The battle had taken a dark, lethal turn. The Captain of the Iron-Fist Mercenaries and her two elites were locked in a desperate struggle. They were facing the massive Level 8 Black Wolf leader and its two powerful guardians.
?Even with their combined strength, it was a stalemate. The power levels were too evenly matched. It would take a long time to decide the winner, and time was a luxury they simply didn’t have.
?While the leaders fought, the rest were left in a nightmare. The remaining group consisted of four mercenaries, the two clients they were protecting, Wang Pen, and Su Han.
?Eight people. More than fifty bloodthirsty Black Wolves.
?Fear hung heavy in the damp forest air. Sweat poured down faces, and skin turned a sickly shade of pale.
?The four Iron-Fist mercenaries were holding on better than the rest. Their cultivation was at Level 6 Body Refining, while the wolves were mostly Level 1 Middle-Grade beasts—roughly equal to Level 5 humans.
?The mercenaries were strong enough to fight or even escape if things got too ugly. But they were bound by their mission. Protecting the two clients was a matter of honor.
?If those two died, the reputation of the Iron-Fist Mercenary Group would be dragged through the mud. That was a price they couldn't afford to pay.
?The two clients were the most terrified, their low cultivation making them easy targets. Su Han gripped his dagger tighter, his sharp eyes scanning the chaos.
?He felt the fear, but his ambition was stronger. To him, every growling beast was a bundle of Experience Points.
?"The more I kill, the faster I level up," he whispered to himself.
?He didn't waste another second. Activating his 100% mastered Shadow-Step Flicker, he became a blur.
?He moved with the cunning of a ghost, weaving through the pack. He didn't rush blindly. His plan was simple: isolate, strike the weakness, and move to the next.
?Suddenly, a bone-wrenching scream cut through the sounds of clashing steel. One of the Iron-Fist mercenaries had been gravely wounded.
?Su Han glanced over with narrowed eyes. The man had taken a brutal hit while trying to shield the two clients. His arm was shredded, blood soaking through his uniform.
?Before anyone could help him, a hand reached out from the shadows behind the wounded man. It wasn't a helping hand.
?It was Wang Pen.
?Seeing a pack of wolves lunging toward him, Wang Pen didn't fight. He panicked. To save his own skin, he grabbed the wounded mercenary and shoved him forward into the path of the beasts.
?The mercenary’s eyes widened in pure shock. He had no time to recover or defend himself.
?Within seconds, the wolves were on him. His desperate screams filled the forest as the pack tore into him.
?The man who had been fighting for their lives was gone in an instant.
?Wang Pen scrambled back, trembling. He was covered in scratches and bruises, but he had survived by sacrificing another.
?His eyes were still filled with that same cruel, cowardly light. He tried to hide behind the remaining mercenaries, but they weren't blind.
?The air around the group turned icy. The remaining three mercenaries looked at Wang Pen with eyes red with fury.
?To the Iron-Fist group, their comrades were brothers. They lived and died together.
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?"Wang Pen, you absolute piece of filth!" one of them hissed, his hands shaking with the urge to strike him down right there.
?"You've killed our brother. What was his fault? He was protecting us, and you threw him to the wolves!"
?Wang Pen didn't even flinch. His survival was the only thing that mattered to him. He didn't offer an apology; he just stood there, his cruel gaze fixed on the shadows.
?Su Han watched the scene with a cold, calculating look. He didn't say a word, but in his mind, he added a name to his blacklist in bold letters.
?"Wang Pen... you're a maggot," Su Han thought.
?"Keeping someone like you alive is just asking for trouble."
?Wang Pen had already tried to kill him once. Now he had betrayed a man who was fighting by his side. Su Han knew that if he didn't finish Wang Pen first, he would be next.
?But the battle didn't wait for his anger. With one man down, the pressure on the group increased tenfold.
?The forest was a symphony of growls and the smell of fresh blood. The fight had just become much more ddangerous
Captain Zhao saw her team member fall, and for a split second, the icy mask she wore shattered. Her eyes turned a painful, burning red. She was known for being cold and detached, but she had bled with these men on countless missions.
?To her, they weren't just subordinates; they were family. They respected their young Captain and followed her every word without question.
