Chapter 11: Finding a Way Through the Forest

Since Matt was a traveling merchant, he had unquestionably seen a wolf before, but he could swear to the Five Creator Dragons that he had never seen such a humongous wolf.

It was almost as tall as a man, and its thick fur gleamed with a silver light. Right now, it was sleeping while enjoying the warm afternoon sun. Its tail was swinging back and forth, appearing extremely carefree. Lize had already contained her breathing, following Rhode quietly from behind. As a mercenary, she knew just how frightening and dangerous those beasts were. She was not as nervous as the fat merchant who did not even dare to breathe, but she still looked at Rhode, waiting for his order.

The Silver Wolf, Moon Soul, was a level 10 Elite Beast. Even though it was not classified as a BOSS, it was still very troublesome.

In Dragon Soul Continent Online, monsters were classified into 3 types: Wild Beast, Giant Beast, and Demonic Beast. A Wild Beast was just an ordinary beast monster while Giant Beasts were the Wild Beasts who had lived for a long period of time or had been stimulated by external factors and evolved. They were dangerous and ferocious. Once they had awakened their soul, they would turn into a Demonic Beast. At that time, it would be more difficult to fight them since they would not fight just by using their own body anymore.

Although the Silver Wolf's level was below the Wind Serpent Lord and killing it wasn't that hard, but...

Rhode subconsciously glanced at the two following him.

If it was still game, he would not mind killing it to gain more EXP and materials. However, this wasn't a game, and there were only the three of them. Lize was a cleric, so she didn't have the power to protect herself and Matt... was even more vulnerable. Since this was the case, it was better to do nothing.

Rhode made a gesture and pointed towards another direction. Since Moonlight Lake was big, there was no need for him to expend unnecessary energy. Looking at his gesture, Lize and Matt looked at each other and followed him with the intention to leave. It was a pity that lady luck wasn't on their side.

Kacha! When the fat merchant turned around, he suddenly slipped and fell to the ground, crushing a branch under his body.

At this point, Rhode immediately rushed back and lifted his right hand. Soon, a bird's whistle resounded in the air and a green figure appeared from his hand, rushing to the other two.

Boom!! Accompanied by the sound of the impact, a low howl came from behind. Lize and Matt turned around and were surprised to find that the giant Silver Wolf that was previously far from them had already approached them from behind. But suddenly, its huge body was flung to the ground as if it had been hit by an external force.

After that, a shadow flashed past.

When Matt fell, Rhode already had a bad feeling. After all, in the Silver Moon forest, the Silver Wolf's perception was third highest among the monsters. Luckily, he had encountered this kind of troublesome situation before because of stupid NPCs.

Although Rhode's perception was not as high as being able to lock the Giant Wolf's movements, but based on his familiarity towards the Silver Wolf, he could immediately make a judgment. He knew that the resting Silver Wolf was unlikely to attack them immediately but was already aware of their presence. Based on its characteristics, it would most likely wait until dark to attack them.

Meanwhile, Rhode judged that it was probably better to take the initiative to attack first based on his experience.

He was right.

The Moon Soul did not expect that the other side would be so fast to attack. Facing the Spirit Bird's attack, it managed to react, but it was still too slow. The Spirit Bird's attack landed on its body, smashing it flying a distance away.

The Giant Wolf laid on the ground, but before it could recover from the impact, Rhode had already arrived beside it in a flash. He then stretched out his right hand.

"Cage!" (Elf Language: Transform)

The Spirit Bird flew back to his hand, transformed into a card, and the color instantly turned from green to white. Rhode did not need to look at it; he flipped his hand while holding the card with force, and thrust forward at the Moon Soul.

At this moment, the white card pierced the Moon Soul's right leg, nailing it to the ground. Then, a pure white sword appeared in Rhode's hand.

"——— !!!"

The Silver Wolf made a painful howl. It opened its eyes and stared ferociously at the hateful human in front of it. When it tried to stand up, it lost its balance and stumbled.

Rhode then prepared for his second attack.

He studied the Silver Wolf's movement. One of those Elite Beast's special characteristics was their incredible speed. If he could not overcome its speed, this battle would turn into a bitter struggle. Right now, Rhode had already broken one of its legs, causing it to be unable to fully utilize its mobility. Hence, the next step would be much easier.

Though its leg was broken, the Silver Wolf did not panic. It stared at the target in front of it and when Rhode's sword was about to pierce again, it raised its paws at Rhode.

But Rhode had already expected the Silver Wolf's counterattack. He flipped his right hand and successfully wounded the Silver Wolf's paw, turning it into a bloody mess. After spending a moment to wince in pain, the next thing it saw was a dazzling sharp edge thrusting towards it.

Critical hit!

Blade of Destruction easily tore apart its scale-like fur.

Accompanied with a painful cry, the Silver Wolf's body flew into the air, hit a small tree and fell to the ground. Half of its body had been torn into a bloody mess, even its internal organs could be seen slowly flowing out.

It was truly a gruesome scene. Even Rhode who was planning to give the last blow could not help but frown. After all, in the game, a critical hit was only shown by a number and was not as explicit as it was right now. Even though he already expected this as he had seen it before during the battle with the Wind Serpent Lord, it still felt disgusting.

After being hit by the Spirit Bird and Rhode's attack, the wolf had reached its limit. The previously threatening howl slowly turned into a whine. It tried to get up, but Rhode did not give any opportunity. He took up Star Mark and pierced its head, decisively taking its life.

The fight might've seemed long, but in fact, it only lasted a minute or two. Lize and Matt only managed to catch a glimpse of the wolf being knocked to the ground, and after that, Rhode was already finishing its life by the tree.

Both of them were shocked. They knew that the Silver Wolf wasn't an easy foe to deal with. Lize was thinking that even if her mercenary group was here, it would still be slightly tough for them to kill it. But looking at Rhode performance, no matter how she saw it, it didn't look like he was killing a wolf. Instead, it looked no different than him killing a chicken!

As for the fat merchant, the feeling he had right now was even more complicated. When he fell on the ground, he had already almost said his last prayers. Of course, he understood what it meant and was terrified that the Silver Wolf would be aware of his presence. Though he had guessed the process, he would not have been able to expect the outcome. The Silver Wolf was indeed fully aware of their presence, but it still tragically turned into a corpse before it could satisfy its appetite.

Though the danger had been removed, the fat merchant was still frightened. He looked at the young man not too far away from him uneasily. He knew this had happened because of him. What if Rhode decided to leave him here?

If it was the usual situation, he would not have to worry about this kind of thing as he had guards protecting him that he'd hired with money. However, it was different now; this young man was not his guard nor his mercenary. His relationship with him was that of equals; if he wasn't happy, he could just leave him here. If that happened, he would be finished!

"This... I... I am not..."

The fat merchant broke out in cold sweat. He licked his lips, intending to say something, but no words came out. At this time, he saw that Rhode had stood up again, then he turned around and looked calmly at him.

"Be careful when walking."

Other than nodding, the fat merchant was unable to do anything else...