Wolf Pack

Several nights later, Wormwood Forest was blanketed in a fog so thick one could not see their own hand before their face.

Everyone had long since grown weary from making their way through the dead woods amid gusts of chilly wind. Hagman, who was desperate to kill the Witch, became somewhat agitated and could not help arguing with Forsen. Beman had no choice but to order everyone to rest where they were, waiting for the fog to disperse and for everyone's nerves to settle.

Feeling tired, Li Feng did not climb onto the Prison Wagon to study spells with the Demon as he usually did. This delighted Hegma. If Li Feng and Mordo had not rested in the Prison Wagon every night, he would have found an opportunity to kill the Witch long ago.

At last, Li Feng and Mordo were both sitting by the fire, clearly intending to spend the night beside it. How could Hegma possibly let such a rare opportunity slip away?

In the middle of the night, when everyone was deeply asleep, Hegma quietly picked up a Crossbow and tried to shoot the Witch. However, just as he approached the Prison Wagon, Beman, awakened by a nightmare, spotted him.

Though Beman believed the girl in the Prison Wagon was the Witch, he still wanted to send her to Sefrak Abbey for trial.

One wanted to kill the Witch, while the other wanted to protect her. Their argument woke Li Feng from his pleasant dreams.

Yawning and rubbing the corners of his eyes, Li Feng abruptly looked toward the Demon at the same time as the newly awakened Mordo.

Mordo asked softly, "Did you sense that?"

Li Feng nodded. "It's a spell fluctuation caused by the Demon casting magic. The fluctuation is weak, but after studying these past few days, I can tell it seems to be a summoning spell. Should we warn everyone to be careful?"

Mordo thought for a moment, then rose and walked toward the Prison Wagon as he shouted, "Careful! There are beasts nearby."

After saying that, Mordo jumped onto the Prison Wagon and snarled at the Demon, "What are you playing at? Can't you let me get a decent night's sleep?"

The Demon felt terribly wronged. He had only wanted to display a little supernatural power so everyone would know he truly was the Witch and send him to Sefrak Abbey without worry. Yet who knew whether Hegma was overly jumpy or simply insane—he actually wanted to kill him.

Is being a Demon easy? Earlier, Ekkehard thought I didn't look like a Witch and seemed inclined to let me go, so I killed him.

Now Hegma thinks I am the Witch, so he wants to kill me. What the hell is wrong with you humans? I just want to go to Sefrak Abbey. What's wrong with that?

Don't you know I'm only a clone and barely have any power? Summoning wolves to kill Hegma cost me plenty of Mana. And you people keep switching between letting me go and killing me. Isn't that annoying? You have any idea how hard it is for me?

Rolling his eyes innocently, the Demon looked up at Mordo, who stood there like a statue of Buddha, and curled his lips. "You're clever, though. You knew the wolf pack would deliberately avoid the Prison Wagon, so you simply hid up here to watch people fight wolves."

Mordo's warning made Beman prick up his ears and listen to the distant howls. He vaguely sensed that they had been surrounded by wolves. Was this some kind of joke? Wolves were intelligent pack animals. For them to attack despite seeing so many people, either the wolves had gone mad with hunger, or they had judged that this group was no match for them.

Suddenly, Beman realized something and hurried over to the Prison Wagon to look at the Witch.

The Witch had proven with one hand that she possessed supernatural power. Seeing the mocking, sarcastic smile on her face, Beman realized there was another possibility besides the two he had considered—the wolves might have been summoned by the Witch.

Once he realized the wolves had been summoned by the Witch, Beman relaxed instead. He knew very well that beasts were at their most vicious during mating season, breeding season, and when they were hungry.

Since these were not wolves crazed by hunger or a pack capable of devouring the escort party, Beman believed he was still capable of killing this forcibly gathered pack.

Mordo carefully sensed the wolves nearby and relaxed as well. He could tell that the pack surrounding them was not very large. Still, he drew his Short Staff, knocked on the Prison Wagon, and said, "Make the wolves leave, or I'll let you have a taste of a Magic Artifact."

The Demon instinctively looked at the Short Staff in Mordo's hand. A Magic Artifact?

Spreading his hands, the Demon opened his innocent eyes and said, "But all my Mana was used to summon the wolves. I don't have any Mana left to disperse them. Besides, I only had enough Mana to summon this many wolves. You can kill them all with barely any effort."

The Demon looked at Li Feng, who wore only a sleeveless shirt, and said with a grin, "I was kindly sending my student a Wolfskin Coat. Why aren't you grateful? Even if my student dislikes the bloody stench of wolfskin, surely all this wolf meat can improve your meals. Look at you, eating Black Bread as hard as stones every day. It breaks my heart."

Li Feng had no mind to notice how the Demon was looking at him. All his attention was fixed on the wolf in front of him, baring its fangs at him.

The wolf suddenly pounced at Li Feng. Without panicking, Li Feng sidestepped its claws and swung the sharp Magic Longsword in his hand, cleaving through its waist. The wolf was instantly split into two, its intestines and other organs spilling across the ground.

