23: Chapter 23 The Descends of the Demonic Wolf King

[Server-wide Announcement: The Demonized Wolf King Siege Battle has officially begun! Novice Village has entered Level 1 combat status! All players, please immediately proceed to the village entrance defense line to assemble!]

At 6:00 AM, the system announcement resounded throughout the entire Novice Village.

Chen Ergou jolted awake and leapt out of bed, scrambling out of the house in a rush.

The village entrance was already in total chaos.

Players swarmed in from all directions; some carried broadswords, some shouldered staffs, and others wielded bows and arrows, all looking tense as if facing a formidable enemy.

The members of the [Dawn] guild were well-trained and quickly formed ranks under Ye Liuli's command.

Warriors stood at the very front, mages and archers occupied the back row, and assassins and thieves hid in the shadows, ready to launch sneak attacks at any moment.

Chen Ergou, carrying his large backpack filled with various goods, trotted over to Ye Liuli.

"Guild Leader! I'm here to report for duty!"

Ye Liuli glanced at him and said, "You are responsible for logistical support. Stay behind the defense line and don't rush forward."

"Huh?"

Chen Ergou paused for a moment and said, "Guild Leader, I want to participate in the battle too! I have combat strength as well!"

"You?"

Ye Liuli looked him up and down, her disdain evident in her gaze.

"You should save your combat strength for running your stall."

"..."

Chen Ergou was choked for words.

But on second thought, staying in the rear was actually quite good—at least it was safe.

"Alright then, I'll just stay in the back and cheer everyone on!"

Chen Ergou found a spot on higher ground, laid out his stall, and began business.

"Come, come! The last wave of pre-battle supplies! regret potion, substitute scarecrow, shrinking cookie—we have it all! Fair prices, no deception!"

Players took time out from preparing for the battle to come over and buy items.

"Give me two bottles of regret potion!"

"I want three substitute scarecrows!"

"Give me a shrinking cookie; I need it to save my life at a critical moment!"

Chen Ergou was incredibly busy, his hands growing tired from collecting money.

Just then, the ground began to tremble.

"Rumble—"

It felt as if an army of thousands was approaching.

The expressions of the players at the village entrance defense line changed drastically; they gripped their weapons tightly and stared fixedly at the Dark Forest ahead.

"It's here!"

"The wolf pack is here!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Chen Ergou also stopped his business and craned his neck to look forward.

He saw pairs of ghostly green eyes lighting up at the edge of the Dark Forest, dense and countless.

Immediately after, countless Demonized Wolves rushed out of the forest.

Those wolves were twice the size of ordinary wolves, covered in black scales, with exposed fangs, drooling mouths, and a nauseating, fishy stench.

"Awoo—"

The howling of the wolves shook the heavens and the earth, causing the entire Novice Village to tremble.

"Archers! Fire!"

At Ye Liuli's command, the archers in the back row fired their arrows in unison.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

Countless arrows tore through the sky, shooting toward the wolf pack.

"Puff, puff, puff—"

The Demonized Wolves charging at the front were turned into hedgehogs, falling to the ground with wails.

But the wolf pack behind them remained unmoved, trampling over their companions' corpses to continue the charge.

"Mages! Fireball!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Huge Fireballs descended from the sky, exploding within the wolf pack and instantly burning a large swath of Demonized Wolves to death.

The air was filled with a nauseating, burnt stench.

"Warriors! Prepare for contact!"

"Roar—"

The warriors in the front row raised their shields, forming a steel defense line.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The Demonized Wolves slammed heavily into the shields, emitting dull thuds.

The warriors gritted their teeth and held firm, their longswords thrusting out continuously to slay the Demonized Wolves one by one.

The battle officially began.

Chen Ergou stood in the rear, watching with his blood boiling.

"This is so exciting! This is what a real team battle is!"

While exclaiming, he didn't forget to do business.

"Brothers injured on the front line! Get a bottle of regret potion! Drink it and you can backtrack 5 seconds to avoid mistakes!"

"Brothers targeted by the wolf pack! Throw a substitute scarecrow! Attract aggro and stay safe!"

"Brothers who can't hold on! Eat a shrinking cookie! Your size will shrink, and the wolf pack won't be able to bite you!"

Chen Ergou's hawking rose and fell, and quite a few players actually ran over to buy things.

The battle was exceptionally intense.

Although the players were well-equipped, the number of Demonized Wolves was simply too high; after killing one wave, another appeared, seemingly endless.

"Damn it! Why can't we kill them all?"

"Hold on! You must hold on!"

"Priest! Hurry and heal me!"

Players kept falling on the front line, but those behind immediately filled the gaps, and the defense line was never breached.

Just then, a warrior player suddenly made a mistake.

He was supposed to release an area-of-effect taunt skill to attract the wolf pack's aggro, but his hand slipped, and the skill missed.

"Oh no!"

The Demonized Wolves, having lost aggro control, instantly charged toward the mages and archers in the back row.

"Retreat!"

"Protect the back row!"

The scene was chaotic for a moment.

The warrior player was sweating profusely from anxiety and quickly pulled a bottle of regret potion from his backpack, downing it in one gulp.

[System Prompt: You have used a regret potion; time has backtracked 5 seconds.]

Time flowed backward.

The warrior returned to his position from 5 seconds ago, before the skill had been released.

This time, he took a deep breath and steadily pressed the skill key.

"Area Taunt!"

