Chapter 25: The Strategic Escape and a Half-Elf’s Unfortunate Encounter

The wolf on the far left, though furthest, moved with the heaviest tread, clearly the strongest of the three. It was destined to be the second to strike.

Conversely, the wolf on the far right moved with the lightest steps and a languid rhythm. Its weak, almost ethereal physique suggested its attack would be the last to arrive.

With the attack sequence now clear, the time had come to meet each threat head-on.

Votila’s golden eyes gradually grew brilliant and incandescent, faint golden embers flickering within them. This was the unmistakable sign of his pupils operating at full capacity, empowered by the Dragon Soul.

They shone like two golden stars in the night sky.

His insight, reflexes, and speed had all been pushed to their current limits.

The intimidation effect was too delayed to be useful now; all he could do was counter each move as it came.

Under Votila’s unwavering gaze, the first wolf pounced. In his perception, its movements had been slowed to an infinite crawl.

The first wolf had an injured front leg, its strength surely compromised. Therefore, the optimal counter was upward!

As the wolf opened its maw to bite Votila, he sprang up with his front legs, leaping directly above the wolf’s head.

The wolf snapped at empty air. It tried to lift its head to pursue, but its initial attack had been downward, and its front leg was weak. Forcibly changing direction so abruptly, its front leg buckled, threatening to send it tumbling.

In that instant, Votila lightly pushed off the wolf’s head, arching his body and springing up once more.

The second wolf’s attack arrived in a flash, its timing perfectly within Votila’s control—precisely as he had stepped onto the first wolf’s head.

But in the very next moment, the black cat had already arched and sprung, not forward, but in a backward somersault. Votila landed squarely on the second wolf’s back.

Without a moment’s hesitation, using the wolf’s back as a springboard, Votila sprinted. His target was the belated third wolf.

Accelerating, dashing, building momentum, and leaping—all in one fluid motion. His nascent claws flashed with two streaks of tearing cold light.

As the first two wolves collided, Votila’s tearing claws had already raked across the third wolf’s head. The young cat’s claws were not yet strong enough to tear through a wolf’s skull, but ripping open its eyelids was more than achievable.

Two lines of blood erupted across the third wolf’s eyelids. As the wolf howled in agony, Votila had already bypassed this last line of defense, dissolving the wolves’ encirclement.

Leaving the three wolves behind, Votila vanished into the distance.

‘What a joke. How could a mere cat possibly kill three low-tier demonic wolves simultaneously?’ Votila had never intended to prolong the entanglement; he only wanted to break through quickly.

The two wolves that had crashed into each other struggled to their feet. They exchanged a glance, then chased after Votila in the direction he had fled.

It was deep night, and the forest was shrouded in gloom. Theoretically, a small black cat would be incredibly difficult to spot in such conditions.

However, Votila knew he couldn’t evade the demonic wolves’ tracking. This was entirely due to the scent of the Ethereal Blood Grass in his mouth.

Because of the Ethereal Blood Grass’s unique aroma, Votila was as obvious to the demonic wolves as a torchbearer in the dark. Thus, all Votila could do was run for his life!

Safety lay only in reaching the town. The town’s guard should have no trouble dealing with three demonic wolves.

However, Votila wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out. Demonic wolves were naturally swift beasts that hunted in packs. Only by activating his Dragon’s Eye could Votila maintain a speed that kept him ahead of them.

Though he didn’t know why only three were hunting together, the current outlook remained grim.

During the day, the Dragon’s Eye had been used multiple times. The encounter with the magic puppet had drained too much of Votila’s energy. Now, maintaining the speed boost from the Dragon’s Eye was already a severe strain.

If this continued, Votila would likely collapse from exhaustion before reaching the town.

Unless…

Votila suddenly conceived of an excellent idea.

‘If I can’t handle them myself, I can find help!’ Yes! That was it.

Having formulated his plan, Votila didn’t head directly back to town. Instead, he darted toward a former battlefield deep within the forest.

One cat and three wolves dashed wildly through the woods, startling the slumbering birds from their roosts.

By the lake, a half-elf girl, in the midst of dressing, was suddenly overcome by an ominous premonition.

Her long, pointed ears twitched slightly. Agnes looked up at the forest, shrouded in darkness, where countless birds were now soaring into the night sky.

“Something’s coming?”

Agnes raised her hand, and magic began to gather at her command.

A rustling sound drifted from the forest. Agnes recognized it as the sound of trampled grass and jostled branches.

“Three of them? Are they Gale Wolves?” Agnes murmured to herself, her expression unchanged, as if she didn’t consider demonic wolves a threat.

“Hmm? Why do I smell Ethereal Blood Grass? It shouldn’t grow by the lake.”

As she pondered this, the grass opposite Agnes suddenly swayed violently. Then, Agnes saw a small black cat, clutching a small plant in its mouth, dart out of the thicket.

“A cat?” Agnes was somewhat surprised. “Is that the Apocalys family’s cat?”

Next, Agnes noticed that the little cat was charging directly toward her.

Though she didn’t know why, she felt that if she allowed this black cat to reach her, something bad would happen.

So she reacted immediately. With a slight flick of her raised finger, several green energy arrows materialized around her. As Agnes pointed her hand, the arrows shot forth, aimed directly at the rapidly approaching black cat.

‘They think this level of attack can stop me? How naive!’

Votila scoffed internally, golden embers blazing in his eyes. The arrows’ trajectories were clearly imprinted in his mind.

The black cat’s steps shifted, abandoning its previous straight path. Like a nimble serpent, it weaved left and right, repeatedly moving sideways. With each turn, an arrow struck empty air.

Then, the black cat successfully closed in on Agnes.

‘Try this! My newly developed ultimate technique.’

The black cat’s young claws flashed with several streaks of cold light, darting beneath Agnes’s feet.

A soft tearing sound was heard as the black cat bypassed Agnes and slipped into the dense woods behind her.

“Eh?” Agnes seemed not to have fully grasped what had happened when she suddenly felt a chill below her. A breeze swept by, and Agnes’s newly changed dress shredded into strips of cloth, falling to the ground.

“Kyaaaah!” A scream echoed across the lake.

The demonic wolves, still tracking the black cat, were startled by the sudden shriek. Then, as if discovering new prey, they all bolted toward the source of the scream.