Chapter 144: The Fisherman
As the mutated wolf pack prowled restlessly, growling and whispering among themselves while glancing toward Liang Jing, two of the wolves finally could not hold back any longer. They cautiously began stepping toward him.
“Mutated Wild Wolf: White, Common, Level 10. Mutated from a gray wolf. Incredibly strong, agile, and ferocious, with razor-sharp claws and fangs. Cunning, suspicious, and patient predators.”
Just as expected! They were one level higher than the mutated black-backed dogs. Wolves were already far more aggressive, predatory, and savage than dogs, and after mutation they had become even more dangerous.
Good! Come in small batches, a few at a time. Use a war of attrition. That suits me perfectly!
The two mutated wolves continued creeping closer—two hundred meters, one hundred eighty meters, one hundred fifty meters...
Liang Jing patiently watched them approach. The closer they came, the fewer chances they would have to dodge, and the more certain he could be of killing them with a single strike. As the two Level Ten mutated wild wolves drew nearer, the wolves behind them seemed unable to restrain themselves any longer and appeared ready to charge Liang Jing as well.
Just then—
Whuff! Whuff!
Bang! Bang!
The two wolves had been edging forward without incident, growing somewhat complacent. At that moment, they shifted slightly apart, but they were completely unable to evade the sudden attack. Their bodies shuddered violently and their steps halted. Their heads exploded, most of each skull shattering as flesh, bone, and brains sprayed in every direction. One second, two seconds...
Boom!
The two enormous mutated wolf corpses crashed to the ground, sending up dust and debris.
Whine! Awoooo!
The other mutated wolves, which had been preparing to charge Liang Jing, immediately stopped. They stared at their two brutally slaughtered companions and howled miserably, fear filling their eyes as they looked at him. For a moment, they were utterly terrified.
Perhaps the many monster corpses scattered nearby also contributed to their fear. In their minds, Liang Jing had already become a terrifying and incomparably dangerous demon. Every part of a wolf’s body was tough, but the head was the hardest of all. Yet that demon had shattered their most trusted armor with nothing more than a small movement of his claw.
Terrifying! Simply terrifying!
In their experience, creatures that walked on two legs were extremely weak. Even before mutation, when their bodies had been far smaller than those of these two-legged creatures, a single wolf could easily kill one. They had never imagined that this particular two-legged creature could be so horrifying—that he could crush the hardest part of their bodies with a mere flick of his fingers. For a time, they did not dare take even half a step closer.
The scene once again returned to how it had been at the beginning. Although the mutated wild wolves were afraid, they had no intention of giving up. They had seen that the two-legged creature was already seriously wounded, and they were waiting for him to die.
Seeing this, Liang Jing relaxed slightly as well. He waited for the zombie known as Brother Huang to arrive. Meanwhile, the injuries on his body were rapidly recovering under the effect of his life essence, and his internal organs had already been restored by the last life potion.
Time passed slowly. Liang Jing did not dare show the slightest trace of unease or impatience. Wolves had always been the most cunning and troublesome of wild beasts.
Awoooo!
After a long while, just as Liang Jing was beginning to let his guard down, the largest and most robust wolf in the pack could no longer restrain itself. It threw back its head and let out an incomparably loud howl.
The mutated wolf pack seemed to have reached the limit of its patience. They were about to make their move and charge Liang Jing. His expression changed drastically.
This was bad! More than twenty mutated wild wolves were attacking him all at once. There was no way he could handle them in his current condition!
“Haha! We found him! Liang Jing is here!”
“He’s still alive? That bastard’s life is harder than a cockroach’s. It’s practically impossible to kill him. Damn, that was a cannon shell! That thing isn’t human anymore. Everyone, be careful.”
“What are you afraid of? Haha! The three of us are going to earn ourselves a great merit this time. Political Commissar Gong hates Liang Jing to the bone. Who knows what kind of reward he’ll give us?”
...
Just as Liang Jing steeled himself to fight the mutated wolf pack to the death, human voices suddenly came from one side. His heart stirred, and he stopped moving, pretending to be gravely wounded and on the verge of death.
After recovering for some time, Liang Jing could now move slightly. He was no longer as helpless as he had been at the beginning, when even the slightest movement had been impossible.
Awoooo!
While the three men were discussing what to do, the alpha wolf let out a howl. Mistaking them for Liang Jing’s companions, it temporarily abandoned the wounded delicacy that could not move, then summoned the mutated wolf pack to pounce upon the three Awakened Ones.
“Ah! This is bad! Wolves—mutated monsters!”
“Damn it! Quickly, kill them!”
...
Watching the three Awakened Ones, Liang Jing could not help shaking his head inwardly. How had they managed to come this far without incident? They had not even assessed the situation in the area before swaggering out into the open. Now let’s see how they get out of this. These mutated wild wolves certainly were not going to listen to them.
