Helping

He continued walking deeper into the dense forest.

There was no trace of frost in the forest. Autumn had long ago, and the grass and trees should have turned yellow, but this forest had been devoured by Insect Swarm, leaving only charred and withered Withered Branch. The ground was covered with a layer of weathered gray-white powder from insect carcasses, which crunched underfoot. The air was filled with the pungent smell of humus and insect acid, making one's chest feel tight.

It's too quiet.

Throughout their journey, the howls of the aberrant insects and the rustling of their shells had never ceased, but now the entire forest seemed to have been silenced; even the sound of the wind whistling through the Withered Branch could not be heard. Lu Heng slowed his pace, his mental perception quietly spreading outward from himself.

There was no unusual activity.

He frowned and continued walking. After walking about two kilometers, the oppressive feeling around him suddenly changed.

They didn't come from the front, but from all directions.

Behind the bushes, in the thickets, and in the shadows of the thick tree trunks, countless auras simultaneously locked onto him, forming a tight encirclement. Lu Heng paused, his mental perception instantly sharpening, precisely pinpointing the source of those auras—

Wolf.

There were quite a few of them, at least twenty, a native Wolf Pack from this forest.

A hint of doubt flashed in Lu Heng's eyes. He had seen Wolf Pack packs hunt before; their aura was rough and flamboyant, howling, running, and pouncing, making a great commotion. But this pack of wolves was different. Their aura was extremely low, and they even deliberately suppressed their breathing. There was not a single growl, not the slightest restlessness. They were like a group of lifeless shadows, quietly lurking at every point in the encirclement.

This is definitely not how a normal Wolf Pack hunts.

The encirclement began to tighten slowly.

The first to emerge from the shadows was an exceptionally large male wolf, nearly a meter tall at the shoulder, with gray-black fur; it was the Alpha Wolf of the Wolf Pack. Behind it, one after another, the wolves slowly walked out, their movements stiff, their limbs landing with an unnatural sluggishness.

Lu Heng's gaze fell on their eyes.

Grayish-white, murky, unfocused, like a layer of deathly shadow. Looking further down, something was swelling and wriggling between the wolf's fur, behind its ears, and under the skin of its neck. Tiny protrusions moved along the flesh, like countless tiny worms crawling inside its body.

It is not a natural distortion.

It's parasitic.

Although the Insect Mother was killed, a large number of insect eggs and microscopic parasites remained in the forest. These things silently burrowed into the bodies of passing wild animals, took over their nervous systems, and turned the living Wolf Pack into Puppet without their own will.

Lu Heng watched them approach quietly, without making a move immediately.

These wolves are not mutated monsters, but rather primal beasts whose consciousness has been taken over by the Insect Swarm. Their bodies are intact, their organs are healthy, but their consciousness has been usurped by the parasites.

He remained silent for a moment, then made up his mind.

Let's give it a try. If the high temperature can force the insects out, we'll spare their lives; if they're too deeply parasitized to be saved, we can take action later.

A sudden release of Mental Energy.

The condensed spiritual power transformed into invisible shackles, instantly enveloping the entire area. The movements of the more than twenty Alpha Wolf froze simultaneously, their limbs pinned to the spot, even the low growls in their throats were suppressed. Lu Heng did not give them a chance to struggle, and his High-Temperature Talent followed suit.

It is not a raging fire that burns flesh and blood, but a gentle and controllable scorching energy.

The heat slowly seeped through the Wolf Pack's surface, spreading layer by layer into the depths of their bodies, precisely targeting the parasites and eggs that infested their flesh and internal organs. Wherever the high temperature passed, the tiny parasites were burned, curled up, and carbonized, falling from the gaps in their fur and sizzling softly as they hit the ground.

The process lasted for about half a minute.

The effects began to appear, but the results were polarized.

The Wolf King and the three strong adult wolves beside him were the first to react. The parasites hadn't been inside them for long; their bodies hadn't yet taken root deep within their organs. Insect Queen out, the cloudiness in their grayish-white eyes gradually faded, replaced by a wild clarity. They shook their heads, as if waking from a long nightmare, looked down at the carbonized insect corpses scattered on the ground, and felt the lingering burning pain within their bodies. A look of bewilderment and fear flashed in their eyes.

The remaining Wolf Pack were not so lucky.

Having parasitized for too long, the worm eggs had long since burrowed deep into the flesh and blood, becoming intertwined with the internal organs and nerves. The high temperature could not completely eradicate them; instead, it stimulated the worms' bodies. The wolves' bodies began to convulse uncontrollably, large lumps bulging under their skin. The worms writhed wildly inside their bodies, trying to find an exit. Their eyes completely lost their last glimmer of light, leaving only pure killing instinct. Their throats emitted a broken bellows-like howl as they desperately struggled to break free of their mental imprisonment.

It's beyond saving.

Lu Heng withdrew his gaze and looked at the Wolf King, who had just regained his senses.

The Wolf King stood up, its limbs still trembling slightly. It vaguely remembered the state it was in when it was parasitized—conscious but unable to control its body, watching helplessly as it pounced on its own kind, tearing at flesh and blood. That sense of powerlessness chilled it to the bone. It turned to look at its fellow kin who were still struggling, their bodies writhing with insecticidal tendrils, its eyes swirling with vigilance, sorrow, and a resolute killing intent.

It knew that its kin could not be saved.

The Wolf King lowered its neck, letting out a low growl, its limbs tense, poised to pounce and finish them off with its own hands.

"Don't move."

Lu Heng spoke, his voice not loud, but the warning in his tone made the Wolf King freeze.

He stepped forward, looking directly into the Wolf King's eyes. "You still have residual insect breath inside you. If you act now and get close to those parasitized wolves, you're very likely to be parasitized again. I saved you for nothing."

The Wolf King shuddered and froze in place.

It understood.

After a few seconds of stalemate, the Wolf King slowly lowered its head and let out a deep growl, as if in response or as a concession. It took half a step back, making way for the mutated brethren who were still struggling behind it, its eyes carrying a silent entrustment.

Lu Heng looked at it and nodded.

He raised his hand, and his Mental Energy coalesced once more.