Chapter 39: Howling Moon Silver Wolf King

The slaughter on the city walls had begun. Cavalry held the advantage in charge speed, but once they scaled the walls, that advantage turned into a disadvantage. However, these Howling Moon Wolves were ferocious and violent; in close-quarters combat, they were by no means at a deficit.

The combination of rebel soldiers and Howling Moon Wolves was a makeshift one, failing to reach the state of "man and mount as one." Their attacks and movements inevitably suffered from lack of coordination. Sometimes, when the rebels attempted to move right, the wolves would instead try to savagely bite with their massive mouths or strike with their claws; this lack of synchronized rhythm led to chaos.

As long as the soldiers seized upon these openings caused by their confusion, it became easy to kill both wolf and man.

Glittering blades and flashing spears met shields and claws; wolf claws tore through flesh, and wolf teeth bit with bloodthirsty ferocity. The rebels were equally savage, far more so than they had been in the camp, but under Feng Zhong's training, the soldiers remained undaunted, their attacks disciplined and methodical.

*Awoo!*

A wolf howl rang out across the battlefield. Upon hearing it, the Howling Moon Wolves let out a chorus of howls. After a burst of frenzy, their entire bodies seemed to have been injected with an stimulant; a mist of blood rose around them. As the blood mist permeated their surroundings, it soon condensed onto their bodies, causing the wolves to swell like balloons. Their eyes turned an even deeper crimson, as if bleeding light.

This was the wolf race's berserk innate skill—Bloodlust.

In the monster camp, these Howling Moon Wolves had never used their berserk innate skill; it was unexpected that they would deploy such a skill during a siege.

It seemed the Howling Moon Silver Wolf King was commanding its kin to use the skill. Having a leader truly made a difference; it appeared this King Beast possessed intelligence and leadership attributes.

If the Howling Moon Silver Wolf King could be found and slain, the danger posed by the leaderless wolf packs would be significantly reduced.

Feng Zhong had been searching for the Howling Moon Silver Wolf King but had failed. Once the horn for the charge sounded, the Silver Wolf King had vanished. In a pack of tens of thousands of wolves, it was not easy to find a King that was deliberately concealing its presence.

Seeing that the wolf pack had used Bloodlust, causing their size and lethality to jump to a new level, Feng Zhong immediately planted his Yellow Spring Spear into the ground and activated his skills

[Divine Strategy]: An active skill, non-upgradable. Upon activation, the combat effectiveness of the commanded legion increases by 100% for 10 hours.

[God of War]: A conquest power, active skill, non-upgradable. In offensive warfare, upon activation, the morale of the soldiers increases by 100% and the chance of landing a critical hit is increased, lasting for 10 hours.

Simultaneously, he activated [Earthbound Array], granting all soldiers +50 Defense. This was the first array Feng Zhong had managed to activate; for some reason, he was currently unable to activate any other arrays. Dammit!

The soldiers, bolstered by the skills, acted as if they had taken stimulants. Their combat power soared to a new level; fueled by adrenaline, they swung their weapons faster and with greater lethality.

Lin Mu also received the buff. He quickly checked his combat power, which had unexpectedly risen to 6520—equivalent to 62 points of Martial Might. This was absolutely insane; he was practically flying.

Like the other soldiers, Lin Mu did not engage the wolf-man combinations head-on. Instead, he employed a pattern of sidestepping, assassinating, and blocking with his shield, repeating the cycle until the massive Howling Moon Wolves were covered in wounds.

Eventually, unable to hold out, one was killed by a spear thrust through a rebel soldier.

The advantages of high-aptitude soldiers began to manifest. They possessed high stamina, high martial might, and sustained combat effectiveness. With Feng Zhong's skill bonuses, their combat power had broken ten thousand, making them more than capable of dealing with these "wolf-men" whose combat power sat around seven or eight thousand.

The 10,000-strong "wolf-man" cavalry began to suffer massive casualties.

Upon the cyan stone walls, countless sprays of blood splattered against the ruins and broken walls, creating a gruesome scene.

The previously intact walls were now covered in claw marks, blade slashes, and spear holes; war was truly a brutal affair.

The blood belonged to the Howling Moon Wolves, the defending soldiers, and even more so to the rebel soldiers.

