(This chapter may be a little dark. If you don't like that, you can probably skip it. And if you love small animals, please don't curse me—I love them too. I'm just a bit obsessive, so I forced myself to write this.)
Because of the railing, the wolves didn't charge straight at them. Instead, they bared their teeth at Lin Yun, as if ready to roar.
If this had been an ordinary person—well, the sort of person who was a little more... timid—they might have turned around and left, or opened the gate and faced the wolves head-on. Of course, they could also have tried to use Animal Taming to see if they could calm them down.
But... Lin Yun hadn't forgotten what he'd just done—or, no, what had been done to him. He'd nearly been bitten to death by the giant wolf, and then the young warrior had killed it. There was no doubt that the giant wolf had been their leader.
If he were a Druid, the demands of the role might have led him to try talking to the wolves. Unfortunately, Lin Yun didn't know Speak with Animals, and his Animal Taming skill wasn't very high. More importantly, they weren't in the best shape right now. It wouldn't be strange at all if they were caught off guard and killed by these wolves.
So Lin Yun simply said, "Attack with the crossbows."
A short and simple order.
"Wait, Lord Silent. These are only animals, not evil creatures like goblins. There's no need—" The Goddess Priestess instinctively tried to talk Lin Yun out of it.
But before Lin Yun could answer, the Female Mage beside them had already raised her Light Crossbow and aimed at one of the wolves watching them warily. "That's true. They're not goblins, but they were raised by goblins. Without their keepers, these domesticated animals will eventually die anyway. And take a look at what's on the ground." As she spoke, the Female Mage pulled the trigger.
She had plenty of time to aim, so her shot was accurate. The bolt struck one of the wolves in the head, making it howl in agony. When the other wolves saw the attack, they realized Lin Yun's group were enemies. They began throwing themselves against the railing, trying to break through.
But the railing had been built precisely to keep them from getting out whenever they pleased. After all, wolves considered goblins food—and not just goblins.
"What are those...?" Hearing the Female Mage, the Goddess Priestess instinctively looked at the ground. She was so startled that her legs nearly gave way, and she almost fell over. Fortunately, Lin Yun had been ready and caught her.
"Those are undoubtedly human bones. These wolves have gotten used to eating human flesh. Even if they survive, they'll spend the rest of their lives eating people. They've already acquired a taste for it, just like us humans." The Female Mage reloaded her crossbow, her words cold and rational.
Then she aimed at the wolf she'd shot earlier and pulled the trigger again. Once more, her shot was incredibly precise. This time, the bolt sank deep into the wolf's head. It didn't go in quite as far as the first one had, but it still pierced the skull.
The wolf could no longer stay upright. It collapsed to the ground.
As the wolf fell, the little bundles of fur the older wolves had been sheltering in the corner began to emerge. The little wolf pups came over to the fallen wolf, one by one, and whimpered mournfully.
"This is so cruel. How are we any different from goblins?" The Goddess Priestess covered her mouth as she watched the pups crying beside the wolf. She felt a deep revulsion toward herself as a human.
"We are different. At the very least, we're not killing for fun. We're doing this to survive, and to let more people survive." Since the Goddess Priestess couldn't bring herself to attack, the young warrior took the Light Crossbow from her and patted her on the shoulder. "If you really can't bear it, turn around. You can at least keep watch for any enemies coming from behind." The young warrior spoke with conviction.
Though he was only a rookie, having grown up in a tavern had taught him plenty. Mercy was all well and good, but sometimes, it shouldn't be shown to one's enemies.
The pups were whimpering, but they knew who their enemies were. They would remember them, their hatred and their scent, and wait for a chance to pounce and tear out their enemies' throats.
Wolves were naturally vindictive, and even young ones couldn't be taken lightly. If this were a story about a transmigrator, perhaps someone had transmigrated into one of the wolves. It wouldn't be good if they were caught off guard and the tables were turned.
So the only thing they could do was have the kindest one of them—the Goddess Priestess, who had only been able to pull the trigger with her eyes closed—turn around and watch their backs.
Lin Yun didn't say a word. On the one hand, as someone who loved small animals—especially dogs, which was why he didn't eat dog meat—he really didn't want to do this. But he knew very well that if they didn't act now, more people would die later, just as the Female Mage had said.
Having tasted human flesh, the wolves would attack people. And people often traveled in groups, so even if the wolves couldn't eat everyone they killed, many would still die. Just think of Lin Yun, who'd only just reached level 2 and had immediately suffered a setback upon arriving here. Ordinary civilians would fare even worse.
Maybe it was a little self-righteous, maybe even a bit extreme, but for the sake of more lives: please die.
Lin Yun could only remain silent, feeling as if he were watching two butchers prepare to slaughter animals.
The Female Mage's crossbow bolt hit another wolf with unerring accuracy. The young warrior, though... perhaps his heart was wavering too. His hand trembled, and he missed every target, driving the bolt into the wall instead.
Maybe his hand had simply been too heavy. This was the weight of a life. They had already killed before, but from a certain point of view, that had just been fighting. This, however, was slaughter. Unless the railing broke, the wolves on the other side had no way to fight back.
The goblins had never imagined that the railing they'd built to protect their tribe and keep the wolf pups from wandering off would end up helping Lin Yun and the others.
The Female Mage reloaded her crossbow almost mechanically. She looked up at the wolf she'd wounded, then numbly pulled the trigger again.
The bolt shot from the Female Mage's Light Crossbow and flew into the wolf's mouth, scraping past its teeth, which reeked of rotting human flesh. It plunged deep into the wolf's throat and pierced through it, passing through most of the wolf's body before losing its momentum and stopping inside.
The wolf collapsed under the grievous wound and died on the spot.
And that was only the beginning. The young warrior was starting to recover a little. His Light Crossbow fired a bolt, and this one struck another wolf in the leg, making it yelp in pain.
At this rate, the two of them kept shooting until they'd used nearly all their bolts. Every last one of the wolves, including the little bundles of fur that were the pups, had fallen to the ground. Only then did Lin Yun take out his Heavy Mace and smash the mechanism on the railing.
D20+2+2=20, hit.
When attacking a specific object, the first step was to hit it. Then, as long as the attack exceeded its defense, it could deal damage. Of course, damage might be reduced depending on the object's durability, but Lin Yun couldn't see that part.
D8+3=10.
His powerful blow, combined with the fact that the wolves' earlier thrashing had already badly damaged the mechanism, was enough. The railing swung open with a single strike.
Just then, a shadow darted out from the corner, seemingly trying to get past Lin Yun and escape.
Lin Yun's expression shifted beneath his helmet. Fortunately, his passive Perception was high enough to spot the cunning little thing. Clearly, this wolf pup hadn't been whimpering with its companions. It had been hiding in the corner, waiting for a chance to escape.
It hadn't expected Lin Yun to spot it. He hesitated for just a moment, but then raised the Heavy Mace in his hand and brought it down.
D20+2=14, hit.
It was an attack from above. This time, however, Lin Yun didn't get the usual +2 bonus to his attack for his weapon proficiency. He still managed to hit the little bundle of fur.
D8+2=7.
It hadn't fully grown yet. This little bundle of fur wasn't as tough as its elders. One blow from the Heavy Mace sent it tumbling to the ground.
But what Lin Yun hadn't expected was that another gray shadow suddenly darted out from the corner. Who could have imagined that wolves—especially wolf pups—could be this clever?
Was it the will to survive? Or was it love for family?
Before you continue