Getting back to his feet, Owin glanced at Wyll"s body. The wolf"s claws had left huge marks across his once handsome face, his eyes still open in the same shocked expression he"d often worn in life. Especially at the tavern and during briefings with Captain Alistair or Captain Barkley.
"d.a.m.n it Wylls, weren"t you supposed to propose to Milda soon? Weren"t you always going on about how you"d never die to a lowly monster?" Owin swore, venting his frustration at the hopelessness of the situation on his companion"s corpse.
With a low snarl, the wolf approached. Closing his eyes in a moment of silent prayer, Owin raised his blade, pointing the tip at the wolf"s snout, whose fur was matted and stained a dark black by the blood of his friend. As he watched, the wolf began to walk leisurely towards him, like a cat with a cornered chick.
I"m no threat alone and it knows it, Owin thought helplessly as the wolf continued to advance. Throwing its head back, the wolf let out a loud howl. Owin felt his blade begin to quiver, a warm liquid staining the inside of his breeches. Firming his resolve to at least die honourably Owin let out a yell and raised his sword high.
Just as he was about to charge the beast, its snout still letting out that terrible howl, an arrow flashed by his head, slamming into the wolf"s throat and putting an end to both the howl and Owin"s futile charge. Gaping, Owin watched as the wolf roared in pain, pawing furiously at the arrow embedded in its neck.
"Don"t just stand there! Attack if you want to live!" A voice roared from behind him. Gripping his sword tightly, Owin let out a loud shout and charged over the muddy leaves at the wolf.
~~~
Eric"s face sunk as he watched the man die, his hands feebly clawing at the earth in a vain attempt to survive. The wolf just stared pa.s.sively at his final twitches, its fangs stained red with the man"s blood. Now that the militiaman had died and he"d failed the quest, Eric began to consider running. The wolf was indeed huge, and the way it moved was far faster and more efficient than the normal red-maned wolves he"d slain before. As long as the remaining member of the militia could hold it off for long enough for him to escape he should have a chance at getting away. Just as Eric was considering his options a new message appeared in front of him.
[Quest changed: Save the remaining militia member]
You arrived too late to save them both. Try to save the surviving militiaman. Kill or drive off the Elite Wolf.
Reward: Possibility to learn a new skill. Increased favour with Nova.n.a.lba Militia. ???
Seeing that the quest had changed instead of being failed, Eric gripped his bow tightly and took aim at the enormous wolf. The other militiaman had gotten back to his feet and was holding his sword unsteadily, his eyes firm as he stared down the enormous wolf.
Locking eyes with the militiaman, the wolf slowly started to pace forward - its enormous paws leaving marks in the leaves covering the ground. Throwing back its head, it let out a terrifying howl. As the militiaman raised his blade to attack, Eric loosed his arrow. The shot flying straight and true, sinking directly into the wolf"s throat.
With a wailing roar, the wolf clawed at its throat in an attempt to dislodge the arrow. While the shot was well placed and probably would have critically wounded, if not outright killed any normal wolf, this one must have a much thicker pelt. Its healthbar only decreased by roughly ten percent after being struck by the arrow.
Looking at the healthbar which had appeared, Eric cursed. He"d been hoping that the two militiamen had done some real damage to the wolf before he"d arrived. Unfortunately it seemed that they"d been struck dumb with fear as the wolf"s health was still almost 60% full despite his arrow landing a critical hit.
Seeing that the remaining fighter was just standing there, his blade raised high and his mouth open dumbly like a goldfish, Eric roared at him, "Don"t just stand there! Attack if you want to live!"
Closing his mouth, the militiaman nodded, his swordpoint once again steady. As the man charged, the wolf stopped attempting to remove the arrow, preparing itself to leap at the militiaman. Nocking another arrow to his bow, Eric fired a second shot at the wolf, forcing it to jump aside in order to avoid it instead of continuing it"s pounce towards the fighter.
