The boar screamed. Its tusks swept back, forcing Ethan to release his hold. But the damage was done. Blood pulsed from the wound in steady spurts.

The boar staggered, its movements growing erratic as blood loss took its toll.

It tried one final charge, trying to take its killer to the afterlife with it but Ethan met it head-on, ducking beneath the sweeping tusks.

His jaws found its throat. He clamped down, using his wolf form’s strength to maintain his grip as the boar thrashed around helplessly.

Gradually, inevitably, the struggles weakened. The boar’s movements became uncoordinated. Its blood-slicked legs folded. When it finally collapsed, Ethan maintained his hold until he felt its last breath rattle out.

<Ferocious Beast: Razorback Boar> <Devour>

<Rank: Mid-Iron>

<Iron Enhancement Talent: F+ Grade>

Victory brought more than just survival. Another talent to devour. Another form to master.

“Devour,” Ethan muttered, with a soft, but tired smile on his face.

<You have devoured the Razorback Boar>

<Ding! Razorback Boar is available for transformation>

<Ding! You have received the following talent ‘Iron Enhancement Talent: F- Grade’>

<+3 Vitality >

Ethan walked towards the boar’s corpse before he raised his hand and penetrated its chest to pull out the core.

<Low Iron-Rank Core> <Devour>

Ethan devoured the core, which turned into wisps of energy that entered his body.

< +5 Vitality >

His status window updated.

<Human: Ethan Brandon>

<Rank: Mid-Iron>

<Talents: Enhanced Speed (F- Grade), Iron Enhancement (F- Grade)>

<Transformations: Shadowfang Wolf(Mid-Iron), Razorback Boar(Mid-Iron)>

<Level 1>

<Health Points: 180> <Mana Points: 100>

<Strength: 10> <Agility: 32> <Intelligence: 10> <Vitality: 18>

<Free Attributes: 0>

<Skills: None>

The talent’s grade had decreased, as expected. F+ became F-, just as the wolf’s talent had diminished when absorbed. But it was still power.

“Meat is meat, even if it’s the size of a mosquito’s leg,” Ethan muttered before a distant scream interrupted his moment of triumph.

The screams were that of human voices, shuddering in terror.

Ethan recognised the voices, it was Taylor and Chen, they had most likely been found by a ferocious beast in their reckless exploration.

Ethan smiled, his wolf form’s fangs still stained with boar’s blood.

“Time to see what other talents this forest had to offer.”

Although Ethan didn’t want to help them, since he felt that they reminded him of Jack’s group from his past life, Ethan still decided to help Taylor and Chen for one reason.

‘I don’t want to raise unnecessary suspicions towards me. My previous team had already died, if those also died and I remained alive, alone, once again. I will be put on a watchlist, most likely.’

Blood filled Ethan’s nostrils as he arrived near the scene.

Rich. Metallic. Human.

His wolf body moved through the forest with liquid grace, each paw-fall silent on the rotting leaves.

The scent grew stronger until he found them.

Chen was kneeling in mud that turned to crimson paste. His severed hand lies forgotten like discarded meat, fingers still twitching in death-spasms. The blood pumps from his wrist in weakening pulses.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

A countdown.

Taylor stands rigid, his own blood threading down his arm where the missing fingers should be. The spear trembles in his remaining grip. Sweat cuts clean lines through the dirt on his face.

Above them stood the Mid-Iron Wolf. Muscles ripple beneath its silver-grey coat. But it’s the eyes that freeze blood – yellow irises gleaming with an almost human pleasure at the terror it creates.

This is no mere beast. This is an artist of fear.

<Ferocious Beast: Shadowfang Wolf> <Rank: Mid-Iron> <Enhanced Speed Talent: F+ Grade>

The status window flashes in Ethan’s vision, but he hardly needs it. Power radiates from the creature like heat from a forge.

Chen sees Ethan first.

His face, already pale as chalk, goes somehow whiter. “W-We are… dead.” The words come out in a broken whisper.

His sword clatters to stone. His knees fold. Something in his mind audibly snaps.

Taylor’s eyes dart between Chen’s crumpled body before his eyes floor the direction he was looking at. His muscles tensed spontaneously, his pupils dilated and the animal brain took control.

“Run!”

Not a warning – a confession.

The spear in Taylor’s hand drops to the floor.

Chen looks up, hope flickering in his eyes like a candle in the wind. “Tay-lor…”

But Taylor was already moving, past Chen, past hope, past humanity. Pure survival instinct.

He doesn’t look back. Can’t look back.

