Werewolf Simon

One meter away from the large beast trap, Abel found more bloodstains. He continued searching in that direction and discovered another bloodstain not far away.

Following the bloodstains, Abel could tell that although the prey was injured, it wasn't too severely. The damage might just be to its leg. The bloodstains hadn't disappeared along the way, indicating a significant wound on the prey's leg that was causing continuous bleeding.

Abel's hunting experience from his previous life told him that injured prey would instinctively seek the safest place to recover. This unknown creature was likely no different.

After tracking for about thirty minutes, Abel suddenly saw a firelight ahead. Firelight here? Could it really be a human? Abel was puzzled; this was no place for ordinary people to survive.

Slowly approaching the firelight, Abel saw from a distance a creature he had never seen before tending to a wound on its leg. The creature had a wolf-like head with its fangs protruding. Its torso resembled a human's, but its back was more hunched, and it stood over two meters tall.

Beside this creature lay a giant wolf, resting on the ground. The giant wolf had a very large belly, as if it were pregnant.

At this moment, Abel confirmed that the creature before him was a wolf rider, and the giant wolf was the legendary direwolf.

Simon was unlucky again. He hid in the jungle, far from humans, hunting daily to ensure enough food for himself and his direwolf.

This time, he went hunting as usual. He was very familiar with the environment, which had significantly lowered his guard.

On a path he knew very well, a road he had traveled many times and considered very safe, he stepped on something strange. Two giant jaws, like bear teeth, clamped onto his calf. He didn't quite understand what it was, but he knew it was human-made. Pain and rage made him howl.

He then realized that although the object looked fearsome, the damage wasn't severe. It hadn't broken his leg bone, but its sharp teeth had torn the skin and muscle of his calf. Opening the trap was simple; one just needed to pull it open forcefully with their hands.

His injured calf needed treatment, but Simon had left his precious medicine at the camp. He had no choice but to limp back to camp for treatment.

While treating himself, Simon thought he might have to relocate. The appearance of humans here made it unsafe. Moreover, his direwolf, Black Wind, was due to give birth any day now. Moving at this time would be best done tomorrow, the sooner the better. Once Black Wind gave birth to pups, moving would become inconvenient.

Simon's nose caught a faint, different scent in the air – the scent of humans. Simon abruptly stood up, looking around nervously.

As Abel observed, he saw the werewolf stand up and look around for something. He had been discovered.

The werewolf Simon's terrifying sense of smell had detected Abel's presence. This human, so weak, had injured him with such a despicable method. He would not let this human go.

Abel saw that Simon had discovered him and was charging towards him. Judging by his momentum, Abel knew he was in big trouble today. This werewolf's aura suggested a power level of at least an intermediate knight, meaning this wolf rider was at least level six.

Even though Abel was a level 5 apprentice knight, only one level apart from level six, within the apprentice stages (levels 1-5), all Battle Qi professionals could only unleash one Battle Qi strike. A level 1 strike was weaker, and a level 5 strike was stronger, but they could only use Battle Qi once. This was because level 5 apprentice professionals had not yet formed a Qi Core within their bodies. Without a Qi Core, they couldn't sustain Battle Qi output. The Qi in their Qi Veins would take several days to recover after a single use.

Battle Qi acted like an amplifier for strength. If a professional had 500 pounds of strength, using Battle Qi could double it to 1000 pounds. A level six professional could use Battle Qi multiple times to enhance their attacks, while a level 5 apprentice professional only had one chance. This difference couldn't be compensated for by equipment.

If Abel were to clash head-on with the werewolf Simon using his greatsword, the only outcome would be Abel being sent flying, while Simon would at most have his speed slightly reduced by the frost from the Ice Magic Sword.

In that instant, Abel thought of all this. He didn't confront; he turned and ran. He noticed the werewolf's leg was injured, giving him a chance to escape.

Seeing that the human wasn't fighting him but instead fleeing, Simon cursed him internally as a coward and a scaredy-cat. He ignored his leg injury and chased Abel directly.

Abel had initially thought that with the werewolf's leg injury, he would surely gain some distance. To his surprise, even with the leg injury, the werewolf's reputation as the fastest professional on the continent wasn't for nothing. Simon had been closing the distance from the moment he started chasing Abel.

Abel calculated the distance between himself and the werewolf. If he used the Explosive Greatsword, the three-second charge-up time could potentially heavily injure or even kill the werewolf. However, with the surrounding trees, the werewolf's speed might allow it to use them as cover and evade most of the attack.

The Explosive Greatsword's attack was a one-time opportunity. Attacking when the werewolf was unprepared was crucial. If the first attempt failed, a second attempt would be even less likely once the werewolf was on guard.

Abel took out a loaded hand crossbow from his waist and shot it towards the werewolf's head. The werewolf reacted quickly, dodging the bolt by turning its head. This action widened the distance again. After firing the hand crossbow, Abel didn't have time to reload. Seeing the werewolf catching up, he threw the hand crossbow directly at the werewolf. The werewolf swiped at it in mid-air a few times, and by the time it hit the ground, the hand crossbow had been reduced to scrap. This hand crossbow, made by a dwarf, was rendered useless after only one use by Abel.

Abel could now only use the trees to maintain the distance from the werewolf, constantly changing direction to slowly keep the current gap.

While running, Abel noticed a familiar marker out of the corner of his eye – a trap he had set. He changed direction and ran towards the trap.

Simon grew increasingly frantic, his orcish blood seeming to boil. He let out a roar, his muscles bulging, and his body grew from 2 meters to 2.5 meters, becoming a giant.

His speed also seemed to have increased significantly. Abel could already feel the werewolf's breath behind him. Looking at the marker, he had arrived. He lunged forward, placing his hands on the ground between the two traps, and executed a front flip, clearing the second trap and narrowly dodging an incoming wolf claw attack.

With a howl, Simon's calf was caught again by the large beast trap. Due to his momentum, the chain of the trap, tied to a tree trunk, pulled him down, causing him to fall to the ground.

Seeing the werewolf fall, Abel didn't wait for Simon to try and pry open the trap. He retrieved an Explosive Greatsword from his Horadric Cube. In the white light emanating from the Explosive Greatsword, Abel dropped to the ground, tilting his light shield in front of him.

Simon saw a white-glowing greatsword flying towards him. The sword's speed wasn't fast, which he found strange, but at the same time, a primal fear surged from the depths of his being.

With a deafening "boom," Abel's shield rang against the impact. When everything settled, he stood up. The werewolf, caught in the beast trap, was covered in blood. Especially between its terrified eyes, a bloody hole was gushing blood. A fragment had struck the werewolf's vital spot on its head.

Abel approached the werewolf. The 2.5-meter werewolf, now dead, had reverted to its 2-meter form. The transformation had torn its fur clothing, revealing some items.

He retrieved these bloody items from the werewolf: a parchment with orcish writing and a map, and a strange token. The token was carved with an image of the Beast God – a creature with curved horns, a lion's face, a more muscular body than a human, clawed hands, and cloven hooves. It was the Beast God, the deity of the orcs. At the bottom of the token was a star.

If there were any orcs present, they would recognize the token's importance. This was an Orc Skill Card, with each card sealing a powerful skill. Since most orc races lacked writing, this was how the Beast God Priests preserved these skills, and orcs learned them through special methods.

The star at the bottom of this card indicated that the Orc Skill Card still had one learning opportunity left. Although Abel didn't know where Simon had obtained this Orc Skill Card, its rarity was undeniable.