Chapter 177: The Mischievous Child (Part 3)

“These guys!”

Although Wu Qingsong didn’t know how the wolfboys had managed to escape the camp and get ahead of them, he couldn’t just stand by in such a situation.

However, they were at least three to four hundred meters away from where the ambush had taken place, making it impossible to quickly reach the scene.

The raiders, momentarily disoriented by the barrage of arrows, soon regrouped. The wolfboys were few, and the arrows had only slightly disrupted the raiders’ formation. Quickly, about a dozen raiders split off from the main group, using round shields to protect their heads and faces as they swiftly advanced up the slope toward the wolfboys.

Wu Qingsong and his group shouted, hoping to distract the raiders. At that moment, the advancing raiders screamed as a cascade of stones tumbled down the steep slope, hitting them hard and causing seven or eight of them to tumble down the hill.

Considering their age and numbers, it was impressive that the youths had managed to set such a trap in such short notice. 

However, the raiding party, numbering over a hundred, was not significantly deterred by the initial arrows and the subsequent rockslide. Instead, it incited their aggressiveness. Several mastiffmen in iron armor even discarded their shields and drew their swords to chase the wolfboys, while others took positions in the valley to shoot arrows, suppressing their movements.

When Wu Qingsong and his group were seen charging down from the mountain, the raiders’ vanguard did not engage directly but instead formed a simple defensive formation with spears raised. Behind them, some prepared their bows to fire.

“Liuli!”

It wasn’t easy to charge down a steep slope without losing balance. Seeing that the raiders were almost upon the young wolfmen, Wu Qingsong halted abruptly and awakened Liuli’s abilities.

“Quick, go save them!” he urged anxiously.

“Meow~” Liuli grumbled slightly but still complied, scrambling down the slope on all fours toward the youths.

Wu Qingsong then awakened Ling’s abilities, but since neither had long-range attack capabilities, they continued their clumsy descent.

By then, the battle had erupted on the slope. Several young wolfmen, wielding two-handed swords, valiantly struck at the advancing mastiffmen who easily parried their blows. Despite having the higher ground, the youths’ age and size were clear disadvantages against the seasoned mastiffmen. A few mastiffmen even seized the moment to advance to a parallel position on the slope, charging at the youths with sinister laughs.

“Retreat quickly!” Daryl yelled, swinging his two-handed sword fiercely at a mastiffman who sneered,

The mastiffman attempted to block the blow with one hand while reaching to grab the youth.

However, the force of Daryl’s strike far exceeded the mastiffman’s expectations, knocking the sword from his hand. Daryl then swung his sword, cutting deeply into the mastiffman’s neck, splashing blood across his face.

“Howard!” the mastiffmen exclaimed in shock, followed by angry roars. “Kill that little beast!”

Daryl hesitated for a moment, as this was his first time personally killing an enemy. However, the advancing enemies quickly snapped him back to reality, and he let out a loud shout, attacking the nearest mastiffman.

Their swords clashed heavily. Naturally, the mastiffman was much stronger than the young wolf, but Daryl, having the high ground and momentum, managed to match his opponent.

The mastiffman swirled his sword, attempting to use his strength to overpower him. 

But Daryl’s swordsmanship was far superior, and his footwork more agile. Using the opponent’s force, he quickly lifted his sword and swiftly dodged to the left, stabbing the mastiffman in the shoulder before he could react, eliciting a scream of pain.

Daryl tried to follow up, but at that moment, two more swords stabbed toward him, forcing him to retreat.

“Kill him! Kill him!” the wounded mastiffman stepped back, shouting loudly as two of his comrades circled around him, one on each side, and chased after Daryl. 

Holding his breath and following his sister’s teachings, he kept his eyes tightly on their swords, moving quickly to always stay on the outside of their encirclement. When one mastiffman tripped slightly over a root on the slope, Daryl seized the opportunity to slash his arm. However, the other mastiffman lunged forward, preventing Daryl from inflicting more damage.

A cry of pain from a friend nearby suddenly distracted Daryl. The experienced mastiffmen seized this opportunity to launch a fierce attack, forcing him to defend desperately. Just then, another young wolf cried out in pain, heightening Daryl’s anxiety. He tried to quickly dispatch his opponent to help his friend, but the more he rushed, the more he lost his agile footwork and the advantage of his swordsmanship. 

After struggling mightily for several exchanges, his stamina rapidly depleted, and his breathing grew heavy.

As more mastiff soldiers charged in, Daryl, in desperation, grabbed the necklace on his chest and summoned all its power. 

The mastiffman he was facing, thinking there was an opportunity, swung his sword at Daryl’s abdomen, but was blocked by a strange force. Seizing the moment, Daryl fiercely swung his sword, knocking him down the slope.

“Pierre!” the mastiffmen exclaimed in shock, unable to believe that this young wolfboy, clearly not yet an adult, had killed one of their squad leaders and a veteran.

“Shoot him! Kill him with arrows!” several soldiers yelled.

Daryl turned to see several of his friends already on the gound, their fates unknown. A few others were desperately running up the hill, about to be caught by the mastiffmen chasing them.

Roaring in anger, Daryl tightened his grip on his sword and charged toward the enemy across from him.

A figure suddenly swept by Daryl’s side, slamming into the opposing mastiffmen, causing them to scream as they were flung down the slope.

This sudden turn of events completely stunned Daryl. The figure continued relentlessly, pouncing on other mastiffmen who didn’t even have a chance to fight back. Their throats were slashed, necks severed, and faces clawed bloody, as they screamed and tumbled down the slope.

In just a few seconds, the mastiffmen surrounding Daryl were completely wiped out, and the figure immediately moved on to the soldiers pursuing the young wolves.

Daryl could hardly believe what he was witnessing. In fact, he wasn’t even sure what he was seeing. He only saw a creature that looked both like a beastman and a wild beast swiftly running on the slope. The mastiff menwere no match for it. There was hardly any exchange of blows before they were screaming and falling, rolling down the slope.