33: Dire Wolf Siege 2

At dawn, the morning mist, carrying the damp scent of earth, drifted through the forest, and the sky was stained a scab-like dark red by the glow of the rising sun.

I wiped the mud from my face; most of the traps inside and outside the yard had been repaired.

A stinging pain from a splinter lingered on my fingertips. I stretched, having been drenched in rain all night and working from midnight until dawn. This body truly was resilient.

I looked at the black panther, who occasionally let out painful moans; the little life had not yet arrived.

Suddenly, I felt something was wrong. Accompanied by a faint rumbling sound, a black tide rose from the distant forest to the north—it was a flock of startled seabirds.

I looked up into the distance, my heart filled with doubt: Is something coming over?

The surrounding pack of wolves seemed calm, showing no reaction to the anomaly in the north.

I cupped my hand over my eyes, carefully scanning the north. It was... Dire Wolf! And on a much larger scale than the pack currently before us!

This was the reinforcements summoned by the Wolf King!

It seemed these Dire Wolves intended to besiege us until we died!

Not to mention the reinforcing wolf packs, even if it were just these surrounding ones, if they attacked simultaneously, we wouldn't be able to handle them.

Should I abandon the black panther and run back to the lean-to to hide?

I had already promised to protect her cubs. Even without that, would the Dire Wolves leave us alone after killing the black panther?

What if they just stayed Wai and wouldn't leave?

What would we do after food and water ran out?

Ultimately, a battle must be fought.

It's better to strike first before their reinforcements arrive. We should eliminate as many as we can.

After making up my mind, I quickly communicated with Long Wang and Professor, then I went back to the lean-to and retrieved the mist crystal.

As I moved, the mist began to vibrate and contract.

The mist had now become much denser, with its diameter nearly ten meters smaller than before, like a hemisphere covering this land.

The surrounding Dire Wolves, facing this sudden change, all stood up warily.

Some Dire Wolves tried to approach, finally settling down at the same distance from the mist as before.

Seeing that the Wolf King, who was furthest to the east, did not object, the other Dire Wolves also followed suit.

The Dire Wolves' behavior was indeed as I had expected.

Long Wang flew to the westernmost side.

"It's starting!" I thought to myself.

The dense fog to the west suddenly protruded westward, instantly "swallowing" a Dire Wolf.

On both sides of the protruding mist block, the mist slowly spread outwards.

As the Dire Wolves on either side barked in panic, inside the mist, I was already casting Ray of Frost, firing one after another at the Dire Wolf enveloped in the dense fog.

Its nose and eyes were frozen. With the third shot, I directly fired the Ray of Frost into its barking mouth.

Its high-pitched barking instantly turned into a leaky, low-pitched bellows.

Long Wang, who was ambushing nearby, was a step ahead of me, closer, and spouted Wind Blade at the Dire Wolf's head.

In less than ten seconds, this Dire Wolf, with its head numb from the freezing, was stunned by Long Wang's Wind Blade.

"Professor!" I shouted.

Immediately, a short sword, tightly clutched by a Mage Hand, flew from behind the fence post, soaring towards the Dire Wolf's heart.

With a "thud," blood splattered, and the first Dire Wolf fell silently.

I didn't hesitate, once again adjusting the shape of the mist through the mist crystal.

To the south of the dead Dire Wolf, the barking Dire Wolf retreated uneasily. The Dire Wolf to its left also ran to its side and stood abreast, wanting to investigate.

The dense mist, which had been slowly approaching them, suddenly jutted to the left, enveloping both Dire Wolves.

The moment the mist swallowed them, Long Wang, flying towards them, immediately activated his spitting mode.

One Wind Blade after another struck the head of the Dire Wolf closer to the west.

The Dire Wolf's massive, hard head was originally more resilient than other parts of its body. However, Long Wang's Wind Blade skill had a high chance of stunning enemies for 1 to 6 seconds.

This Dire Wolf endured for more than ten seconds before finally being stunned.

That short sword was still stuck in the heart of the previous Dire Wolf.

From behind another fence post, another short knife flew out—it was my "green moon" +2 short hunting knife.

Professor conjured a new Mage Hand grasping "green moon," and swiftly "flew" to the stunned Dire Wolf, slashing its throat.

Then, the Mage Hand pulled back forcefully, and as blood splattered, the blade rotated 360 degrees horizontally, striking another Dire Wolf whose face was plastered with my Ray of Frost.

On the other side, Long Wang flew towards the wounded Dire Wolf, appearing at its neck in the blink of an eye.

Its four dragon claws gripped the opponent's neck fiercely. Before the Dire Wolf could even feel the pain, Long Wang bit its throat, tearing open a larger wound.

This Dire Wolf, for a moment, still didn't fall. Its neck flapped like a bellows, and disoriented, it began to run wildly through the mist.

Another Dire Wolf, whose eyes were blinded by my Ray of Frost, temporarily losing its vision, was also attacked by "green moon" and then dealt with in the same manner by Long Wang.

To the south of this mist block, four Dire Wolves had already gathered. Behind them, more Dire Wolves were converging, and the Wolf King also rose and walked towards the south.

I couldn't wait any longer. I controlled the mist crystal to adjust again, and the suddenly changing mist instantly "swallowed" these four Dire Wolves.

Long Wang continued to rapidly spew Wind Blade at the Dire Wolf closest to him.

While continuously firing Ray of Frost at another Dire Wolf's face, I observed the movements of the remaining two Dire Wolves.

At this moment, all they saw was a vast expanse of white mist, and the only differences they could perceive were the sounds of their companions being attacked and their screams, as well as the strong scent of blood from the black panther in the distance.

These two Dire Wolves first moved forward, but even when their chests touched their companions' bodies, they still couldn't see anything.

A few seconds later, these two Dire Wolves gave up on investigating their companions' condition and turned directly towards the black panther.

There was a large trap directly in front of them, but its size only allowed one of them to fit.

I quickly paused the Ray of Frost output, took the mist crystal from my embrace, and activated the mist's labyrinth mode.

This was a new way to use the mist that I had researched two months ago.

I could freely adjust the density of the mist and the density of localized areas.

And I found that dense mist blocked scents much more effectively than thin mist.

So, in front of the Dire Wolf that was half a step behind, I used the mist to create different scenes...