Of the 50,000 rebel soldiers, 10,000 had become riders to lead the charge, while the remaining 40,000 could only run on foot. Furthermore, the combat on the walls was intense; among the 1,200 defending soldiers, there were essentially five to six wolf cavalrymen surrounding every single man.

Though the soldiers wore fine steel armor, wielded steel weapons and shields, and wore cowhide and deerhide boots, they could only kill the wolf cavalry slowly under such a concentrated siege.

The most brutal fighting was occurring where Feng Zhong and Xiao Hu were stationed.

After observing for a long time without finding the Howling Moon Silver Wolf King, Feng Zhong struck directly. His movements were like wind and thunder; he thrust his spear to kill a rebel soldier and a wolf in a single, domineering, and powerful motion.

In just a few breaths, he had already slain over 20 riders.

Xiao Hu was not weak either. Having grown accustomed to fighting cavalry, he also began to wreak havoc.

With one stroke, he would cut down a rebel soldier, and with the next, slay a wolf rider—the movements were seamless and powerful, truly befitting a high-level martial general.

Feng Zhong and Xiao Hu acted like meat grinders, striking such terror into the hearts of the wolf cavalry that they trembled at the mere sight of them.

"Brothers, kill them! These wolf-man cavalry have momentum but no substance! Take them down, and we'll feast on wolf meat tonight! Haha!" Feng Zhong shouted, killing a man and a wolf with a single spear thrust, his voice booming with dominance as he inspired the soldiers.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill every enemy that invades our territory!" The soldiers' morale surged.

The tide of battle slowly began to tilt in favor of the defenders.

As if sensing that victory was turning toward the defenders, the long-hidden Howling Moon Silver Wolf King finally appeared, though it emerged via a sneak attack.

The Silver Wolf King could see that Feng Zhong was the one inflicting the most damage on its kin. Consequently, it hid within the surrounding wolf pack, waiting for Feng Zhong to show a weakness so it could spring forth and attempt to kill him.

In truth, Feng Zhong wasn't worried about the Silver Wolf King attacking him; he was worried about it attacking the ordinary soldiers. Such an attack would cause even greater casualties, and he wouldn't be able to explain that to the Lord.

These soldiers were the fruits of the territory's labor over the past few months. If they suffered excessive losses in a mere small-town siege, how could they ever go on to conquer the Azure Dragon Fortress?

After killing a wolf rider, Feng Zhong suddenly felt a chilling wind strike his back. Instead of fear, he felt joy. *So you finally showed up. I've been waiting for you!*

Feng Zhong performed a sudden turn with his spear. *Clang!* The spearhead collided with a wolf claw; the two forces clashed and recoiled, neither side gaining the upper hand.

"Hehehe, you finally appeared!" Feng Zhong laughed bloodily.

"Awoo! Awoo!" As if responding to him, the Howling Moon Silver Wolf King howled. This human had killed too many of its kin. In the mere ten minutes it had been hiding, he had slaughtered over 300 Howling Moon Wolves, a devastating loss. Out of necessity, it had to emerge early to strike this powerful human. It sensed that this man was terrifying, standing before it like a massive, ferocious beast. Yet, it had to deal with him; conquering this village was its destiny, and destroying everything before it was its purpose.

Kill! Kill!

The level 60 Howling Moon Silver Wolf King possessed combat power comparable to a Black-tier martial general with 80 points of Martial Might.

While Feng Zhong possessed the foundation of a Divine General, his current level was still somewhat low, but he was more than capable of facing the Silver Wolf King.

The shadows of the spear in Feng Zhong's hands were as illusory as a dream, accompanied by bursts of wind-breaking sounds like claps of thunder.

The Silver Wolf King was no slouch either. Possessing a powerful physical body, it used its claws and teeth as weapons with extreme ferocity.

Furthermore, having broken through to become a Junior Spirit Beast, it could now utilize the energy of heaven and earth. It occasionally spat out wind blades from its mouth, inflicting many wounds upon Feng Zhong.

The battle between Feng Zhong and the Silver Wolf King raged from the walls to the ground, back up to the walls, and then into the village itself. Some buildings were caught in the crossfire and collapsed, illustrating the sheer intensity of their combat.

