A Choice! Risking It All

Three giant wolves blocked the way ahead. "They're that huge?" The faces of Bai Chen, Qin Yang, and the others changed drastically as they skidded to a halt. "A wolf king? A fiery-eyed black wolf?" Still carrying Xia Yao on his shoulder, Fang Yu halted as well, his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach. Fierce beasts on the Primordial Star could also continuously evolve. As wind wolves' Life Levels advanced, their fur would gradually darken until it turned completely pitch-black. Once fully black, they earned another name—fiery-eyed black wolves. They were fierce beasts of at least Level 30. A wolf king of Level 30 or higher, plus two alpha wolves of at least Level 29? Such a lineup would be considered absolute overlords among beast packs even across the entire North Cliff Mountains. Not to mention the pack of hundreds, perhaps even a thousand, wind wolves of at least Level 20 tailing closely behind. "They caught up?" "Not only did these alphas chase us down, they actually flanked around to cut us off from the front!" The expressions of the Black Ice Squad members warped in shock as well. When stealing the treasure, they had taken advantage of the alpha wolves patrolling the mountain to raid the den. When the massive pack of wind wolves had set out in pursuit, the alphas had not appeared yet, but now they had finally arrived. "The wolf king?" Xia Tao's face fell as well. Feeling the gaze of the fiery-eyed black wolf, a shock went through him. *It bypassed the members of the Scarlet Flame Squad and locked right onto me? Can it smell the treasure's scent?* Previously, Xia Tao had never crossed paths with the wolf king. Yet it had locked onto him immediately. *I don't know whether this wolf king is Level 30 or higher, but judging by its size, it's most likely Level 30,* thoughts flashed rapidly through Xia Tao's mind. *If it were just the regular wind wolves giving chase, they wouldn't be able to catch me.* *But a Level 30 fiery-eyed wind wolf is naturally known for its speed—I won't be able to outrun it.* *Risk my life?* With Xia Tao's strength, if he fought desperately and staked his life, there was definitely a chance he could slay the wolf king. *My life is far too precious; I'm not risking it.* Xia Tao swept his gaze across the teammates behind him, before finally locking onto Fang Yu directly ahead. *Fang Yu? You'll do!* Just moments ago! Xia Tao had watched the entire scene as Fang Yu carried Xia Yao while sprinting, still effortlessly overtaking Bai Chen. That led him to gauge that this fellow named Fang Yu was quite formidable, certainly Level 26 or above. Though he did not understand why a fourth-year freshman possessed such strength, that was beside the point. What mattered was that he had that strength. ...The wolf king stood perched there, looking down upon the cluster of human martial artists as if glaring at doomed prey. "Awoo—awoo—" The two alpha wolves flanked either side of it, throwing their heads back in roars. Their howls reverberated through the mountain forest, guiding the vast pack of wind wolves to converge on this location. They did not attack immediately. Instead, they summoned the wind wolf pack forward, intending to form an encirclement. The wolf king possessed remarkable intelligence. Knowing Xia Tao was exceptionally strong, it was reluctant to take unnecessary risks. Its objective was to reclaim the treasure... and it cared nothing for casualties among the wind wolves in the process. ... Though it seemed drawn out, events unfolded in a flash. "The wolf tide has already surrounded us on three sides." "Directly ahead is the wolf king." With the wolf king's appearance, the members of the Scarlet Flame Squad clearly recognized their dire situation. With the wolf king in front and the wolf pack behind, despair showed on every face. A horde of wind wolves was closing in at breakneck speed. There was nowhere to run. "Fang Yu, put me down." Xia Yao jumped down of her own accord, her eyes rimmed with red, and said in a low voice, "Hurry and run! Break through from the flank! With your strength, you still have a chance of breaking out." "She's right." "Fang Yu, the wolf king's target seems to be Xia Tao. Seize your chance and charge through—you can still make it out alive!" Bai Chen urged, his eyes bloodshot as well. "Fang Yu, go! Now!" In an instant, the members of the Scarlet Flame Squad realized this was a death trap, yet even in their despair, they saw that Fang Yu had a chance to survive. Saving even one was better than none! "Shut up, all of you!" Fang Yu growled in a low voice, then whirled around to glare at Xia Tao, barking furiously, "Xia Tao! If you want to live, get over here and join forces to butcher this wolf king!" Join forces to kill the wolf king! This was the only plan Fang Yu could think of that offered any hope of everyone getting out alive... Fierce beasts feared death too. As long as they could kill the wolf king in the shortest time possible, it would definitely deter the pack. In that instant, all eyes turned to Xia Tao. "Join forces? Sure!" A smile spread across Xia Tao's face. "I've got something for you. Catch!" *Whoosh!