Bai Xuan sat on a high branch, resting his staff across his knees.
Propping his chin in his left hand, he quietly watched the silver figure below as she fought fiercely against the surrounding wolves.
Phoebe charged forward fiercely with her giant battleaxe, Rock-Crushing Mountain, its blade scraping across the rough ground and dragging a shallow trench in its wake.
Debris and dust kicked up, settling onto her silvery-white hair.
Her movements were swift and sharp; every swing of her axe anticipated the pouncing trajectory of the Shadowmane Wolves.
With every flash of her silver axe slicing through the air, a vicious wolf was sent flying backward with a pitiful howl.
Blood splattered across the stony ground and stained her cheeks, gluing a few strands of silver hair to her pale skin.
She lightly licked the corner of her lips, tasting the rich, metallic tang of blood, while the dark red hostility dormant in her eyes grew a fraction deeper.
Her pupils swirled with a dark crimson, like smoldering charcoal, hot and suffocating.
Her original pale gold eye color was squeezed to the outer edges, leaving only a thin gold ring.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly in a wild, instinctive excitement belonging to a top predator.
With each slash, that curve grew more pronounced, exposing her canine teeth slightly—resembling the purest satisfaction and frenzy of a newborn beast tearing its prey to shreds.
A vicious wolf quietly ambushed her from the side, but she didn't even look back. Relying purely on combat instinct, she swung the handle of her axe horizontally.
The hard wooden shaft slammed heavily into the wolf's ribcage, and a sharp crack of breaking bones instantly rang out.
Before the severely injured wolf could even hit the ground, she spun around and swung her axe to meet another beast lunging at her.
Bai Xuan watched quietly for a moment, then slowly withdrew his gaze.
In the distance, the Shadowmane Wolf King crouched atop a protruding boulder, its straight forelimbs exuding the majesty of a beast king.
Only its fluffy tail swept anxiously from side to side like a ticking pendulum, mirroring the tightening tension of the battlefield.
Its front left paw continuously clawed at the ground unconsciously, sending tiny pebbles rolling from its claws with a soft scraping sound, exposing the anxiety and restlessness in its heart.
The wolf pack completed its encirclement from all directions, lunging forward in waves.
Phoebe swung her axe to cleave the enemy on her left, but a wolf on her right was already in close range for an ambush, while a beast in front lowered its body and dashed forward at extreme speed, aiming straight for her ankle.
She leaped into the air to evade the attack, using the downward momentum of her spinning mid-air turn to slam her battleaxe deep into the back of a wolf, a dull crack of shattering bone suddenly echoing.
The axe blade was embedded incredibly deep, causing her posture to lose balance slightly as she wrenched it free.
Her foot accidentally stepped on a broken bone, abruptly shifting her center of gravity and exposing a fleeting opening on her flank.
It was in this brief instant of vulnerability.
The Wolf King's tense tail suddenly went rigid, and a rich, teal-green magic rapidly gathered deep in its throat.
The magic erupted, compressing and refining layer by layer until it finally turned into a thin yet incredibly sharp wind blade.
The ground cracked in its wake, and wherever the wind blade passed, pebbles were swept away by the invisible magic.
A straight crack rapidly spread along its path, moving so fast that even Bai Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted.
Phoebe had just adjusted her stance to dodge when the fierce wind blade arrived right in front of her.
Unable to fully escape the danger in time, she could only hastily twist her body and block with her heavy battleaxe held horizontally across her chest.
This wind blade, carrying high-tier magic, was enough to easily slice Phoebe's body in half.
A dull impact echoed as a faint golden magical halo suddenly unfolded in front of her, like a flexible yet sturdy barrier of mana.
The wind blade slammed violently into the halo. The fierce impact caused the golden barrier to dim slightly, but it remained steady and upright, showing no signs of shattering.
Phoebe stood safely in place, completely unharmed.
Bai Xuan straightened up on the branch, his tone casual and relaxed, as if they were just making small talk.
“That's a bit unsportsmanlike of you, trying to launch a sneak attack.”
The resentment in the Wolf King's eyes almost boiled over. Pushing past the retreating wolf pack, it glared intently at Bai Xuan up in the tree, its mind filled with confusion and fury.
It could not understand how these two monkeys, who only two months ago could do nothing but huddle behind a magic barrier, now dared to step so calmly out of that indestructible shield.
Countless times in the past when it led its pack in pursuit, the two would immediately retreat into the barrier, calmly staring at it through the impenetrable magical wall.
One had a cold expression, while the other would even raise a hand in provocation.
It had once camped outside the barrier for days and nights, starving as it watched the two light fires, rest, stock up on supplies, and live peacefully within the shield.
Exhausted, it had no choice but to temporarily withdraw to handle disputes within its pack and territory.
Yet, the true crisis began precisely at the moment of its departure.
Once the territorial disputes were settled and it returned after resolving all external threats, it was shocked to find that the strength of these two tiny humans had exploded to the point where they could rival the entire Shadowmane Wolf pack.
This earth-shattering change filled it with utter bewilderment and rising hostility.
The Wolf King locked its gaze onto Bai Xuan, letting out a low, threatening growl.
The surrounding wolf pack immediately dispersed like a receding tide, completely clearing out of Phoebe's vicinity.
Phoebe did not take the opportunity to pursue. She merely planted her giant axe heavily on the ground, catching her breath slowly.
Blood and sweat soaked her silver hair, sticking it to her cheeks and neck. Her chest heaved, but the wild, manic grin on her lips did not fade in the slightest.
The Wolf King stepped forward slowly, looking up at Bai Xuan in the tree once more, and let out a short growl filled with confrontation and defiance.
“You want to duel me?”
Bai Xuan instantly understood its intention and chuckled. “That wasn't your plan just now. Since the sneak attack failed, you want a one-on-one now?”
“Asking me, a Healer, to duel you... Have you no shame?”
The Wolf King didn't care about that. Its gaze grew sharper, and it let out another low, provocative growl.
Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly and said calmly, “If you really want to fight, you'll have to get past her first.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Phoebe raised her hand and slammed her Rock-Crushing Mountain battleaxe violently onto the ground.
The moment the heavy shaft struck the stone floor, the ground shattered and debris splattered outward, leaving a deep crater as the entire area trembled slightly.
She stood quietly in place, silver hair draped over her shoulders. The crimson hostility in her eyes had not yet dissipated, and her wild grin remained intense.
Even though her level was lower than the Wolf King's and her aura was significantly weaker, the Wolf King's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly at the impact of her axe.
The Wolf King shifted its gaze from Bai Xuan to Phoebe, a low, disdainful rumble vibrating in its throat.
It could sense that this woman was weaker than itself; her aura could not fool a wolf.
However, the subtle sense of pressure emanating from the white-robed figure up in the tree, even from a distance, filled it with deep wariness.
In the next second, Phoebe suddenly launched her attack.
Without any warning, the silver figure charged forward, dragging her heavy, giant battleaxe behind her.
The giant axe was raised high above her head, carrying a force like a thunderbolt as it chopped straight down at the Wolf King's head.
The Wolf King instantly became alert. Tensing its limbs, it dodged to the side with incredible speed.
The giant axe slammed violently into the ground where it had stood a moment ago. Earth and stone blasted outward, sending debris flying into the sky as dust filled the air.
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