Chapter 38: Battle Against Wolf Spirit Lord
But it was no pity; since the Wolf Spirit Lord was ignoring him, he would just go into the ruins and steal things; he would surely find a way to lure it out.
Then, he rushed straight into the ruins and began to search everywhere.
First the main hall, then behind two stone doors, soon, the first level was thoroughly searched.
Strangely, the ruins were empty, and even the Wolf Spirit Lord that had slipped away earlier was nowhere to be seen.
"Sothing’s not right. The ruins are only so big; where else could it run?"
"A secret passage?"
After searching for a long ti without success, he had no choice but to summon the system and begin to detect every stone within the ruins.
He didn’t believe that such a large ruin contained nothing but stones; even if it were empty, the Wolf Spirit Lord couldn’t possibly disappear from the ruin’s range into thin air.
Following the system, he carefully searched every corner of the ruins, finally discovering a clue in the room where he had previously destroyed the wolf spirit orb.
[Ding, chanism detected]
"Oh?"
Before him was a stone brick indistinguishable from the surrounding wall.
Vikram reached out and carefully felt it, discovering that the dust on this brick was noticeably less than on the surrounding ones.
He knocked on it with the back of his hand; the sound was hollow, and it was indeed empty inside.
With a gentle press, the stone brick slowly pushed half an inch into the wall.
As the stone brick chanism was triggered, the room first vibrated violently, and then the stone bricks on the ground collapsed, slowly forming a stone staircase that spiraled downwards.
Because the sound of the chanism being triggered could very likely attract the Wolf Spirit Lord, Vikram vigilantly monitored the Lord’s position in his biological detector, while slowly descending the stone staircase to the ground.
At the end of the stone staircase was a passage; though dark inside, torches lit both walls, and seeing this hidden-away scene, he was certain that all the good things were inside.
"It can’t be that such a deeply hidden secret room is just for its own escape, can it?"
Continuing deeper, through the corridor, he finally reached the inner space, an open area as large as the ruins above, and five separate rooms that appeared.
At this ti, the biological detector showed that two rooms were empty, and one room had a creature in it, which he estimated to be the Wolf Spirit Lord’s hiding place.
To his dismay, the remaining two rooms were densely packed with twinkling light spots; a preliminary calculation indicated at least twenty creatures combined...
To be safe, Vikram decided to open the unoccupied rooms first.
He tiptoed, quietly making his way to the rightmost door.
The stone door of the room had no latch or visible chanism. Vikram approached quietly, extending his hand and pushing it open with slow, careful force.
To avoid making any sound, he hunched his body and crept forward step by step.
Behind him, Guardian Sprout followed closely with its shield raised, while Warrior Sprout stayed slightly to the side, blade lowered but ready.
A faint green glow from Healer Sprout drifted softly at the rear, dimd as if it too understood the need for stealth.
After a thorough search, Vikram found no treasures — only scattered supplies and useless odds and ends.
"Looks like this is just a storeroom," he muttered helplessly.
Without wasting ti, he turned back, pushed the door open again, and prepared to check another chamber.
Unexpectedly, the Wolf Spirit Lord was already standing at the entrance, its blood-red eyes fixed on him like burning embers.
"ROAR!"
The furious howl exploded in the cramped space.
The shockwave struck Vikram head-on, making his skull throb as if it were splitting apart.
Instinctively clutching his ears, he stumbled sideways to dodge.
It was clear now — when he had triggered the chanism earlier, the sound had alerted the monster.
The Wolf Spirit Lord had deliberately concealed itself, waiting for the perfect mont to trap him.
The giant beast advanced rapidly. With his mind still reeling from the roar, Vikram could only retreat hastily.
Soon, an icy touch spread across his back, a stone wall.
He had nowhere left to go, while the towering figure before him continued to close the distance.
"I was a bit too careless this ti..."
He had been too focused on searching for treasure, completely ignoring the danger outside.
That single lapse had nearly pushed him into a dead end.
Guardian Sprout stepped forward at once, planting its shield firmly between Vikram and the approaching monster.
Warrior Sprout shifted its stance, circling to Vikram’s flank, blade glinting faintly in the dim light.
Healer Sprout drifted closer, releasing gentle streams of restorative energy that gradually eased the pounding pain in his head.
Shaking his still-dizzy mind, Vikram slowly regained clarity.
"I underestimated this monster’s roar... isn’t this basically a hard control skill?"
Vikram muttered under his breath, his eyes still fixed on the towering figure ahead.
The Wolf Spirit Lord had no interest in his thoughts. Its two enormous claws stabbed forward one after another, tearing through the air with terrifying speed.
In a flash, Vikram’s Iron sword swept upward, deflecting one incoming claw, while he twisted his head just enough to narrowly avoid the second strike.
The gray-glowing claw slamd straight into the stone wall beside him. Like soft tofu, the ancient rock was pierced five or six centiters deep without the slightest resistance.
A cold sweat instantly covered Vikram’s back.
If that blow had landed cleanly, his skull would have shattered on the spot.
Behind him, Guardian Sprout imdiately shifted position, pressing its shield against the embedded claw to restrain its movent.
At the sa ti, Warrior Sprout darted in from the flank, its vine-bound feet springing off the ground as its blade slashed toward the Lord’s exposed side.
A streak of green light from Healer Sprout wrapped around Vikram’s temples, clearing the lingering dizziness from the roar.
Grateful for the edge the crimson orb had given him, Vikram didn’t hesitate any longer.
This ti, he chose not to stay purely defensive.
He suddenly sheathed his sword, placed both palms against the wall behind him, and used it as leverage.
With a sharp exhale, he thrust both legs forward in a powerful double kick aid straight at the monster’s waist.
The Wolf Spirit Lord was montarily stunned.
