Chapter 585: Alpha (2/2)
“I think I need some help buddy,” Zac croaked as he looked at the army of remaining wolves.
An infuriated howl immediately answered in his mind, and Verun appeared next to him in all its splendor. Its eyes were immediately trained on the incoming crescent, and bloodlust shone in its eyes. It released another mighty roar, this time for real rather than in Zac’s head, and the forest shook from the power it contained.
The red streaks across Verun's hide shone with a sanguine luster as its mane danced in the wind. Swirls of blood floated around its paws, and Zac felt as though he was looking at a sea of death when gazing at the streams. The crescent was almost upon them, but Zac didn't worry even if he was barely able to remain conscious. His Tool Spirit emitted a haughty confidence even in front of the incoming attack.
Verun actually sent out a crescent of its own the next moment, a massive arc of condensed blood. It clashed with the Crescent Moon the next moment, but there was no explosion or shockwave. The blood was liquid, and it actually swallowed the moon whole as it continued its trajectory. The blood crescent quickly destabilized though, exploding into cascading streams of silvery blood that maimed any wolf it hit.
The Tool Spirit was clearly the one with the advantage, but Verun actually seemed enraged that it didn't manage to hit the alpha wolf with its attack. It turned into a stream of sanguine energy as it flashed forward, heading straight for the core of the pack. A few wolves tried to block Verun's path, but they were quickly turned into dried husks that fell to the ground, causing Zac to be beset by another wave of Cosmic Energy.
A bloodthirsty aura exploded out from the alpha once more as it ran toward the Tool Spirit, and its eyes had turned into two silver moons.
A storm of red and silver erupted in middle of the pack as the two beasts fought for supremacy. Zac himself wanted to help, but he was in no state to even move. He could only make himself as inconspicuous as possible as he hid behind the carcasses of a couple of wolves, spectating the battle from his hidden spot.
Most of his concentration was still aimed at the situation inside his body though, and he was starting to worry when he saw that the stream actually had glommed onto his [Axe Mastery] skill fractal. That skill wasn't all that important to him any longer, so losing it wouldn't be the end of the world. But if that odd stream of energy could destroy one skill, then it could destroy another.
A massive outburst of power forced Zac out of spiritual sight though, just in time to see Verun bite down on the alpha wolf's neck with its oversized maw. Both combatants sported a series of wounds, but the wolf was clearly worse off. Not one of the other beasts helped their leader though, and they just stood rooted in place as Verun started fling his head back and forth until it managed to rip off most of the wolf's neck.
Blood poured out of the dying alpha wolf like a fountain, but it was quickly absorbed by Verun as the Tool Spirit roared victoriously toward the sky. Zac was completely inundated with Cosmic Energy as well a second later, to the point that he almost forgot the pain he was in. He was about to force himself back on his feet in case the wolf pack went berserk, but his eyes widened when he saw that the sea of wolves lay down on the ground in an act of submission, their heads pointing toward Verun.
Zac couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Had these wolves actually accepted Verun as the new alpha after it killed the old one? A few of the more powerful wolves seemed to share Zac’s skepticism though, and they jumped the Tool Spirit as one. However, Verun had turned the far more powerful alpha wolf into a bloody mess, so how could these upstarts match its might?
They were ruthlessly slaughtered in seconds, and soon there was not a single wolf who dared to lifts its head. Zac hesitated for a second before he started to make his way toward Verun who still proudly stood on the hill overlooking its new subjects. His movement was immediately discovered, and dozens of wolves seemed ready to pounce.
However, a snarl from Verun stopped them in their tracks, but Zac could see that they barely were able to restrain themselves. The instinct of these animals was extremely strong, to the point that their muscles shuddered as they kept themselves at bay. Zac knew that just a hasty movement would be enough to set them off, no matter how much Verun ordered against it.
It was a shame as thoughts of domestication had entered his mind when he saw the situation unfold. Who would say no to a powerful pack of E-Grade wolves who could do their bidding? Having them would be far more effective than the Barghest who had essentially turned into training fodder for the young cultivators of Port Atwood.
His only hope was that the wolves were overly excited from the battle and all the blood, and that they would be easier to domesticate after things calmed down.
“Good Job,” Zac smiled as he patted the Tool Spirit, not caring at all about his hand being drenched in blood of the alpha wolf. “Do you think you can keep these guys under contr-“
He didn’t get any further though as the sound of a tremendous heartbeat rippled out from his body. Verun yowled in surprise and took a step back, and the nearest wolves seemed to have been physically impacted from it as blood started pouring out of their mouths and ears.
Zac himself was shocked to see that the terrifying stream of energy of before was just the first half, and second part had just been expelled from the Hidden Node. He was barely standing upright with the original force in his body, and he felt the same sort of despair now as when he saw the Tribulation Lightning coming for him.
This was too much for him to handle.
“Protect me,” Zac only had time to say before his Hidden Node beat again, causing the two streams to join up and slam into his soul.