Always Give It Your All

After stepping out of the line, Silas turned around and gave Tyr a highly provocative glare.

Clearly, he wanted to issue another challenge to Tyr.

But in the face of his provocation, Tyr didn't even spare him a single glance.

Being ignored so thoroughly by Tyr naturally infuriated Silas. Just as he was about to open his mouth to utter some harsh words, Tina's cold voice rang out.

“Are you ready?”

Knowing that now was not the time to throw a tantrum, Silas could only suppress his anger. He turned his gaze toward the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf cub that was thrashing about inside the iron cage.

Silas gripped his sword with both hands and held it in front of him, assuming a combat stance.

“Come at me.”

Just as Silas finished speaking, Tina unlocked the iron cage and pushed its front door open.

The moment the cage opened, the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf turned into a crimson afterimage and lunged toward Silas.

Silas focused his attention, watching the oncoming Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf.

Among magical beasts of this tier, the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf was considered relatively fast. An ordinary person wouldn't even be able to see an afterimage before being pinned to the ground, having their throat ripped open, and losing their life.

From Silas's perspective, the sprinting Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf seemed to slow down, enough for him to clearly make out its form.

Although this Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf was fast, it was still much slower compared to the wooden blocks Tina had thrown at them during their attention and reaction training over the past few days.

Having completely tracked the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf's movements, Silas's lips curled into a smirk.

“Hah!”

When the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf was only a dozen meters away, Silas made his move as well.

Stomping hard, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow. He raised his knightly sword high and slashed down fiercely toward the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf's face.

A low growling sound rumbled from the throat of the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf. Facing Silas's slash, it did not dodge or evade, pouncing straight at him.

The moment the knightly sword clashed with the wolf's claws, Silas felt a massive force travel down the hilt.

Silas gripped his sword with both hands, pressing down with all his might as he lowered his center of gravity. He actually managed to match the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf's strength.

Seeing that its claw strike had failed to send Silas flying, the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf opened its bloody maw and lunged forward, aiming to bite Silas's neck.

Feeling a chill run down his neck, Silas threw his upper body backward, narrowly dodging the wolf's bite.

At the same time, twisting his waist, he swung his knightly sword fiercely toward the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf's flank.

Unable to dodge in time, the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf was struck by the sword, sending a large spray of beast blood onto the ground.

Silas felt his confidence swell. What First Circle magical beast? It's still easily slain by me.

Within the reserve line, Letitia's face also filled with ease. She believed it wouldn't take long for Silas to completely finish off this Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf.

At the same time, Silas's performance allowed the other reserves to breathe a sigh of relief.

Especially those few who had always dragged the team down; they couldn't help but think that this Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf might not be as terrifying as they had imagined.

No matter how fierce it was, it was only a First Circle magical beast—and a cub at that. They were all in the First Circle themselves, and they had weapons in hand. What was there to fear?

“Awoo!”

The Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf howled in pain. A surge of crimson magic power erupted from its body, forming a mist of blood around it.

Launching another sudden assault, the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf was even faster this time.

Facing the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf's attack, Silas reacted just as he had before.

Lunging forward, raising his sword, and striking—all in one fluid motion.

But compared to last time, Silas clearly noticed that the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf's strength had actually increased.

The knightly sword in Silas's hand was violently deflected off the wolf's claws. His own body was thrown backward, forcing him to retreat over a dozen steps.

This was a unique trait of the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolves. When injured, they would enter a berserk state. Not only would their physical defense and attack power increase, but their pain tolerance would also surge.

This was also why low-tier transcendents considered Bloodthirsty Magic Wolves as creatures best left unprovoked in most situations.

A magical beast entering a berserk state was already a massive headache. On top of that, Bloodthirsty Magic Wolves lived in packs. Without a higher realm to overpower them, facing a pack of frenzied Bloodthirsty Magic Wolves would make anyone's skin crawl.

In contrast to Silas's retreat, the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf was completely unaffected. The bloody aura radiating from its body grew even more intense as it charged fiercely at Silas once again.

In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance, raising its razor-sharp claws to swipe at Silas's chest.

Although Silas reacted quickly and continued to retreat, he still failed to completely evade the swipe. The clothes on his chest were shredded, flesh and blood splattered, and a claw wound deep enough to expose bone appeared on his chest.

“Silas!”

Within the reserve line, seeing Silas's wretched state, Letitia cried out in alarm.

The sharp pain in his chest stimulated Silas's nerves, filling his eyes with a savage fury.

Having endured the torture of the medicinal bath and sword qi body tempering every day, pain of this level would not incapacitate him.

And compared to the intense pain, he felt far more anger.

Tyr's figure surfaced in Silas's mind. Remembering how provocatively he had looked at Tyr just moments ago, Silas felt his face burn with embarrassment.

In reality, however, Tyr was not paying much attention to Silas at all. After Silas was wounded by the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf, Tyr turned his head to look at Sevira, who was standing beside him.

“No matter when, and no matter what kind of opponent you face, you must always give it your all. Otherwise, you risk slipping up in the easiest of situations.”

Although Sevira did not understand what "slipping up in the easiest of situations" meant, she could easily guess what Tyr was trying to convey given Silas's current state. She nodded and said obediently,

“I understand, Brother Tyr.”

“Ah!”

In the center of the drill grounds, Silas was the one to initiate the attack this time, and the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf was not to be outdone.

Having learned his lesson, Silas understood that head-on clashes with a Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf in a berserk state were not wise.

He chose a hit-and-run tactic, denying the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf any chance to engage him in a direct clash of brute force.

After dozens of exchanges, the Bloodthirsty Magic Wolf collapsed heavily to the ground.

By this point, Silas's body was covered in quite a few new wounds.