"Huff~ Huff~ Damn it, how can there be so many!!" John gasped for breath, swinging the two snapped long swords in his hands, fending off an attack from a werewolf. They were now under assault from several werewolves—nearly eight of them.
Even in dangerous zones, it wasn’t common to see such numbers. Werewolves’ physiques and strength far exceed those of vampires.
The moment these werewolves appeared, they all felt a heavy pressure; the feeling only intensified after the battle began. Werewolves didn’t hide and launch sneak attacks like vampires; they fought head-on, which was far more dangerous.
After a brief skirmish, John’s arms were numb. Working together, they had taken down two werewolves, but their stamina had been greatly depleted, and they also had to protect the horses. They were only halfway through their journey, and without the horses, the rest of the way would be much tougher.
They had carefully planned their route, so how could this happen??
John didn’t have time to ponder this question; the route he had planned had already avoided the heart of the danger zone as much as possible.
Thankfully, there was a strong fighter among the team. Zheng Yichen was someone who could go toe-to-toe with a werewolf in terms of strength. Fighting around Zheng Yichen and maintaining a good defense meant they could, at worst, sustain injuries rather than lose members.
A werewolf charged like a tank; Zheng Yichen watched the approaching beast, pulled out his hand cannon, and fired at it. A mini-grenade hit the werewolf squarely in the face, causing a violent explosion. The creature let out a mournful howl; its formidable Life Force prevented it from dying on the spot, but it was left with little ability to move.
The other werewolves were startled by such an attack. Seizing the opportunity, John threw a small pouch from his body. The contents were a ’secret weapon’ of Hunter-Demons—a primitive bomb with limited power in a modern society, but still an explosive nonetheless.
The pouch exploded right in the face of a werewolf, destroying its eyes and provoking a howl as it swung its claws wildly, even hitting the werewolves nearby.
In the ensuing chaos, the pressure on Zheng Yichen and the others lessened considerably. Zheng Yichen didn’t attack the blinded werewolf; his long spear pierced through the chest of another like a hot knife through butter, and as he felt the feedback from the black spear hidden within the fishing rod, he instinctively imagined a glugging sound as if water was being drawn.
The werewolf pierced through the heart still had strength. Even though Zheng Yichen had drawn a significant amount of blood from it, the beast hadn’t had the chance for a dying counterattack before an axe chopped its neck.
The remaining werewolves retreated, all except for the blinded one. The rest of the pack quickly pulled back, running on two legs initially but breaking into a four-legged sprint once they were away from the battle, and the blinded werewolf was soon put down by Zheng Yichen with a follow-up shot.
Zheng Yichen also made sure to finish off the werewolf hit by the mini-grenade with a knife.
Of the eight werewolves, only three escaped.
"Ptui!" A Hunter spat out a mouthful of bloody spittle and took out a dagger to pry a tooth from one of the werewolves.
"Hurry up and clean up; let’s get out of here," Raymond said, slightly out of breath. Now wasn’t the time for post-fight discussions; they needed to leave quickly. As for any problems with the route John had planned... there definitely were none.
All the Hunter-Demons present, besides Zheng Yichen and Raymond, had their share of wandering the south and overcoming challenges in their youth. They had reviewed John’s planned route before departure and could tell it was meticulously chosen. To encounter so many werewolves now was simply bad luck.
It might have been that they stumbled upon a werewolf pack.
Dangerous zones are places where people are rarely seen, even if not at the center, where swords are unnoticed by man.
They had killed five werewolves, and only some of them had been injured, as well as the horses, but this was already a great victory.
The remaining werewolves were still a threat, and no one knew if there were more lurking in the area.
The five of them hastened their departure from the region.
"There’s a river up ahead; after we cross it, we should be able to rest properly," John said. Werewolves have a keen sense of smell and are good at tracking scents. They could wash off their own scents while crossing the river. It wouldn’t be completely safe, but if the werewolves really did give chase, at least it would buy them quite a bit of time.
The river was fast-flowing, and upon arrival, they immediately began to cut wood. John had already planned for the construction of a raft to cross the river on this route, and they even had the necessary tools with them to build a raft strong enough to carry them and their horses across.
By the time they had crossed the river, the sky had already darkened, and a Hunter-Demon lit something for repelling insects, then sat beside the campfire and watched the fish being roasted, unable to help but praise, "I’ve tried fishing with a spear before, but it’s really difficult."
Zheng Yichen was the one who had speared these fish from the river.
Another Hunter-Demon said, "Eight werewolves, and to think we faced eight werewolves without losing a single man. Not many would believe it if the story got out."
"Sorry," John said with some guilt, it wasn’t easy for a big man to show such an expression.
"Sorry for what? You’re not a prophet, how could you have predicted such a thing?" Raymond laughed, telling John not to take it too seriously. "Without you, our journey wouldn’t have been so smooth."
They had traversed mountains and valleys, and John’s planned route was indeed very good, as they hadn’t encountered any Black Darkness creatures along the way. However, when they did encounter one, it was a large surprise attack that no one could have expected. Fortunately, they had already overcome the incident.
A Hunter-Demon pulled out a small bag and poured out all of the werewolf teeth within. Two of the largest teeth were immediately given to Zheng Yichen by the other. "Chang Qing, these are yours."
If it hadn’t been for Zheng Yichen suddenly pulling out his hand cannon and disrupting the rhythm of the werewolves, they wouldn’t have won so quickly. When dividing the spoils, Zheng Yichen naturally deserved to take a larger share. The werewolf teeth were quite valuable, and some wealthy people liked to turn them into ornaments.
If they had had a werewolf’s head as well, it would have been even better, but they simply didn’t have the time to deal with the werewolf heads in that situation.
As for Zheng Yichen’s hand cannon, no one expressed a desire to ask more about it. A secret weapon was a matter of personal privacy and was best left unasked about.
"Alright, let’s rest up for now, and then continue our journey tomorrow," Raymond stood up. "I’m going to check on the horse’s injuries."
John stood up as well. "Let’s go together. Without the horses, it won’t be easy to reach our destination quickly."
The horses were vital. Traveling by horse saved them a great deal of energy, allowing them to better respond to emergencies. Losing even a single horse would affect their upcoming travel plans—not to mention horses were expensive...