"That is the end of round one," Stark said, his voice cold.
Now, it was ti for the real deal.
A deep, guttural growl reached their ears.
Out of the forest ca the bane of every rchant. Creatures fast enough to not just catch up to their carriages, but overtake them as well.
Dire wolves.
Their limbs were thick and rippling with powerful muscles, their short ears twitching with every subtle sound.
With a snarl, they revealed long, sharp, interlocking fangs, glistening with thick saliva.
Unlike regular wolves, they had shorter but wider jaws and a stubby tail, and they were several tis more deadly.
Seated on these dire wolves were goblin riders, the most dangerous type of goblin there was, and the apex of their tribes.
But all Stark saw was more Spirit crystals...
As the dire wolves stepped onto the road, the goblins glanced at the corpses of their brethren, their gazes hard, just before they seethed at him...
And then they charged.
If the goblins were fast, then these guys were sothing else.
Stark barely had ti to brace himself for impact—
The goblin struck from atop the dire wolf with precision befitting a jousting champion.
Clang!
Stark did not expect the force that followed the blow...
His hand was knocked back, and the goblin slashed at his neck, but he leaned backward—swiftly rotating his body and spinning to face the others as the goblin blazed past.
Rolling underneath another attack, Stark brought his sword down in a vertical slash.
But the goblin was ready. It grabbed the ears of the dire wolf and pulled it left, swerving out of the way.
Boom!
Another wolf ramd into him from behind, sending him tumbling forward.
Stark rolled on the dirt floor, breathing in dust, and imdiately as the montum ceased, he cleaved at the open air, not bothering to look.
Just as expected, his sword exploded against a goblin’s blade, sparking as the blade was knocked out of its hand.
Stark felt the breeze from its speed wash past him and felt the fur of the wolf brush against his legs as he spun to et it.
He had to move faster, anticipate every attack, and see through every feint.
His eyes were wide open just so that he could pick out every detail, and his heart was working overti to supply his entire body with oxygen.
Whoosh!
Spinning like a whirlwind, Stark lashed out at the racing beast, cleaving its hind limbs apart.
The wolf whimpered as it fell down with a montous clash, but Stark did not imdiately go after the rider.
Two others had already leaped at him.
The first was a low pounce—he steadied himself, jumping back just at the last mont.
The claws brushed past his side, drawing blood, but he showed no emotion, not even a wince.
His true target was upon him after all.
Charging down upon him, its claws outstretched, was the second rider and its dire wolf.
As Stark watched them co upon him, it was as though the world slowed.
Just a few days ago, moving like this would have been impossible for him. But he had grown. Over the past couple of days, he had gotten stronger. He had ascended.
He sidestepped the wolf and brought his sword down with surgical precision. Like a butcher, he ripped apart both the goblin rider and the wolf with a series of consecutive strikes.
Then he grabbed the weapon the goblin had been holding, a crude wooden spear.
The shadow of the last dire wolf washed over him, the beast seconds away from sinking its teeth into his shoulder.
Stark felt its fangs brush against his shirt and its saliva drip on his shirt.
And yet the teeth never ca down.
Because he drove that crude spear backward, past his armpit and into the eyes of the dire wolf.
The wolf whimpered, its high pitched voice pained as it collapsed, trapping the rider underneath it.
Stark took his ti walking up to it and then he stared down at the little monster.
"Be glad, your rotten spirit will actually be of help." Stark’s sword ca down, digging deep into the creature’s chest and spewing blood.
Then he glanced around the battlefield.
All around him were countless shimring crystals, making the ground look like a replica of the starry night.
The sound of rough breathing and rustling reached his ears, and Stark turned to see the last goblin running.
He did not chase after it.
Instead, he called a specific Spirit crystal into his hands.
Closing his eyes, Stark let go of yet another goat monster, and in return—
"Burst forth."
The wind picked up, blowing past him, and a bright blue light powered out of the shard as it cracked.
When the light slowly retreated, a gigantic beast was standing next to him... the spirit of a dire wolf.
Its skin was translucent, its fur ghostly, and its temperant just as volatile as it had been in its past life.
The beast snarled as it set its eyes on the goblin sprinting into the forest, its eyes burning with rage.
A dark smile found its way to Stark’s lips.
"Seek him."
Whoosh!
Stark’s clothes billowed at his sides as the monster lunged, cutting through the distance with ease.
The goblin scread, never stopping its run, but it was no match for a dire wolf.
The wolf closed its jaws around the goblin’s leg and shook it violently, ripping off its foot.
Blood stained its skin, adding a layer of red which only seed to make the spirit more crazed.
It hopped atop the goblin and closed its jaws around its neck, just before ripping out its throat.
Only then did the dire wolf calm down. It picked up the lifeless body of the goblin and ran towards Stark.
And then it placed its body at his feet and sat down, its eyes wide in excitent as it brought out its tongue and howled.
Stark tapped its head as he would do a dog. "Good boy."
He glanced to the side to check on Jade and saw the girl sitting on a large chunk of crystals.
Beside her were a number of goblins and dire wolves hanging atop large spikes, their blood drifting down the crystal.
She watched him with a bored expression, as though she had been waiting for him for so ti.
Stark sighed.
’She’s way too violent...’
He breathed out a sigh and then focused, feeling every single Spirit shard in the area, and then he called them to himself.
Normal people could not see this, but if they could, it would be a little constellation of stars rushing toward him.
Once they got to his hands, Stark crushed them and sucked in a sharp breath, his hands trembling lightly.
And then he summoned his relic.
[195/1000]
The last ti that counter had maxed out, he gained the ability to see into his soul. Although he was yet to know its importance, he couldn’t help but wonder...
What ability would he gain next?
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