Chen’s face crumples as understanding hits. His head turns with terrible slowness to watch his last chance disappear. When he looks back, the Mid-Iron Wolf’s fangs are inches from his face, stretched in an almost-smile.

The wolf’s satisfaction fills the area like poison gas. It’s orchestrated this moment, drawn out the hunt until betrayal could season the meat. This isn’t food. This is poetry written in blood and fear.

Ethan moves closer. Opportunity and instinct pull him forward. The larger wolf’s head snaps toward him, a howl splitting the air like thunder.

“Mine. Mine. Mine.”

Ethan doesn’t stop.

The Mid-Iron Wolf turns fully, its howl dropping to a bass note that vibrates in Ethan’s bones. Its eyes promise death, dominance, and hierarchy.

Chen lies forgotten between them, a prey piece in a predator’s game. His remaining hand claws uselessly at dirt. “Move, damn it,” he begs his frozen body. But terror has turned his muscles to stone.

The Mid-Iron Wolf explodes into motion. Its F+ Grade Enhanced Speed Talent turns it into living lightning. Fangs slash through the space where Ethan’s throat had been a heartbeat before.

Ethan’s own Enhanced Speed Talent sings in his blood. The boar fight taught him well. He rolls under the attack, comes up snapping. But the larger wolf is already gone, twisting away like smoke.

The Mid-Iron Wolf moves with the casual power of a killer who has never known defeat.

The larger wolf blurs forward again. But Ethan sees the tell – haunches tensing, weight shifting. Instead of dodging, he leans in. Takes the glancing blow to position for the counter.

His fangs find flesh. Tear. Rip. Blood sprays. The Mid-Iron Wolf’s snarl of rage shakes leaves from branches. Its next attacks come faster, harder.

Chen watches, transfixed. His own wounds are forgotten as Titans clash above him. Blood rains on leaves. Branches snap like gunshots. Each pass brings the Mid-Iron Wolf’s fangs closer to ending it.

The Mid-Iron Wolf strikes again. Faster this time. Its jaws miss Ethan’s throat by millimetres. The air displaces with an audible snap.

Ethan rolls left. Dirt and leaves spray under his paws. The larger wolf’s attacks leave no room for error. Each bite could end the fight instantly.

Their movements accelerate until the forest becomes a blur. Enhanced Speed talents ignite simultaneously, transforming the clearing into an arena of supernatural combat. The Mid-Iron Wolf strikes first, its larger form cutting through air with lethal power.

Ethan sidesteps, his movements fluid and controlled.

‘He’s strong,’ Ethan analyses as he weaves through another attack, ‘But I feel like I am stronger,’

The Mid-Iron Wolf snarls in frustration as another attack misses.

Chen watches from the ground, his own blood pooling beneath his severed wrist. ‘Impossible,’ his thoughts race, ‘The smaller wolf… it’s reading the bigger one’s movements. But how?’

Ethan launches a counter-attack, his fangs finding purchase on the larger wolf’s hind leg. Blood sprays. The Mid-Iron Wolf howls in pain and rage.

‘You dare?’ The larger wolf’s eyes blaze with fury. It unleashes a barrage of attacks, each bite aimed to kill. ‘This is my territory. My prey!’

But Ethan is already moving, dodging most attacks.

Chen’s eyes widen as he watches. ‘Their speed… I can barely track them. But the smaller one… it’s slightly faster.’

The Mid-Iron Wolf overextends on an attack. Ethan capitalizes instantly. His fangs tear through the larger wolf’s shoulder, ripping muscle and tendon. More blood stains the forest floor.

The larger wolf stumbles, its wounded leg failing to support its weight. Frustration turns to desperation in its yellow eyes. Its attacks become wilder and less controlled.

The Mid-Iron Wolf launches another desperate attack. Ethan meets it head-on this time, he takes the brunt of the damage, but his fangs find the larger wolf’s throat.

‘Checkmate,’ Ethan thinks as his jaws clamp down.

The Mid-Iron Wolf thrashes, but Ethan’s grip is perfect. No leverage. No escape. Just like holding Jack underwater – once you have the right position, superior strength means nothing.

Blood flows freely now. The larger wolf’s struggles weaken. Its Enhanced Speed Talent flickers and fails as consciousness fades.

The Mid-Iron Wolf collapses, its life flowing out onto the forest floor. Its final thought carries a note of bewildered respect.

<Ferocious Beast: Shadowfang Wolf> <Devour>

<Rank: Mid-Iron>

<Enhanced Speed Talent: F+ Grade>

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep