Chapter 29: Onto The Path Of A King

The great silver wolf moved slowly forward, each step sinking several inches into the mud.

The rain slid off its long, silvery fur, but it did not dampen the unnatural glow emanating from its body. Its eyes, a pale, almost translucent blue, fixed directly on Adam.

Adam felt it.

The pressure fell on his shoulders like an invisible mountain.

The soldiers behind him began to instinctively retreat.

“D-defensive formation…” one muttered.

Adam slowly raised his sword.

He couldn’t defeat it. It wasn’t a monster that could be defeated by numbers alone, let alone soldiers, who lacked mana… but he couldn’t afford to retreat either.

Behind those walls were too many defenseless people who would die instantly.

It seems that moment has come…

Adam took a deep breath and pointed without taking his eyes off the monster.

“You! Take four men and run to the east wall. Tell Lucas we need immediate reinforcements. Now! And the rest of you evacuate all civilians in the vicinity.”

The soldier hesitated for just a second.

“Yes, young master!”

They ran off into the rain.

Adam glanced at them, and a small smile appeared on his lips, but because of his helmet, it wasn’t visible.

Asterin, floating near him, asks:

“Are you sure?”

Without taking his eyes off the monster, Adam snorted and replied:

“Of course not, there’s no way I can defeat a rank III creature on my own… But someone has to do it, right?”

And for the first time since he had summoned Asterin to her lips, a smile appeared.

“So, you’ve finally stepped onto the path of a king.”

“Hahaha! I can’t be sure of that; I just don’t want to make the same mistakes.”

With that said, Adam focused all his attention on the Rank III monster, which was already close enough.

The wolf tilted its head slightly.

As if it understood.

Then it advanced.

The ground exploded beneath its paws.

Adam moved first.

He disappeared in a black blur.

The sword Repentance traced a dark arc toward the monster’s neck.

Sparks flew.

The impact vibrated through his arm, but did not cause him the slightest harm; the fur deflected much of the blow, and the skin beneath was harder than tempered iron.

“Grrr…!”

The annoyed wolf responded with a powerful downward swipe of its paw. What a whistle from the great speed.

Adam focused all his attention on the wolves, using his mana perception to dodge the attack, and barely managed to tilt his body.

The air ripped where his head had been.

The pressure wave threw him several meters backward. He rolled through the mud and got up immediately, his right arm trembling.

“Ugh… damn, its fur is too tough, I’ll have to use more mana.”

But the wolf didn’t give him time to think.

It moved at an absurd speed for its size.

It appeared to his left, jaws open, revealing a row of sharp teeth capable of tearing him in two.

Adam changed his stance again. The Wheel of Dharma of Mana above his head spun violently.

The dark mana covering the sword became much denser; he could feel the mana draining from him at an alarming rate.

He plunged the blade into the ground and propelled himself upward as the jaws closed beneath him.

The crunch of earth and stone echoed.

If it caught him once… it would be the end.

Adam fell onto the monster’s back and tried to plunge his sword into its spine.

The blade penetrated a few inches.

The wolf roared.

A roar that made the air vibrate.

Adam was violently shaken and thrown into the air.

His back hit a rock, and the air escaped from his lungs.

Pain coursed through his body.

In the distance, he heard the soldiers trying to hold the line against the remaining ranks I and II wolves.

But their voices sounded distant.

Adam spat blood.

“I can’t win.”

That was certain from the start; he knew that a novice knight like him couldn’t defeat a rank III monster alone.

However, that didn’t mean there wasn’t another method. Besides, Adam wasn’t looking to kill the monster; his goal was to buy time.

He rolled to the side when the wolf charged again.

The impact sent up a shower of mud.

Adam responded with quick cuts to the front legs.

This time, the blade managed to tear through the flesh.

The monster took a step back.

The wolf launched a series of brutal attacks, each one capable of splitting it in two.

Adam stopped trying to trade blows.

He concentrated on dodging the monsters’ furious barrage of attacks and blocking those he could. His breathing began to become irregular and his mana consumption increased.

The Wheel above his head lost some of its brightness.

The rain did not let up.

The mud made every movement difficult.

One second of error.

That was all the monster needed to kill Adam.

The wolf feigned a frontal attack.

Adam reacted.

Too late.

The side claw struck his side.

The armor dented.

The blow threw him several meters.

This time, he couldn’t get up right away.

His vision blurred.

He heard screams in the distance.

The wolf advanced dangerously, while the mana it gave off seemed to distort around it.

Adam tried to sit up, but the sharp pain in his ribs prevented him. The blow had probably fractured a few of them.

“Get up.”

He thrust his sword into the ground and forced his body to obey. Adam stood up just as the wolf’s shadow covered him.

Then…

Horse hooves began to echo from the wall.

Once… twice… three times…

Adam noticed it immediately. It was reinforcements! The reinforcements were approaching at high speed.

The wolf raised its head slightly.

Adam seized that moment.

He gathered his remaining mana; the Wheel of Dharma spun violently above his head.

He leaped forward and slashed vertically at the monster’s left eye.

This time, he didn’t hold back.

The blade pierced.

A deafening roar shook the field.

Dark blood spurted out.

The wolf recoiled in fury. But it was not defeated.

Adam fell to his knees.

The world spun. In the distance, he saw Lucas approaching with a group of knights.

Adam, fixed again, the Rank III monster, had not only not retreated, but had become more violent.

Blood ran down his face, mixing with the rain, but the wound did not weaken him enough.

On the contrary.

It enraged him.

Adam barely had time to raise his sword when the monster disappeared from view.

Too fast.

He felt the impact before he understood it.

A claw sank into his side and threw him like a rag doll.

The world spun.

The ground received him brutally.

A dull crack echoed inside him.

Adam tried to breathe, but the air wouldn’t go down right. Each attempt was like swallowing glass.

He rolled instinctively as the wolf landed where he had been.

The ground exploded.

Fragments of rock and mud struck his armor.

He stood up using his sword for support.

His left arm wasn’t responding normally.

Adam looked at the monster that exuded a heavy murderous intent, even though it didn’t try to retreat. It may seem stupid, but if it did retreat… well, if it could, there would be more damage.

And he, as the leader, cannot back down.

Adam just laughs.

“Come on, you damn monster.”

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