After telling Vietra to rest, Leo sat down on the ground resting.
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Sword in hand and still alert, with his senses are heightened.
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Closing his eyes, he listened. The normally loud forest, filled with the sounds of beast cries and birds singing, was now filled with a heavy silence.
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Flocks of birds were flying in different directions, the flapping of their wings echoing before disappearing.
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The smell of damp fur drifted into his nose. His grip tightened and flexed as he checked it. Thinking the smell was just the animals near them, he dismissed it.
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He began to listen for insects, but they also were silent.
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He knew he should move but reasoned against it, worrying he was being paranoid.
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'Why is it so silent? Because we were too loud?'
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'Something is about to happen.' Leo shifted slightly, eyes still closed and ready to move at any moment.
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Vietra sensed a faint mana disturbance but couldn't pinpoint it.
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"Do you feel that?" Vietra asked Leo.
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"Yeah... we're deeper than expected." Leo nodded.
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"It's like something in the heart of the forest is forcing everything out," Vietra added, her expression full of thought and her palm on her cheek.
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As Leo thought this, a soft thud of movement came from behind them.
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The hair on the nape of Leo's neck stood, a primal alarm his body recognized long before his mind did.
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Behind him, the air shifted, moved by something heavy and fast.
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His body reacted without thought. In the blink of an eye, his stance was ready before he formed a thought.
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Muscle memory instilled by Lucas's hellish training caused him to move.
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Vietra's face contorted with confusion before realizing the situation, a step too slow to react.
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With a bang, Leo partially blocked the attack instinctively. The claws, with their power dampened, slashed lightly on his forearm with terrifying speed and precision.
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He felt the sudden heat first, his forearm becoming numbed with each passing second.
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Each movement, no matter how small, caused the wound to sting sharply.
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Leo let out a breath through his teeth as he felt his grip weakening before he changed and altered his grip.
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Now holding the sword in his left arm, he tightened his hold on it.
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The smell of blood changed the look in the wolf's eyes, now more murderous, as if already looking at its next meal.
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The silence was tightening, becoming deathly.
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'This isn't random. It's way too much of a coincidence.'
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Just as Leo saw the attacker, a lean, pitch-black wolf, and readied for a follow-up attack, the wolf retreated into the shadows.
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'It's choosing a strategic retreat. Compared to the normal wolves in this forest, it is much smarter.'
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'It's actively choosing angles and hesitating on a perfect attack... It's trying to toy with us!'
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"No. This is different. It is gathering data, measuring us before using its full power." His face twisted in shock, and his jaw tightened.
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'If I had to think of a cause for this attack, it's probably the death of the alpha wolf yesterday, Maybe a king of this forest is being actively chosen.'
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Leo's mind filled with calculations. A terrible thought came to mind.
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'It's testing us. A wolf is smart enough to test and measure our strength.'
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Vietra's face contorted with fear, but she held back her panic.
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She immediately raised her open palm, runic symbols rising as a transparent defense spell protected her body.
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The forest became deathly quiet. Not even the soft noise of footsteps could be heard.
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Leo's eyes scanned the entire terrain with all his speed.
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His eyes spotted tracks the moment they appeared before they vanished immediately.
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The mud was swallowing the tracks in moments, making predicting an attack impossible.
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He tried to predict its movement, getting ready for an attack from behind that never came, proving his earlier thought correct.
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'It's circling us. No! It's two wolves.' Leo tensed up.
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The tracks circled them in different directions as he spotted the secondary set of tracks.
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The pressure was piling on, and Leo could feel it.
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The two wolves burst out from different directions, their yellow eyes glaring and looking toward his position. Like a shadow, the claws headed straight for him.
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Leo stabbed with precision, his sharp blade entering through its paws with strong resistance.
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Just as he thought he defended correctly, he sensed the attack from behind.
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'It's actually pressuring me while the other is positioning itself for an attack,' he thought as he looked back, seeing the wolf hesitating for a perfect attack.
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He ducked and stood near a slope.
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The wolves attacked him in sequence, perfectly coordinated.
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One of the wolves, with sharp teeth flashing, lunged at Leo, forcing him to commit to an attack.
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Leo swung diagonally with all his strength, his sword lightly cutting skin.
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Blood seeped through the cut on the wolf's stomach, dying it's fur a crimson red.
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But it didn't care, still moving without hesitation.
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Leo realized he chose wrong. The moment he pulled his sword back, the other wolf, which he named the flanker, leaped at him.
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Leo raised his sword sideways, barely blocking in time. The attack left his arms tingling.
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Losing his ground inch by inch, Leo kept attempting to retaliate. However, the constant attacks disrupted his rhythm.
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'!?... They're actually herding me.' His face broke into a sick smile, and he changed his style.
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He began using only small movements and stabs, occasionally feinting a slash, trying to regain his footing.
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The beasts adapted instantly, changing positions and attacking from separate sides.
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The wounded wolf lunged at Vietra, aiming for her spell barrier.
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The healthy wolf attacked Leo, its paws like clouds making no sound. It slashed at him, its sharp claws glinting faintly.
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Vietra saw a fatal attack heading straight for Leo's heart while the second wolf was attacking her.
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A hard choice appeared: support Leo or risk her spell breaking.
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'If my barrier breaks, the backlash will be severe. I would be actively ruled out of this battle.' Her skin was becoming as white as her hair, symptoms of mana strain.
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'...I can't keep doing this. I have to help Leo. At this rate, he will get wounded.' She woke up, burying her fears
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She snapped her hand and a spear of fire appeared. Her barrier began weakening.
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She prepared to endure an injury to help Leo.
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When suddenly...
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With a roar, Leo closed in on the wolf attacking his heart. He rolled, dropping his sword, as he punched its side. This caused it to halt for a moment before attacking again. Leo picked up his sword.
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Both he and Vietra were forced into the open, the terrain terribly wide.
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One of the wolves pinned them down, destroying any chance of them moving into more favorable terrain.
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The other wolf vanished into the shadows, preparing a killing blow on Vietra.
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'I can't disengage! They have me locked down. The moment I change position or turn around, Vietra will die and I'll follow behind her.'
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The wolf lunged from the shadows. As Leo shifted his stance, teeth flashed through the darkness.
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The wolf's body was close enough that he could smell its breath.
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Leo's vision narrowed and all other sounds filtered out as he reached a state of total focus.
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With his life on the line.
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'I'll die protecting her!' Leo raised his sword, eyes burning in grim determination.