Without Feng Zhong to hold the line, the wolf-man cavalry began to regain the upper hand. The remaining 1,000-plus soldiers on the battlefield began to struggle desperately.

The battle had already lasted half an hour. Unlike when Feng Zhong was present, where soldiers were occasionally killed by accident, the battlefield was now seeing massive casualties, leaving Lin Mu in a state of extreme anxiety.

His own combat power was too low to be of much help. This was the first time Lin Mu had felt such desperation, and the first time he had craved power so intensely.

However, to Lin Mu's surprise, the battles on the other three sides had ended. Having cleared out the wild monsters, those forces began rushing over to provide support.

"Brothers, hold on! We're here! Kill! Kill these beasts!" It was the reinforcements.

The arrival of the reinforcements slowly began to reclaim the initiative on the battlefield.

Of the 1,800 reinforcing soldiers, one group began clearing the rebel soldiers without mounts from beneath the walls to prevent them from disrupting the combat above.

Another group of reinforcements helped the soldiers on the walls deal with the wolf-man cavalry.

The arriving soldiers felt immense respect when they saw the defenders on the walls—men clad in shattered armor, wielding broken weapons and shields, their faces covered in blood.

Although Feng Zhong had arranged for them to guard the other walls to protect the weaker soldiers, everyone knew that the western wall was the most dangerous because of the fierce white wolves attacking it.

The soldiers guarding this wall were veterans, possessing the strongest combat power.

Having undergone Feng Zhong's training the longest, they were men of iron will and loyal hearts, resolutely choosing to stand in the most dangerous position to defend the village.

To be honest, Lin Mu also deeply admired them. Faced with danger, they offered not a single word of complaint or dissent; they stood bravely on the walls, using their flesh and blood to block ferocious claws and blades.

"Kill! Kill! Protect the village! Kill all the invaders!!" the soldiers roared continuously.

Some soldiers had their bellies pierced by wolf claws, yet they used their hands to grip the wolf's leg tightly while thrusting their weapons into the wolf's mouth, piercing through its head to die together.

Others, focused on the wolf riders, neglected the rebel soldiers riding the wolves and were ambushed, losing their heads to rebel blades...

The battle was incredibly tragic!

This was the first campaign since the village had formed its army! It was also the most brutal battle the soldiers had experienced to date. Previously, their training had only involved planned sieges against wild monsters and rebel soldiers; they had never encountered a running battle like this. This was their baptism of war, and their first true growth.

Lin Mu himself had lost track of how many times he had swung his steel spear. He was exhausted. He checked his stamina; out of 100 points, only 26 remained. He had only been fighting for half an hour, yet his stamina had plummeted drastically.

Other soldiers with better aptitudes consumed stamina more slowly than Lin Mu, but they were likely running low as well. Soldier stamina was a major issue; currently, the territory lacked the ability to produce stamina-recovery potions or food, possessing only standard, ordinary supplies.

Lin Mu missed the Blood Recovery Pills and Essence Recovery Pills of the past, which could be used during combat for great convenience. Unfortunately, the territory did not yet have such recipes.

With the addition of the 1,800 soldiers, the rate of casualties gradually slowed.

The scales of victory began to tip toward Lin Mu's side.

After killing a wolf rider, Lin Mu took a brief moment to rest rather than immediately hunting the next one. The wolf cavalry had thinned out significantly; they no longer crowded the entire length of the wall as they had at the start.

He used some hemostatic medicine to treat his wounds, then looked back toward Feng Zhong's battlefield.

Feng Zhong was currently locked in a fierce struggle with the Howling Moon Silver Wolf King. His deerhide clothing was in tatters, and his body was covered in countless claw marks. Because his exclusive set was still sealed, he could not use its special properties; even while wearing it, it only provided the attributes of ordinary equipment. However, the Yellow Spring Spear in his hand remained incredibly sharp, gleaming with a bloodthirsty light.

Feng Zhong also had several bite wounds that were bleeding steadily, but his entire focus was on the Silver Wolf King.

The Silver Wolf King was also struggling. It had three holes in its body, one of which pierced through a leg, significantly reducing its speed. However, this had only further triggered its bloodlust; it had managed to land a vicious bite on the human.

(End of Chapter)