Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Frostfire Wolf

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The first to react and swiftly launch the distress rocket was Xie Zhan. Having ventured into the Blackwater Mountains more than anyone else, he was far more mindful of safety than ordinary outer disciples. He always kept the distress rocket fastened at his waist, within easy reach, ready to grab at a moment’s notice. Trusting Xu Wen, he didn’t hesitate to fire the signal.

JU!

The piercing, mournful sound tightened everyone’s nerves.

Stimulated by the distress rocket, four pairs of glowing eyes suddenly ignited in the depths of the dark forest!

Two red, two blue—serpentine pupils appeared abruptly, as if out of nowhere. The group of outer disciples felt as if stabbed by needles, instinctively retreating in terror, frantically chanting incantations…

Xu Wen and several girls quickly unfurled their Flame Shields!

Whoosh!

A shadow leapt from the woods at astonishing speed.

A robust two-headed magical beast landed steadily before them! Nearly as tall as the outer disciples, four meters in length, its fur starkly black and white. Four cold eyes glimmered with a mocking, playful light, scanning the human group before it with disdain, as though regarding them from on high.

Its mere appearance, coupled with overwhelming aura, caused the junior fire mages behind Xu Wen to forget their incantations altogether, backing away in terror as the giant beast pressed down on them with unbearable force.

This was nothing like the magical beasts they’d imagined facing!

Even Xu Wen, Xie Zhan, and the girls were deeply shaken by the beast, struggling to continue chanting their spells and raise their Flame Shields defensively.

“It… it has two heads…” Shi Ya stared at the beast, her breath constricted by its oppressive presence.

“It’s the Frostfire Direwolf,” Xu Wen answered gravely, his words chilling the hearts of the disciples who had studied magical beast lore.

Now they finally understood what was happening.

JU…

One distress rocket after another shot frantically into the sky!

A three-star, fourth-tier magical beast…

And a double-headed three-star beast!

“We’re doomed,” Xie Zhan’s face was deathly pale. Though he had conjured a Flame Spear, he dared not attack. Facing a mid-tier three-star beast, their second-tier magic would barely scratch it. He feared that attacking would only hasten their deaths.

“Shi Ya, take the others and run!”

“Xu Wen, Xie Zhan, since no one can outrun a three-star beast, shouldn’t we at least give them a chance?” Jin Yu, after recovering from the shock, took a deep breath and regained her composure, looking to Xu Wen and Xie Zhan, impressing Xu Wen with her clarity.

“If she survives today, she’ll achieve great things in time!” Xu Wen thought, nodding calmly, his face set as he retrieved a large pill from his brocade pouch at his waist. Jin Yu watched in slight surprise as he swallowed it.

Devil’s Eyes!

At this point, if he didn’t go all out, he might not leave alive.

He swallowed a pill refined from the Windfox demon core…

Hmm!

The pill melted instantly, a surge of heat coursing down from his belly, spreading rapidly to every limb and bone, transforming into turbulent magical energy that flooded and invigorated his body.

Few noticed Xu Wen’s action, their attention fixated on the Frostfire Direwolf that threatened them with death—except Jin Yu.

A flicker from the pill was like a devil’s pupil, sending a jolt through her at a glance.

But now was not the time to dwell on that.

“No! I’m staying with you!” Shi Ya cried.

“Shi Ya!” Jin Yu glanced at her, for the first time revealing a trace of authority. “I promised Aunt I’d take good care of you!”

“Xiang Nan.”

Confronted with Jin Yu’s seriousness, Shi Ya turned to Xiang Nan for help.

“Jin Yu’s right. One mid-tier second-tier fire mage has to lead the group to safety—that has to be you! We’re counting on you!” For the first time, the tomboy’s face was solemn, the tension of the ‘Flame Arrow’ tugging at everyone’s hearts as she spoke without hesitation.

“Go quickly!”

“Get her out of here!” Xie Zhan, having summoned his magic, shouted to those behind him.

A few boys, emboldened by Jin Yu and the others, grabbed Shi Ya, turned, and fled at breakneck speed.

Meanwhile…

The Frostfire Direwolf stood quietly thirty meters away, watching their every move with a mix of curiosity and disdain. It neither attacked nor pursued the fleeing group.

“Why isn’t it attacking us?” Xiang Nan, tense yet hopeful, asked the three beside him.