"Roar—"

Dazzling golden light erupted from the warrior's body, and the attention of all the Demonized Wolves was instantly attracted, causing them to turn toward him.

"Come on! You beasts! Grandpa is right here!"

The warrior swung his greatsword, slaying the rushing Demonized Wolves one by one.

The crisis was resolved.

"Phew… That scared me to death…"

The warrior let out a long sigh, grateful that he had bought the regret potion.

On the other side, a mage player was surrounded by a dozen Demonized Wolves, on the verge of being torn to shreds.

"It's over, it's over!"

The mage closed his eyes in despair.

Just then, he remembered he still had a substitute scarecrow in his backpack and quickly pulled it out, throwing it on the ground.

"substitute scarecrow, save me!"

The scarecrow landed and instantly transformed into the mage's appearance, even making a face at the wolf pack.

"Come chase me, you stupid dogs!"

The Demonized Wolf pack was stunned, then immediately attracted by the scarecrow and lunged at it.

The mage seized the opportunity to escape, saving his life.

As the substitute scarecrow was bitten and torn by the wolf pack, it didn't scream but instead began to babble nonsense.

"Big brothers wolves, let's talk this out; fighting and killing isn't good…"

"Look, the weather is so nice, sunny and bright, birds singing and flowers fragrant; why don't we sit down, have some tea, and chat…"

"Ouch, don't bite my butt! You can't bite there!"

The Demonized Wolf pack was bewildered by the scarecrow, and their attack rhythm was disrupted.

The players took the opportunity to counterattack and slew all the Demonized Wolves surrounding the scarecrow.

"This scarecrow… is too funny…"

"Hahaha! And 'You can't bite there,' it killed me!"

"Ergous Stall's goods are truly worthy of their reputation!"

The battle continued, and with the aid of Chen Ergou's goods, the players gradually stabilized the situation.

Although the Demonized Wolves' offensive was fierce, they still could not break through the defense line.

Chen Ergou stood in the rear, watching his goods take effect on the battlefield, feeling happy inside.

"Hehe, although I, Chen Ergou, cannot go into battle to kill enemies, my goods can save lives!"

"This is the true unsung hero!"

Just as he was feeling smug, suddenly, a deafening wolf howl resounded across the heavens and earth.

"Awoo—"

This sound was even more terrifying than all the previous wolf howls combined.

The ground trembled violently, as if some colossal behemoth was approaching.

The faces of the players at the village entrance defense line instantly turned pale.

"It's here…"

"The Demonized Wolf King…"

"The real BOSS is here!"

Chen Ergou also held his breath, staring fixedly in the direction of the Dark Forest.

He saw the trees at the edge of the forest collapsing one by one as a huge black shadow slowly appeared.

It was a giant wolf.

It stood 15 meters tall, over 30 meters long, covered in pitch-black scales, with fangs like sharp swords and eyes like two blood-red lanterns.

With every step it took, the ground trembled.

With every breath it took, the surrounding air froze a little more.

[System Announcement: The Demonized Wolf King (World-class BOSS) has descended! All players, please prepare yourselves!]

The entire server was shocked.

All players stopped what they were doing, staring blankly at the behemoth.

"This… this is too big…"

"15 meters… taller than a three-story building…"

"How do we fight this?"

"Can we really win?"

A sense of despair spread among the players.

The Demonized Wolf King looked down at the tiny players before it, a flash of disdain in its eyes.

It opened its bloody maw and let out a heaven-shaking roar.

"Roar—"

The sound wave, as if tangible, instantly sent several warriors in the front row flying; they crashed heavily to the ground, vomiting blood.

"So strong…"

"Is this the power of a World-class BOSS…"

Ye Liuli stood at the very front of the defense line, looking up at the Demonized Wolf King with a grave expression.

But she did not retreat.

"Everyone, listen to my command!"

She raised the crystal staff in her hand, her voice cold and firm.

"In this battle, we are only allowed to win, not lose!"

"For Novice Village!"

"For our home!"

"Kill—"

"Kill—"

The players shouted in unison, their morale greatly boosted.

The Demonized Wolf King seemed to be provoked; it lowered its head, its blood-red eyes fixed on Ye Liuli.

Then, it moved.

Its massive body moved with astonishing speed.

"Boom—"

The Demonized Wolf King, like a tank, charged toward the village entrance defense line.

"Defend! Defend quickly!"

The warriors raised their shields, forming a human wall.

But in front of this behemoth, their human wall appeared so fragile.

"Bang—"

The Demonized Wolf King swiped its claw down, instantly swatting away a dozen warriors; shields shattered, bones broke, and wails rang out one after another.

"Damn it!"

Ye Liuli gritted her teeth and raised her staff.

"Ice Crystal Storm!"

Countless ice cones descended from the sky, shooting toward the Demonized Wolf King.

"Ding, ding, ding—"

The ice cones struck the Demonized Wolf King's scales, emitting metallic clanging sounds, but they only left white marks, failing to break through its defense at all.

"What?!"

Ye Liuli's expression changed drastically.

The Demonized Wolf King turned its head, fixing its blood-red eyes on her, and then opened its bloody maw.

A beam of black energy erupted from its mouth, shooting straight at Ye Liuli.

"Guild Leader! Look out!"

"Dodge quickly!"

The players exclaimed in alarm.

Ye Liuli wanted to dodge, but the beam was too fast; she couldn't react in time.

At this critical moment—