Chapter 26: Nothing More Than Skillful Hands

"What's going on? Why did the Beastmaster's contracted beast run off? W-What are we supposed to do now?"

The remaining demon wolves glared at them, baring their fangs. Blood soaked the ground. Zhang Heng could only sigh deeply.

"No wonder they call this place the Deathmist Mountains... I didn't expect it to be this dangerous. Looks like today... we won't be making it out alive."

By the end of his sentence, there was only despair.

"Awoooo—!"

A long, deep wolf howl echoed across the trees.

Suddenly, all the demon wolves turned as if called by some unseen force, dashing away in the direction where the Wolf King had vanished.

Everyone was stunned.

They… just left?!

After a while, once it was certain that the wolves had really gone, Xie Ru finally exhaled and shook out her numb arms. She asked softly, "Brother Zhang, why did those wolves suddenly retreat?"

By all logic, they should've attacked while the group was weak and vulnerable—ripe for the kill. Demon wolves were cunning. There was no way they'd just give up now.

Zhang Heng looked into the distance and gave a bitter smile. "Maybe… the Beastmaster hasn't given up on us after all."

"You mean…" Xie Ru's lips parted in surprise. The image of that powerful metal beast flashed in her mind, and some inexplicable warmth began to stir in her heart.

Just as her thoughts began to wander—

A chilling, bone-piercing scream rang out from the forest nearby.

Meanwhile, Lin Binbin and White Ape had already crouched behind a massive boulder a hundred meters away, watching the scene unfold like an audience at a play.

"C'mon, fight already! Fight!"

He had the best seat in the house. If only he had a bag of sunflower seeds and an ice-cold beer, it'd be perfect.

When the Gray-Backed Demon Wolf tried to approach the cubs, the injured Ice Wolf King finally snapped and lunged at them.

The two sides clashed with such force that the air itself seemed to ripple.

But the Ice Wolf King was already injured and soon fell into a disadvantage. The younger gray wolf struck with precision, its claws tearing into the king's wounded belly, deepening the gashes.

"Damn, this gray wolf has no honor—targeting injuries like that. Guess I'll give the Wolf King a little help."

The Gray-Backed Wolf was also A-rank. If it won too easily, Lin Binbin might have trouble handling the situation. After some thought, he decided to tilt the balance.

"Bumblebee, see that gray wolf leader? Aim for its eye—sting it."

Buzz buzz buzz…

The mechanical bee took flight and silently maneuvered into position while the gray wolf prepared another strike.

Then—stab!

Lin Binbin was gambling on that 30% chance of poisoning.

"Ice Wolf King, this is all I can do for you. The rest is up to fate."

"Awoooo—!"

The gray wolf lost an eye. Blood gushed from its socket, painting a savage image. Within seconds, Lin Binbin saw the color of the blood shift from red to black.

"Bullseye!"

Satisfied, he faded back into the shadows while Bumblebee stayed overhead to record the battle.

The Ice Wolf King let out a furious roar, then suddenly lowered its body and lunged again.

A blur shot across the clearing and smashed the gray wolf into the ground. Dust and debris exploded everywhere.

When the air cleared, Lin Binbin finally saw it—

A tragic, blood-soaked figure stood in the haze.

The Ice Wolf King's leg was broken, hanging limply from its shoulder. Its belly wound bled freely, soaking its snowy fur.

Still, it dragged itself toward its cubs, step by agonizing step. Each movement brought pain, yet it refused to stop.

It raised its head, gazing longingly at its children.

Then—its eyes turned toward Lin Binbin's hiding place behind the boulder, and it let out a heart-wrenching, soul-piercing howl.

"What… what's that supposed to mean? Did it… find me?!"

Lin Binbin tensed and patted White Ape, ready to bolt. Watching was fine, but getting dragged into the fight was another story.

But before he could move, the Wolf King gathered its last ounce of strength and let out a glowing ring of light. The sky above seemed to shimmer and twist for a moment, then settle.

The air reeked of blood. Ice-covered grass was stained red.

And then… the king fell.

Straight-backed, regal even in death.Gone.

The battle was over.

Both wolf packs were annihilated. After confirming no survivors, Lin Binbin finally stepped out from behind the boulder.

He looked down at the Wolf King's body, then at the mangled remains of its pups, and fell into silence.

"…What a pity."

Without another word, he pulled out his knife and began harvesting crystal cores.

These things were treasures. Better in his hands than wasted on someone else.

Especially the Wolf King's. An A-rank core could bring massive upgrades to his mech.

Compared to the fire-lizard's core from before, the ice-type core was the polar opposite.

Pure white and chilling to the touch—so cold that Lin Binbin shivered the moment he picked it up. Frost instantly coated his brows and hair.

"C-Crap… This thing's freezing!"

His teeth chattered uncontrollably. Even after storing the core, the chill clung to him.

With no other choice, he climbed atop the boulder to soak up some sunlight and warm up. White Ape handled the rest of the core harvesting.

Unfortunately, White Ape wasn't exactly delicate. It crushed several cores in the process, which made Lin Binbin cringe in pain.

"Still, today's a damn good haul."

Altogether, over 50 cores from this fight alone—maybe 70 or 80 if he included the earlier ones.

His mech's energy problem? Solved.

Shivering from the lingering cold, Lin Binbin stuffed the cores into his storage bag, grinning so wide it nearly split his face.

"I wonder if those guys are still around… tch, what a pain."

Just as he was muttering and preparing to head back, Lin Binbin suddenly froze.

Slowly, like a scene in slow motion, he turned his head and scanned the area… until his eyes landed on the cubs' den.

"Awooo… ooo…"

A weak, low-pitched whimper echoed faintly. This time, he heard it clearly. It came from the den.

But… weren't all the cubs dead?

He remembered the look the Wolf King had given him before it died—desperate, pleading.

A thought struck him. Lin Binbin dashed over to the den.

He pushed aside the corpses of the cubs, digging deeper—until finally, at the bottom, he found it.

A tiny white wolf pup, barely the size of a hand.

Its breathing was faint, eyes tightly shut. Its body trembled from fear, trying to burrow deeper beneath its dead siblings.