chase

Early in the morning, Locke stretched and woke up in the cave. He patted Angelina, who was still sleeping soundly next to him. Angelina rubbed her sleepy eyes. It was very windy last night. Although there was a shallow cave as a shelter, there was still a lot of cold wind blowing in. Coupled with the howling of the beasts in the Bering Mountains in the second half of the night, Angelina really didn't sleep well.

Locke didn't really care about it. Maybe it was because of the thick lines, but his eyelids had been twitching since he woke up. He had a bad feeling about this. They were still too close to Morphey Forest. They needed to leave as soon as possible. Locke thought of the threat from Morphey Forest.

It was still early, but the two were already on their way. After crossing this hillside and two more mountains, they would be completely out of the mapping area of Morphey Forest. After that, they would be in the hinterland of the Bering Mountains. Locke planned to arrive in the evening. Before leaving yesterday, he had told Angelina that they wouldn't rest easily until they were in a safe area. Even if it was lunch, they would only eat a few fruits.

The morning forest still carried a chill from last night. Because it was winter, everything was quiet everywhere. If it weren't for some migratory birds flying over their heads from time to time, Angelina would have suspected that they had entered a ghostly realm.

Locke took the lead and walked in front. It was no longer the lush forest that he had seen before. He could see a corner of winter where everything was silent. There were no roads in the forest, so he could only walk on his feet. Locke waved the branches around to clear the obstacles in his way. Even an iron man like him would leave a deep mark on the ground if he accidentally bumped into any of the dry thorns and sharp stones.

Angelina complained for a long time about this. The sharp thorns and branches didn't hurt her, but her clothes were almost tattered. Locke promised to help her deal with her clothes when they found a place to rest tonight and see if he could sew it. Locke, who had never touched silk before, was not sure if he could sew it.

Just as the two walked on the first mountainside that they had to cross, the old wolf that had been tracking them had already arrived a kilometer behind them. Wolves were known for their endurance. The old wolf had been chasing them since last night and was only panting heavily. Its green eyes stared straight at the two black dots in the distance.

The old wolf, who had just evolved into a low-level Moonlight Wolf, thought that it would be able to enjoy a feast early in the morning, but it did not expect that the two preys it had set its eyes on would leave their original positions so early. In this kind of winter weather, even the coarse-skinned and thick-fleshed beasts were unwilling to move. Why did these two humans get up so early? The old wolf could not understand and did not want to continue thinking about it. Only a rich feast could ease its stomach.

Locke, who was walking, suddenly stopped. What a familiar feeling. It was a murderous aura that threatened his life. Locke had been at ease for a long time. The last time he felt like this was during the battle at Felmo Canyon half a year ago.

He wasn't the only one who felt it. Angelina, whose senses were sharper than his, also noticed it. Casters had higher mental power, so they were always more sensitive to the malice of other creatures.

The two looked at each other and became cautious. Why was there a murderous aura in this place? Were they being targeted by a beast?

Locke had been very careful to avoid some creatures that gave him pressure along the way. Most of them were minor monsters. Although he wanted to see them, he wasn't someone who didn't know the severity of the situation. The two of them were now alone in the forest. If they got hurt, the consequences would be unpredictable, and neither of them would be willing to accept it.

Could it be a wild beast like a tiger or leopard? Locke could only think so. Ever since he started practicing impetus, his strength had been improving day by day. Now, he had stabilized at the level of a beginner-level Knecht, which meant that he could easily deal with three second-rate soldiers or nine third-rate soldiers or serfs at the same time. Only large beasts like tigers and leopards could suppress ten ordinary people at the same time.

Even if it was a tiger or leopard, it was impossible. Although he didn't have a half-body armour, a longsword, or a spear, Locke was confident that if an ignorant beast came looking for trouble, he would teach it a lesson with his bare hands.

It was not impossible that it was a large wild beast. During the winter, many large carnivorous wild beasts would choose opponents of similar strength because they could not hunt enough food. Wild beasts rarely had keen senses. They relied on their biological heat and Vitality to measure. In terms of blood vitality alone, Locke, who practiced impetus, was not far behind a leopard at this time.

They were now close to the old wolf's killing line. The old wolf no longer hid its whereabouts and stimulated the strength of its whole body. With a swoosh, it turned into a shadow and rushed towards Locke and Angelina in the distance. After advancing into a moonlight wolf, the power of moonlight gave it a body stronger than ordinary wolf major monsters. Even with the addition of moonlight at night, the moonlight wolf's speed was comparable to that of the shadow leopard that attacked it yesterday.

The old wolf rushed towards Locke and the others from a hillside not far away. Locke and Angelina, who had long been vigilant because of the murderous aura from before, immediately noticed the uninvited guest on the hillside behind them. A greyish-white figure left a trail of afterimages, and Locke couldn't even see the old wolf's movement.

"Run!" Locke turned around and pulled Angelina behind him to run. It was not difficult for Locke to guess from the aura of the guy chasing them that its level was definitely higher than his. In the face of an enemy stronger than himself, Locke would usually choose to retreat. He wasn't a hothead, and a hothead wouldn't survive on the battlefield for four years. In Locke's opinion, it wasn't shameful to retreat from someone stronger than himself. It was natural selection and survival of the fittest. There was hope only if one survived.

