Chapter 19: Culling The Pack

Chapter 19: Culling The Pack

When Finn opened his eyes, the sight before him left him momentarily speechless. He took a deep breath to steady his racing heart.

A few meters away stood a man clad in simple segmented armor that protected his vital areas. The breastplate, vambraces, gauntlets, greaves, and cuisses were rudimentary yet effective.

His long green hair fluttered gently in the wind as he held a long silver sword. A gentle but oppressive aura surrounded him.

On the ground nearby lay a Phantom Wind Wolf, its massive frame twitching with a long sword embedded in its neck, blood gushing out like a fountain and pooling beneath it.

Finn’s breath caught in his throat; he felt shaken to the core. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, his face pale with shock.

"Wh...who...are you?" Finn stammered, his voice trembling.

The man tilted his head slightly and glanced back at Finn on the ground. He didn’t answer directly but raised an eyebrow and said, "This isn’t the time for questions. Hurry back to the village; this place is about to get messy."

"O...oh...yes..yes!" Finn quickly regained his composure, nodded vigorously, and scrambled to his feet. With shaky legs, he rushed back toward the village and closed the gate behind him.

He paused just inside the gate, watching Gregor as he faced off against dozens of Phantom Wind Wolves.

Gregor turned his attention back to the wolves surrounding him. His eyes narrowed as he assessed their numbers.

"Let’s see... there are twenty Phantom Wind Wolves... well now there are nineteen." He glanced at the first wolf he had killed; it was lifeless now.

"Ten of them are 1st Order Low-level Beasts; nine are 2nd Order Minor Beasts." Gregor scrutinized the remaining wolves as he evaluated their strength.

A glint flashed in his eyes. "What I need to worry about is that Alpha Phantom Wind Wolf,it hasn’t revealed itself yet."

The Alpha hadn’t shown itself yet, but Gregor was sure it was lurking nearby. To draw it out, he needed to eliminate its minions first.

A wide grin spread across Gregor’s face; looking at these wolves was like gazing at a pile of gold coins.

They were merely walking money,once defeated, over two hundred gold coins would be added to his fortune. Just thinking about it made his blood boil with excitement.

The Phantom Wind Wolves regarded him warily with their keen green eyes. Their instincts told them this human was dangerous,after all, he’d just taken one of their own down in a single blow.

Cautiously closing in on him from all sides while dropping into low stances, they circled around Gregor as if preparing for an attack; the wind picked up around them and grew colder still.

Gregor stood calm and composed, unfazed by the patient of the Phantom Wind Wolves that toyed with their prey.

Unlike ordinary humans, he was a 3-Star Expert Knight, seasoned by years of combat experience. The games these wolves played were mere child’s play to him.

He remained still, circulating his Mana and enveloping himself in a flickering silver-blue glow.

Suddenly, a chilling wind whistled behind him, signaling an imminent threat. Without altering his expression, he sidestepped just in time as a dark figure—a Phantom Wind Wolf,flashed past where he had been standing moments before.

Without hesitation, Gregor curled his fingers into a fist and thrust it outward, landing a powerful blow against the wolf’s side. A resonant crack echoed through the air followed by a pained whimper as the wolf was sent sprawling into the distance.

Not wasting any time for it to recover, Gregor surged forward with incredible speed, appearing beside the fallen creature just as his sword swung down decisively.

The moonlight glinted off his silver blade as he executed a single slash that cleanly decapitated the wolf. Blood sprayed into the air like a fountain as its massive head rolled away.

The remaining Phantom Wind Wolves quickly reacted to their companion’s demise with loud howls of fury. Four of them charged at once, their pitch-black fur blending seamlessly into the night as if they had vanished from sight.

With a grin, Gregor tapped lightly on the ground and shot forward with explosive force, generating a thunderous bang beneath him.

In an instant, he became a blur; before the wolves could react, he appeared at one’s side and delivered a heavy punch to its stomach. The impact sent it hurtling backward until it landed heavily on the ground.

As the wind tousled his hair gently, Gregor tilted his head just in time to dodge a cold gleaming claw that narrowly missed him. With calm precision, he leaped back only for another Phantom Wind Wolf to emerge from that very spot.

