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“There are a lot of them.”

He muttered as he brushed the flesh from the morning star’s spikes. At his feet lay the corpses of the creatures swooped down on him like moths to a flame.

“This is strange. We hadn’t seen this many monsters in a while and slayed the ones we encountered. There are too many of them today.”

Georg nodded and mounted his horse.

“The chill I’m feeling is extreme, too. I can’t rule out the possibility that the horizon is moving south much faster than expected. Furthermore, we expected the monsters to be waiting behind it.”

After a moment’s thought, Rizzo, the Evernode knight leading Patrol 3, spoke up.

“I think it’s best to speed up and quickly gather at the North’s Eye. If we continue to think about it, we’ll only waste time. I don’t have a good feeling about this either.”

“I agree. I have a bad feeling about this.”

The premonitions of knights who had rolled dice in battle were not to be ignored, for their experiences accumulated in their subconscious minds like statistics, acting as a kind of alarm system. Georg trotted to Rizzo’s side, his senses alert.

“…Georg.”

“Yeah. I just sensed it, too.”

Rizzo drew his sword, and Georg grabbed the shield on his back and drew his morning star from his belt. The knights following them also readied their weapons and began to watch their surroundings warily.

“I hope we didn’t detect them too late.”

“No. They may have been waiting for us to detect them in the first place.”

Beyond the trees and stones, the wolves were gathering. Rizzo and Georg noticed that the momentum of the wolves was noticeably different from their usual behavior. Instead of acting instinctually like animals, they were moving in an organized manner, like a human army.

“…What is it with those damned wolves?”

As Georg muttered, they parted, allowing a lone white wolf to walk forward. It was at least half a meter bigger than the others, with an unyielding stance. It looked at the wary humans and howled.

“So Boss was right,” he said, “it’s a good time for humans to come into the forest.”

Strong.

Rizzo stared at the creature’s gaping maw and sent a signal to the soldier behind him. The soldier gave a shaky nod and pulled a flare from the bag at his waist.

Georg drew himself up to his full height. The creature was not so powerful that it would be impossible to take on alone. He wondered if he could withstand the onslaught of this many wolves while he fended off the creature alone. If so, he would have to kill the big one before the white wolves could kill the soldiers.

“Fire!”

Rizzo’s shrill cry came from behind him, and a signal shot sailed through the air. Taking that as his cue, Georg raised his shield and charged at the leader of the White Wolves with a mighty cry.

***

Quenor Stroff turned to face the approaching shadows. Three flares were fired simultaneously, and they drove their horses frantically after them. He was worried about the patrols behind him. He let out a long sigh, glanced back, and ordered.

“Let’s make a quick break for it. We don’t know what will happen to patrols three, four, and five if we waste more time here.”

The knights nodded, and Rhys walked over and stood at the Archduke’s side. They neared the area Patrol Two was supposed to be in, but there was still no sign of the Hero. He possibly had already made it to the North’s Eye. ‘Or he was cut off like us….’

“Here they come.”

Rhys said bluntly. A shadow was approaching through the mossy trees. The Archduke gathered himself calmly.

“They said to watch out for the dark-haired man.”

The creature spoke. A large white wolf emerged from the trees. ‘This one was easy enough to deal with. But….’

“Looks like Legate was right.”

A half-human that emerged behind it was not at a level Archduke Quenor could ignore. The werewolf called ‘Legate’ glared at the Archduke with its claws raised. ‘I might be in for a rough ride.’ Quenor gritted his teeth and turned to face the werewolf.

“I am Gut, Legate of the Giant’s Legion.”

The werewolf spoke in a voice so low it was barely audible.

“Do not think you will leave this forest alive today.”

Behind the werewolf, the number of white wolves was gradually increasing. Rhys hissed behind the Archduke and raised his blade.

“I will cut off your head, the leader of the humans, and present it to him.”

“There is no time.”

Quenor’s voice was low. Slowly, his presence began to engulf the surroundings. The sheer power of Quenor Stroff gradually pushed aside the power of hundreds of wolves and giants. Gut curled his muzzle and growled.

“All at once.”

At the same time, an aura erupted from his sword. With its mere activation, the ground rumbled, and space itself shook.

“Line up behind me and annihilate them.”

“”Yes, sir!””

The wolves pushed forward like a tidal wave, and the Archduke’s sword sliced through the air. They were swept away like leaves.

“Not so fast.”

The werewolf moved before the Archduke’s eyes, clawing at him. He grimaced as he realized his last attack did nothing to it. ‘I’m afraid I won’t be able to make quick work of this one either… And if the opponent the Hero faced was this strong, there was no way he could defeat them at his current level…’

“The strongest one is mine!”

The werewolf snarled, his jaws wide open. Archduke Quenor gritted his teeth and swung his sword again.

***

Marianne shook off the clinging wolf and twisted her spear hard. The white wolf captain couldn’t cling on any longer and was pushed off the pole and landed on the ground. She steadied herself, feeling the shaft of the Holy Spear tremble. Despite her ability, the white wolf captain she faced was strong. Even with all her strength, she could not predict the outcome.

“Marianne… In the sky.”

