Chapter 28: The Winged Wolf

“The creature is heading straight toward us at incredible speed. However, it seems to be struggling with its balance, and its expression is frantic—it looks like it’s fleeing for its life,” Xiao Ai reported, relaying information from her angelic summoned beast.

Xiao Xi said, “It’s probably been attacked before. Let’s not go after it—if someone thinks we’re stealing their monster, that wouldn’t be good.”

Ye Shuang retorted, “Come on, don’t be afraid—the spawn rate for winged wolves is extremely low. Meeting one a week is already lucky. They’re tough to handle, but now someone else has already weakened it halfway; we can’t let this opportunity slip by, right, Long Ling?”

I replied, “Of course. No matter how many people are after it, let’s take this beast first and leave the scene. Let them chase us if they want.”

Feng Xiaoyue said, “Exactly. The creature’s almost here; everyone, get ready.”

Long Xin added, “Yezi, you seem familiar with this monster. Tell us about its characteristics.”

Ye Shuang nodded, “No problem. The winged wolf is a mutated beast—rare among mammalian creatures for its ability to fly. Its attacks are fairly straightforward: it charges headlong, uses its claws to slash, or bites. The most dangerous thing is its incredible speed during its frontal charge, and its wings can give it a sudden burst of acceleration. I’m lucky to have found one injured—if it were healthy, we’d only manage to fight it halfway before it escaped, and we’d never catch it.”

Feng Xiaoyue couldn’t help asking, “Since you know this creature so well, what’s the best way to take it down?”

Tang San answered without hesitation, “If we destroy its wings, it’s finished. A wingless winged wolf isn’t fast on the ground—its legs have degenerated from adapting to long periods of flight. It can still run, but with much less speed. But beware—it’s fiercely aggressive. If it realizes it can’t escape, it’ll definitely fight to the death, so we’ll need to be careful.”

“It’s here!” At that moment, Xiao Ai’s voice rang out. Her angelic summoned beast swooped down from the sky, unafraid of the opponent. A white glow blazed from its body, and a long sword appeared in its grasp, ready to strike. The winged wolf, gray all over and otherwise resembling an ordinary wolf except for the four conspicuous flesh wings on its back, looked menacing. Its speeding form collided head-on with the summoned beast, whose sword stabbed down toward the wolf’s head.

The winged wolf reacted quickly. Even in its rapid charge, it twisted its head aside in haste, so the sword missed and struck the ground instead. But a shockwave erupted, sending gusts of air everywhere, and slowed the winged wolf’s charge.

The wolf spun around, its blood-red jaws snapping at the summoned beast. Its wings unfurled again, and after a brief pause, it accelerated, dragging the summoned beast along before flinging it violently into a tree.

Xiao Ai saw her summoned beast grievously injured and cried out, “Damn it!” Concerned and panicked, she immediately unleashed her burning skill with sword and staff. A roaring blaze erupted, rushing toward the winged wolf.

“Spirit of Fire, lend me your mighty power—Flame Vortex!” Long Xin’s clear voice rang out. Two fire spells merged, their power growing formidable. The timing was perfect, striking just as the wolf tossed the summoned beast and paused, exposing a vulnerability.

With a deafening explosion, the ground was blasted open, but the winged wolf was nowhere to be seen. “It’s up above!” I shouted. Feng Xiaoyue had already climbed another tree and leapt into the air, launching an attack at the wolf. The wolf dodged swiftly and, baring its fangs, spewed a cloud of black smoke at Feng Xiaoyue. Her vision went dark; she lost her balance and plummeted. Ye Shuang rushed to catch her but missed, instead breaking her fall and preventing injury.

“My God, you’re heavy! Everyone, be careful—I forgot to mention, its black smoke isn’t poisonous, but it causes blindness and paralysis,” Ye Shuang called out, then collapsed on the ground.

On the ground, Black Fur Dog’s shadow sphere was ready. The moment the winged wolf finished spraying its smoke, the sphere was unleashed, striking the beast and exploding. The wolf tumbled from the sky, and Xiao Xi immediately used Binding Shot, temporarily stunning the creature. The rope on her arrow wrapped tightly around the wolf’s four wings, binding it and preventing further flight.

I charged forward, unleashing an energy explosion and a crushing strike, targeting its four wings. Two damage numbers appeared: –230 and –210. For the wolf, still with considerable health, these were bearable, and it wouldn’t surrender easily. Flight was now impossible, but its movements were not entirely impaired.

The winged wolf went berserk, thrashing wildly so we couldn’t approach. The binding effect wore off. Though its wings were destroyed and it couldn’t fly, its speed on the ground was still astonishing. In the blink of an eye, it was ten meters away.

Feng Xiaoyue stood and said, “Didn’t you say it wasn’t fast on the ground?”

“I meant compared to its flight speed. Besides, how was I to know it could run even faster than I thought? Damn it—watch this!” Ye Shuang got up, yelling as three red halos flashed around him. His sword slashed out a shockwave, freezing the wolf’s movements and slowing it considerably. He dashed forward, energy surging as he used the warrior’s charge skill; though not an attack, it greatly increased his speed for a short time. Thanks to his charge, he arrived right in front of the wolf, unleashing heavy and combo strikes and instantly breaking its momentum.

The rest of us surrounded it. Six people against a level 25 elite beast was no challenge, and under our assault, the wolf had nowhere to run, collapsing with a thud.

Ye Shuang raised his sword, gazing at the barely breathing wolf and said, “Come on, give us your best—explode your most precious eardrum and we’ll be rich! Don’t be stingy!” His hand trembled with excitement, ready to strike. Before us, this elite beast was like a lamb awaiting slaughter—experience and possibly rare materials were within reach. Ye Shuang was so excited he could barely keep his hands steady. He’d once been killed by a winged wolf that dropped the best equipment, and now he finally had a chance at revenge. Encountering an injured one was rare, and he was determined to seize this moment.

Just as Ye Shuang’s sword was about to descend on the wolf’s neck, a commanding shout pierced the air: “Stop!”

Immediately, two figures emerged from the undergrowth.

Xiao Xi said, “See? They found us quickly. What should we do?”

Two newcomers appeared—a man and a woman. One of the men stepped forward; both male players were clearly warriors, tall and muscular, one wielding a massive axe, the other a greatsword, emanating an aggressive aura. The female player, with short hair and delicate features, wore a tight-fitting mage’s robe that accentuated her well-developed figure. Her large eyes were fixed intently on the fallen winged wolf.

The axe-wielding man stepped forward and said, “Hello, friends. I am Battle Soul of Heaven, a member of the Heaven Battle Team. This winged wolf is our quest target. Please allow us to take it so we can complete our mission.”

I asked, “What is Heaven Battle?”

Long Xin replied, “Oh, come on, you don’t know? Let me tell you—Heaven Battle is a famous team in China’s gaming community. They’ve swept through all sorts of online games and are quite renowned.”

The man, hearing Long Xin praise his team, looked pleased. I then asked, “Why?”