Its usually decisive roar-and-pierce combo had been countered so smoothly that its instincts faltered.
Before it could even pull its claw free from the wall, the kick struck.
"Bang!"
A violent shock rippled through its abdon.
The massive body was launched backward like a broken siege ram, smashing into the opposite wall and carving out a deep crater.
Chunks of stone rained down. Dust and smoke surged upward, quickly swallowing the entire chamber in a gray haze.
Vikram narrowed his eyes through the swirling smoke.
He was absolutely certain of one thing, a creature of this level would never fall so easily.
A few seconds later, as the dust slowly settled,
the enormous silhouette of the Wolf Spirit Lord still stood within the fading haze.
Suddenly, a terrifying right claw tore through the drifting fog, sweeping the dust aside as the Wolf Spirit Lord stepped forward once more.
Its body was now drenched in blood. The puncture wound left by Vikram’s earlier strike had split its fur apart, making it look battered and savage.
Yet the thick muscles swelling beneath its coarse gray hide and the cruel curve of its exposed fangs made it clear, the true battle was only beginning.
The monster slowly drew in a deep breath.
Its enormous chest expanded violently, ribs stretching as if about to burst.
Vikram’s pupils shrank.
"Not again..."
The instant he noticed the inhaling motion, he reacted. He snapped his hands up, covering his ears tightly, while behind him Healer Sprout released a faint green pulse that steadied his mind.
A furious roar exploded from the Wolf Spirit Lord’s throat.
"ROOOAARRR!"
The sound waves slamd against the stone chamber like rolling thunder.
Dust shook loose from the ceiling, and even the Lord itself seed slightly staggered by the force of its own voice.
But Vikram stood firm.
With his ears sealed and his will sharpened, the roar failed to shake his consciousness this ti.
Beside him, Guardian Sprout dug its roots deeper into the cracked stone floor, shield raised like a silent wall, while Warrior Sprout lowered its stance, blade trembling with anticipation.
The Wolf Spirit Lord’s golden eyes locked onto Vikram’s.
Vikram glared back without yielding an inch.
For a mont, the temperature in the chamber seed to plumt. Between them hung only killing intent — dense, cold, and suffocating.
Then the stalemate shattered.
Man and beast collided like two storms crashing together in the narrow ruin.
Steel and claw clashed in a blur of motion.
Vikram’s Iron sword carved arcs of silver light through the dimness, each swing tearing the air with a sharp whistle.
At the sa ti, Guardian Sprout repeatedly intercepted side attacks, its shield ringing like a struck bell, while Warrior Sprout darted in and out of the Lord’s blind spots, slashing at its legs and flanks to disrupt its balance.
Behind them, Healer Sprout glowed steadily, threads of green vitality weaving across Vikram’s bruised muscles, keeping his stamina from collapsing under the relentless pressure.
The Wolf Spirit Lord’s giant claws were terrifyingly sharp. Each swing seed capable of tearing apart the air itself, and every strike carried fatal force.
Yet again and again, Guardian Sprout stood firm at the front, its shield smashing against those massive claws with heavy, ringing impacts.
The tiny plant warrior slid back across the stone floor from the sheer pressure, but it never retreated even half a step.
At the sa ti, Warrior Sprout moved like a persistent shadow, darting around the Wolf Spirit Lord’s flanks.
Its small blade continuously stabbed, sliced, and harassed the monster’s joints and tendons, forcing it to constantly divide its attention.
anwhile, Vikram remained at the center of the storm, swinging his Iron sword without rhythm or technique.
In truth, he knew no swordsmanship at all, his movents were nothing more than instinctive, almost reckless flailing.
But his overwhelming reaction speed made that wild fighting style unexpectedly effective.
Each ti the Lord’s claws ca close, he would narrowly evade or block, then counterattack imdiately.
Behind him, Healer Sprout’s soft green glow pulsed steadily, washing away fatigue from his muscles and stabilizing his breathing.
Because of this continuous support, Vikram felt as if his stamina was endless.
On the other side, the Wolf Spirit Lord was becoming increasingly alard. Its raw strength still exceeded Vikram’s, yet in speed, endurance, and adaptability, it was gradually being pushed into danger.
What angered it the most was Warrior Sprout’s relentless harassnt.
Though the wounds it inflicted were often small, so no larger than a fingernail, the bleeding from them was abnormally heavy, steadily draining the Lord’s vitality.
Soon, several such injuries covered its body, crimson trails running through its gray fur.
Vikram could clearly sense the change. The monster’s movents were growing heavier... its stamina slipping away far faster than his own.
Realizing this disadvantage, the Wolf Spirit Lord suddenly exploded with power.
With a furious swipe, it knocked Vikram’s wildly swinging sword aside, forcing him to stagger back.
This was an Epic-grade creature with true intelligence. There was no way it would allow itself to be slowly worn down like prey.
Its throat vibrated with a deep rumble before it lifted its head and unleashed a long, savage howl.
"Awooooo—!"
The sound rolled through the ruin like a summoning horn.
During the earlier fierce battle, the surrounding chambers had remained eerily silent. But now, as that howl echoed outward, stone doors burst open one after another, and Wolf Spirit Guards began pouring out in waves.
Vikram clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Can’t beat
alone, so you call for backup?"
The Wolf Spirit Lord showed no sha at all.
Its golden eyes flicked briefly toward Vikram’s Sprout Team, as if mocking him — You have your subordinates... So why can’t I have mine?
It raised one claw and pointed diagonally forward.
At once, the Wolf Spirit Guards surged like a gray tide, swarming straight toward Vikram and his plant warriors.
And the Lord itself did not stay behind. With heavy, thunderous steps, it followed in the wake of its summoned army, ready to crush its enemy in one decisive assault.
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