SSS-Rank Bloodline: Wolf Evolution

Chapter 54: Fishing in Troubled Waters

The buffaloes were very massive, and some of them were nearly ten meters in height, they all possessed broad shoulders, and light wool of a brownish-grey color.

Their horns were short and flat, and a thick bony layer covered the upper half of their faces, making them look as though they were wearing horned metal helmets on their heads.

The sight of them pouring toward the lake was imposing, and frightening at the same time.

Arthur was astonished, and without needing the "Evaluation" skill, automatically realized that a large number of them were D-Rank.

’This has exceeded all my expectations.’ He swallowed hard, not from fear, but excitement.

With his sharp eyes, he examined the buffalo herd that had stopped a few meters from the lake bank, then directed his gaze toward the many crocodiles lurking in the water.

’It seems they have not noticed my presence, and all their attention is focused on the crocodiles. This is good, no, rather very good.’ His lips twisted into a small smile, and he decided to exploit the situation well, or as they say, he decided to fish in troubled waters.

Without making any move, he waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to come.

Silence fell over the area, and little by little the dust cloud began to dissipate, the buffaloes continued standing near the bank hesitantly, and after about a minute, one of them gathered its courage, and walked a few steps forward, then bent down to drink.

One after another, the rest of the buffaloes followed its lead, and within a short time the bank was completely filled. At that moment, the water rippled powerfully, then suddenly, the crocodiles began surging from the lake, pouncing savagely on everything in their path.

Splash!

Growl!

Terror crept into the herd, and frightened mooing sounds rose. Because of the large number of buffaloes, or rather prey, gathered in one area, the majority of the crocodiles managed to grab something.

Quickly, they dragged their screaming live prey into the lake, and tore them apart using the "death roll" skill, which made the surface of the lake turn red.

As for the few crocodiles that had failed to hunt, they retreated into the water immediately, then surged toward the buffaloes again.

The weak buffaloes fled randomly, which caused them to collide with each other and the obstacles around them. Dust flew densely, trees fell, and chaos spread over the entire place.

Unlike them, the few D-Rank males maintained their composure, a very dangerous aura emanated from them, and they mooed with intense anger, causing steam to come out of their nostrils.

They scraped the ground with their hooves, then suddenly, they surged toward the lake one after another. As though they were the predators, their eyes filled with intense killing intent, they lowered their armored heads like bulldozers, and headbutted the water.

A devastating shockwave erupted from their foreheads, it was as though several large bombs had exploded at the bank all at once, waves surged in every direction, forming several waves of random sizes and even shapes.

Whoooosh!

The experienced crocodiles had fled with their prey early, while a large number of young crocodiles that had been lurking nearby got caught inside the violent shockwave, their internal organs were violently shaken, and blood burst from every bodily opening.

Some of them lost consciousness, and floated to the surface stiffly, while a large number managed to escape with minor injuries.

Upon seeing this sudden shift in the balance between predator and prey, Arthur was surprised, and realized he had underestimated the buffaloes too much, that skill they had used was very powerful, and if he were exposed to it he would most likely die.

Since he did not have much time, he gathered himself, and redirected his full focus toward hunting. His eyes filled with determination, and despite the danger of the situation, he showed no sign of hesitation.

His cold eyes carefully scanned the herd, and at that moment he saw an E-Rank buffalo that had separated from the rest, and was running in panic toward him.

He bared his fangs, and waited until the buffalo reached a nearby place, at that moment, he came out from between the shrubs and pounced on it with his full strength from its blind spot.

Suddenly, the buffalo saw a hazy shape heading toward it from the corner of its eye, and its instincts reacted, and before it understood what was happening, it felt intense pain in its neck, then in the next moment, the world around it flipped and it fell on its back.

Arthur tore its throat, nerves, and vocal cords at a blinding speed, so it would not scream and reveal his location, and after that he dragged it inside the dense shrubs, and finished it off.

[ ... ]

He returned to his position, and began searching for a second prey, chaos was still spreading among the herd, especially since most of them had not been able to drink, which drove them to return to the lake, and as the first time, the crocodiles attacked them, then the D-Rank males counter-attacked, in a cycle that repeated several times.

Again, he spotted a second buffalo that had separated from the herd, it was E-Rank, and apparently had sustained a few injuries from the stampede, it was limping from its right front leg, and scars and bruises covered it.

The buffalo was standing far from him, so he crept silently toward it, and when he got close enough, he pounced on it following a different approach, whereby he jumped on its back, gripped it with his sharp claws, then bit it in the spine.

Moo!

The buffalo screamed and jumped violently, slamming into the trees beside it trying to push him off, but he did not budge from his place, he drove his claws and fangs deeper, and within a few seconds, he managed to break its spine.

The buffalo fell to the ground trembling, and without giving it any chance, he finished it off, then dragged it away, and placed it beside the first prey.

Normally he would have been satisfied with this amount, but given that there was a crazy mistress waiting for him to feed her, he was forced to hunt more. He returned to his position, and began watching for a third target.

Time passed slowly, and little by little the chaos calmed down, and the herd regained its order, all the crocodiles fled, and the buffaloes drank without any fear under the protection of the D-Rank males.

Unfortunately, he did not find any suitable target, and realizing he was unable to hunt more buffaloes, he waited patiently until they left, and at that moment, he directed his gaze toward a dead crocodile that was floating on the lake bank, and apparently, he was not the only one who had done so.