Chương 36: Night Falls; Blood King Strikes

A loud explosion and blood-curdling howls echoed through the middle of the night as Maximus jumped out of his bed.

"So, it begins." he frowned and quickly put on his armor. He summoned Embi, who buzzed cheerfully as it activated its blessing.

"Hey, buddy, we're going to fight. Take care of yourself, okay? You too, Sprout!" Maximus said quickly as he left his room, leading Silex outside and breaking into a run toward the gates. On the way, he met up with Felix and Oscar, who were rushing as well.

"Our damn luck, huh, Oscar?" Felix sighed, trying to keep pace.

"Story of my life, mate!" Oscar muttered, sprinting beside him.

The group arrived at the city gates, where a large number of participants had already assembled. Maximus shifted into his lupine legs and jumped onto the empty spot on the city walls, only to see the fields of Scorching Lily already up in flames and wolves circling, trying to find a way through. Those beasts are intelligent… They actually activated all the flowers before anyone got hurt. What in the seven realms is this?

Maximus frowned as he noticed behind the dozens of smaller wolves a massive beast standing tall, towering, and staring menacingly toward them.

"It's the king. We are screwed now!" Someone screamed. So, that is the Blood King… Now that is a beast worthy of being called a king. Maximus stared for a moment longer before lunging over the walls and grabbing the vine he had prepared earlier. He held onto it and stayed low, waiting for his opportunity just as a howl rippled through the burning fields. A thick red membrane enveloped the wolf before it rippled outward like a wave of blood, extinguishing the fires and even detonating what remained of the lilies.

With a final, aggressive roar, blood-red winds of mana exploded from his maw and scattered what little remained of the flames. Seeing this, his pack howled and charged toward the village. Dozens of crimson-furred wolves surged forward, their eyes blood-red and filled with unrestrained rage. Maximus remained calm and waited, and just as the wolves passed a good distance from the Lily fields, they suddenly started to fall through the ground.

With fearful squeals, they fell into deep, spiked holes and ditches filled with poisonous water, and as they did, a flash of light burst from Maximus's location as Static Surge activated, sending violent currents of electricity through the vines and electrocuting the wolves. They cried out as they took severe damage, but it wasn't strong enough to kill any instantly, only to snare them for a while as the poison seeped deep within.

What remained of the wolves, around thirty or so, began spitting globs of coagulated blood, collapsing the underground traps before slowly advancing. They noticed Maximus and snarled before spitting thin, piercing beams of blood mana in his direction. Maximus activated Barkskin and jumped back onto the city walls, hiding behind the stone as he crouched, frowning.

"Well, that didn't work as planned." Franko sat next to him as the walls trembled.

"They are more intelligent than I predicted," Maximus said, frowning deeper.

"Let's try the bombs. If that fails… I fear we might be in serious trouble." Maximus sighed and waited for the attacks to subside. A few minutes passed before the wolves stopped their ranged attacks and rushed toward the walls. When they were in range, Franko screamed, "Whoever was assigned the bombs, throw them now!" Participants rose, pouring mana into the poisonous vials Maximus had prepared, and hurled them at the wolves.

Even before the bombs could land, they detonated in clouds of black smoke and fire, covering the entire field in suffocating darkness. As the poisonous smoke spread across the battlefield, the sounds of choking and agonized coughing began to fill the night. With the fading screams, the darkness slowly thinned, revealing a field littered with dead wolves.

With most of his pack either dead or trapped in the pits, the Blood King howled and lunged forward, moving like a living shadow before landing amid his fallen pack. He cried out three times, and then mana enveloped his form, sprouting bloody tentacles that slithered outward and stabbed into the corpses of the wolves. Maximus rose, his eyes widened.

"It cannot be…" He muttered as the smaller wolves suddenly twitched and rose, their wounds closing as if nothing had happened. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"It's reviving them. What the fuck?!" Franko shouted, his hand twitching around his rifle.

"I'm afraid it's worse than that," Maximus said quietly as he observed the scene through his World Sense. Before him, the world of darkness lit up. He saw fire mana and numina still seeping through the ground where the lilies had burned before, blue water mana and numina flowing beneath the surface, crackling with electricity, and through it all, an oppressive, almost living mass of blood mana covering everything like an enormous octopus centered around the Blood King.

Countless chains linked the smaller wolves to King's form, feeding them mana and numina, and what Maximus noticed, which made this even more terrifying, was that they contained absolutely no spirit energy, meaning they were not alive… and probably had not been for a long while.

"I think these wolves are part of his ability. He is either controlling dead wolves or creating new ones. As long as he lives, we won't be able to win this," Maximus said coldly, making Franko grind his teeth.

"Well… shit then…" He muttered before barking orders.