His eyes flashed with determination as he glanced at the wolf he’d previously punched; it struggled to rise but met its end when Gregor’s silver sword flickered once more,its head severed cleanly from its body.

"Three down... Seventeen more to go," Gregor muttered under his breath while eyeing his other sword lodged in the neck of his first kill. He dashed toward it just as five more wolves joined their ranks; their green eyes shone with bloodthirsty intent.

The surrounding wind grew chaotic as they howled loudly while closing in on him. By now, Gregor had retrieved his second sword and channeled Mana through his legs and arms before bursting forward to meet them head-on.

He moved faster than they could react; silver-blue energy enveloped his swords as he weaved effortlessly between them.

With a few swift swings of his swords, Gregor dispatched four more wolves, each decapitated with a single, clean cut.

As he watched the corpses drop in unison, a grin spread across his face; these were nothing but blinding gold coins to him.

Suddenly, a Phantom Wind Wolf appeared on his left, its massive jaws agape and rows of gleaming teeth aimed directly at his head. Reacting quickly, Gregor pivoted and unleashed a powerful kick infused with silver-blue Mana.

With a resounding boom, the wolf was sent flying backward before it could even touch the ground. In an instant, Gregor blurred into position, grinning widely as he made a downward slash with both swords, cleaving the wolf in two.

Intestines and gore spilled onto the cold ground as blood pooled around him. The metallic scent filled the night air while the pale moonlight reflected off the crimson liquid,a mesmerizing sight against the darkness.

"Nine down..." Gregor muttered to himself as he raised his gaze to the remaining ten Phantom Wind Wolves charging toward him.

Taking a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes with fierce determination. With a tap of his foot on the ground, he shot forward like a cannonball, leaving behind a small crater.

The first two wolves lunged at him with their long claws glinting menacingly. Leaning back until he was parallel to the ground, Gregor evaded their attack just in time.

As they soared above him with exposed abdomens, he plunged his sword into their flesh and forcefully tore it open,gore spilling out in gruesome fashion.

He swiftly darted aside to avoid being drenched in blood when three more wolves ambushed from behind.

With an agile twist of his foot, he executed a backflip just as they attacked. The wolves were caught off guard and turned their heads upward,only to meet cold steel descending upon them.

Three quick slashes later and those wolves lay dead at his feet. Without missing a beat, Gregor tossed one of his swords into the air where it spun gracefully before landing perfectly in his grip.

He then unleashed another explosive kick that propelled it forward like a silver blur through the air. The wind howled fiercely as grass bent low beneath its force.

With a sharp puncture sound, the sword pierced through one wolf’s skull, exploding it into bloody mist. But momentum carried it onward—impaling another wolf in its throat just as it attempted to dodge too late.

Gregor didn’t linger; he was already rushing toward the remaining wolves. This battle felt effortless for him; with just a few explosive swings of his swords, all that remained of the Phantom Wind Wolves lay defeated around him.

The wind howled again carrying with it an overwhelming scent of blood that hung thick in the air while three moons illuminated the chaotic scene below them—a gruesome tableau of twenty massive bodies strewn across grass stained red with blood pooling into small ponds.

Gregor stood atop one of the wolves, his sword raised high as the moonlight bathed him in a silvery glow. The wind whipped through his green hair, sending it flying in all directions.

His expression remained mostly unchanged, save for the faint beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Small splashes of blood marked various parts of his body, evidence of the battle he had endured.

Suddenly, Gregor lifted his head, locking onto a point in front of him with an intense gaze.

His grip on the sword tightened even further. The wind, which had calmed moments before, now howled fiercely around him, bringing with it a biting chill that settled into the air.

Feeling the cold prickling against his skin, Gregor began to circulate his Mana. In an instant, a shimmering silver-blue aura enveloped his entire body.

"So you’re finally here," he said with a tilt of his head and a grin.

Just a few meters away, the darkness seemed to warp and dissolve as a pair of enormous green eyes flickered to life. Moments later, a massive figure began to emerge from another dimension of shadows.

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A/N : Everyone let’s reach a milestone of 100 PS before the end of the week.

Reward : 2 Bonus Chapters.