The First Hunt (5)

With the defeat of the alpha of the pack, the remaining three wolves which were currently about to engage with Evan entered a berserk state, letting go of their inhabitations as a blood-coloured hue sprang from their bodies.

Seeing their berserk state, Evan surmised that the other group successfully managed to bring down that gigantic wolf as he prepared himself to dance at the edge of a cliff, with a fine margin between his survival and his death.

The wolves were running in a formation composed of a semi-circle, with one in the middle and the other two at each opposite end.

Taking a deep breath, he waited until the wolves came within 10 metres of him before launching a slash toward the wolf positioned on the right-hand side.

A dark slash made of mana shot out from his sword as the wolf nimbly dodged to the side before rushing forwards again.

By the time Evan completed his first attack, the two other wolves were within a 3-metre range of him as they gathered strength from their hind legs and pounced toward him, ready to rip him to shreds.

Calmly taking this sight in, he channelled the mana in his body, heightening his reflexes as he rushed up to the wolf duo and sent out a sword slash to the left one before twisting his body and throwing a punch augmented with mana with his empty hand.

Since the distance between each party was too close, the wolf on the left failed to completely dodge the dark sword slash as its right shoulder was cut off cleanly, whilst the wolf who received Evan's punch staggered backwards after blocking the blow with its claws.

Seeing an opening, he executed his sword art to the fullest with his speed increasing rapidly before arriving right in front of the maimed wolf who struggled to stand from the loss of its shoulder, as he slashed forwards and cleanly cut off its neck.

Thud!

'One down. Two more to go!'

Looking up, Evan found the third wolf who was at the back, arriving very close to his current position as it gathered enough power to launch itself upon him.

Witnessing this, Evan sent out another two slashes as he dashed forwards slicing his sword forward.

Glimpsing the sword slashes coming its way, the wolf agilely moved its body, dodging the slashes only to find a dark-red blade enlarging in its vision.

Puchi!

The sword cleanly sliced the wolf in two as blood spurted out like a fountain with the wolf's entrails collapsing, lying in a heap on the floor.

Subconsciously relaxing after winning two successive duels, Evan let his concentration waver for a second before an intense feeling of danger assaulted him from behind.

'Shit!'

Desperately slashing his sword backwards with all his might, he felt an unstoppable force ram into his blade, sending him flying as his internal organs shook greatly.

Crash!

Evan was sent flying for 10 meters before crashing into a worn-down building and laying down in a mess on the floor with his sword scattered on the ground beside him.

"Cough… Cough."

Spluttering up some bright red blood which arose from the earlier collision, he felt all the bones in his body protest when he attempted to get up.

'Move! Move! Move!'

Gritting his teeth, Evan roared in his mind, willing his body to get up, as the danger wasn't over yet.

Standing up as fast as he could, he exhaled a turbid breath as he inspected the damage he received from the wolf's sneak attack.

'Looks like I have no broken bones. However, I feel as if ten trucks just rammed into me, going at full speed. Ugh, this is going to be painful.'

Groaning as he shakily stood up, Evan gritted his teeth even harder as he picked up his sword and placed it in his storage ring before he staggered outside the broken building and found the wolf slowly making its way toward him as if taunting about his imminent defeat.

'Here we go! There is one last chance for me to end this. I have to go all out otherwise with how beaten my body is. I don't think I can last in a battle of endurance. Looks like I have to use that, huh?'

Inhaling deeply, he felt waves of burning pain assaulting him after taking a breath, trying to invigorate his body for the upcoming battle.

Closing his eyes, his brows scrunched up as he focused entirely on sensing the mana within his body.

Flowing in a similar manner to the blood in his body, the mana circulated slowly through the pathways in the body as its cerulean shade contrasted with the red colour of the blood.

In the centre of Evan's stomach, just above the belly button lay a vast pool full of never-ending depth as the cerulean-coloured mana entered this pool after making a full trip around the body before coming back and laying quietly in the pool awaiting its next venture.

Using his full concentration, he sent his consciousness into this vast pool, gathering all his resolve as he commanded the tranquil mana in the pool to follow his orders.

'I can do this!' Evan shouted in his mind.

Snapping his eyes open, his eyes turned extremely dark as a black hue began covering different parts of his body.

Starting from the legs up, his whole body became encased in a thin membrane of mana, giving him the appearance of a demon straight from hell.

Gazing at the wolf, who was now within a 2-meter distance, his determination firmed up as he muttered calmly devoid of emotion.

"Demon Reaper art. First Form—Black Death!"

Instantly afterwards, Evan's body sprung into action as all the muscles in his body tensed up before he shot out in the direction of the wolf, with the black hue emanating from his body giving him an eerie appearance, as if he was the monster.

Startled by the sudden movement of its prey, the wolf quickly pounced, slashing with its claws, attempting to swiftly go for the kill.

Dodging the claws with ease, he threw a heavy punch that carried the full weight of all his experiences, good or bad, which fueled the strength of the strike as his fist smashed into the wolf's face, turning it into a bloody mess.

Puchi!

His fist tore through the skin and caved the monster's skull in as its brain turned into a pile of mush, with its dark bestial eyes quickly losing their lustre before its lifeless body slumped to the ground.

Thud!

"Haaa…Haaa"

Panting heavily from the exertion of going all out, Evan plopped to the ground as he began trying to regain his breath.

'Ugh!'

Feeling another wave of pain hit him, greater than the last, he deeply regretted having his concentration waver at the last minute, causing him to end up in such a state.

But as they say, there is no medicine for regret and Evan resolved to use this as a learning experience and grow, becoming an unstoppable warrior where thousands of monsters would tremble in fear at his feet.