Chapter 775 Taunting The Raijū
Walking out of the chalet, Alex took the front, looking at the sky, to orient himself toward the black storm in the distance. By his estimation, the eye of the storm was about a three hours' trek away.
This would be one hell of a walk, but they should be fine. At worst, they could take brief breaks on their way there.
Heading northwest, they could already see the small mountain range ahead where the wolves were nesting. It wasn't a vast mountain range, but their height was impressive for such small mountains.
During the strategizing part of the briefing, Kary had pulled out topographical maps, and they saw that the mountains reached a bit over four hundred meters high.
This explained why the Raijū had taken a liking to the place, as it was one of the highest mountains in the region and, therefore, was the closest to the sky.
David also surmised the breach they came in through might be pretty close, meaning they had a small influx of mana available to them nearby.
After hunting the wolves, they would have to find the breach and ensure it was sealed shut. They wouldn't want another group to go through it and waste their efforts.
On the way toward the mountain, the group stopped often, cracking in the woods, putting them on high alert, or howling in the distance, making them wary. This made the trip take longer and much more nerve-wracking than planned.
This also meant they would get to their planned ambush site and feel much more on edge. Which could either keep them on top of their game or unnecessarily tire them out.
Only time would tell which one it turned out to be.
They also had to stop midway to eat, as it was already noon.
Jack had ensured they all carried protein bars with no odour coming from them, which also meant they had little to no flavour. It was like chewing on a cardboard bar.
But it would keep them fed and reduce the risk of getting spotted preemptively, which was all that mattered to him.
After a long four-hour trek, they were finally where they intended to fight the wolves.
Kary had picked a small valley, niche'd in between the three mountains that composed the mountain range. It had only two entrances and little to no cornices for the wolves to attack them from.
This was especially important for the two Raijū they would fight, as they possessed range capabilities. The dire wolves were less of a risk for this.
Of course, they could still use the cronies to ambush them, but Kary had no intention of letting them. They would be the ones doing the ambushing today.
They took a position as they had discussed earlier, with the back-line starting on the few outcroppings on the hillside, from where they could attack from a safe place.
Jack had one such place, as did Violette. They would be most useful to have on high ground.
As for Cory, he would be best used on the ground, where he could heal them if something happened.
Kary was also fine attacking from the ground, as her control allowed her to arc her attacks at will, making terrain a non-issue for her.
David was only in the back-line to protect them, in the first place, so he would start hidden, like the harassers.
Jonathan, Margarett, and the undead that David had summoned along the way started hiding between cragged rocks, or broken trees, ready to jump out and get to work.
Next, Clark and Juan stood near the northern crack that led into this valley and waited for their sign to attack.
It had already been decided that Alex would be the bait. Aside from Jonathan, he was their fastest runner and had a higher chance of making it out of the fire alive.
So, once everyone was in position, he nodded at Kary and bolted into the opening. He was about to become a massive pain in those wolves' asses.
He quickly reached the area that the drones had flown over before getting wrecked, as testified by the half-fried plastic shell of a drone he found as he ran. This meant he was near his targets.
Alex could have gone in and ham-fisted his way into their bad graces. But he chose a different approach.
'Alright, White. You ready?' Alex asked in his mind.
'Yes, Master.'
'Then give me your best alpha howl,' he said, grinning.
Melding with White, Alex felt his primal urge for dominance rise. White could feel the presence of the Raijū, and his alpha instincts kicked in.
*AAWWWWOOOOOOO!*
The howl echoed in the mountain range, reaching even back to their chalet, where the soldiers had already returned.
When they heard it, a shiver ran down their spines, their bodies reacting instinctively.
"I hope their fight doesn't drag down here. I have a bad feeling…" the merc that drove Alex and Kary said, rubbing away the goosebumps on his arms.
Soon, a second and third howl followed, vibrating the air in the mountain range as static crackled in the air.Alex knew his plan had worked.
"Come on. Come get me, you electric dog. I know you feel challenged," Alex muttered.
He lowered his stance, ready to run. He still had to mark himself as a threat in the eyes of the pack, so his job wasn't entirely done.
Seconds later, Alex felt the ground under his feet start to rumble. He could feel his heart palpitate nervously as the rumbling grew.
As soon as the first signs of white peeked over the hill before him, Alex dashed forward, his claws open and his arms extended outward.
The first wolf to cross the lip was a dire wolf, and it almost jumped in fright when a tiny wolf-looking human appeared before it.
But it didn't get the time to react in any other fashion, as Alex's claws flashed before him, and a head flew.
Blood splattered everywhere, making the pack of wolves halt in their tracks.
The Raijū jumped over the pack, landing near Alex, and saw the bloodied human, along with the corpse of its pack member. A low growl escaped its maw.
"That's right! I did this! And I'll do the same to your entire pack! So come get me, you dog!" Alex shouted, thumping his chest with his bloodied fist.
The Raijū howled again, its horn starting to light up, and that was Alex's queue to get out of there.
As soon as the head lifted and the maw opened, Alex turned on his heels and bolted away. He used his utmost speed to get out of lightning range from the Raijū before arcing his way toward the valley.
"Game on!" he shouted.
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