In the blink of an eye, the tide turned.
Morale soared among the four men led by Li Qiu.
From start to finish, Li Qiu had not even blinked. From Li Zhuo's charge, blocked by the Gray Wolf, to Li Zhuo's sudden shift in offense only to be blocked by the second Gray Wolf, and finally the cunning Cyan Wolf attempting to repeat the previous tactic, only for its neck to be severed by Li Zhuo's steel wire—it had been a riveting sequence.
Li Qiu had originally thought Li Zhuo was merely putting on airs with that folding fan, but he never expected it to have such a brilliant use.
Wang Suo had witnessed the whole process from the side and never imagined that his silly second brother possessed such meticulous scheming. The process of outwitting and killing the Cyan Wolf could only be described as full of twists and turns, making him look at Li Zhuo with newfound respect.
Aside from Li Zhuo's fight, Wang Suo and Zheng Shude had each slain about seven or eight Gray Wolves by this point. In particular, Li Zhuo's clever kill of the Cyan Wolf caused the morale of the pack to momentarily stall.
The White Wolf Leader's eyes grew hazy once more.
The White Fox upon its back was actually shivering.
The remaining three Cyan Wolves walked to the front of the White Wolf Leader, forming a single line. Lowering their heads slightly, they glared at Li Qiu and the others with ferocious gazes, baring their fangs and growling in low voices as if they would tear Li Qiu and his companions to pieces at any moment.
Seeing this, Li Qiu said, "Be careful, they're going to retaliate."
Li Zhuo, his lingering bravery still intact, declared with heroic spirit, "Beasts are beasts! Today I'll slaughter every last one of you and strip your pelts!"
His words sounded grand, but after all, having broken two ribs, Li Qiu couldn't help sucking in cold breaths of air. His legs were also trembling faintly due to the strain on his abdominal injury.
Li Zhuo's hands were already cut where he had gripped the steel wire, and blood slowly dripped from both ends of it.
Seeing this clearly, Li Qiu hurried to support Li Zhuo, but Li Zhuo blocked him, pushing him behind his back.
Li Zhuo felt a surge of heroic pride, fearing neither heaven nor earth. Although his eldest brother was resourceful, he lacked martial arts skill, meaning this was the moment for him to protect his eldest brother. Resolutely tossing aside the steel wire, he gripped his staff with both hands horizontally across his chest, ready to fight the wolf pack to the death.
The White Wolf Leader let out two low growls.
The three Cyan Wolves lunged simultaneously, making a direct dash for Li Zhuo right in front.
Doubtless, they knew that Li Zhuo was heavily wounded and therefore the easiest target.
Holding his staff, Li Zhuo smiled as he watched the three Cyan Wolves charge toward him. Ten steps, eight steps, six steps, five steps...
Standing to the side, Wang Suo secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Li Zhuo. Seeing the Cyan Wolves charging at him, Wang Suo pulled his final throwing knife from his waist, channeled his inner energy into his arm, and hurled it straight at the foremost Cyan Wolf.
That leading Cyan Wolf had already leaped up to bite Li Zhuo's throat, but seeing a flash of cold steel as a throwing knife shot toward its belly like an arrow, a look of delighted surprise actually appeared at the corners of its mouth.
Seeing that expression, Wang Suo sensed something was wrong, but the knife had already left his hand—what is done cannot be undone.
The Cyan Wolf arched its body, its four paws contracting and extending to step right onto the incoming throwing knife, and then used that leverage to kick off...
It sailed right over Li Zhuo's head, landing right in front of Li Qiu. Opening its bloody maw, it lunged fiercely at Li Qiu.
Li Zhuo's face drained of color. Seeing the Cyan Wolf vault past him and realizing the danger, he spun around to save Li Qiu. But before he could make a move, a force like a collapsing mountain struck his back, shoving him violently forward. The second Cyan Wolf had reached Li Zhuo's rear and delivered a thunderous blow.
Already heavily injured and unstable on his feet, Li Zhuo was sent stumbling forward a few paces by the fierce kick. With a "bang," he crashed face-first to the ground and instantly lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, as the Cyan Wolf dashed forward to attack Li Qiu, Wang Suo arrived in a split second and threw himself in front of Li Qiu. With no other choice, the Cyan Wolf redirected its attack toward Wang Suo. Poor Wang Suo had long since exhausted his throwing knives and was utterly helpless, taking the full force of the Cyan Wolf's attack. With several ribs broken, he spat a mouthful of blood and collapsed heavily to his knees.
Seeing both Li Zhuo and Wang Suo fall in an instant, Zheng Shude let panic cloud his judgment. He was bitten on the shoulder by the third Cyan Wolf, and then kicked until several of his ribs snapped as well, his entire body drenched in blood.
In a single exchange, only Li Qiu was left of the four sworn brothers.
The three Cyan Wolves glared menacingly, slowly circling around Li Qiu as if taking a stroll in a leisurely courtyard.
Li Qiu bent down, picked up Li Zhuo's staff, and took a light breath.
With three Cyan Wolves and over a hundred Gray Wolves remaining on the field, the outcome seemed already sealed. Li Qiu remembered the scene from just a few days earlier when he, Li Zhuo, Wang Suo, and Zheng Shude had sworn brotherhood: "By the deities of Tianzhu Mountain, today we bind ourselves as sworn brothers, to share life and death, never to forsake one another. Should we break this oath, let heaven and earth destroy us." The words still seemed to echo in his ears, yet he never imagined he would be "dying together" with his brothers so soon. As he prepared to charge at the Cyan Wolves, Wang Suo let out a muffled groan from the excruciating pain of his wounds.
Bending down to help Wang Suo up, Li Qiu asked with concern, "How are you?"
Putting on a brave face, Wang Suo said, "I'm fine. I can take on the Cyan Wolves for another three hundred rounds."
Suddenly remembering something, Li Qiu asked, "Third Brother, can you mimic animal calls?"
Wang Suo replied, "I've loved mimicking them since I was a child. There isn't a bug, bird, or beast I can't imitate."
"Can you mimic the roar of a tiger?"
"Of course, you..." