Following three growling barks, Robert, Zack, and Oliver abruptly became aware of the sound of multiple footsteps crunching and rustling through the leaves on the forest floor. Their hearts pounded vigorous as they realized what was happening. Within seconds, they were surrounded by dozens of glowing, minacious white eyes.
And then they saw them: more than two hundred Burrowing White Wild dogs emerging from the forest shadows, surrounding the boys on all sides. The instinct to escape immediately overwhelmed them, but the border wall stood rigidly behind the trio. The boy's glanced around in terror, their eyes wide with astonishment. The dread of thity dogs was daunting enough, but this? Over two hundred Burrowing White Wild dogs? Now that was petrifying!
Among the sea of dogs, the boys noticed four that stood out. They had green eyes, unlike the others, whose eyes were a pale white. These four dogs were also noticably larger, and had a more menacing aura - they were the pack leaders.
"Za...za.. Zack, what's going on?" Robert's voice betrayed his fright. "I could have sworn you said we were in the territory of just thirty Burrowing White Wild dogs?"
The situation was utterly terrifying, with more than two hundred Burrowing White Wild dogs surrounding them, displaying claws and horrific canines, and growling and barking menacingly, as they inched closer.
Robert's heart pounded like there was no tomorrow, gazing around at the beasts creeping closer. It was situations like this that made him forget he was possessed by an Ancestor soul... Oh, wait, he had Poison! A faint glimmer of relief flickers across Robert's face. Now he knew he had little cause for concern: he had Poison alright, making it exceedingly unlikely for him to be killed. But what about Oliver and Zack? They did not possess the same rapid regeneration ability. Oliver could transform into the wind for a quick getaway, but Zack, he was at risk. Before he could even begin to activate his space ring and summon his jetpack for escape, the dogs would have already pounced on him, tearing his body to pieces with their teeth... nightmarish!
"The... the map I downloaded was supposed to be up-to-date! I... I don't understand how it doesn't account for the sudden increase in the number of the Burrowing White Wild dogs in this area," Zack said, his voice tight with tension. "I've also never heard of a pack of these dogs reaching this number or having more than one leader - something isn't adding up here." He gripped the two bombs in his hands tightly.
"So what happens now?" Oliver asked with a tone so calm that Robert had to steal a glance at him to confirm it wasn't a facade. "If we confront them, there's a big chance we're walking out of this one with serious injury, and Zack, you may not be walking out at all, you could die. Facing two hundred beasts ranging from levels 4 to 9, plus their four level 10 leaders all at once sounds like a very bad idea to me," Oliver took a step back. The dogs appeared increasingly restless. These creatures seemed to only attack when confident in their opponents' strength or if provoked. But from the looks of things, the Wild dogs seemed certain they could overpower the three of them and were on the verge of launching an attack.
Just then, Zack's eyes lit up with a sudden plan, and he snapped his fingers. "You two keep them busy," he said. "I've got a device that could wipe them all out in one go, but I need time to set it up. You two cover me while I do that." With that, Zack's space ring glowed, and a heap of machine parts materialized, clattering to the ground. The dogs hesitated momentarily, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the metal parts, but soon regained their momentum, creeping closer and closer.
"Where and when did you find and make all these stuff?" Oliver had to ask. He momentarily eyed the ever-growing pile of metal parts and devices pouring out of Zack's space ring.
Zack shot him an incredulous glance. "You really want an answer to that right now?" He snapped. "I'll tell you later. For now, just protect me as long as you can."
"Or we can just stay right here until you're done setting up?" Robert suggested sheepishly. He wasn't keen on being mauled by a pack of ferocious dogs, even if his wounds would heal quickly. However, fate had other plans. One of the pack leaders let out a shrill bark, and in an instant, the entire pack of Burrowing White Wild dogs surged forward in a frantic, frenzied charge, straight at the trio.
Oliver and Robert shape-shifted instantly into Solomon and Poison, charging into the fray to battle the beasts. While they fought, they made certain to stay close to Zack, who couldn't help but glance at the two hulking figures battling the dogs, as he set up his machine. The sight of the Ice and Earth elementals filled him with a mixture of admiration and desire; had those two Ancestor souls not chosen Oliver and Robert, they wouldn't have had such power at their disposal... They had advantages that regular wizards could only dream of... If only one of his ancestors had been among the children of the Ancient King...
"Stop daydreaming and focus on setting up that thing!" Xolomon's voice boomed amidst the chaos, snapping Zack out of his reverie. If only Oliver was already a Supreme wizard, Xolomon thought to himself, his God-level power would be back, and he wouldn't even need to lift a finger to eliminate these dogs. A mere glance from him would be enough to freeze the entire forest!
