Chapter 7
Chapter 7: I Can't Sleep Until It's Dead!
Whether it was thorns or trees blocking his path, nothing could halt Li Kainan's all-crushing advance.
Dense, tangled shrubs and thorns were trampled to pieces, their mangled branches flattened to the ground.
Tree trunks that would take 2 people's arms to encircle were snapped clean through on impact—splinters of wood flying in all directions as the trunks crashed thunderously to the ground.
Then came a dull thud, and the dark shadow was caught completely off guard as Li Kainan slammed into it with full force.
The dark shadow clearly could not withstand the impact of such terrifying force—its entire body shattered apart like tofu, flesh and blood bursting asunder!
Against the backdrop of the setting sun, a mist of blood exploded outward, fragments flying in every direction.
The red cape behind Li Kainan shimmered with light, automatically shielding him from all the filthy blood and flesh that flew toward him.
Not a single speck of filth had stained his magnificent armor!
The old hunter, who had come running up behind him, took in this scene and instinctively let his mouth fall open.
Despite having gained a certain understanding of Li Kainan's strength along the way here, seeing Li Kainan demonstrate that power with his own eyes still left the old hunter utterly stunned!
At this moment Li Kainan stood up and looked at his armor and cape—not a drop of blood on either—and couldn't help but give a satisfied nod.
Getting blood on it would affect both the appearance of the armor and the upkeep that followed……
Well, magic really is convenient!
Snapping back from his shock, the old hunter quickly strode over, eyes brimming with reverence as he looked at Li Kainan and said with delight:
"Excellent—the werewolf has been eliminated!"
At those words, Li Kainan smiled slightly as well.
The story should be done—now it's time to recruit the NPC and collect the reward……
But in the very next moment, the smile on Li Kainan's face froze, and his brow furrowed.
No prompt had appeared on the system panel indicating that the werewolf had been eliminated!
A bug?
Or was it……
Li Kainan's gaze swept across the remnants of blood and flesh scattered on the ground.
Looking at the remains, he could tell this had been a gray wolf.
Werewolves having both a wolf form and a werewolf form was perfectly normal.
Only……
"Balen, do werewolves around here have 5 legs?"
The old hunter hadn't yet noticed anything was wrong, and simply shook his head:
"I've never seen a werewolf with 5 legs……"
Li Kainan nodded, then narrowed his eyes, his expression giving nothing away, and said in a quiet, measured tone:
"Ah. Then it seems we've been tricked."
Cunning, decisive, ruthless……
This thing's intelligence was actually quite high!
Hearing Li Kainan say this, the old hunter froze for a moment, then quickly crouched down and began examining the shredded flesh on the ground.
Upon spotting the 4 short limbs of a wild wolf among the remains, he finally understood what Li Kainan had meant.
The werewolf had already had one of its forelegs severed by Li Kainan……
So this pile of blood and flesh was not the werewolf's at all!
After frowning in silence for a moment, the old hunter couldn't help but say:
"If it only wanted to escape, there was absolutely no need to go to this much trouble……Unless—it wanted to lure us away!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the old hunter gave a violent shudder and cried out in alarm:
"This is bad—Bona and Branny are in danger!"
Luring the tiger from its mountain—it even knew its military stratagems?
If this werewolf isn't completely eliminated, I really won't be able to sleep tonight……
……
As the last rays of the setting sun sank below the horizon, night descended over the entire forest, and a full moon hung high in the night sky.
Moonlight poured down, and within the forest a massive gray wolf—its left foreleg a mangled ruin, leaving it with only 3 legs—tilted its head back, continuously drawing in the lunar energy from the moon.
As a werewolf, it was blessed with the moon's favor!
The mangled wound on its left foreleg, now bathed in moonlight, had completely healed.
One could even see flesh writhing and growing at the wound—the severed limb looked as though it might regrow at any moment.
The next moment, the massive gray wolf reared up violently onto its hind legs, and as its form stretched and expanded, it transformed directly into a 2-meter-tall one-armed werewolf!
The werewolf suppressed the instinctive urge to howl at the moon, nostrils flaring as it drew in deep breath after deep breath.
Bolstered by the power of moonlight, the werewolf's strength, speed, and all 5 senses were comprehensively enhanced.
It could even detect, from within the air itself, the faint lingering scent of its own severed limb.
Following that scent, it could find the den that the old witch had hidden with her magic.
And the decoy it had set up had already lured that terrifying human away……
The thought of the horrifying power Li Kainan had displayed during the day made the werewolf shudder involuntarily!
No longer hesitating, the werewolf immediately followed the scent drifting from its own severed limb and moved swiftly toward Branny's grandmother's cottage.
Branny's grandmother's magic could conceal her cottage, making it impossible for the werewolf to find.
But now, tracking the scent emanating from its severed limb, the werewolf located the cottage hidden within the forest with effortless ease!
Gazing at the cozy little courtyard before it, the werewolf's eyes grew increasingly sinister and covetous.
Oh—it seemed there was a 2nd human with magical power inside this house. She must be the old witch's descendant!
Good—as long as it devoured both these witches and absorbed their magical power, it could not only recover from its injuries but even strengthen itself.
After that, perhaps it could go find that armored human and take its reve……
But no sooner had this thought stirred in the werewolf's mind than it recalled Li Kainan's terrifying figure.
An overwhelming, inescapable dread rose from the depths of its heart—making it shudder violently—and it dared not entertain any thought of revenge!
That human was far too terrifying. There was simply no way it could deal with him.
Devour the 2 witches in the house to replenish its strength, then leave this place as quickly as possible.
It would offer earnest prayers to the moon, and hope that it would never, ever, ever encounter that terrifying human again……
And just as the werewolf was preparing to slip silently into the courtyard, the hound the old hunter had left tied up outside sensed the danger and suddenly erupted into furious barking!
The hound's howling put Branny's grandmother—who hadn't been sleeping anyway—on immediate alert inside the house.
Realizing its ambush had been foiled, the werewolf flew into a fit of furious humiliation and rage, snarled a curse, and with a single kick put an end to the loyal hound that had held its post to the last.
The werewolf no longer bothered concealing its presence—it lunged straight at the wooden cottage ahead!
Branny's grandmother burst out of the house as well, magic wand in hand, reciting an incantation.
Humble and cozy as it appeared, this little wooden cottage was, after all, the home of a witch—and the surroundings had naturally been fortified with all manner of protective magic!
Under Branny's grandmother's activation, a transparent magical barrier immediately materialized around the courtyard, blocking the werewolf's assault.
Branny's grandmother then swung her magic wand again—the ground beneath the werewolf's feet suddenly began to tremble.
The next moment, several enormously thick thorn vines burst up through the upturned soil, coiled around the werewolf from every direction, and bound it completely……