicked my tongue in amazement. Was I that good an actor that even the people I was saving were fooled?
"Taking action against you?" I paused deliberately, making it seem like I was ridiculing the Steelspine Wolf. "A mere Profound Beast is not enough for me to act against."
"Then... why... come today?"
The Steelspine Wolf was also on guard, and for the moment, it had stopped glaring at the siblings.
The brother and sister saw an opportunity to slip away—but they moved at a snail's pace and didn't dare show their backs while the wolf was distracted.
The beast was carefully examining each tree in the forest, trying to pinpoint my location.
Sniff, sniff.
Its large nose tried to catch my scent, but as a practitioner of the Dao of Silence, I was able to remain safe right under its nose (not in the literal sense ).
"Because you called me," I said in an indifferent tone, keeping up my act.
I carefully ran in circles, inching closer to the two siblings—just enough to grab them and run if needed. The Steelspine Wolf and I were both stalling for time.
It was waiting for its pack to receive a signal (somehow), and I was waiting to save myself and the two siblings before the pack arrived.
The two siblings were in rough shape.
I had torn away a piece of inner white garment to cover my face, so they wouldn't recognize me when I rescued them.
It's not that I disliked fame—I liked it too —but the attention that came with it? No thanks.
I was more inspired by a merchant who had once visited my village. Only after he left did we realize a bigshot had passed through unnoticed.
When some local merchants inquired, they discovered that the man was the sole supplier of a famous auction house in the imperial city—and he had enough money to buy hundreds of villages like ours and still live in indulgence and luxury for seven generations.
"Shh."
I came close enough to the two of them and signaled with my index finger to my lips for them to keep silent.
"A—"
I quickly covered both of their mouths when I saw they were about to scream.
Their eyes widened in shock at first but relaxed when they saw the robe of the Hidden Dragon Sect on me. Still, they threw curious glances at me from time to time.
But now wasn't the time to get to know one another.
The Steelspine Wolf was still distracted, trying to find me—its prey, who was right behind it.
"You both walk back to the sect while I keep it distracted," I said, not because I wanted to play the hero, but because I was confident I could escape alone.
With these two? I doubted we'd get far.
I didn't let them speak any longer. I gently pushed them, signaling to run when I gave them the cue.
"Show... yourself."
The wolf spoke again in a cold tone, its large eyes narrowing slightly.
I hurriedly made my way back to where I had been and punched one of the trees, causing it to shake violently.
Boom!!
When it finally fell, that was the signal.
A huge cloud of dust and stones erupted as the tree crashed down, striking nearby trees. Because of the winter, the frozen leaves and trunks made glass-shattering sounds.
At the same time, I made a run for it, hiding my presence in the chaos.
The Steelspine Wolf no longer cared about the siblings—it rushed toward where I had just been.
It and I disappeared into the cloud of dust.
The brother grabbed his sister over his shoulder and sprinted away at full speed.
That Outer Sect disciple was risking his life for them—two strangers.
He couldn't afford to let their benefactor's sacrifice be in vain.