An Unforeseen Attack From A Member Of the Lycanne Tribe

Albrecht felt like the past had repeated itself on his end as he heard the explosion from afar. Whilst the first scenario occurred when he was kicked out of the party, this time Sun Wu tried to bring him back to the team and now he was heading back to Caharsa just like before. 

Ironically enough, the situation had unfolded the same as before, except that Sun Wu this time had a change of heart. Albrecht knew all too well that it was thanks to Azura Xalthor— that's why Sun Wu went out of his way to get him back. 

Back then, Albrecht wouldn't have thought about going against Sun Wu's wishes... not because he couldn't do it, per se, but because doing so would incur Sun Wu's wrath and he would face grave consequences. The last thing he wanted was to get kicked out of the party with a broken arm or leg. 

This time though, he was strong enough to provoke him and come out unscathed. He couldn't believe that such was a cruel twist of fate. Just like the wheel that turns the hands of time, one might find himself at rock bottom, and then a moment later, find himself on the highest plateau. 

All of that thought process was for a different time though, since there were more important matters at hand. The moment Albrecht heard the explosion, he instantly hopped out of the horse carriage and jumped up. He knew that whatever the commotion was happening from a distance, it wouldn't be able to reach him in an instant. 

He made use of the gap between his location and the scene of the crime so he could cautiously observe it from afar before he jumped right in. Quite frankly, he was expecting something like a Tri-Horned Minotaur to attack. After all, that was the first monster that attacked him back then. 

During that time, he almost lost his life, but his luck laughed at him and gave him the greatest level-up he could ever receive.

[Skill 'Chronos Reversion' activated]

As time slowed almost to a halt, Albrecht managed to observe the situation before he free-fall'ed towards the ground. The moment he touched down, he knew exactly what he needed to do. Still, the enemy he saw on the other end bothered him a little bit. 

He wasn't exactly worried about the fact that the enemy came from a deeper outerlayer... but its appearance was out of place, and he couldn't help but think that something sinister was happening behind the scenes. 

'I hope I'm just reading too much into things. It wouldn't do me good if I contemplated on it a little too much. For now, let's deal with this guy.' 

In Albrecht's defense, this wasn't the first time something like this happened... but still, it bothered him a little bit. It's as if someone or something had been watching over the world, trying to mess with it whenever an opportunity comes along. 

Of course, Albrecht didn't want to read too much into things, but he could tell that something was really amiss. 

— — —

Graaahrr~!

While Misami Shirohime was thinking about Albrecht, more or less, the horse carriage she was riding suddenly exploded, and she only had a couple of seconds to react before she was hit by the unexpected attack as well. Then again, Shirohime wasn't the 'Frozen Assassin Princess' for nothing.

In a split second, Shirohime curled her entire body and braced for impact. She made sure that she was prepared for an unexpected hit, just in case. Once she was in the clear, she uncurled her body and twisted backward, summoning ice daggers on hand and planting them onto the ground to stop her momentum.

She also subconsciously activated her Zecian Aura, causing the air around her to freeze. Not a lot of adventurers could activate their Zecian Aura while their minds were preoccupied with something else. As for Shirohime though, she trained herself to activate her Zecian Aura even if she became unconscious. This way she would always be prepared for anything, whatever came her way. 

"What was that? An attack? In the middle of the day?" Shirohime let out, clicking her tongue with slight frustration. There she was, looking forward to touring the City of Caharsa while observing Albrecht from afar.

And then this attack just had to happen. 

"Oi oi oi~! These guys are squishy. Welp, not that I could do anything about it." The attacker let out as he used his 'paws' to grab the head of the owner of the horse carriage. He then clenched his fist, crushing the owner's head like a tomato. 

Blood and brains poured out from the gaps in his fingers, and a satisfied smile appeared on the attacker's face.

The attacker was a werewolf of the Lycanne Tribe. With his pristine white fur and a deranged expression on his face, the attacker licked the blood off his 'paws' before letting out a hearty laugh. "Come on, I came here to let out some steam... but these guys aren't even a challenge." 

"I heard some guy killed a high-ranking werewolf... I bet finding him is like looking for a needle in a haystack, huh." The werewolf continued his monologue. "Welp, I could just resume my massacre and he should come to the rescue one way or the other." 

After letting out another hearty laugh, the werewolf seemed to disappear and reappear in front of a mother who was holding her baby. Her head was already bleeding due to the accident. But even then, she tried to fight her dwindling consciousness while hugging her baby as tightly as she could. If push comes to shove, she would use her body as a meat shield for her baby. 

Once again, the werewolf reached his hand to grab the woman's head.

"Not happening!"

Fwip~! 

Using her full accelerative throughput, Shirohime charged at the werewolf, planting his ice daggers on his forearm. With this necessary distraction out of the way, Shirohime grabbed the woman and dragged her out of there. 

"Hoh hoh~ a challenger stepped forward." The werewolf licked his lips. 

—

Fwip~!

—

"Are you done playing the hero?"

Somehow, the werewolf seemed to teleport right behind Shirohime before whispering right at her left ear. Shirohime had quick reflexes, and she was pretty prideful about her acceleration and speed. Even then, she didn't follow the werewolf's moment. 

And at that point, it was already too late.

BAM!

Shirohime felt her entire body rattle to the core as she was slammed to the ground. Blood spurted out her head, and all the orifices on her face started bleeding. 

For the second time, the werewolf extended his hand to grab the mother's head, as if to provoke Shirohime even more.