Poison, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying himself. "Eat dirt, you mutts!" he whooped, his movements swift and his blows bone-shattering, as he mowed down the horde of canines and claws. He launched a barrage of Earth daggers at the attacking dogs, each of them finding their mark with deadly precision. Unnoticed by him, two dogs stealthily scaled a tree to ambush him from above while he was preoccupied fending off the other dogs closing in on the ground. The cunning White Wild dogs assumed they were undetected.
The two dogs leapt from the tree with claws outstretched, aiming to attack Poison from above. But Poison's reflexes were swift, and he leapt into the air, performing a stunning summersault that left the dogs vulnerable. Two rock spikes erupted from his feet, which he deftly angled upward to impale the falling canines. The dogs, realizing their grave miscalculation, began to panic, but they were too late to reverse their ill-advised ambush. It was clearly a terrible mistake, attempting to ambush someone as skilled and experienced as a God wizard.
The first dog's misfortune was evident as the rock spike pierced directly through its eye socket and emerged from the back of its skull, bathing Poison in a shower of blood. The second dog, while avoiding a direct hit to the head, was nonetheless impaled in the abdomen, creating a gruesome fountain of gore.
"Ugh," Robert mentally grimaced, his mind voice amplifying his disgust.
"A little mess never hurt anyone," Poison smirked, unfazed by the coagulated blood that painted his sandy body. "And what I'm about to do next will be even more disturbing."
"And what's that?" Robert inquired, his curiosity unabated despite his lack of physical control. Even though he couldn't feel anything, he was still able to perceive the events unfolding through Poison's senses, like a ghostly consciousness inhabiting a body of sand that he couldn't control.
"I'm gonna allow them to attack me," Poison declared, standing stock-still and a dozen White Wild dogs immediately pounced on him, clawing and sinking their teeth into his sandy form. As more dogs joined the fray, Poison was soon enveloped by over seventeen snarling beasts.
"So, your 'disturbing' plan was to let these dogs bath you with saliva as they gnaw on your body?" Robert inquired, his tone one of muted indifference.
"Nah it's much darker," Poison sneered, shutting his eyes and focusing his magic energy. Suddenly, all the dogs latched onto his sandy form burst into a fountain of sticky red blood, showering him in a crimson torrent; spikes erupted from Poison's body, piercing the beasts that clung to him. The grisly scene was one of carnage, with nearly forty corpses littering the area, their blood forming a macabre pool at Poison's feet. Covered in a thick coat of scarlet, Poison resembled a demon arisen from a bath of blood, his visage one of pure malice and threat.
The dogs, their ranks decimated by Poison's merciless display, quickly learned that the sand being was not a target to be trifled with. Those that remained, their courage diminished, launched a feeble assault against him, only to be swiftly and brutally cut down by his overwhelming attacks.
Xolomon immediately noticed that the horde of dogs charging towards him had increased. Despite the staggering number of dogs that had already been slain, the tide of charging beasts showed no sign of ebbing. In fact, their numbers seemed to swell with each passing moment. Xolomon realized that Poison's method of killing the beasts had created a spark of fear in their hearts, causing them to attack him instead. He smirked.
"These lowly beasts think that I'm a lesser threat than you, Gabor," Xolomon chuckled, erecting an Ice dome to separate him from the the dogs. He intended to cast the Ice bullet spell, which would take fifteen seconds, therefore, he had to create a strong defense to buy himself time. After that, he planned to release the tiny shards of mass killers, which would reduce the dogs' numbers drastically. The Burrowing White Wild dogs furiously clawed and scratched at the thick dome of ice, but judging from the speed at which the thick ice was deteriorating under their claws, it would take them at least thirty-five seconds to tear it down.
Typically, most beasts below level ten would find it very difficult to break through the strongest defense of a 2nd rank Mystic wizard, but the Burrowing White Wild dogs, having spent their lives digging and scratching with claws genetically honed to razor-sharp perfection, were an exception. Burrowing White Wild dogs were capable of tearing down a brick wall in mere seconds!
The four pack leaders, positioned not too far from the battle, appeared to notice their pack's struggle to breach Xolomon's Ice dome. Their green eyes began to glow, radiating a magic waves that drew the the elementals' attention.
"Hey blondie!" Poison called at Zack. "What's with the creepy green glow in their eyes?"
Zack, absorbed in his meticulous assembly of his machine, paused momentarily. "Oh, I forgot to mention, don't let the pack leaders shoot a green beam from their..." Zack's words were interrupted as eight ominous green beams rapidly approached them. "Eyes."