Plan

Han was speeding in the forest.

Jumping from tree to tree, he was trying to find a decent spot to hide himself and swoop in onto the last wolf that he needed, wanting to finish the mission and quickly reporting back to the sect.

But after the last kill, the remaining 3 wolves started to become aware that staying solo would be the cause of their downfall, the assailant was obviously picking them off and killing his target.

Han noticed this and realized that his previous plan of wanting to deal with the wolves individually had to be scrapped. The wolves were no longer giving him any chances to such opportunities.

He was not afraid of having to deal with a group fight, the wolves that he had taken down were weak.

It was definitely not an issue for him to deal with 2 or even maybe 3 at once, but it was the alpha wolf who made him feel apprehensive, he could not gauge the strength of the alpha accurately and thus he didn't want to risk his chances. That was why he chose to use such a roundabout method of picking off solo wolves.

But it seemed that it was no longer possible for such a tactic anymore.

Han decided to camp and wait for the wolves to gather around his location, he weakened his presence by circulating [Mirage steps] and hid atop a branch of a giant tree that was near him.

After leveling [Mirage Steps] and exceeding its level to beyond 5, the supposedly final stage of the skill.

Han noticed that not only had the skill's potential increased, allowing the user to step beyond a thousand with a single step, it had also managed to provide him with an extra bonus ability, the skill had managed to provide mirage effects which enabled the user to be illusory, but with Han's current mastery, weakening his presence was the best he could do.

The wolves soon gathered around the giant tree that Han had hid on.

Through the scent that Han had left on with the first wolf he killed, the others managed to capture onto his scent and track his location all the way here. It was certainly impressive how much a wolf's nose can do.

But upon reaching the giant tree, the wolves realized that the trail of scent ended here and there was no remaining clues for them to work with to seek out the murderer of their comrades.

The 3 wolves began to circle about the area, hoping to sniff out something and maybe luck out and find some clues. But they maintained at least a distance of 50m away from each other, it was something the wolves had unknowingly agreed upon, just in case another accident might occur.

....

Han gaze chilled as he continued to stare at the 3 canines moving about as they occasionally sniffed in the air.

He had decided to clash with them head on, but it was best to take down another one or two wolves before he did so.

His hand that was holding onto his sword stiffened and his grip tightened.

Crack.

Han flew downwards like an eagle swooping in to catch prey, the branch that he was previously standing on shattered into tiny pieces with the shards of its remnants dropping downwards, having the gravity's force acting on it.

Han had decided that running away from this encirclement was impossible, his chances of killing a wolf and getting a trophy before he escaped was truly too low.

The other 2 wolves, especially the alpha wouldn't just sit there and watch its brethren get killed off by him. Else he wouldn't had to risk it and clash with the group head on.

After some consideration, he decided that finishing of both weaker wolves before dealing with the alpha was the most ideal situation he can provide himself with.

He waved his hand and executed [Quick Draw Blade] , stabbing downwards to kill off his target. Managing to pick off an unsuspecting wolf that was not paying attention to what was happening above it.

As the sword made contact with its brain, the wolf's pupil dilated and turned dull, body slumping onto the ground as its life force slowly ebbed away.

When alpha and the other wolf finally notice what was going on, it was too late. Yet another wolf picked off.

ROAR! ROAR ROAR!

Both wolves released maddened roars and charged towards Han, determined to rip apart the young boy that was in front of them even if it meant discarding their lives away.

Han activated [Mirage Steps] and dodged, while dodging he managed to slice at the weaker wolf and dismembered one of its limbs. Sending it flying forwards and tumbling into the ground.

The alpha didn't waste this small window of opportunity and managed to claw at Han's sword. Chipping away the edge and snapping the iron sword into two. The iron sword that had not even accompanied Han's journey for a few days was destroyed just like that.

Han clicked his tongue and threw his sword aside, unsheathing a small curved dagger that was kept in his lower thigh.

Despite having one of its limbs hacked off, the wolf refused to let the person in front of him go. It felt so much hatred towards the boy, this little person was the one who murdered off 3 of its brothers, how could it ever forgive him?

It launched forward with the remaining power it had and bite at Han, wanting to deal him a fatal injury before it left this world. Han easily dodged to the side and shattered its throat.

Plop!

The wolf that was not resigned to its fate fell onto the ground.

Dead!

The alpha which had been by the side looked on and sadness flashed through its eyes before re -directing its hatred at Han.

There was dead silence as the two faced each other.

The alpha decided that it was time to end this facade and leaped towards Han.

Suu! Suu! Suu!

Han felt that the enemy was faster then him and had greater agility, his expression changed and he immediately activated [Mirage Steps] and even then, he was still damaged by the body slam from the wolf.

Blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

Han was trying to find flaws in his enemy, however with his lack of experience and the wolf's past experience of fighting was too much more compared to his, Han couldn't find many flaws that he could exploit in the fight.

This observation made his heart grow cold.

The prowess of the wolf was slightly higher then his. His brain spun furiously at work.

I will definitely die if we keep on fighting in close combat….

Why not….

Han's eyes flashed as he thought of a plan.

Su!

He suddenly exited the fight and pushed his mastery of [Mirage Steps] to the max

Mirage step has gained experience points.... EXP +

Mirage step has gained experience points.... EXP +

Instantly, his figure flashed multiple times and he began dashing through the forest and headed towards a place he had in mind.

Grrr

The wolf refused to be left behind and chased from the back.

Han has managed to calm himself down after running a few distance, the wolf was slightly faster then him, but after pushing his utmost to use [Mirage Steps]. He could still barely maintain some distance between them.

As he ran, he could feel [Mirage steps] improving, allowing him to increase his speed ever so slightly.

According to Han's plan, there were a few deadly beasts around, he intended to draw the wolf into their territory and let both beasts clash with each other. The beast who's territory had been intruded upon certainly wouldn't let the intruder get away.

Both human and beast soon entered a forest range where there were huge trees situated about, oddly there were signs that one could infer from that a battle had taken place here.

That's right, it was where Han and the panther clashed, Han had decided to lead the wolf here and have the panther deal with it, although the panther was stronger, it had not fully recovered from its wounds that had been inflicted during its last battle.

Shortly after, an infuriated roar could be heard and the alpha wolf got stunned in place. Han didn't waste this chance and instantly flashed away, landing behind a bush and quickly tried to weakened his presence.

As the wolf began to realize that it had intruded upon another's territory, a black shadow flashed and attacked.

The wolf was sent flying and had its rib bones broken.

The black shadow was the Moonshadow panther that Han had fought against, both beasts glared at each other. Growling deeply and making snapping noises at each other. The wolf wanted to back out and continue its previous hunt on the human, but the panther wouldn't let it. If it let away this wolf, what remaining dignity could it have the next time this happened again?