A student from that serpent school? Apollo thought with a frown. Do all the students in this school always like to get themselves in trouble? He jumped to another tree to get a clearer view of the woman. She had brown hair that reached her shoulders and almond-shaped brown eyes. In her hand was a dark silver broadsword that seemed out of place with her five-foot-seven figure.
Her other hand was bleeding, but the black wolf had only hit her chest… She was already injured before she fought these wolves. They were probably drawn by the scent of her blood, the beggar thought.
"This is bad," Apollo muttered, seeing the woman being overwhelmed by the three black wolves. Her strength was slowly diminishing, and it wouldn't be long before the wolves took advantage of her weakness and killed her.
To help or not? Apollo was having a hard time deciding. He glanced at his number of Alm points before sighing. Hopefully, I don't have to use my Alm points. With this thought in mind, he jumped down from the tree and ran toward the ongoing battle.
The woman was sent backward, tumbling to the ground a couple of times before she hit a tree. She vomited a mouthful of blood from the impact.
"Cough! Sh*t! These darn Duskfang! Argh!" The woman couldn't help but curse. The pain from her wounds made her grunt. But seeing the black wolves closing in on her, she gritted her teeth and stood up, using her broadsword for support.
"If I'm going to die here, then I'm going to drag you with me!"
As if they understood her words, the wolves howled at the sky before lunging at her!
With a banging sound, the tree snapped in two from their attacks, causing it to fall to the ground. They howled again when they 'saw' that their attack had worked. But as they sniffed the air, their heightened senses caught another scent. As the dust clouds lessened, they immediately growled and bared their teeth at the newcomer supporting their prey.
"They are pissed," Apollo muttered with a bitter smile before turning to the woman, who was struggling to stand. "Hey, are you okay?"
Because the beggar was smaller compared to the martial student, the woman only had to look to her side to see her savior. "Y-yes… thank you."
"No need for that," Apollo said, his eyes turning back to the black wolves. "Can you still fight?"
"I… I'll try," the woman said through gritted teeth. She glanced at the monsters in front of her, and determination returned to her eyes. She took a step forward, dragging her broadsword on the ground. With her other hand injured, she couldn't fully wield her weapon. "I don't know why you saved me even after seeing these monsters, but I will buy you some time!
You must be a cultivator, so run as fast as you can to the city!"
Hearing the determination in her voice made Apollo reconsider his choices. This woman's resolve can make me cry; isn't it rude to turn down her offer? Apollo nodded. "If you say so—"
However, the moment he turned around, a bitter smile appeared on his face. "But you know what, I'll fight with you."
Hearing this caused the woman to look at him with wide eyes before a dazzling smile appeared on her face. "Thank you… I'm Bel, by the way. And you?"
"J-just a beggar. Yup, I'm just a beggar," Apollo repeated, his eyes looking ahead with nervousness.
Beggar? Bel was confused. Shaking her head, she decided to put the matter aside and focus on the present. "We don't have much time; they're already preparing to attack. I'll handle the two while you handle the last—"
"No," Apollo interrupted her. "You handle the three, I'll handle the two."
"What do you me— Wait, don't tell me! Argh!" Bel grunted in pain from her wounds but held on. "Where?"
"I'm looking at them right now," Apollo whispered.
"Okay, change of plans! We'll go with your idea!" Bel said through gritted teeth. Five Duskfang Shadowtails?! What happened to this forest?!
There's no going back now, Apollo thought while making sure he kept tabs on the two black wolves in front of him. Their tails whipped the air, causing it to make an explosive sound.
"They are stalling! Let's go, on the count of three!" Bel shouted, and using her remaining strength, she held her broadsword in front of her with only her right hand.
Bel bent her knees, ready to dash at the three monsters in front of her. Although she was injured, it didn't mean she couldn't fight anymore. On the contrary, with another person beside her who was also a cultivator, she regained some of her strength, especially since there was a possibility that both of them could die in this fight.
If she were alone, she wouldn't even think about getting out of here alive.
"Th—" Bel wasn't able to finish her shout as she felt that the man beside her had already dashed towards his opponents!
This action caused the three Duskfangs in front of her to jump at her. "Why did you do that?!"
She slashed with her sword horizontally, sending one of the wolves to the side before she jumped to dodge another wolf. But the last wolf immediately came running towards her. Bel anticipated this, so she dashed towards it and thrust with her sword!
However, because of her injury, her movement was slower than usual, allowing the wolf to barely dodge it. Fortunately, she still managed to injure one of its legs.
"The first one to attack has the advantage!" Apollo shouted in answer to her question. "Behind you!"
Hearing this, Bel attacked behind her out of instinct. A cry of pain sounded from behind her. Then she noticed that a wolf had already jumped to her side, its mouth wide open, threatening to bite her head off.
"Eat this!" Bel raised the sword in front of her head, blocking the attack. Sparks appeared from the impact as the black wolf's teeth bit her broadsword.
He shouted again, and trusting him even though they had just met, she decided to abandon her sword so she could jump back in time!
The Duskfang's tail hit her previous spot, causing the ground to crack.
"That's close…" Bel muttered in fear. But her fear turned into amazement when she realized what had just happened. That guy is watching out for her even though he's fighting two black wolves? She glanced at the beggar and saw him fighting the Duskfang Shadowtails with just his bare hands. The monsters couldn't even take advantage!