The field, filled with wolf howls and human roars, fell into a dead silence in an instant.
Only rapid panting and the soft rustle of swaying branches remained in the air.
The massive alpha wolf lay motionless on the ground, its beastly eyes—eyes that should have shown savage cruelty before its prey—already closed.
Bathed in faint light, its pure, flawless silver-white mane drifted lazily with the air currents.
An iron-gray blade had pierced down through its spine and out from beneath its jaw, pinning it to the ground.
Steam rose from the crimson blood gushing from the wound, running along the straight, fluid lines of the blade and soaking the soil beneath red.
Following the sword upward were long, well-defined fingers holding the hilt in a reverse grip, the Snake Scale Arm Shield gleaming darkly, deeper than the night, thick gray-black iron plates and metal buckles, and a pair of cold, sharp black eyes.
The figure in iron armor rode high atop the wolf's corpse.
Behind him, in the sky, a cold silver moon leaked through the dense canopy, enveloping his entire human form.
"Chrrk."
Metal scraped against flesh and bone, making a sluggish sound.
Xia Nan pulled the Beheading Longsword from the alpha wolf's body.
With a turn of his wrist, he spun a clean, crisp flourish and shook the blood from the surface of the blade.
Then he sheathed the sword.
His meticulous Perception ability, along with instincts forged through hundreds and thousands of slaughters, allowed him to confirm that the leader of this Night-Stalker Wolf pack was dead.
He had to admit, he was somewhat surprised right now.
Although he had not directly exchanged blows with it before, in the gaps between clearing out the small fry, he had clearly seen the details of the alpha wolf's