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Ancient Fragment #21
Shadow Wolves are not always born in darkness. Sometimes they are forced into it. Cast from the pack and driven out, they leave or face death at the fangs of the Shadow Wolf King.
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The red moss blurred beneath Long Tianyu's feet as he retraced his path through the forest. Growls and distant clashes rose again around him. He did not avoid them now. He ran toward them.
The pack of Shadow Wolves were still near the carcasses he had seen earlier. Bones cracked. Snarls overlapped in frenzied feeding. The Shadow Wolf King lay apart from the others, its massive body hunched over its kill, black fur slick with blood. It was a strong beast in the 5th stage of Elementary Qi.
Long Tianyu did not slow.
He burst from the moss into the clearing and cut straight through the edge of the pack.
The Twin Shadow Blade flashed, as did Long Tianyu's grin.
''Come on you bastards, get angry!'' He roared as he rushed toward the pack.
The Shadow Wolf King rose first, fury flaring in its eyes. This ant was courting death. A savage howl split the air, and the smaller wolves lifted their blood-slick muzzles from the kill. One by one, their gazes snapped to Long Tianyu, growls thickening in their throats.
He did not aim for killing the wolves. He carved deep across flanks. Shallow cuts on their backs, anything to make them angry. Blood flowed like rivers in the black fur. Wolves howled in pain, more enraged as they tried to flank Long Tianyu.
“Come on!” he shouted.
He slashed another across the head, drawing a spray of blood. Then he kicked off its ribs and vaulted past.
The Shadow Wolf King’s head rose.
Its golden eyes locked onto him.
Long Tianyu grinned savagely.
“Your turn.”
He dashed straight past the to the king and raked the blade along its foreleg, opening a long, wet line of flesh.
The forest exploded.
The Shadow Wolf King roared, a sound that shook leaves from branches. The entire pack surged after him, wounded wolves snapping and howling, rage drowning hunger.
Long Tianyu ran. His soul sense focused on the shadows. His sister Song Xue had years ago discovered that the Shadow Wolf King could move between shadows. He took out the light crystal from Bai Qing and infused his qi into it, lighting up the areas around him.
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He did not sprint at full speed. He let them close enough to smell him, to see his back always just beyond their jaws. When one lunged too close he spun and cut again, deep and punishing but never fatal.
“Keep up,” he hissed.
The red moss thickened. The air cooled. Moonlight brightened ahead as the light blue water stood still.
The Soul Lake.
He broke from the trees landing on the shore shouting.
''Little Eight Legged Ant, come out!''
Behind him, the Shadow Wolf King burst out from a shadow and tried to bite him. Long Tianyu rolled to the side and dodged it. The reek of blood and flesh from the wolf’s mouth made his stomach churn.
They pack of wolves did not slow down at all, in their rage they didn't think. In ordinary times, they kept well clear of this place; it filled them with terror.
Long Tianyu veered sharply toward the right the instant the Shadow Wolves rushed out, he retreated deeper into the Soul Lake while a few of the wolves were getting stuck in the nearby cobwebs.
The first thread from a nearby tree caught the Shadow Wolf King across the muzzle.
It sliced through fur like frost through breath.
The Shadow Wolf King howled as silver filament sank into flesh and its soul. It tried to recoil and wiped away the web.
Then the lake came alive.
The Nether-Soul Spider rushed from its cave and climbed onto the webs above the Soul Lake. It towered over even the Shadow Wolf King. Its fangs clacked loudly, sensing the wolf’s challenge.
The Shadow Wolf King growled deeply, it flashed its long and sharp fangs. This wasn't a beast it would ever try to challenge.
The smaller wolves leapt and snapped, but every motion tangled them further. Their howls turned shrill as invisible strands pierced skull and fur.
The Shadow Wolf King roared in anger and lunged toward Long Tianyu across the water.
Now!
Then the spider struck, far faster than what the Shadow Wolf King could have dodged.
It landed upon the king’s back in utter silence. Legs drove down like spears. Webbing erupted across its head, sealing jaws, eyes, ears. The king thrashed, waves exploding outward, but each surge only wrapped more silk around its body.
Long Tianyu rushed deeper into the lake while the demonic beasts were occupied. The cold water sprayed onto his face as he rushed toward the Scarlet Soul Orchids. He cut the strands of sticky web with his Twin Shadow Sword to get further into the lake. He was also slowed down as the lake became deeper.
Behind him the fight between Shadow Wolves and Nether-Soul Spider continued. Dozens of Shadow Wolves tried defending their king, but it was useless.
Blue soul light began to seep from the trapped wolves, drawn along threads into the spider’s abdomen where the drifting motes brightened.
With the Nether-Soul Spider occupied Long Tianyu grabbed six Scarlet Soul Orchids and put it inside Hua Qingqing's storage bag that he had brought with him.
Finally!
He was completely drenched from his chest down.
With heavy legs he waded through the water, his soul sense kept locked onto the fight.
The Shadow Wolf King’s roars became muffled. Then weak.
Then nothing.
The lake stilled again.
The spider rose slowly, hauling its cocooned prey upward into the lattice of webs above the trees. One by one the remaining wolves hung beside it, bound and twitching.
At the water’s edge, Long Tianyu brushed water from his cheek and let out a long breath.
“Six orchids,” he said quietly.
He glanced once more at the glowing flowers beyond the webbed lake.
Then he turned and vanished into the red forest before the spider’s hollow gaze could drift toward him again.
A deafening screech erupted through the air as the Nether-Soul Spider realized six of its hard cultivated treasures had disappeared.
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End of chapter 21 - A helpful paw
Warning: Spider
