Lin Yi faced the five Abyssal Wolves closing in around him, but deliberately put on the frenzied look of someone lost in the thrill of killing.
"Come on!"
He barked the words, then rushed forward instead of retreating, meeting the three wolves head-on.
The first three Abyssal Wolves now showed off the tactical teamwork of a proper pack:
The one in the middle was the largest and most muscular. It charged straight at Lin Yi's face with a furious roar, while the wolf on the left crouched low, its sharp claws slashing viciously at the outside of Lin Yi's thigh, where it joined the back of his knee.
The angle was so cunning that it was clearly aiming to cripple its target's mobility.
The wolf on the far right didn't charge immediately. Instead, it skidded to a halt not far from Lin Yi, its thick Bone Tail raised high like a scorpion's.
Here it comes—the real killer move.
Lin Yi sneered inwardly. He had no idea how many Abyssal Wolves he'd killed in his previous life, and he knew the tricks of a standard wolf pack inside and out.
They used a frontal charge and a flank attack to limit their target's room to dodge, setting up a surprise Corrosive Acid attack.
A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes. As a "genius" who had already experienced an acid attack once, he naturally had a countermeasure.
He would exploit the Time Gap. While the other two wolves fell out of position trying to circle behind him, he'd endure the claw strike, dodge the acid, and kill the one charging head-on!
So instead of retreating, he stepped toward the charging Abyssal Wolf. At the same time, he sharply twisted his hips, turning the outside of his right leg—covered by the thickest greaves and part of his fauld—toward the claws of the wolf scraping in from the left.
Screee!
Amid the shrill screech of tearing metal, several claw marks were gouged into the armor on the outside of Lin Yi's right leg.
But he also used the force of the strike to roll sideways. He narrowly dodged the glob of Corrosive Acid and shifted to the side of the Abyssal Wolf charging head-on.
Then, like a carp leaping out of water, he sprang up. Mimicking the explosive move Rising Dragon Break from Dark Great Sage, he swung his staff viciously upward into the soft belly of the wolf in front of him.
"Split open!"
The staff carried the full force of Lin Yi's burst of strength as it slammed into the wolf's belly. The end even punched deep into its abdomen, then hoisted it into the air.
Next, Lin Yi charged the wolf on his left!
The wolf howled and tried to lunge at him, but Lin Yi thrust his staff forward with a swift jab. The tip pierced the wolf's mouth and punched through its upper jaw. Then he twisted it hard.
At the same time, without even looking to see the result, he stepped forward to the right. His core muscles exploded with power as he sharply twisted his body, yanked the staff out of the wolf's mouth, and followed through with a backhanded sweep, smashing it toward the wolf on his right. It had adjusted its position and was trying to spit acid again.
Thwack! The end of the staff struck the wolf squarely across its fragile nose.
The wolf let out a shrill howl. With its weak spot suddenly struck, it was left seeing stars, and its acid attack was cut short.
Lin Yi pressed his advantage. He leapt forward, gripped the staff in both hands, and brought it down hard on the back of the wolf's head as it crouched in pain.
"Mountain Splitting Style!"
Crack!
The crisp, almost pleasing sound of its skull breaking marked the third Abyssal Wolf's death.
In just six or seven seconds, all three wolves that had charged from the front were dead!
Meanwhile, the two wolves attempting to circle around behind him had only just made it past the overturned tables and chairs.
What they saw was no prey surrounded by a pack, but their kin turning to ash—and a ferocious figure already facing them.
Fear swallowed their ferocity in an instant.
The two Abyssal Wolves let out short, terrified whimpers, then spun around without hesitation and fled toward the entrance!
"Running?"
Lin Yi's eyes sharpened as the remaining source energy surged through him! His waist drew back like a mighty bowstring pulled taut, while the muscles in his right arm bulged. He hurled the bloodstained Black Iron Long Staff with all his strength!
Without pausing, Lin Yi raised his left index finger like a striking snake. Blue Radiance gathered as he pointed at the fleeing wolves!