"If we want to survive, we need to go all out. Melee classes, prepare to descend in five minutes. Ranged and healers, take the walls. Everyone, focus on the big bastard!" Franko shouted as he leaned his rifle on the wall, aiming at the Blood King before unleashing a laser-like beam with a loud, buzzing roar. The ray of thick white energy struck the wolf head-on, hitting its chest, but it failed to pierce the barrier, which swirled like living blood around its massive canine form.

"Shit! Go on, what are you waiting for? Unleash hell!" Franko shouted before firing another shot.

Mages, archers, and all other classes released every ranged attack they had, aiming at the Blood King and his raised wolves. The King moved, dodging the attacks effortlessly and firing crimson beams from its maw whenever it found an opening. The beams struck the positions of the ranged attackers, piercing through some participants and ending their lives instantly and without mercy. Others screamed in horror, throwing themselves off the walls and running deeper into the village in blind panic.

"Damn, cowards!" Franko cursed as he finally pierced the barrier, hitting the King straight in the front leg, making him stumble and fall mid-dash. Seeing the opportunity, Maximus activated two Storm Javelins, tossing them precisely at the stumbling beast. The first javelin detonated as it struck the beast's barrier, while the second pierced its flank, exploding in a violent burst of sharp winds and crackling lightning. The wolf growled as part of its flank was shattered from the attack.

It opened its maw and began drawing the bloody mana inward from the air, and as it did, its wounds started closing visibly, flesh stitching together as bone regrew. Its smaller wolves, as if responding to defend him, lunged forward, vaulting over the walls and spilling into the village. As they landed, as if commanded, somehow they found and attacked the healers first, biting at their throats and tearing into flesh with sickening crunches.

"Maria, please!" Franko screamed as bright white light flashed behind them, and Maria sprinted forward, two shortswords in her hands, shining with pale white light. She slashed twice, sending a cross-shaped arc of energy that split the first wolf she hit into four equal pieces.

"Max, we got this!" Felix roared as he froze the closest wolf, while Oscar shattered it into frozen fragments with a forceful downward smash. Oscar instantly repositioned, using his body to shield the remaining healers as they struggled to survive the onslaught. He activated his new skill and began sweeping and thrusting at the dozens of wolves that the King had brought back to life. As he moved, his attacks grew more precise, sharper, stronger.

His entire body began to glow bright red, and a small translucent eastern dragon coiled around his spear, following every motion. Oscar grinned as he saw it. I knew that'd be a top-tier skill. He smiled as he continued to evade swipes and snapping jaws while striking down the beasts. Seeing this, Felix smiled and summoned his ice armor. A wolf bit down on his arm violently, but the ice held firm as Felix drove his blade into its neck, freezing its insides almost instantly.

The beast dropped lifelessly as Felix surged forward into another, sending a wide arc of freezing wind rippling through nearby wolves, slowing them down. Silex didn't waste a moment either. At the sight of the wolves, his eyes gleamed as he lunged at one, snapping it in half before diving into its corpse and devouring the excess blood.

His white maw turned crimson as he tore into meat and chunks of organs before slamming his heavy tail into another, launching it toward Felix, who nodded and split it cleanly in half. Other participants noticed the tide shifting and joined the fight, slashing, thrusting, and striking with renewed determination, while Maria moved like a pale queen of death. She danced from wolf to wolf, carving through limbs and heads with her radiant blades.

"That's quite a woman," Maximus remarked to Franko before releasing another javelin, which the King narrowly avoided before howling in pain, as if feeling the death of each of his wolves. As he howled, the dead and the trapped wolves, still submerged in the flooded pits, rose into the air before merging back into him. Then, with a sickening crack, something within him broke, and his massive form split into two; one remained behind as a clone, while the original turned and fled.

"It's running! If we lose him now, we're doomed when he returns!" Maximus shouted.

"Felix, Oscar, come with me; we need to catch him! Silex, stay here and assist!" He ordered as he morphed into his Cat Form and launched into pursuit. The clone turned to intercept Maximus, but Franko fired a round shell that detonated above it, releasing a heavy electrified net that slammed it to the ground, binding it temporarily.

"Maria, go with them, help them! The rest of you assist me with the clone!" Franko commanded. Felix and Oscar disengaged as the remaining participants held the line against the wolves, then rushed out as the gates opened, Maria following close behind.

"Don't you die, you bald bastard!" She shouted as she sprinted, shining like a star in the blood-soaked night.

As the four of them left, Franko shouted, "I need more to follow! The King is weakened, but he won't go down without a fight!"

"We will go. Don't worry, my good man!" Toby called out as three cloaked figures stepped forward and followed him.

"Thank you, friends; please help them!" Franko shouted as he fired another net over the struggling clone.