Chapter 307: Arrogant as Hell?
He was just about to give the order.
The instant Savage Wolf Alpha stepped into attack range, Marcus did not hesitate. In one smooth motion he switched to a Level 30 longsword, locked onto the leader who was mid-command, and unleashed a fivefold damage strike, Desperate Strike, straight at him.
Strike the snake at its vitals. Capture the chief to capture the tribe.
It was a simple principle, and Marcus understood it perfectly well, especially when dealing with a capable, scheming bastard like Savage Wolf Alpha. There was no room for drawn-out fights or unnecessary risks.
There were no surprises. Savage Wolf Alpha dropped on the spot. One strike, one kill.
"Tch."
Marcus let out a low scoff, his eyes cold. If I keep my edge hidden for too long, idiots like you start forgetting who’s actually in charge here.
Savage Wolf Alpha was not just a figurehead. He was the backbone of the Savage Wolves, a commander whose presence alone steadied his men and sharpened their aggression. As long as he lived, they would fight with discipline and confidence.
Marcus had no intention of letting that continue.
"WHAT—" "BOSS!"
Shock rippled through the Savage Wolves as their leader fell instantly. Their reactions were genuine, raw, almost pitiful. They really did care about him.
’Too bad.’
Death did not negotiate, and it certainly did not reverse itself for the sake of sentiment.
Still, if they could not bear to be without him, they were more than welcome to follow him.
"Hmph..."
They had come here to slaughter players, to sweep the zone clean, to take what was not theirs, even the White Rats. And now they wanted to act like victims?
What goes around comes around.
There was something almost satisfying about it. Arrogant trash like this always believed themselves untouchable, right up until the moment someone proved otherwise.
It was a shame the other players, the ones who had been hunted down and killed earlier, were not here to see it. They had missed quite the show, missed seeing Marcus at his sharpest, most decisive.
Then again, Marcus had noticed something else.
When Pebble had charged in with the White Dog Rats, the players who had been trapped at the front, already on the verge of collapse, had mostly ended up dying under the claws and fangs of those same rats.
Marcus clicked his tongue softly. ’Well... that was unfortunate.’
He had only been trying to help. If anything, he had simply accelerated the inevitable. Surely they would understand that. Eventually.
"KILL!"
The Savage Wolves snapped out of their shock, rage overtaking grief as they roared in unison and surged forward to avenge their fallen leader. Their retaliation came fast and brutal.
Temple Guardian Pebble bore the brunt of it.
"Pebble!" Marcus’s expression tightened.
Because he had switched weapons to execute Desperate Strike, Pebble’s equipment had shifted as well. The timing had been off by just enough. Before Pebble could stabilize or follow up, he was caught between the Savage Wolves in front and the White Dog Rats pressing from behind.
He went down under the combined assault.
It was rough, but... "Nice work."
Marcus exhaled, the tension easing slightly.
Pebble had already done exactly what he needed to do. The opening he created allowed the Level 35 White Dog Rats to surge straight into the heart of the Savage Wolves’ formation, tearing it apart from the inside.
In an instant, order collapsed into chaos.
Most of the Savage Wolves were under Level 30. Against a swarm of Level 35 White Dog Rats, they were completely outmatched. Their formation broke, their backline was exposed, and their mages and archers were left scrambling with no protection.
Numbers, levels, positioning, everything had turned against them.
In less than ten seconds, the battlefield had become an unrecognizable mess. What had been a coordinated force was now nothing more than a disorganized brawl between the Savage Wolves and the White Dog Rats.
"Stone... that’s just ridiculous."
Even Invincible Strong, who had seen more than enough of Marcus’s methods, could not help but stare.
There was a world of difference between fighting players and manipulating monsters with low intelligence. They had barely lifted a finger, yet Marcus had turned a fifty-man squad into a circus using nothing but timing, positioning, and a summoned guardian.
It was absurd.
Marcus only chuckled under his breath. The brave relied on strength, the clever relied on strategy.
There was no denying the Savage Wolf Mercenaries were formidable. Without the White Dog Rats tipping the balance, eight against fifty would have been a dangerous gamble, even for them.
"Stone, we going in?"
Drunkard ran a hand along his Bone Boar Burst Stinger, clearly itching for action. He had been holding himself back long enough.
"Yeah. Just don’t get swallowed by the densest rat packs."
Marcus did not even look at him as he answered.
None of them were gentle fighters. When it came to cutting down opponents, they were no less ruthless than he was.
"Got it."
Drunkard grinned, then glanced at Invincible Strong.
"Those healers in the back look a little too relaxed. Let’s go fix that."
Without waiting, the two of them curved around the chaotic melee, avoiding the worst of the clash, and made straight for the rear line where five or six clerics were struggling to keep up with the situation.
Marcus watched them go, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
Drunkard... always smiling and always looking harmless. But underneath that charm, he was sharp and opportunistic.
"Not bad," Marcus murmured.
He shifted his stance, ready to step in himself and tighten the net, making sure not a single Savage Wolf slipped away.
Then something changed. Right in the thickest part of the battlefield, a sudden flash of white light burst into view. The White Rat. The one that had previously escaped using Earth Evasion.
It reappeared without warning, right in the middle of the chaos, its movements sharp and energetic, as if it had fully recovered. Without hesitation, it lunged at the Savage Wolves who had been hunting it earlier. It was not just retaliating, it was hunting them back.
Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly.
’Ruthless.’
He could respect that. Now that the White Rat was within range, Marcus immediately activated Insight.
The information unfolded in his vision.
—
White Dog Rat King (Mid-Gold Level):
Leader of the White Dog Rats. A creature that favours basking in sunlight and absorbing light energy. Its age exceeds a century, and its white fur alone holds immense value.
Its abilities are just as remarkable.
It wields both water and wind elemental magic. It can restore its minions through Holy Light Restoration by absorbing solar energy. Its Earth Evasion allows it to merge with the ground, move through terrain, and regenerate, all on a cooldown. And its White Fur Needles turns its own refined fur into a deadly barrage, dealing elemental damage and inflicting continuous bleeding.
—
Marcus let out a quiet breath. ’What an unusual creature.’
Escape, concealment, regeneration, support, and offense. It had everything. Skills like that were not just rare, they were the kind that could redefine how a fight played out.
If he could get something similar... Now that would be interesting.
Luck really was favoring him today. Not only had he turned the White Dog Rats into a weapon against the Savage Wolves, but even their king had walked itself right back into his reach.
"Heh..."
Watching the White Dog Rat King dart through the battlefield, tearing into the already collapsing Savage Wolves as if it owned the place, Marcus could not help the low, satisfied laugh that slipped from his throat.
It was not just confidence.
It was the quiet, dangerous satisfaction of someone who knew exactly how much control he held over the situation.