Only after doing all that did he force down his churning blood and the exhaustion that had sunk into his bones. Dragging his leaden legs, he walked step by step toward the nearest glimmer of gray light.
It was time to collect his spoils.
He bent down, picked it up, and straightened, his movements steady and economical.
Like a farmer gathering fallen grain from his field after the harvest, Lin Yi silently and intently collected the five Spirit Shine Crystals scattered across the hall, one by one.
Only after he had finished did he slowly turn his gaze toward the shattered entrance.
A Spirit Shine Crystal lay still beside the threshold on the inside of the doorway.
That Abyssal Wolf had been the fastest runner, but unfortunately, Blue Radiance caught up and killed it with pinpoint accuracy.
Lin Yi stepped over the debris scattered across the floor and walked to the Spirit Shine Crystal. Bending down once more with the same steady movements, he picked up the sixth crystal, as casually as if he were lifting a pebble.
Then he straightened and looked past the threshold to the carpet outside Hongfu Tower. The last Abyssal Wolf's corpse lay there, frozen in a face-down position.
Lin Yi's full-strength throw had pierced it through the waist and abdomen, pinning it firmly to the ground. Its body was already beginning to slowly turn to ash.
Far away, several small packs of Abyssal Wolves that had been roaming near their lair seemed to have been startled by the sudden burst of fierce fighting from Hongfu Tower—and then its abrupt end, along with the half-strangled howl of a dying companion.
They all stopped what they were doing and watched the tower warily, growling uneasily in their throats.
But the sounds of battle soon died away, and the entire area around Hongfu Tower fell into an eerie silence.
The wolves pawed at the ground restlessly and growled as they slowly backed away. Not one dared approach Hongfu Tower, only keeping their eyes fixed on the building, which seemed to have become a gaping abyss.
Watching their reaction from afar, Lin Yi understood.
He had achieved the effect he wanted. The area around Hongfu Tower had now been deemed a high-level threat.
For a short time, it would be a dead zone.
Until... the lair bred more powerful Abyssal Beasts, and the other low-level threats were eliminated, they would gather their forces and launch a major assault.
Under the gaze of dozens of wary, frightened pairs of dark-red eyes in the distance, Lin Yi expressionlessly lifted his foot and stepped over Hongfu Tower's bloodstained threshold.
He walked out onto the street.
The summer sun still blazed in the evening sky, and the stench of blood rose from the street in the heat, making the air unpleasant to breathe.
Ignoring the eyes watching from the nearby shadows, Lin Yi walked straight to the Abyssal Wolf's corpse, pinned to the red carpet outside.
He lowered his head and looked down at the body, pierced through by the staff and pinned before Hongfu Tower like an offering. Then he patiently waited for the Spirit Shine Crystal to take shape.
Then he bent down again, as if gathering fallen fruit from his own backyard, and picked up the seventh and final Spirit Shine Crystal, which glimmered with a gray light.
Only after that did Lin Yi straighten and look at the Black Iron Long Staff embedded deep in the ground.
Most of the shaft was now stained dark red with blood, its surface reflecting an eerie sheen in the sunlight.
Lin Yi slowly reached out his right hand, spread his fingers, and firmly gripped the shaft. The cold metal and sticky blood felt strange in his palm.
He paused for a moment, then tensed his arm and pulled.
Screee...
With a muffled scrape, the blood-soaked weapon returned to Lin Yi's hands.
Blood dripped from the heavy end of the staff, splattering the bright-red carpet with dark spots.
Then Lin Yi dragged the heavy weapon behind him and turned with steady steps. He crossed the dark-red bloodstain left by the sixth Abyssal Wolf at the threshold and stepped back into Hongfu Tower's shattered entrance hall.
From beginning to end, he never once looked up at the Abyssal Wolves growling uneasily in the distance.
His figure gradually blended into the dim light deep within the hall, then vanished without a trace.
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