Chapter 53

Surrounded by a pack of wolves, the protagonist succubus and the middle-aged vampire found themselves in a dire situation. Ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, even a million winter wolves surrounded them. These snow-white furred, calf-sized hungry wolves bared their teeth and growled menacingly, as if to say, "I'm going to eat your flesh!"

"Wolves, when there are few of them, can be killed with a few swings. But when there are so many, they're actually... quite terrifying," the middle-aged vampire couldn't help but say.

"Are you afraid, sir? If you are, just say it, it's not shameful. Give me enough commission, and I'll protect you and break through the encirclement," the succubus said to the middle-aged vampire.

"Bullshit, you can barely take care of yourself. If I hadn't drawn half of their attention, you would have been dead long ago. I haven't even asked for my commission back, and you're trying to raise the price?!"

"Is there a problem?! Ha ha ha, you really underestimate me, yes, you do! I haven't even used a fraction of my strength. The key is that I have no money, so I have no motivation. Otherwise, I could scare you to death."

As they spoke, they swung their long swords and wands, the cold metal and surging arcane power forming an impenetrable boundary. With them at the center, a five-meter radius became a death zone, where the bodies of winter wolves lay scattered. Blood, corpses, and shredded flesh covered the ground.

The succubus roughly estimated that if they skinned all these winter wolves to make rugs and sell, the money would be astronomical. Specifically, enough to live a life of luxury for a year in the best tavern in Natar. Of course, the prerequisite was that they had to survive the wolves' attack.

"Otherwise, sir, I can fly. I can take you and make a grand escape," the succubus said, putting away the depleted wands into her dimensional bag and quickly casting a spell. A ball of strong acid dissolved half the body of a winter wolf that tried to pounce.

"Are you crazy? At least twenty bows are aimed at us. If you stand up, they'll shoot!" the middle-aged vampire shouted, stepping forward and swinging his sword to kill two winter wolves before retreating to cover the succubus.

"Can you see that, sir? I just see a pack of winter wolves," the succubus feigned ignorance.

"Magician, your perception is probably weak," the middle-aged vampire said. "Among these winter wolves, at least a company of qualified warriors is hiding."

"A whole company?"

"More, not less."

"Damn, what trouble did you get into, sir? Did you force yourself on a female wolf because you were lonely?!"

As the succubus said this, she pulled out a small ball from her dimensional bag and threw it on the ground. An extremely pungent smell instantly filled the air, like a mixture of chili, mustard, and pepper, concentrated tenfold. She then cast a wind spell, blowing the powder towards the wolves. The wolf-dogs, being close relatives of dogs, let out "woof woof" sounds and retreated.

"You're the one who forced yourself on a female wolf!" the middle-aged vampire shouted in anger. His body trembled from rage, and two winter wolves saw an opportunity to attack, almost succeeding.

However, in the end, the middle-aged vampire used his formidable strength to overcome the crisis. The succubus, though he didn't see it, could feel the wind pressure from behind, allowing him to "sense" what happened.

The middle-aged vampire punched a winter wolf, a calf-sized canine, in the nose, its most vulnerable part. The succubus clearly heard the "crack" of the nasal bone breaking.

Well, up to this point, things were still relatively normal. The abnormal part came next—after the punch, the calf-sized canine flew out like a stone from a crossbow, unscientifically turning into stars.

"This strength is... damn it, there's not a single good vampire! They're all arrogant bastards!"

After a brief moment of surprise, the succubus couldn't help but curse in his mind. The middle-aged vampire usually seemed refined, interested in studies and research, and liked to sit in a sedan chair carried by four skeletons.

All this made the succubus assume that he was a skilled mage, likely proficient in the necromancy school.

But when it came to action, the middle-aged vampire swung his long sword and charged in, his swordsmanship beautiful. The succubus, glancing sideways, felt that he was almost on par with the middle-aged vampire. His movements and reactions were slightly slower, but his strength was greater. Without the infinite stamina of a vampiric sword, he couldn't attack as recklessly as the middle-aged vampire, making his techniques more cautious.

"Arrogant, really arrogant!" the succubus cursed in his mind, ignoring the fact that he was even more arrogant—so far, he had only used magic, and the sword, claw, and a stack of throwing knives in his dimensional bag had not been used. He had only shown a quarter of his strength.

"Let's continue the previous conversation," the succubus said nonchalantly. "What's really going on here?"

"Whatever it is, these winter wolves are definitely not acting on their own!" the middle-aged vampire said firmly. "The disappearances of others might also be related to these wolves!"

The succubus thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe these people are from a special druid school? I've heard that druids and rangers sometimes... you probably forced yourself on someone's girlfriend, so—"

"—Are you done yet?!" the middle-aged vampire was again enraged, almost being gutted by a winter wolf's claws. After regaining his composure, he shouted, "In any case, we can't keep thinking about the reason. We need to come up with a plan! This can't go on!"

"I know it can't go on! But how do we do it? I don't know either!" the succubus shouted back. "Thousands of winter wolves, we can't win even if we go crazy. How about I switch sides and stab you in the back?"

"Do you think they'll let you go if I die?!"

"How do you know unless you try?"

The succubus said this, but he didn't really mean to do it. The middle-aged vampire, though he knew he was unreliable, was still tense for a while. Only after seeing that the succubus made no big moves did he relax and say, "Let's get serious!"

"I've always been serious!"

"You... forget it, I won't argue with you. Mage, listen, these winter wolves aren't as many as you think. There are at most a few hundred! They look numerous because of visual deception. Their fur blends with the ice, and the wind and snow make them seem countless.

I say a few hundred because a typical wolf pack can't be that large. Winter wolves need meat, and the ice plain isn't just home to winter wolves. The number of carnivores and herbivores in an area is limited, so the number of winter wolves in an area is fixed! Gathering a few hundred to attack us is already their maximum effort!"

"Oh..." the succubus nodded. "Did you pick up my book, 'How to Properly Be Arrogant'?"

"Threw it away! What do I need it for?! Listen to me!"

By now, the middle-aged vampire had a deeper understanding of the succubus's mental state. He didn't let his guard down because of the succubus's nonsense:

"I'm sure these winter wolves come from different packs. They are being controlled—"

"—No kidding!"

"—Let me finish!"

"—I have no patience, get to the point!"

"Get to the point: these winter wolves are controlled, and control has limits, specifically time. If we can last long enough, the wolves will lose control. That will be our chance!" the middle-aged vampire shouted.

"I hate endurance contests! Is there a faster way?!" the succubus shouted.

"You can try to kill them all by yourself, I'll support you in spirit!"

After that, the middle-aged vampire and the succubus didn't speak again, just stood back to back, staring at the pack of wolves, facing off.

After the succubus and the middle-aged vampire finished their conversation, the succubus suddenly felt the arcane energy in the air become chaotic, and the eyes of the winter wolves turned blood red, as if they had gone mad, and they pounced at the succubus and the middle-aged vampire.

Seeing this, the succubus and the middle-aged vampire felt a sudden tension—whether they had planned it from the beginning or were inspired by their conversation, the enemy was no longer waiting. They were preparing for a final assault!