She heard the flares popping in the sky. Along with Patrol Four, Patrols Three and Five had fired their signals for backup almost simultaneously. There was also no way that Patrols One and Two weren’t already fighting.

“Hang in there.”

Marianne spoke briefly, then continued, turning to face the chief white wolf.

“I assume your companions have met our pack by now. Did you like our gifts?”

Marianne didn’t answer but let loose with her spear. The Holy Spear curved sharply like a snake’s head. The wolf dodged it with agility unbecoming of its size. She did not follow the wolf with her spear. She spun her spear around and tried to stab the wolf in the neck.

The wolf closed its jaws and bit the spearhead. Marianne didn’t even bother to resist the tug of the Holy Spear as she flew through the air, still holding onto it. She landed on the trunk of a tree.

She glanced at the patrol dealing with the white wolves. They could usually deal with a pack of wolves without trouble, but there were too many.

“I hope they can hold on.”

Marianne’s divine energy flowed through the spear. A gust of golden wind swirled and enveloped her. The chief white wolf growled softly in discomfort. His fur bristled, teeth bared, claws ready.

“This power….”

The aura covered her spear. Marianne rechecked the patrol. She needed to take the wolf down quickly if she didn’t want more casualties. The wolf’s eyes glowed as she gathered power, and it lunged first. Marianne twisted the spear, and it shot at the wolf’s head. It rolled out of the way of her attack again, only to be knocked back by the aftermath of the Holy Technique.

“How dare you!”

The wolf roared and lunged again, its fangs closing like a trap, crushing tree trunks and rocks. Marianne moved backward by flying branches and stones.

“I’ll chew you up!”

The Holy Spear clashed with the fangs of the charging wolf. A metallic sound echoed from the monster’s teeth. Marianne frowned and struck again, but the wolf whipped its claws around like swords, parrying her blows.

It was fast, heavy, and strong. Its fighting style was impossible for a human to practice against. Marianne gritted her teeth as she retrieved her spear, but the wolf lunged and used its head to hit her torso.

The attack hit Marianne, and she flew into a tree trunk. Getting up again, Her legs began to tremble slightly. The wolf’s mouth raised at the corners, teeth gleaming.

“I will sew your flesh into my maw, and the world will soon see the true winter.”

***

Daphne quickly finished another spell. It was as powerful as always, but she knew she would run out of mana soon. The protective enchantment she had just cast on one of the knights has broken again. Her mana drained away, replenishing the defensive magic.

“…Thank you.”

“Just a little longer.”

When Daphne’s first spell had killed a few wolves, they changed tactics from a head-on assault to isolated skirmishes with the knights. The soldiers, who had been clearing the wolves for Daphne, were forced to switch to defense, and she was forced to cast protective spells on the soldiers and knights before they were attacked.

The battle was now a tug-of-war between Daphne and the remaining wolves, with the head white wolf trying to break through the wall of knights to attack her.

“Tenacious humans.”

The situation was tense. But Daphne wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up. For now, the wolf was merely probing, and it seemed as if, at any moment, it could charge in with more force and break down the defenses.

“…Let’s shift, Captain. Aura must be used sparingly. If you fall, there’s no next time.”

“No. That’s fine. We can hold out. Reinforcements will be on their way.”

But the White Wolf didn’t push himself too hard; he merely ordered his men to throw themselves at the nearest human. He waited, poised to pounce at any moment but never did. It seemed to know all too well that we were at a disadvantage in a battle of attrition.

Wolves are good at the long game. To catch a caribou, a pack of wolves will chase it for minutes, hours, or even days, wounding it little by little and reducing its health until it finally tires of running. When the caribou finally collapses from exhaustion, the wolves swoop in, teeth bared, to cut off its breathing.

In this case, we were the caribou.

Daphne worked her magic again. A Wall of Fire rose toward the wolves, and the ones that didn’t dodge were scorched. But the power itself was noticeably weaker than it had been at the start of the battle, and as if realizing this, the leader, the White Wolf, grinned toothily.

“I see. I thought it was time for you to tire.”

Daphne gritted her teeth, and she poured more mana into the fire. It grew in size, scorching the area around them and consuming any wolves who approached unprepared. The fire crackled and flared. Beyond the shifting light, the White Wolf growled.

“…I see you still have the strength to fight, which is good. You’ll have to stall long enough for the salvation you seek.”

Daphne ignored the white wolf’s words. The rings of mana that formed in her heart whirled furiously, pumping up the last of her mana. Beyond the crackle of sparks, she could hear the wolf’s sneer.

“Struggle to your heart’s content. It only delays your fate.”

The flames weakened.

The wolves that attacked were endless.

One by one, their shadows fell upon the soldiers.

Daphne felt her protective magic fading, and she abandoned the Wall of Fire, pouring mana back into the soldiers. But her mana was already at its limit. ‘This can’t be the end. I don’t want to die.’

Please help me, Elroy.

“…What.”

At that moment, the wolf in front of her eyes looked up at the sky and growled. The wolves attacking, and the soldiers covered in blood stopped moving. They all stared at the sky.

Daphne slowly turned her head to follow their gaze.

A silver light she’d seen once before filled the winter sky.