Heart-Rending Wolf General

At that moment, the leader was puzzled. He could not understand why several living people had vanished right before his eyes, under the watch of so many people.

If that careless leader had looked up, he would have discovered the people who had disappeared.

Back when the small team had suffered its disastrous attack, everyone was worrying about how to get out safely when Alpha looked at the towering ship and murmured, "It'd be great if we could fly." Upon hearing this, Linda struggled inwardly, unsure whether she should tell everyone the truth. Yet the first thing she thought of was not the punishment she would suffer, but what Siso would think. She could not help sighing to herself.

"Go, you lot, over there." Hearing this, Linda knew she was out of time. She had no choice. For everyone's safety, she could not keep going like this. Staying alive was what mattered most.

With that thought, she felt somewhat relieved. Wearing a grave expression, she said to everyone, "I have a way, but no matter what you see, don't ask any questions. Please remain silent. Once we're safe, I'll tell you everything exactly as it is." Seeing the usually playful and gentle Linda suddenly become so serious, the men all nodded at once. They could not help thinking that she really had the bearing of a queen.

Standing before them, Linda took out several materials from her small bag, crushed them, and scattered them over everyone. "Levitation." Siso suddenly felt incredibly light, as if he were about to fly. Looking down, he saw that his feet had actually left the ground. Panicking, he lunged forward as though he had lost his sense of direction. A pair of slender hands caught him—and the others as well.

After steadying everyone, Linda cast another spell, one she had not wanted to use—Dark Word: Darkness. Their bodies slowly turned black, blending into the pitch-black hull of the ship.

Already accustomed to Levitation, Linda pulled everyone up onto the iron ship. Just as Linda had warned them, no one asked anything. Though they all had questions, they understood that staying alive was the most important thing right now.

In a corner of the deck, the air distorted, and four people suddenly emerged as though they had stepped out of another time and space.

It was not that Alpha and the others wanted to stop floating in the shadows. Linda simply could not hold on much longer. Casting Dark Word on four people at once was indeed too taxing. At a time like this, it was impossible to recover to peak condition, and there was not enough time anyway.

Linda figured things had already come to this, so she no longer cared. She pulled another bottle of intermediate mana potion from her bag and drained it in one gulp, doing her utmost to absorb its effects. When Alpha saw this, a sharp glint flashed through his pale blue eyes, so swiftly that no one could notice it.

Siso and Peru did not know it was an intermediate potion and merely took it for an ordinary stamina recovery potion. After all, stamina recovery potions were essential for anyone traveling outside.

"We're on the ship now, but the enemy already knows we exist. It's only a matter of time before they find us. We need to locate the true owner of this ship as soon as possible. Only then will we have a chance to survive," Alpha said gravely.

"Then we should check the captain's cabin first. We're on the deck at the bow right now. It isn't too far from the captain's cabin, but it isn't close either. All we can do is pray for luck." As expected of the experienced Peru, he went straight to the heart of the matter.

Once Linda had recovered, they headed for the captain's cabin. Naturally, they infiltrated cautiously. Relying on Alpha's keen hearing in Cheetah Form, they successfully avoided wave after wave of enemies. When they encountered situations they could not avoid, Alpha could only ambush one first, then Peru would swiftly smash them with his shield. Linda would use Levitation to dampen the sound of impact, while Siso dealt with any stragglers.

By the time they reached the captain's cabin, each of them had suffered minor injuries. No one asked Linda to cast Rapid Healing for such small wounds. Instead, they treated themselves with the bandages they carried, conserving their mental energy for the battle ahead.

After adjusting their breathing slightly, they pushed open the captain's cabin door. The room was shrouded in darkness. Suddenly, a flame appeared and lit a cigarette. The flame vanished, leaving only a tiny ember flickering in the dark.

"It's been a long time since I had visitors. Let me give you a proper welcome." A deep, hoarse voice emerged. Blood-red eyes opened in the darkness, carrying an intense stench of blood.

"Careful, don't let your guard down—" Before he could finish, a gust of wind swept over them. His vision blurred, followed by searing pain in his abdomen as he felt himself being lifted.

By the time everyone reacted, Alpha had already been raised into the air. A huge gray-furred claw clamped tightly around his throat and slowly moved forward, gradually exposing its owner to the light.

It was a werewolf, dressed in simple cloth garments. Its powerful arm could easily lift a person. A lit grass cigarette hung from its mouth full of fangs, and its blood-red eyes watched the visitors before it. With its other hand, it took a drag from the cigarette and exhaled heavily into Alpha's face. Then it introduced itself leisurely, "My name is Mensa. The people here call me Heart-Rending Wolf. Or you can call me the Heart-Rending Wolf General."

A sharp sword suddenly slashed toward him, carrying a blade aura. At the same time, a golden phantom hammer crashed down from above.

Without the slightest concern for Alpha standing in front of him, Heart-Rending Wolf suddenly let go and leaped back. The blade aura and hammer phantom struck Alpha.

Just as Alpha was about to be hit by the blade aura and hammer phantom, a white barrier suddenly enveloped him. "Holy Word: Shield," Linda said quickly. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, their coordination flawless.

Heart-Rending Wolf narrowed his eyes. A smile split across his lips, making him look even more ferocious.

Peru and Siso swiftly positioned themselves in front of Alpha, while Linda immediately cast Greater Healing on him.

"So, what will you do next?" The moment the words fell, Heart-Rending Wolf charged forward, leaving an afterimage behind him.

"Ancient Kings' Guard!" Peru roared. It was as though a god had descended upon him. A golden silhouette of an ancient deity covered Peru's entire body, while a pair of white wings spread behind him. The two collided violently, generating a powerful surge of air that made Linda's robe flap wildly.

"Interesting. Truly interesting." Heart-Rending Wolf struck Peru madly, each claw tearing through the air with a howl. Fine cracks appeared across Peru's golden barrier.

"Hm?" A sudden sense of danger struck him. He twisted aside as a roaring sword phantom slid past his chest. "Execution: Half-Giant's Fury!" Siso arrived just in time. But that sword strike seemed to drain all of Siso's strength. After swinging it, Siso fell unconscious.

At that moment, Peru's Ancient Kings' Guard dispersed. Clang! His giant shield slipped from his grasp, and Peru collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily.

Heart-Rending Wolf looked at Siso lying before him, then touched the blood flowing from the sword wound on his chest. Cruelly, he licked the blood from his hand. With a kick, he sent Siso flying. Just as Siso was about to crash into the black iron wall of the ship, a dark figure caught him, and the two slammed into the wall together.

Heart-Rending Wolf narrowed his eyes at the dark figure, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took a deep drag, exhaled, and said leisurely, "I was wondering why your scent felt so familiar. So you're one of my kind. Looks like coming here was the right choice after all. This trip wasn't for nothing."

The one who had caught Siso was Alpha, transformed into his werewolf form. His pale blue eyes were utterly calm, like the stillness before a storm.