“Maybe it’s not hungry,” Xie Zhan replied dryly, never relaxing his vigilance.

Xiang Nan leaned back slightly, whispering, “What do you mean, not hungry? It doesn’t want to fight us?”

“Bored magical beasts often toy with weaker prey before killing them… It won’t let us escape—not a single one. It has that kind of power.” Jin Yu’s grave words turned Xiang Nan’s face pale, making him grip his shield tighter.

“Brother Xu?”

As Jin Yu spoke, Xie Zhan finally noticed that Xu Wen had remained silent since Shi Ya’s group left, and something seemed off.

Xu Wen’s face was contorted, sweat rolling down his forehead as he endured intense pain. Yet, strangely, the fire elements around him blazed with unusual vigor, his aura steadily rising, surrounded by a faint red glow.

…

All three sensed Xu Wen’s change, their faces drawn with worry, but at such a moment, they couldn’t spare attention for his transformation, with death hanging so close.

Now, all they could do was wait quietly for the Frostfire Direwolf’s next move, taking things one step at a time, delaying as much as possible to buy time for those fleeing.

Roar!

The Frostfire Direwolf waited half a minute, watching the four prepare their magic but do nothing, finally losing patience. It growled low, moving leisurely as it began to close in.

Jin Yu was right.

The Frostfire Direwolf truly regarded them as frightened ants—a group of prey with no threat whatsoever.

It wanted to see their panic and terror!

But aside from the initial scene, it was disappointed.

The group kept stalling…

After so many years in the Blackwater Mountains, it knew exactly what would happen if it kept waiting. Its gaze deepened, the focus of its four pupils shifting between the four, as if selecting its first target.

The one on the far left was strongest, but oddly, his spiritual power was chaotic, as if suddenly deranged—no fun to kill.

The Frostfire Direwolf shifted its gaze, four beams landing on Xie Zhan and Jin Yu.

Both reacted, eyes narrowing as they unconsciously stepped back, steadying their Flame Shields while their ‘Flame Arrows’ and ‘Flame Spears’ rolled and surged at their sides…

A sign their fire magic was about to be unleashed!

The Frostfire Direwolf curled its two mouths into a human-like grin, deftly dodging their magic with a quick sidestep.

The black wolf head on the left opened wide, unleashing two fireballs, each thirty centimeters in diameter, shooting like cannonballs at Xie Zhan and Jin Yu—a mid-tier second-tier fire mage and a fifth-tier second-tier fire mage.

“It’s Explosive Fireball! Watch—”

The word ‘out’ hadn’t left Xie Zhan’s mouth when the fireball, blazing with suffocating heat, shot past, narrowly missing him.

Bang!!

Jin Yu, less experienced than Xie Zhan, was struck by the terrifying force of the Explosive Fireball, her Flame Shield knocked from her grasp as she and her shield were sent flying in different directions, her body exposed to the fireball’s secondary blast.

Boom!!

Both Explosive Fireballs detonated!

Yet Xie Zhan, having dodged, protected himself with his Flame Shield, taking the blow solidly. The shield’s crimson glow flared and then shattered into countless dim sparks.

Jin Yu was lucky.

With Xiang Nan guarding her, as she was knocked aside, Xiang Nan rushed to shield her from the second blast. But her Flame Shield was weaker than Xie Zhan’s, her defensive magic shattered, even her round shield damaged, the magical shockwave sending her reeling several meters away.

With a playful flick, the Frostfire Direwolf’s second-tier magic shattered all three main defensive spells, injuring them simultaneously—a testament to its strength.

Apparently finding the battle dull, the Frostfire Direwolf ceased wasting time. It raised its head, howled, and a fireball half a meter in diameter rapidly formed before it!

A fierce glint flashed in its eyes, and without hesitation, the Grand Fireball spell rolled into a super fireball several meters wide, growing larger by the second, its momentum threatening all four within its range.

Jin Yu’s face turned pale as she watched the suffocating fireball barrel closer, blocking all escape routes. She knew it was over; with the Frostfire Direwolf’s speed, even Shi Ya’s group couldn’t outrun it.

Just as despair threatened to consume her, the three suddenly noticed Xu Wen, somehow standing before them, single-handedly holding his shield, poised and resolute as he faced the raging super fireball.