Locke pulled Angelina and ran while looking back. If he didn't look, he wouldn't have known, but when he did, he was shocked. The guy chasing them was getting closer and closer to them, and its speed was constantly increasing. Locke and Angelina weren't slow either, but it could still continue to accelerate far faster than them. What the hell was this?

"What the hell is this thing?" Locke asked as he ran, dragging Angelina along with him. Angelina was now a walking dictionary in Locke's eyes. Locke felt that there was nothing in the world that she didn't know.

Angelina was obviously running a little faster as Locke grabbed her. She took a moment to look back and stared at the guy chasing them for a while. She was puzzled at first, then surprised. "This is... Is this a moonlight wolf? "Angelina asked uncertainly.

"Moonlight wolf? What's that? "Locke asked without slowing down.

"The moonlight wolf is a low-rank major monster that comprehends light magic. It's good at agility and endurance. It's a variant among wolf-type major monsters," Angelina said. "Light-type major monsters are very rare. I didn't expect to see a moonlight wolf in this place." Angelina felt strange. Were they so lucky that there was a light major monster in a place like the Bering Mountains where monsters dominated?

"F * ck!" Locke cursed. He understood a few things from Angelina's words. First, the guy chasing them was a low-rank major monster, one level higher than them. Second, this guy was good at agility and endurance. What was the point of running? They had to fight for their lives!

As they spoke, the distance between them and the old wolf had shortened to more than twenty meters. At this distance, the old wolf only needed to leap twice to catch up with Locke and Angelina.

The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer. Locke thought that it was useless to run, so he might as well fight. So, they suddenly slowed down, shielded Angelina behind them, and stared at the moonlight wolf that was chasing them.

When the old wolf saw Locke stop, it also stopped. Its huge head stared at Locke quietly. After advancing to a moonlight wolf, the old wolf lost some of the fire wolf's violent temperament and gained a trace of calmness. Wolves were rational creatures.

Locke felt very aggrieved recently. First, he wanted to find a Shalorian enemy of the same level to test his strength after practicing impetus. He didn't expect to encounter a group of blood-red armored soldiers, led by a blood-red armored man, who defeated his team. He even had to jump off a cliff to avoid being chased. If it weren't for the saltwater lake at the bottom of the cliff, he would have become food for the wild beasts in the forest.

Later, he wanted to see a major monster, but at the saltwater lake, he only saw a group of castrated versions of the little ones that had the potential to become a major monster. This time, he didn't see any major monsters, but a major monster came looking for trouble.

Locke had been active on the battlefield since the beginning of the war between Faustian and Shalor. It wasn't like he hadn't killed opponents who were stronger than him. He had only joined the army for two months when he killed someone for the first time. It was his first time on the battlefield. At the age of 14, he was malnourished, so he couldn't beat anyone. But it was under those circumstances that he killed a Shalorian who was bigger and stronger than him, relying on his unyielding spirit.

Perhaps Locke had become more at ease after becoming a squad jarl in the past two years. He rarely killed opponents of the same level. While being chased by the moonlight wolf step by step, Locke's mind was thinking about the last time he killed someone of a higher rank. It was the bloody battle of Gordon Heights last year. When third-rate Locke and Kane escaped from the Shalorians' encirclement, they risked their lives and killed a second-rate squad jarl. They also obtained the second-rate badge, which was one of the reasons why Locke was awarded the rank of squad jarl after the war. Now, he didn't believe that he could lose to a beast.

On the other hand, it was also because Angelina had told him that this major monster was only a low-rank major monster, which made Locke want to fight with all his might. The blood-red armoured man had given him too much pressure before, so he didn't have the heart to resist at all. The current moonlight wolf, which was only a low-rank major monster, hadn't put him in a desperate situation yet.

"Come on!" Locke dropped the turf, jerky, and other sundries on his back. He only held the wooden stick used to pave the way and stared at the old wolf.

The old wolf also put away its previous contempt and stood opposite Locke. Only then did the old wolf realise that the two humans it treated as food on its plate actually gave it a faint sense of threat. It thought they were just two ordinary humans, but it didn't expect them to be at the level of major monsters.

This was the biggest difference between humans and beasts. Locke and Angelina could observe the old wolf's basic situation and strength from a distance. The old wolf could only track the two by smell, and it couldn't know their strength at all.

Moreover, humans were different from major monsters. Knights mainly cultivated impetus, which circulated in their bodies. Unless there was a huge gap in strength, they usually wouldn't emit their own turbulent aura like major monsters did. Casters were even more low-key. Many powerful casters stood together with ordinary people, and even ordinary people gave the impression that they were more like casters than the casters next to them.

This made the old wolf hesitate. It had just advanced into a low-rank major monster, and its mana was used to repair its wounds and internal injuries. At this time, it could only rely on the strengthened physical fitness after advancing into a moonlight wolf. Should it continue to hunt these two humans? To be honest, the leopard that attacked it last night was easier to deal with than these two.

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