Cutting

Guardian!

Among the several basic professions, this was the team's most popular specialized profession. Its first Professional Core would definitely condense within the Qi and Blood Inner Palace, after which it would begin choosing Stamina. It was a profession with astonishing defense but mediocre offensive ability, specifically suited to absorbing damage.

With his powerful defenses, he could use his own body as bait. Even after attracting the attacks of all three wolves while covered in blood, he could still forcefully withstand them alone! He had even managed to hold one of them down!

However, in exchange for powerful defenses, the Guardian had extremely limited offensive ability. Combined with the physical characteristics of the Human Race, he was already at a disadvantage when facing magical beasts of the same rank.

Even Luo Luoji, who had awakened his Bloodline Power, might eventually be worn to death if he faced a One-Star Azure Wolf one-on-one!

Although Xuan Ye had landed successive blows, Dean had cleared the field with spells, and Aitiya's Shield Flash had explosively taken down several Azure Wolves in succession, all of that had relied on catching them off guard and unleashing powerful moves. One could say they had relied on humanity's greatest advantage: its wisdom!

Once Aitiya formally engaged the last Alpha Wolf and began fighting it, it became clear that these magical beasts, which had survived natural evolution, possessed actual combat power far beyond what they displayed! After all, that blond girl's talent was beyond doubt, and she was a Special Profession with countless methods at her disposal. Yet even she was unable to bring it down!

Luo Luoji's sudden outburst was purely a matter of giving up on dodging and allowing himself to be injured, absorbing all the firepower of the three Azure Wolves before him so his teammates could attack without worry.

Otherwise, given the Azure Wolves' actual abilities, even after receiving a Blessing and gaining a boost, the several Advanced Attendants behind him would be nothing more than snacks that each wolf could finish in one or two bites!

At the same time, Luo Luoji, who was absorbing the attacks of three Azure Wolves and was drenched in blood, certainly could not maintain this stalemate for long. They had to change the situation before he ran out of strength!

Fortunately, as a professional Guardian who had opened his Qi and Blood Inner Palace, his ability to draw aggro was truly top-notch. He had deliberately exposed himself without armor to attract the attention of carnivorous magical beasts even more effectively. His bloody, "sweet" scent was also far more stimulating to the Azure Wolves' nerves than that of an ordinary person!

On top of that, he had firmly pinned one of them down, pushing his duty to the absolute limit of what he could accomplish under the circumstances!

"Come and die, you wolf cubs!"

After slowing down for a moment and waiting until Luo Luoji had fully established his aggro, Jack immediately brought out his well-honed dismemberment technique and hacked at the Azure Wolf on Luo Luoji's back, the one whose head he had hooked backward with one arm!

The other two Advanced Attendants from the Scavenger Squad also launched attacks at the wolf in perfect unison!

That was because it was the only one of the three Azure Wolves that Luo Luoji had pinned down, completely immobilizing it from a physical standpoint. Although one of the others was biting Luo Luoji's waist and the last was pouncing on his thigh, either could withdraw at any time.

Once they were jolted awake by the stimulating bloodshed, they could easily rely on their extraordinary speed to dodge and counterattack!

Only the one before them was certain to take the full force of every attack!

As an Eighth Grade Knight Attendant, Jack was prepared and had sufficient conditions to gather the strength of his entire body for a charged strike. With the boost from his speed and the weight of his steel blade, even though his own strength was only a little over eight hundred pounds, and the Blessing merely pushed it past one thousand, the coordination of speed and technique allowed him to erupt with a strike exceeding three thousand pounds in an instant!

The sand beneath his feet exploded, leaving behind a huge sunken crack as sand flew in every direction!

Clearly, the Azure Wolf that had bitten down on Luo Luoji's neck but had its head hooked backward sensed the danger from behind. All four paws kicked frantically, carving several bloody marks into Luo Luoji's already grayish skin, but it still could not escape the restraint of those thick, corded arms!

Splurt~

The blade bit into flesh, leaving a bloody gash in the smooth fur—but it was only a gash!

"Tch!"

Jack had spent years dismembering corpses, and he nearly crushed his teeth with how hard he clenched them. From the feedback of the strike, he clearly felt the slickness of the fur and the way the muscles shed force as the wolf shook its body. Of the force he had put in, at least half had been deflected!

And this was despite the fact that he had spent years dismembering magical beast corpses and could judge the patterns of their muscles when attacking. As expected, a professional rank was a professional rank. Compared to himself, a mortal, it truly represented an entirely different level of life.

Jack's first strike had just ended when the attacks of his two companions landed on the Azure Wolf as well, though their effects were even worse than his! Their long-prepared combined attack left several wounds on the wolf, but none of them had damaged its muscles or bones!

Even the two Azure Wolves that had not been pinned down still showed no intention of letting go and dealing with them. In terms of speed, given their current attack frequency and damage, Luo Luoji would definitely be killed by the three wolves first.

The bite from the wolf behind him had missed the artery, but it was still near his neck. With an Azure Wolf's terrifying bite force, only Luo Luoji, who had awakened Skin of Steel, could withstand it. If it had been an ordinary One-Star Guardian, he would probably have suffocated by now!

"Again!"

Jack's first strike had failed to achieve the expected effect, but he completely ignored the strain in his arm caused by the tremendous recoil. Without pausing, he swung his second blade. To produce enough armor-piercing force to injure the Azure Wolf, they had not yet entered a rank and naturally could not attack in a flurry. They could only hack down with heavy blows, one strike at a time!

Their strikes also subconsciously targeted the first few wounds. Since they could not win through quality, they could only rely on quantity...

"Tsk... This won't do."

Xuan Ye still had one hand clutching his right shoulder, with his heavy bow hanging from him. As he stared intently at the battle on Luo Luoji's side, a troubled look appeared on his face.

Temporarily protected as an observer, he had pushed his ability to analyze parameters to its limit. Even without using the Eyes of Lawbreaking, he had already determined that they could at most hack the Azure Wolf on Luo Luoji's back half to death. After that, Luo Luoji would certainly be finished.

From the wolf's seemingly irregular struggles and the twitching of its muscles, every strike was genuinely having six or seven parts of its force deflected. Magical beasts were naturally thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, and this was a Predator Rank Magical Beast comparable to the professional rank. The damage it suffered was truly far less than it appeared on the surface.

Thinking of this, Xuan Ye rubbed his still-burning right arm again and helplessly drew a fine-steel dagger with his left hand. Because he had been mistaken for a primary archer, and he really had been practicing in that area, his only close-combat weapon was a dagger no longer than half a meter, meant solely for self-defense.

But this was no longer a time when he could rest and recover in peace. Once Luo Luoji fell, the remaining members of the Scavenger Squad, himself included, would surely be torn apart like chickens and dogs.

His only chance now was that the three wolves had still locked onto Luo Luoji as their main enemy and were determined to eliminate him. They had completely ignored Xuan Ye and the others, giving him enough time to analyze and exploit the situation!

"Jack! Strike three centimeters to the left of where you hit just now! Hurry!"

Xuan Ye drew his dagger and jogged toward the front line, staring intently ahead. Suddenly, his eyes lit up slightly, and he shouted.

Hearing Xuan Ye's warning, Jack did not hesitate or become distracted. He did not ask why, nor did he ask why Xuan Ye was charging over. He simply swung another blade directly into the approximate spot Xuan Ye had indicated.

Because he had struck somewhat hastily, this blow was inferior to the previous ones. Yet the instant it landed, the Azure Wolf, which had been pinned by its head but was still kicking wildly, suddenly stiffened. Its hind legs straightened as though it had been struck in a numbing point, leaving it no time to deflect the attacks of the two Advanced Attendants behind it. It took both blows head-on!

Flesh flew from the struck area. The damage from those two strikes exceeded the total of all the previous attacks!

After all, although the Azure Wolf had excellent fur, its body was not known for its defenses. At first, it had merely relied on the physical superiority and extreme agility of a magical beast compared to a human to keep deflecting the force!

"Get ready to deal with the counterattack from the other two!"

At the same time, Xuan Ye himself seemed to transform into a sharp arrow, pouncing directly at the wounded Azure Wolf. While it was locked in place from the blade strike, he drove his dagger into its body along the two existing openings!

The tremendous resistance he felt in his hand was like stabbing into rock, but it did not hinder Xuan Ye's attack at all! Once the blade had gone halfway in, he let out a loud roar and forcefully dragged it sideways. The ordinary dagger smoothly sliced through the magical beast's rock-like muscles!

It was as though there were no resistance at all!

Although the Azure Wolf was not a magical beast known for its defense, a magical beast was still a magical beast! Even without deflecting the force, taking two strikes head-on would only drive the blades three inches into its flesh. Yet Xuan Ye relied on his understanding of the patterns in the opponent's twitching muscles to forcibly dissect it!

It was like cutting raw beef with a small knife. Unless one understood the patterns of the sinews, the meat could not be cut through!

Jack's attacks were more effective than those of the other two because of the experience he had gained from dissecting corpses in his daily work.

But clearly, that practical experience was far inferior to Xuan Ye's direct reading of the opponent's muscle patterns!

Stab, cut!

This series of smooth movements immediately severed most of the muscles and tendons on the Azure Wolf's right side, almost completely crippling its ability to move!

It even released the neck it had been biting, opening its jaws and howling miserably. The other two wolves were completely caught off guard!

The first recommendation slot, and my results are unbearably awful. Other people get over ten thousand clicks from the same recommendation slot, while I get over a thousand. They get over a thousand weekly votes, while I get barely a hundred. Don't say anything—let me be quiet for a while.

I'm begging everyone for clicks, collections, and recommendations.