?Her grip tightened on her sword until her knuckles turned white. She lunged at the Black Wolf leader with a newfound ferocity. In her mind, she wasn't just fighting a beast—it felt as if the wolf was Wang Pen himself, and she wanted to tear him apart for his betrayal.
?Su Han dove back into the chaos. Thanks to his movement skills, dodging the Level 1 Middle-Grade wolves wasn't impossible, but the sheer numbers made the air thick with danger.
?Earlier, he had equipped the Blue-Steel Armor he received from the system. It was a solid piece of gear, but even the tough metal was starting to groan under the relentless assault.
?Cracks were spider-webbing across the chest plate. The armor covered his torso, but his arms, legs, and face remained exposed. Every time a wolf’s claw bypassed the steel, it bit deep into his flesh, sending jolts of bone-chilling pain through his nervous system.
?Instead of hiding behind the Iron-Fist mercenaries like a scavenger, Su Han was now fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with them. He wasn't just surviving; he was hunting.
?His eyes flickered to the system interface.
?"Three more," he muttered, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "Three more kills and I hit Level 5."
?Since he was fighting independently now, the system was rewarding him with full experience points.
?[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! HOST HAS KILLED A LEVEL 1 MIDDLE-GRADE BLACK WOLF.]
[REWARDS: 100 XP, 1000 SILVER COINS, WOLF BLOOD, AND PELT.]
?[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! HOST HAS KILLED A LEVEL 1 MIDDLE-GRADE BLACK WOLF.]
[REWARDS: 100 XP, 1000 SILVER COINS, BONES, AND PELT.]
?As he slashed and moved, he could feel his mastery over the Nine-Times Slash sharpening with every strike.
?[DING! NINE-TIMES SLASH MASTERY: 20%... 23%... 28%...]
?With a final, desperate lunge, he drove his dagger through the throat of the third wolf.
?[DING! HOST HAS KILLED A LEVEL 1 MIDDLE-GRADE BLACK WOLF. REWARDS: 100 XP, 1000 SILVER COINS, PELT, AND TEETH.]
?[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! HOST HAS SUCCESSFULLY REACHED LEVEL 5 BODY REFINING REALM.]
[CURRENT XP: 1040/2000.]
?A sudden wave of warmth erupted in his chest. It felt like molten gold flowing through his veins, flushing out the exhaustion. His muscles tightened, his vision cleared, and a surge of raw power settled into his bones.
?The Iron-Fist mercenaries stole glances at him, their faces filled with shock. When Su Han first joined, they looked at him as a liability—a weak kid who would likely die in the first few minutes.
?They had seen him face death multiple times, expecting him to fall, yet he kept coming back. Now, he was taking down beasts that were as strong as Level 5 human warriors.
?They couldn't see his actual cultivation level because the system kept it hidden, but his actions spoke louder than any rank.
?Captain Zhao’s eyes flashed with curiosity. She knew there was something strange about this boy.
?"He’s not normal," she thought, but a sense of relief washed over her. Having him as a capable fighter meant her team and the clients had a better chance of survival.
?Just as Su Han adjusted to his new strength, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
?[DING! NEW MISSION UNLOCKED: DEFEAT THE WOLVES AND KILL THE BLACK WOLF LEADER.]
[REWARDS: 200 XP, 20 SILVER STORE POINTS, AND SHADOW-STEP FLICKER PART 2 (YELLOW-GRADE HIGH-TIER).]
?[PENALTY: IF MISSION FAILS, HOST WILL LOSE ALL MASTERY AND ACCESS TO SHADOW-STEP FLICKER PART 1.]
?Su Han’s heart skipped a beat. A mix of emotions flooded him—shock, joy, and a hint of genuine fear.
?He was thrilled about the rewards. He hadn't expected the Shadow-Step technique to have a second part, especially one of a higher tier that would make him even faster.
?But the fear was real. The Black Wolf leader was a Level 8 beast. Even as a Level 5 warrior, Su Han knew the gap was massive. The leader's raw power was likely even higher than a standard Level 8 human.
?And the penalty? Losing his only movement skill was a death sentence in this forest.
?He gripped his dagger, his cold gaze shifting toward the massive wolf leader currently locked in combat with Captain Zhao. He had a choice to make, and he had to make it fast.
