Chapter 11

As a merchant who had traveled far and wide, Mes had certainly seen wolves before, but he could swear that he had never seen a wolf as large as this one from birth to now.

Just by its size, the giant wolf was as tall as a man, with a thick, glossy fur coat. At that moment, it was leisurely squinting its eyes, enjoying the warm afternoon sun, its thick tail swaying behind it, looking very relaxed. And at that moment, Rize had already closed her mouth, following behind Rod in silence. As a mercenary, Rize certainly knew how terrifying and dangerous these beasts were. Although she wasn't as nervous as the fat merchant, who was so tense that he couldn't even breathe, the young girl also turned her gaze to Rod, waiting for his orders.

And Rod was also thinking.

The silver wolf "Moon Soul," a level 10 elite, although not a boss, was still quite troublesome. After all, in the Dragon Soul Continent, the danger of monsters, apart from humanoid creatures, was divided into three levels: beasts, giant beasts, and magical beasts. Beasts were ordinary creatures, while giant beasts were those that had grown large over a long period of survival or due to some stimulation, becoming fierce and dangerous. When they awakened their soul power, they would upgrade to magical beasts. At that point, they would not only fight with their bodies but also become even more troublesome.

Although the silver wolf in front of him was not as threatening as the previous Wind Snake Lord, and it wasn't difficult for Rod to deal with it, ...

Thinking of this, Rod couldn't help but glance around. If this were a game, Rod wouldn't mind casually killing the opponent for some experience and materials. However, this wasn't a game, and they were only three people. Rize was just a Spirit Master and didn't have the ability to protect herself. As for Mes, he was even less capable of fighting. In this situation, it was better to avoid trouble than to seek it.

Thinking of this, Rod made a gesture and then turned to walk in another direction. The Moonlight Lake wasn't small, so there was no need to take a shortcut and do something that would be more trouble than it was worth. Seeing his action, Rize and Mes exchanged a glance and then followed behind Rod, planning to leave. However, unfortunately, good luck didn't seem to favor them.

"Crack."

Just as the fat merchant turned, his foot slipped, and he fell heavily to the ground, crushing a branch under him.

At that moment, Rod, who had been walking in front, immediately turned around and raised his right hand. Soon, with a clear bird call, a green figure shot out from his hand, heading straight for the two people's back.

"Boom!!"

With the sound of the impact, a low howl came from behind the two. Rize and Mes turned around and were surprised to find that the white giant wolf, which should have been some distance away, had somehow already appeared behind them. At that moment, its massive body was lying on the ground, seemingly hit by some external force.

Then, a shadow flashed past the two.

As soon as the fat merchant fell, Rod had already sensed something was wrong. After all, in the Silver Moon Forest, these giant wolves had one of the top three senses. However, fortunately, Rod had encountered pig-like NPCs in the game more than once, and these experiences came in handy at this moment—although Rod's senses weren't high enough to lock onto these giant beasts, his familiarity with giant wolves allowed him to make a quick judgment. Although the resting "Moon Soul" was unlikely to immediately attack them, it had definitely detected their presence. Given the nature of these giant wolves, they would likely follow quietly and wait until night to attack. They could wait, but Rod couldn't. It was better to take the initiative and control the situation rather than passively deal with them later.

Rod's judgment was very accurate.

Moon Soul hadn't expected the attack to come so quickly. Faced with the soul bird flying towards it, it instinctively reacted but was still a step too slow. The green bird hit its body precisely, and the shock wave sent it flying.

While the white giant wolf was still on the ground, not yet recovered from the impact, Rod, who had activated Shadow Flash, was already by its side. He focused on the giant wolf in front of him and then extended his right hand.

"Cage!" (Elvish: Convert)

The green bird flew back into his hand, turning into a card, and its color instantly changed from green to white. Without looking, Rod turned his hand and firmly gripped the card, then thrust it straight into Moon Soul's right hind leg.

A white beam instantly pierced Moon Soul's right leg, pinning it to the ground. At that moment, a long, snow-white sword had already appeared in Rod's hand.

"———!!!"

The silver wolf let out a painful howl, its eyes wide open, staring at the hateful human in front of it, trying to stand up. However, as soon as it steadied itself, it swayed and had to regain its balance.

At that moment, Rod's second attack arrived.

Seeing the silver wolf's movements, Rod was secretly relieved. After all, the biggest feature of these elites was their speed. If he couldn't disable this feature in the first moment, the battle would certainly be a tough one. Now, with one hind leg disabled, the silver wolf couldn't rely on its speed to fight, making the situation much simpler.

Although one hind leg was disabled, the silver wolf didn't panic. It stared intently at its target. As Rod thrust his sword forward, the wolf raised its front paw and swung it down at Rod.

Although the silver wolf had counterattacked, Rod, who had anticipated its move, didn't panic. Instead, he flipped his right hand, and the white blade slid under the wolf's paw, drawing a trail of blood. As the wolf retracted its paw in pain, all it saw was a sharp, blinding light blade in front of it.

Critical hit!

The flying broken blade pierced its massive body, easily tearing through its tough fur. With a painful howl, the white giant wolf flew into the air, crashing into a small tree before falling to the ground. Half of its body was torn open, revealing white bones and slowly oozing internal organs.

This sight was indeed nauseating, and even Rod, who had planned to deliver the final blow, couldn't help but frown. After all, in the game, critical hits were represented by data, not such vivid scenes. Although he had seen it before in the battle with the wind snake, it never made him feel good.

After being hit by the soul bird and Rod's highly targeted attacks, the black giant wolf had reached its limit. The once threatening roar had turned into a low moan. It struggled to support its body, trying to stand up. However, Rod didn't give it the chance. With a swift movement, he thrust the Star Trace into its brain, decisively taking its life.

Although it seemed long, in fact, it had only been a minute or two. For Rize and Mes, what they saw was the silver wolf being knocked to the ground, followed by Rod appearing beside it and ending its life with a few swift strikes. Both were amazed. After all, this was a giant wolf, not an easy opponent. Rize knew that even her mercenary group, with a full team, would find it difficult to kill a giant wolf so easily. But looking at Rod's performance, it was as if he was killing a chicken, not a wolf!

As for the fat merchant, his feelings were even more complex. When he fell, he had already felt a chill. He knew what it meant and was afraid the wolf would detect their presence. He had guessed the process but not the outcome. Although the silver wolf had indeed detected them, it hadn't had the chance to act on its hunger before tragically becoming a corpse...

Although the danger was over, the fat merchant was still uneasy, nervously watching the young man not far from him. He knew it was his fault. What if the young man turned on him and left him here? In normal times, he wouldn't worry about such things, as he had guards he paid for. But now, this young man wasn't a guard or a mercenary; their relationship was completely equal. If he was unhappy, he could easily leave him here. That would be the end of him!

"This... I... I'm not..."

Thinking of this, the fat merchant felt a cold sweat on his back. He licked his dry lips, trying to say something but couldn't. At that moment, he saw Rod stand up, turn around, and calmly look at him.

"Be careful when you walk."

The fat merchant found that he could only nod, with nothing else to do...