Stronger Than Me?

Knowing he couldn't dodge, Glen fully transformed his arms into massive wolf claws, preparing to catch the incoming sword with his bare hands.

The giant sword came down with terrifying force, but Glen's claws clamped around it. The power behind the sword's strike made him flinch. Even with his wolf-augmented strength, a fourth-tier knight would have struggled to block this blow. The fact that he found it somewhat challenging showed just how powerful this magic was.

The sword dripped black, corrosive liquid, and Glen could feel a burning pain searing into his claws. The magic's strength was remarkable, but as soon as Glen caught the blade, the spell's effect dissipated—its duration was brief, vanishing almost immediately after it struck.

Seeing this, Black Sword's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe his eyes. But before he could comprehend the situation, he quickly began reciting another spell, planning his retreat.

However, Glen wasn't going to give him a chance. The moment the sword disappeared, Glen dashed forward with lightning speed. By the time Black Sword's incantation was halfway through, Glen was already upon him.

"Baby, help me!" Black Sword called out in panic.

The black, eerie bird transformed into a dark shadow, diving toward Glen. In an instant, it grew to the size of a griffon, opening its massive beak wide to swallow him whole.

"What the hell?" Glen murmured, feeling himself being sucked into the bird's mouth mid-air, his body unable to push off or dodge. He slid down its throat as if it were a slick tunnel.

With a swift snap of its beak, the bird shrank back to its original size and returned to Black Sword's shoulder. The old sorcerer, smug and proud, was about to gloat over his victory—until something went terribly wrong.

The bird suddenly jerked and flapped its wings violently. An arm, slowly emerging from its chest and abdomen, grew larger as it thrust into Black Sword's body. The arm transformed into a wolf's claw, emerging through Black Sword's back.

Black Sword coughed up blood, his eyes wide with disbelief and rage, but it was too late. The last vestiges of life drained from him, and he collapsed, unable to stop what had just happened.

Glen stepped out of the bird's body, shaking the blood and stomach acid from his clothes. He muttered under his breath, "Guess I didn't have to change clothes this time..."

Watching his strongest fighter die before his eyes, Snoke and the remaining mercenaries were utterly horrified.

"We... we shouldn't have messed with you, my friend. This was all a misunderstanding. What do you want? I'll give you whatever you ask for. I've always hated those idiots from the Pank family anyway. If you let us go, we'll leave them behind and never bother you again!" Snoke scrambled to de-escalate, his earlier bravado completely gone.

The other mercenaries quickly followed suit, offering various promises and trying to bribe Glen for their lives.

Glen remained silent, his face unreadable as he slowly walked toward them.

Seeing no response, Snoke's fear grew, and he subtly signaled his companions. Understanding the message, they prepared for their next move.

Just as Glen was nearing them, Snoke suddenly threw a strange-looking ball onto the ground.

Boom!

A muffled explosion rang out, and a thick cloud of black smoke billowed, obscuring the view.

Glen halted in his tracks, momentarily confused.

In the next instant, a magically infused dagger shot through the smoke, aimed directly at his throat.

Without missing a beat, Glen slapped the dagger aside, then reached into the smoke, pulling out one of the mercenaries who had been hiding.

Before the man could react, Glen crushed his skull with a single punch.

As the smoke started to dissipate, the remaining three mercenaries launched their attack from different directions, aiming to overwhelm him.

Glen stepped forward, his right hand grabbing the weapon of one mercenary, and with a swift motion, he tossed both the man and his weapon aside. Using the momentum, he spun and kicked another mercenary aside.

The last one found himself caught in Glen's grip, his neck snapped with a brutal twist.

Snoke and the man wielding the curved blade tried to escape, but they were no match for Glen's speed. He caught up with them quickly, dispatching them both with ease.

By the end of the skirmish, all of the attackers were dead.

Glen took the time to search their bodies, taking everything of value. As expected, Black Sword had a few odd items on him—likely magical artifacts. Although they were strange, Glen knew they would prove useful. He took them all, though he didn't find any storage rings or similar items. Whether that was due to the world's lack of such things or Black Sword's personal choice, he couldn't say.

Approaching Night Howl, he found the creature in a weakened state. Its injuries, though healing slowly, weren't life-threatening. Glen breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're looking a bit weak…" he muttered, inspecting the wounds.

Night Howl whined in response, showing its exhaustion and helplessness.

Glen pressed his finger into one of the open wounds, examining it closely. After a long moment, he withdrew his hand and shook his head. "It's still not enough…"

He considered forcing Night Howl's healing, but knew that the wolf poison inside wasn't under his control. Attempting a drastic change could cost the creature its life.

After thinking for a while, Glen decided to leave the situation for now. "Rest here. When I find a way to make you stronger, I'll do what I can. Just remember to take care of the bodies."

With that, Glen left the area, confident that Night Howl would be safe for the time being.

The pigpen remained untouched during the fight, a relief for Glen. He'd made sure that Night Howl had stayed far from the area during the attack, and that had paid off.

The next morning, Glen was woken by a knock at the door.

He got up and opened it to find Tiya standing on the other side.

"Glen sir, Lord Raviel and the elf lady are waiting for you. They said they're ready for your instructions. Apologies for disturbing your rest."

Glen rubbed his messy hair and yawned. "Alright, let them know I'll be down in a moment."

Tiya bowed and went downstairs.

Glen closed the door and scratched at his hair again, pondering for a moment. He could control his hair growth using the wolf poison in his body, so he never needed to worry about facial hair or hair length. It was just that, after sleeping, his hair tended to get messy. So, after thinking for a bit, he decided to trim it down a little, making it slightly longer than a buzz cut.

"Can't really tell if this looks good," he muttered as he finished.

He washed his face quickly and headed downstairs.

Raviel was sitting in simple peasant attire, looking much more approachable than usual, staring at the ceiling absently. Gotaya, the elf, stood by the door, gazing out the window.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, my employees," Glen said, his voice full of amusement.

"Employees?" Gotaya's brow furrowed, and she looked at Glen suspiciously, clearly not thrilled with the word.

Raviel, however, didn't mind much. He was used to odd terminology.

Glen then led them to the pigpen, repeating his earlier explanation to the elf, just as he had done with Raviel.

Upon seeing the state of the pigpen, Gotaya immediately scowled. When Glen finished explaining his plans, she jumped up, incredulity written all over her face.

"You… you want me, a mighty elven warrior, to do this?" she exclaimed.

"A mighty warrior, huh?" Glen shrugged. "What's wrong with warriors working on a farm? I'm stronger than you, and I'm doing it."

"Stronger than me?" Gotaya's expression shifted into one of disbelief. "Don't think that just because you killed a few mercenaries, you're invincible. If I hadn't been trapped, they wouldn't have stood a chance against me!"

"Then how come you were captured?" Glen shot back, his expression mocking. "Seems to me like they did stand a chance against you."