Bringing his sword down with a rough yell, the militiaman hacked at the wolf, which responded by swinging its paw at him. Having learned from his previous experience, the fighter jumped back, the s.p.a.ce he"d just occupied suddenly buzzing as a second arrow slammed into the wolf"s shoulder.
Nocking another arrow to his bow, Eric continued to snipe at the wolf while the fighter tanked, using his sword to harry and cut at the wolf whenever it tried to get around him and charge towards Eric"s hiding spot.
With a loud roar, the wolf suddenly jumped high, soaring over the fighter. Landing behind him it"s rear paws lanced out, catching the fighter mid-turn and sending him tumbling to the ground. With a low growl, the wolf sniffed at the air, flinching as another arrow came flying towards it. Ducking low, the wolf took the arrow in the side, rather than in the eye as Eric had intended.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue. As the wolf charged, he took the opportunity to fire another arrow, shaving off a few more of the wolf"s. .h.i.tpoints. With a mighty pounce the wolf soared into the brush Eric had occupied only moments before. Appearing beside the bush, Eric came out of his roll and used Evasive Shot, the arrow thudding into the wolf"s flank and causing it to snarl angrily at him.
Checking the wolf"s healthbar, Eric groaned. It was still nearly 20% full despite the arrows now sticking out of it. Retreating towards the surviving fighter"s fallen form, Eric nocked another arrow, firing too early as he was forced to throw himself backwards to avoid its swipe.
Swipe, swipe, bite, swipe. The wolf"s attacks were relentless, forcing him back without a chance to counterattack. All he could do was dodge repeatedly, the wolf"s strikes were far faster up close than they had seemed from afar.
He fought this for almost a full minute? Eric thought in amazement as he approached the p.r.o.ne form of the surviving militiaman. Gritting his teeth, Eric dodged another swipe and nocked an arrow to his bow. Drawing it back to its full length he fired the arrow directly into the wolf"s chest as it reared for another attack. Roaring in pain the wolf ignored the new addition to its chestfur, slamming its paw into Eric and sending him flying several meters across the clearing.
Rolling to his feet, Eric watched his healthbar drain to less than 50% from the single blow. His left arm had also been crippled which meant he couldn"t wield the bow, gritting his teeth as it clattered to the ground below. Now that he"d created this opening he couldn"t miss the chance. His finger rapidly tracing several runes in midair.
As the wolf leapt across the clearing, its forepaws outstretched ready to tear open this half-elf who"d caused it so much pain, Eric released his spell, watching as the gathered mana coalesced into nine flaming orbs which sped towards the mid-air form of the wolf.
Only two meters from his b.l.o.o.d.y form, an enormous explosion blossomed as the spell met the wolf in mid-air. With a wordless scream, Eric was thrown backwards, the explosion slamming him into the trunk of an enormous oak tree.
Sliding down the trunk, Eric looked at his healthbar blinking red - only eight percent of his health remained. Weakly, he raised his eyes to see the aftermath of his spell. His Multi-linked Flame Strike had hit the wolf head on, sending it crashing backwards where it had smashed into the ground. Smoke rising off its smouldering pelt.
It has to be dead, right? Eric thought as he weakly tried to struggle to his feet. The UI informed him that the mana rebound from using the spell had rendered him almost completely unable to move, which combined with the stun effect from having been hit both by the explosion and being slammed into a tree meant that his body was incapable of listening to his commands.
Under Eric"s desperate gaze, the wolf slowly got up. Its healthbar showing less than five percent of its health remaining. A feeling of hopelessness rose in Eric. I"m finished, he thought sadly, sliding down the trunk as the wolf approached on unsteady feet.
As the wolf drew closer and closer the stench of burnt fur filled Eric"s nose. Wincing he closed his eyes, leaning back against the trunk. At least my first death won"t have been to a normal monster, he thought as the wolf"s enormous jaws closed around his neck.