* Xia Tao hurled his arm out violently. Unleashing over ten thousand kilograms of force, a stream of emerald light shot forth, flying toward Fang Yu at horrifying speed. *Whoosh!* Fang Yu dodged instinctively. The emerald streak slammed directly into a nearby boulder, its sheer power causing the rock's surface to shatter with an explosive crack. *Bang!* Before Fang Yu or anyone else could react, Xia Tao kicked off with both legs and lunged forward, instantly ditching the rest of the Black Ice Squad and darting right back toward the oncoming wolf tide. Almost simultaneously. "Awoooo—" The wolf king, which had remained relatively calm, could no longer contain itself the moment it caught sight of the emerald light and saw Xia Tao bolting away. Unleashing a thunderous roar, it transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging at the position where Fang Yu, Bai Chen, and the others stood. *Swish! Swish!* The two alpha wolves sprang into motion right behind the king. *Thud! Thud! Thud!* The ground trembled faintly beneath their onslaught. The charge of the three giant wolves was like three aircraft skimming at ultra-low altitude, sonic booms cracking in the air with terrifying momentum, exuding a sense of dread even heavier than the wolf tide behind them. "Not good." "Xia Tao, you piece of trash!" "Bastard!" A shudder went through Bai Chen, Xiong Meng, and Qin Yang. How could they fail to realize that the streak of emerald light embedded in the boulder was the wolf king's target... almost certainly what the Black Ice Squad had stolen from the wolf den. Xia Tao was using them as shields! At this moment, complete despair gripped Bai Chen and his squad... A fiery-eyed black wolf of Level 30 or higher was two to three times faster than them, with strength vastly surpassing their own. In a single clash, they would undoubtedly be torn to shreds. *Boom!* A black blur flashed forward. Fang Yu's legs pushed off the ground like exploding thunder and fire—*boom! boom!* His speed reached a terrifying level as he charged straight ahead to meet the three giant wolves. It was Fang Yu! "Captain!" "And you members of the Black Ice Squad! If you want to live, stake your lives on it!" Fang Yu's fury-laced roar resonated through the forest. *Boom!—* Bursting with full power, Fang Yu's speed and strength reached their absolute limit—so fast that even the wolf king could not evade in time. A flicker of shocked fury glinted in the beast's eyes as it roared, swinging its razor-sharp claws in a savage pounce. *Bang!* Gripping his shield, Fang Yu let out a furious roar. Leading with the shield and bearing the full momentum of his high-speed charge, he slammed brutally into the pouncing wolf king. One had to know! With his Dark Force unleashed, doubling his maximum power, Fang Yu's single-arm punch force had reached a staggering fourteen thousand kilograms! On top of that, he was charging with a shield! The sheer destructive power of this collision was simply inconceivable. *Crash!* The wolf king felt as though it had rammed into a colossal slab of steel. It was blasted backward and hurled violently to the side, unable to withstand the horrific kinetic force. Crashing to the ground, the wolf king scrambled back several paces, glaring at Fang Yu in shock and fury. *What a formidable human martial artist!* Fang Yu had also been repelled by the impact, staggering backward to diffuse the force. Even so, he felt a dull ache throbbing in his back, his blood churning wildly in an agonizing tumult. *Spurt—* Unable to hold it in, Fang Yu spat a mouthful of blood, which finally brought some relief to his chest. "Kill!" Not daring to hesitate for even a fraction of a second, Fang Yu kicked off the ground and flipped to his feet. Swinging his saber, the blade tore through the air, shearing through waves of compressed air as it slashed furiously toward the wolf king. The wolf king was caught off guard. This strike was simply too fast! At such close quarters, it had no way to evade either. With his Dark Force unleashed, Fang Yu's strength and speed actually surpassed this Level 30 fiery-eyed black wolf... That was also why human martial artists of the same rank were often more dangerous than fierce beasts. Human martial artists possessed higher intellect and generally superior combat arts. "Roar!" The wolf king let out a low rumble as its body retreated sharply, thrusting out both forepaws simultaneously in an attempt to ward off the terrifying blade. *Clang! Clang!