Before long, the wolves summoned by the Demon lay scattered all over the ground. But before Beman could breathe a sigh of relief, everyone vaguely heard dense wolf howls rising from the distance again. Beman knew from the sound alone that this pack was much larger, and he hurriedly told everyone to mount up and flee.

As they fled, Mordo looked at the Demon, whose mouth twitched constantly. The Demon spread his hands and said with his eyes, I really didn't summon these wolves. They were probably drawn by the smell of blood from the wolves you killed. This isn't my fault.

Mordo gave the Demon a suspicious look, then turned to watch the wolf pack hanging behind the group and chasing them relentlessly.

Several wolves suddenly broke away from the pack and took a shortcut toward a small hill. Just as Hegma rode past it, they sprang out and knocked him from his horse. The nearby wolves immediately swarmed over him, tearing and biting at the howling Hegma.

During the wolves' attack on Hegma, Li Feng noticed nothing unusual. However, Mordo, who was observing the surroundings from the Prison Wagon, sensed a strange fluctuation in Hegma's Astral Body for an instant.

Then Hegma became immensely strong, as if he had taken a stimulant. He ripped away the wolf biting his shoulder and drew his dagger, killing it.

At that moment, Beman, riding at the front of the group, also noticed that Hegma had been surrounded by wolves and was making his final stand. Without a second thought, Beman drew his Crusader Sword and charged into the pack to rescue Hegma.

Forsen glanced at the wolves and seemed to see panic flash in their eyes. He figured they had killed too many wolves earlier without anyone on their side dying, making the pack realize this group was not easy prey.

With that thought, Forsen drew his Crusader Sword and charged toward the wolves.

Before Forsen could swing his sword, the wolves seemed to grow afraid and turned to flee one after another.

Li Feng was surprised to see that Hegma had not been torn apart by the wolves, merely rendered unconscious from excessive blood loss. He muttered, "Did one of my butterfly wing flaps change the plot? But I don't remember flapping my wings."

After thinking it over, Li Feng put Hegma out of his mind. So he didn't die. Why am I overthinking it?

Beman carried the barely alive Hegma onto the Prison Wagon. After giving him a simple bandaging, he ordered the Priest to take care of the half-conscious Hegma. Then he mounted his horse and urged everyone to leave quickly.

Beman knew that wolves were highly vengeful creatures. Though the pack appeared to have left, there was no telling whether it would return. Especially since Beman was certain these wolves had been summoned by the Witch, who knew whether she would have them lie in ambush ahead of the group?

To reduce casualties, Beman thought it would be safer for them to take advantage of the thinning fog and ride out of Wormwood Forest overnight.

Dawn gradually broke, and the trees along their route began to thin out. Everything indicated that they were about to leave Wormwood Forest.

Once Beman was certain the wolves would not pursue them any longer, he could no longer suppress his anger. Raising his Crossbow, he prepared to shoot the Witch.

Li Feng looked into the distance and could already vaguely make out Sefrak Abbey.

Over the past few days, Li Feng had eaten poorly and slept uneasily. Now it had even begun to rain. Having ridden hard for half the night, he was shivering from the cold. With the spellbook of The Key of Solomon almost in hand and his return to the Marvel Universe close at hand, he truly did not want to waste any more time.

Before Beman could point his Crossbow at the Witch, Li Feng pointed toward a distant mountaintop. "Look, Sefrak Abbey."

Beman froze, then turned toward where Li Feng pointed. After shooting the Witch a disgusted glance, he mounted his White Horse.

Knowing that a battle awaited them shortly, Li Feng stretched his limbs atop his horse. Even if I'm only going to be a bystander in the coming battle, I still need to perform well. I'll treat it as practice for getting familiar with a Mage's fighting style.

The Prison Wagon slowly rolled toward Sefrak. Sitting atop it, Mordo cast Hegma a furtive glance, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he thought disdainfully, "I don't know what's going on with you, but your Astral Body is slowly dissipating. That only happens to the dead, so I have reason to suspect that you were possessed by a Demon when the wolves tore into you."

After a long while, the group finally reached their destination.

As Li Feng and Mordo walked toward the gates of Sefrak Abbey, they exchanged a glance. Ordinary people could not see the hidden Magic Runes on the gates and walls, but the two of them saw them clearly.

Li Feng only needed one look to admit he could not make heads or tails of them, while Mordo studied them with great interest as he pondered.

Li Feng nudged Mordo and asked quietly, "Did you figure out anything?"

Mordo turned to look at the Demon and Beman behind them, then said with a smile, "I know why that Demon didn't come to Sefrak himself. The Defense Array on the gates makes it impossible for Demons to enter the abbey."

"Much like the Protection Net formed by the Three Sanctums, which blocks and intercepts all magical creatures from Otherspace. The abbey's array is more limited—it can only stop Demons from entering. But once a Demon gets inside the abbey, these arrays become useless. It's like an airport security checkpoint. If you find a way to get dangerous items through security and onto the plane, does that checkpoint still matter? I'm only curious about the energy powering these arrays. It doesn't seem like ordinary Mana. It feels more like Faith Power."