...…
Grr!
Lycan pinned down Lupus in place as Shin, Faker, and Zero dealt as much damage as they could. Each of their attacks was swift and accurate, focusing only on a single thing and that was to take down the werewolf the fastest way possible.
The rest of the group was already retreated towards the woods to hide, and Arthur, Leonard, and Lawless were assigned to protect them.
The group could also see the gigantic silhouettes of the monsters that were heading toward this location. Leonard, as someone who stayed in a kingdom ruled by Beastmen, could instantly identify those monsters. And each of those monsters was strong enough to make him grimace.
Arthur, on the other hand, could sense some familiar presence among those monsters. He quickly raised his head towards the sky and immediately spotted the huge silhouettes of flying monsters in there.
Fortunately, those monsters were just bird-type beasts and not the wyvern that they saw earlier. Or else, they were going to be in much deeper trouble than they were already in.
…
Going back to where Shin and the other two were located.
It pained Lycan to see his master, and brother, act this way. The former great general of a majestic army was now nothing but a beast. He completely lost his sanity and was only surviving according to his instincts.
At the same time, he could also see the souls of his former comrades lingering around Lupus. They were clearly clinging to him as he chose to carry their burden on his back.
This sight made Lycan hate himself even more. This was supposedly his burden. It was supposedly his job since he was the one who survived all of those ordeals.
But from the looked of it, he was still saved by Lupus just like how he was saved from starvation during their first meeting.
He could still remember the winter cold weather of that time. He was left alone on the snowy mountain and waiting for his death when a young man picked him up from being half-buried in the snow.
He was given a name, food, and a home. Things that he had never experienced since he was just a mere beast. He might have developed a certain level of intelligence during that time but he was still nothing but an inferior being, just a wolf.
Everything that happened in past flashed through Lycan's eyes as he looked at Lupus who was struggling to fight for his life.
This might be painful for him, but Lycan had no choice but to end his suffering right now.
Grr!
Lupus pounced at Lycan aggressively after pushing Shin, Zero, and Faker away from him. The wolf general looked at him with a lonely gaze before accepting the attack.
"-11,442,223"
A huge chunk of his health disappeared as Lupus' fangs dug deep into his neck. But despite that being the case, Lycan seemed to be not affected by it and quickly countered the attack.
He curved his body and dragged Lupus with a powerful spin before returning the bite. The exposed neck of the werewolf was bitten, causing its Health Bar to drop to the 3% mark.
Seeing that, the trio of Shin, Zero, and Faker wanted to jump in and land the killing blow. But right after that thought entered their minds, they suddenly found that they were unable to move their bodies.
They were not sure if it was intended by the system, or if it was because of the heavy aura of the approaching monsters heading their way. But they could at least tell that they were not in danger.
The three watched Lycan dug his teeth deeper into Lupus' neck, erasing its last bit of Health Points.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom!
At that very moment, a consecutive loud explosion could be heard as different kinds of monsters of humongous sizes started to land on the snowy field one after another.
A lion with snow-white furs and mane, a huge mammoth with a long and deadly tusk, a giant troll with blue skin and carrying a huge block of ice as its weapon, a half-human and half-bird creature, and a black panther with blue eyes and paws blazing with blue flames.
These were the first batch of monsters that arrived at the scene. All of them were carrying a deadly and dangerous aura that made the trio unable to move.
This was a total crisis. And there were a lot more monsters heading to this place with a much stronger aura.
Shin now understood that this might be a setup for the system since all of these monsters arrived almost at the same time when Lupus had died. Regardless, he didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts since they currently had an important matter at hand.
The three of them quickly used their respective debuff skills to free themselves from the pressure of those monsters. Then they quickly headed towards Lycan who was still staring at Lupus.
"Hey! I know it is quite rude to interrupt you with your mourning, but this is not the right time to keep standing in there," shouted Shin, trying to wake Lycan from his daze state.
They didn't receive any kind of notification from the system, so Shin thought that this state of the quest was still not over. 'Maybe we still need to help Lycan escape this place while carrying his master's corpse?'
Faker and Zero picked up all of the loot that was dropped on the ground as they wait for Shin's orders.
In the meantime, Lycan finally recovered himself and swept his gaze at the surroundings. Not long after, he replied to Shin. "Don't worry, young man. These guys may be strong but they also have a very strong ego. They are most probably in this place to see if there is a new ruler born on this land."
"But now that their old rivals also appeared at the same time, an immediate battle is bound to happen. Though, most of it is just ongoing to be a friendly battle."
Hearing those words, Shin finally confirmed his initial analysis. But when he heard the latter part, he couldn't help but become confused. 'Friendly battle?'
He then asked out of curiosity. "Are some of these guys also from the army that you used to be part of?"
Lycan shook his head and answered. "No, these monsters are the original inhabitants of this place. They are the residents of this land aside from the Dragon Worshipers."
Shin slightly nodded his head when he heard that. He also took note that Lycan addressed the people of this land as Dragon Worshipers and not as the so-called spawns of the darkness, or what they knew as Vampires.
'I almost forget that this is Arthur's Empire Quest, so this should be mostly related to dragons,' thought Shin as he remembered the scene that he saw earlier.
On the other hand, Lycan flung Lupus onto his back, completely ignoring the appearance of the other monsters. He treated them as if they did not exist.
Seeing his actions, the trio couldn't help but become surprised at how bold he was. The three could even see the other monsters looking in their direction.
Then they saw the black panther walk towards them, making the trio wear stiff expressions on their face.
But they immediately became stunned at what happened next.
"It looks like you are finally free from your burden," the black panther started talking. It was actually talking to Lycan.
"I still have a few things to do before I can fully free myself," responded Lycan with a calm tone. And after a brief moment, he turned in a certain direction and continued. "I will fulfill my promise and help you get your revenge on that wicked God."
Shin and the other two were currently wearing weird looks on their faces as they couldn't keep up with the sudden development. And before they could even process all of that information inside their heads, another unexpected situation happened.
Void rifts started to appear in the sky, making those monsters turn their heads at them.
"I look like they noticed the change of the 'flow' and visit us at a much earlier date," muttered the black panther before turning to Lycan. "We will buy you some time by redirecting their attention to us."
"I hope that you will be successful at waking up that 'lord' this time," he added before turning his head back at the void rifts in the sky.
Shin was still trying to process the course of events but Lycan didn't give him enough time. "Let's go, young man. We still have a lot to discuss."
Lycan didn't wait for Shin to respond as he quickly sprinted towards the forest a few distances away.
Shin looked at the wolf for a couple of moments before coming back to his senses. Putting the pieces together, he could at least tell that Lycan and these beasts were on friendly terms.
He then chased after Lycan alongside Faker and Zero. "Let's go!"
The three of them temporarily set aside their doubts as they chased after the wolf. Zero, who felt a familiar presence earlier, still couldn't shake off the unease that he was feeling, so he whispered a few words to Faker.
Faker slightly raised his eyebrow when he heard those words before slightly nodding his head. He was not sure what exactly it was but it would not hurt if he took a look at it.
After that, he controlled his breathing before disappearing into the veil of the fog and snow.
...
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