* The saber collided with the steel-like claws, spraying a shower of sparks. Yet Fang Yu's blade drifted like a flowing cloud—breaking contact the instant it touched and pivoting forward in a lightning-fast thrust! This thrust! This was the true lethal move! It struck straight toward the wolf king's softest underbelly. "Whimper—" In that split second, the wolf king pushed off with its hind legs. Its massive body rolled like a tumbling wave, barely dodging the lethal thrust by a hair's breadth. *Rip!* The blade grazed across the wolf king's underbelly, instantly tearing open a wound over ten centimeters long, though it was shallow and spilled only a small amount of blood. Using the momentum to leap aside, the wolf king opened up some distance from Fang Yu, its fiery-red eyes glaring fixedly at the young man clutching the saber. It had been a very long time! A very long time since it had stood so close to death. *That strike actually failed to gravely injure the wolf king?* Unwillingness welled up in Fang Yu's heart. He knew his best opportunity had slipped away... Now that the wolf king was on guard, it might not be willing to duel him directly anymore. "Awoo—" "Roar!" The other two alpha wolves, both over three meters in length, lunged in rapid succession. Flanking Fang Yu from left and right, they attempted to pincer and tear him apart, forcing Fang Yu to temporarily abandon his pursuit of the wolf king. Each alpha possessed roughly seventy percent of the wolf king's strength, and their razor-sharp claws were equally lightning-fast. *Rumble—* The ground quaked as trees were either knocked down or shattered under the violent impacts. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* Yet Fang Yu's footwork was exceptionally subtle and agile, drifting like a gust of wind. Every step narrowly avoided the two alphas' attacks. Though the onslaught of both alpha wolves was ferociously savage, they simply could not land a scratch on Fang Yu. *Slash!* *Rip!* Flashes of saber light blossomed, carving numerous wounds across the bodies of the two alpha wolves... Yet Fang Yu could no longer get close to the wolf king. The wolf king continually dodged and withdrew, only launching opportunistic strikes from time to time, refusing to clash head-on with Fang Yu. ... "He's Fang Yu?" "The freshman Fan Xing claimed was far weaker than him?" "He used to be a junior college student, right? How can a junior college student be this terrifying?" "This is utterly monstrous!" Several members of the Black Ice Squad fought against the swarming wind wolves while reeling in shock at the terrifying power Fang Yu had unleashed. Fighting three at once, yet he was the one pressing the offense? "Hold on!" "There's hope!" After Xia Tao fled on his own, the Black Ice Squad members had succumbed to despair, but now they saw a glimmer of hope for survival. "If that scumbag Xia Tao hadn't run and fought alongside Fang Yu, we really would have had a chance!" "Bastard! He was the one who insisted on stealing the star jade stone, and then he ran off alone!" "I hope he dies in the wolf tide!" Curses churned through the minds of the Black Ice Squad members, but Xia Tao had long since vanished into the distance. The only useful thing Xia Tao had done was draw off a large portion of the wind wolves to pursue him, allowing the members of the Black Ice Squad and Scarlet Flame Squad to hold on a bit longer. Even so, it was clear they wouldn't last much longer. "Hold your ground!" "Fang Yu is truly ferocious." Forming a circular formation, Bai Chen, Qin Yang, and the others fought back-to-back, equally awed by Fang Yu's full display of might. Hope rekindled in their hearts. "Awoooo—" "Anggg—" The wolf king suddenly let out a deafening roar. A horde of high-level wind wolves besieging the Black Ice Squad and Scarlet Flame Squad turned, charging like an overwhelming tidal wave toward Fang Yu's battlefield. The ground shook violently under their trampling paws. The wolf king intended to crush Fang Yu beneath sheer numbers.