Demonic wind wolves

When the news of the baby mammoth was put into the mix, everyone knew it would not be an easy battle. The stone mammoth might consider them enemies if they interfered in the battle. 

"Anything else?" 

"No," Aru said. 

"Demons are like parasites that take over the host's body. Once they infiltrate, they bore into the abdominal cavity and anchor near the spine. So, to defeat the demon, we must target it near the host's spine. Deep wounds there will bring them down easily," Das elaborated.

Their mission was to find the demon well and the people from Artha while eliminating any demons they came across. So, they had to fight the demonic wind wolves. There was no way around it. 

"Easy peasy," Nom said with a smug smile.

"Simply put, I can kill it in one hit." The spear-wielding Moru joined in. 

"It won't be that simple. Demons can endure pain and continue fighting even with critical injuries to the host body. We must be cautious," Das warned.

"Tia will provide support from afar with arrows while the rest of us handle the demonic wind wolves. Remember, we must take down one wolf immediately. Once done, dealing with the remaining three will be straightforward," Das proposed a plan.

"We should target the demonic wind wolf farthest from the stone mammoth. That way, we can avoid its elemental abilities like stone walls, quakes, and stone explosions," Vir suggested.

"I agree," Tia affirmed.

The warriors of the Boulder tribe swiftly organized themselves for battle, their spirit energy circulating faster to warm up their bodies during the tense moments that followed.

Aru quietly positioned himself behind Tia, acknowledging his inability to directly engage in the fight. His best contribution was to refrain from participation.

Suddenly, the furious demonic wind wolves charged at the mammoth, sensing its weakened state. They harnessed their condensed spirit energy for the attack.

A colossal illusory figure of a wolf's head, with menacing red teeth, materialized behind the wolves. With the appearance of this spirit, the abilities of the wind wolves began to amplify.

Their movements quickened, and their agility soared. At some point, they transformed into grey blurs, effortlessly gliding through the snow atop the wind they generated.

Although the stone mammoth was a formidable rank 4 spirit beast, it could not accurately track all four moving demonic wind wolves.

For a moment, it lost sight of one.

*Swishh…*

The demons dashed forward: one from the front, capturing the full attention of the stone mammoth, two from the sides keeping it on edge, and the last one from behind, evading its sight.

*Wind cutter.*

Blades of wind materialised near the open canines of the wind wolves from the front and sides, spinning comparably faster. The illusory spirit of the wolf combined with the wind cutter, enlarging it to twice its normal size.

The demonic wolves channelled about half of their spirit energy into a single attack. The gust of spinning disk of air created a slight humming sound. 

It seemed a hopeless fight for the stone mammoth.

Even if the stone mammoth engaged directly, it would likely perish. The wind wolves were displaying combat abilities exceeding their rank through their combined effort.

*SWIISSSH*

The wind cutter left the wolf's mouth, hurtling towards the stone mammoth.

"HRAAAAMPPP"

The mammoth screamed.

In a split second, between life and death, its eyes sharpened, making a choice.

Stonewall.

The spirit energy within drove into the ground, raising the surrounding earth into a foot-thick wall of stone and mud.

*THRRR*

The spinning wind blades collided with the stone wall.

*SWISH*

Effortlessly, the blades pierced through the walls.

The stone wall proved insufficient.

The mammoth was stunned, but the instinct to protect its young kicked in. It had no time to ponder further.

Clutching the last resort, it unleashed its ultimate ability, utilising all its spirit energy - an ability only rank 4 or above spirits could wield.

*Spirit Armour.*

A torrent of spirit energy drained from the stone mammoth's body.

While a rank 3 spirit beast had an upper limit of 100 spirit energy, a rank 4 could utilise up to 250 units. At that moment, the mammoth consumed the remaining 100 units of spirit energy it possessed to create the spirit armour.

In a fraction of a second, an illusory spirit form condensed around it and then solidified to cover the entire body. From mere illusion, it took tangible form, fuelled by the spirit energy.

A thick stone armour enveloped the mammoth just before the wind wolf's attack landed.

"BOOOOM!"

The three wind cutters collided with the stone mammoth's spirit armour, creating a deafening boom.

The thunderous sound echoed until the wind cutters dissipated. A cloud of dust rose from where the mammoth stood, and the stone wall disintegrated.

Aru, watching from the sidelines, was awestruck. It was his first time witnessing elemental abilities in battle. The exhilarating visuals and the diverse uses of spirit energy fascinated him.

As the dust settled, he saw the silhouette of the stone mammoth standing tall in its armour.

It took a moment to notice the flakes of the armour peeling off and falling to the ground.

Though it thwarted the attack, the stone mammoth sustained severe injuries. Aru noticed three wide gashes on its shoulder and head.

Still, its beastly eyes remained wide open, scanning for danger.

The final straw had been exhausted, and only a few sections of the intricate stone armour that enveloped it remained undamaged.

The outcome was catastrophic.

The shapes of the wind wolves retreating could be discerned. They appeared exhausted but suffered no evident injuries.

Observing the weakened condition of the stone mammoths, the wolf that had stealthily approached from behind launched a full-force assault. It charged directly at the mammoth, intent on dismantling its spirit armour.

The other wind wolves also participated, making use of that opportunity. 

The sneaking wind wolf launched a wind cutter at the weakest part of the armour. Creating a wound on the body of the mammoth. 

Even though the stone mammoth sensed the sneaking wind wolf and the attack, it took it with its body without batting an eyelid.