Chapter 17: Earth Wolves
In the blink of an eye, Aiden arrived near that place.
He didn't approach it like a fool and reveal himself; instead, he found a strategic observation point to watch from secretly.
The place was a half-collapsed building. Aiden climbed to its top where there was a half-hidden window overlooking the scene below.
What he saw from it was something terrifying!
A group of great wolves, massive in build, with muscular, taut bodies that looked carved from black stone.
Their broad backs and short, thick necks hinted at immense strength, while their taut bellies and long hind legs suggested astonishing speed of launch.
Their thick, coarse fur covered their bodies in pale, earthy colors, naturally camouflaged with rocks and dirt, interspersed with clumps of harsh black hair resembling barbed wires along their spines.
Their heads were huge, with long muzzles filled with sharp white teeth protruding from under loose black lips. But what drew the most attention were their eyes; they weren't yellow or golden like normal wolves, but a dark amber color, glowing with a faint, unnatural radiance, looking with sharp, evil intelligence completely devoid of fear or pity.
Their front limbs were massive, ending in black claws hard as stone, appearing capable of tearing skin and rocks with a single blow.
When they moved, they made only the deceptively light sound of their padded feet on the ground, like a shadow sliding smoothly and powerfully. Their muscles rippled under their skin with every step, ready to pounce at any moment.
An aura of damp earth and rotten blood emanated from them, while low growling whispers echoed among them, as if communicating in a primitive but effective way, conveying hunting and killing intentions.
These great wolves were now surrounding a small group of humans, having managed to tear apart and devour several of them, while the rest had managed to resist until now.
"Not resistance, but luck!"
Aiden looked at the situation before him, where a blue screen appeared in front of him.
>[Earth Wolf]
An inferior creature from the elemental world belonging to the Earth Wolf tribe. These creatures are characterized by dense fur that reduces all physical attacks by 10%, high speed and flexibility, in addition to sharp jaws capable of shattering iron as if it were bread.
[Strength]: Wall+
[Speed]: 200 meters/second
[Flexibility]: 100
[Skills]: Jaws of the Earth (Level 5), Sandstorm (Level 3), Earth Claw (Level 5)
[Power Estimation]: E+
"..."
Aiden had no comments. Although he was superior in strength and even in power estimation, he was lagging in almost everything else.
These massive creatures were very strong in Aiden's view; he would have great difficulty killing at least one of them.
He thought he could kill one if he attacked it by surprise, but this suggestion was rejected after he saw the numbers of these beasts spread across this land.
There were at least ten of them, standing in a circular formation surrounding the unfortunate group.
Aiden felt pity for these wretches whose fate had willed their path to end as a meal for a pack of tyrannical wild beasts.
A tear of pity fell from his eye, as if resulting from great prayer and sorrow.
Aiden didn't stand watching for long; he rose from his secret hiding spot and disappeared just as he had appeared.
He believed this group wouldn't last more than a few minutes.
He wanted fate points, of course, but a few points weren't worth risking his life for. So he let fate take its course without any intervention from him. Whether these people's destiny was death or life was a natural thing.
*Whoosh!*
He appeared where the group was sitting, patiently waiting for him.
When he appeared, joy blossomed on everyone's faces, and Aiden spoke in a gentle voice:
"Well, did everyone enjoy the rest?"
"Shall we continue our journey now?" he said in a kind tone.
"Yes, sir," everyone said in perfect harmony, as if during the time Aiden left them, they agreed to follow his words with complete submission.
And so the group set off under Aiden's leadership in another direction that didn't intersect with the Earth Wolf pack.
---
"Dammit! What the hell is this?!"
"I faint for a little while, and when I wake up, I find myself surrounded by a pack of giant dogs? What is this?" the man cursed strongly and began complaining about everything he had been through so far.
"Old man, shut your damn mouth. We don't want to hear your damn complaints," one of the people scolded the complaining man with harsh words, waving a long stick to keep the wolves away from him.
"Hah, this damned generation," the complaining man sighed in frustration as he threw rocks at these wolves from his hand.
"This type of dog is amazing. Has anyone seen anything like it before?" the complaining man asked again.
The same person answered him: "This isn't a dog, you fool! Look at its shape; it's a wolf, but... very giant."
He was trembling as he waved the stick in his hand; sweat began to seep onto his hands until—
*Whoosh!*
It slipped from his hand.
"Ah..." he screamed in terror. This was the only thing separating him from these wolves, even if only for a while.
He thought that if he held out just a little longer, someone would come and save them from this hell. But even the thing that bought him time had abandoned him.
"Ah..." a scream of fear escaped his pale lips as his legs gave way, dropping to the ground.
Despair began to creep into him, and fear showed on his face more and more.
Driven by an instinct for survival, he began crawling away from where he was, believing he could escape this.
But he forgot that he was dealing with savage creatures that knew no mercy, and facing these beasts, you must never turn your back on them, as that is a sign of weakness.
And that's what the wolf behind him did.
It pounced on him with all ferocity, embedding its huge claws in his small back. The sound of tearing flesh and breaking bones could be heard.
"Aaaah!"
A desperate scream came from the boy's mouth, expressing countless emotions, but the clearest was pain.
This beast had no feelings, just like animals. It placed its massive jaws around the boy's neck and—
*Chomp!*
It bit off his head with one crunch!
"Ah..."
"Damn!"
"No!"
Cries rose from every direction; they were cries of pain and grief.
Now their number had decreased by one, and their chances of holding out became slim.
The complaining man looked near him and found the stick the boy was using close by.
He bent down hurriedly and grabbed it.
"Rest in peace,"
He prayed for the boy's eternal rest and began waving the stick as if it were a sharp sword.
He called out loudly: "We must think of a solution; we can't hold out any longer."
The answer came from a young woman in her twenties, with silky blonde hair dusted with the grime of battle and emerald eyes gleaming with determination despite fear. Her fair skin was dotted with surface wounds, but she was holding a kitchen knife and a steel rod steadily.
"We know, but we don't have any solution," she bit her delicate lip hard until blood seeped from it.
She closed her beautiful eyes and raised her hands in a prayerful stance when—
*Grrrrrrr!* A huge wolf with golden stripes on its back growled, showing its position within this pack as the leader here.
*Grrrrh!*
Another growl, and all the wolves stopped attacking the unfortunate group and turned to it, then—
*Grrrr?*
*Ggggggr!*
Growls began to rise from every direction, as if these beasts were communicating among themselves in their native language.
*Grrrrrrrah!!!*
The leader wolf growled enthusiastically, and the rest followed with a loud howl.
"Awooooooo!"
"Awooo!"
Then—
*Whoosh!*
The wolf pack moved simultaneously and headed in the same direction... the same direction another group was walking in, aiming to distance themselves.