“Damn it! We’ll fight you beasts to the death! Roar!”
“Old Zhang, hold them off in front! Watch my sea of flames! Go!”
“You beasts are courting death! Gravity! Die!”
Seeing more than twenty enormous mutated wild wolves charging toward them, the three men roared and immediately took up fighting positions.
Old Zhang wielded a massive refined-steel club ten centimeters thick. His arms swelled to several times their original size, becoming twice as thick as his thighs, while his muscles bulged and his veins stood out. He lunged forward and swung the club horizontally at the oncoming wolves.
A middle-aged man of average build waved his hand, and a sea of flames erupted in front of Old Zhang.
The final man was broad and sturdy, carrying a thick-backed saber. With a furious shout, he caused the wolves charging at them to stagger. Some fell to the ground, while others slowed dramatically, bringing them directly into the path of the steel club and saber.
Old Zhang’s massive club blocked several mutated wolves. Many were struck so hard that their bones broke and they collapsed. The strength in his enormous arms was clearly no joke. The sturdy man’s saber was equally formidable. For a time, flesh flew, and the howls of wolves mingled with screams.
If Old Zhang had faced even one mutated wolf alone with nothing but his club, he would have struggled to deal with it. Yet when the three worked together, the results were unexpectedly impressive.
Liang Jing’s eyes brightened. These men were unimpressive in themselves, but their awakened abilities were genuinely useful. Working together, they fought with remarkable coordination.
Old Zhang, possessing immense strength, held the front line. Beside him stood the sturdy man with gravity abilities, while behind them was the man whose sea of flames provided area attacks. For a time, the mutated wolves suffered heavy casualties.
No wonder they dared to act so recklessly in this dangerous mountain wilderness filled with mutated monsters.
Not bad at all—a tank, crowd control, and a mage.
Awoooo!
Although the mutated wolf pack had been caught off guard at first, they soon adapted. Then they went berserk.
Their eyes reddened, filled with ghostly light. They attacked without regard for their own lives, savage and ruthless, launching desperate assaults.
Even when their bodies were burning, their bones broken, and blood streamed from their wounds, they ignored everything. Even in death, they were determined to tear flesh from the three men.
The three men had never been a match for the wolf pack. They had merely caught the wolves off guard at the beginning. Once the pack erupted in fury, the outcome was obvious.
“Ah! This is bad!”
“These beasts are too savage! They’ve gone mad—run!”
...
Sure enough, although the three men had coordinated well, they had never received any professional training and lacked courage. After killing more than a dozen mutated wolves, they were overwhelmed by the pack’s frenzied, death-defying assault. Their fighting spirit collapsed, and they tried to flee.
But how could the mutated wolves let them escape? How could three men outrun four-legged mutated wolves?
“Stop! Don’t run! We’ll all die if we do!”
“That’s right! Old Zhang, don’t run! Hold them back, or all three of us are finished!”
The man who wielded fire shouted at Old Zhang, whose arms were grotesquely muscular and who carried the club. By now, a chunk of flesh had been torn from Old Zhang’s thigh, his left arm was broken, and deep claw marks across his body were bleeding profusely.
Forget the mountain wilderness—even on open ground, he could not outrun the mutated wolves. Running meant certain death.
They had to fight to the death. Perhaps then they would still have a chance of surviving.
“That’s right!”
“All right, you beasts! Come on! Your grandfather will fight you to the end!”
The sturdy man hurriedly agreed. Old Zhang, who had been running at the front, hesitated before turning back as well. He had suffered the lightest injuries, but without the other two, even if he escaped the wolves, he would never make it out of the wilderness alone.
Soon, a scene of utter savagery unfolded.
Both sides fought without regard for their lives—life for life, blood for blood, tooth for tooth.
...
At that moment, Liang Jing’s eyes shifted. The zombie known as Brother Huang had arrived.
Looking at the battlefield, he saw that only five mutated wolves, including the alpha, were still standing. Old Zhang was the only human still on his feet, and he too was gravely wounded and nearly incapable of resistance. If Liang Jing did not intervene, he would be killed by the wolves within the next instant.
Liang Jing ordered an attack. At the same time, both his hands unleashed Violent Throwing.
Whuff! Whuff! Whuff! Whuff!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
No one on the battlefield had expected Liang Jing, who had appeared to be grievously wounded and dying, to launch a sudden attack.
Four mutated wild wolves, including the alpha, had their heads blown apart and died instantly. The remaining mutated wolf, already suffering from a broken leg, and Old Zhang were killed in the same instant by the zombie known as Brother Huang, who erupted from the side.
Whew!
Liang Jing slowly endured the pain, finished off the remaining wounded creatures, and gathered the spoils. Then, carried on Brother Huang’s back, he swiftly fled the area.
With the death of the mutated wolf pack, more and more mutated monsters were beginning to converge on the place.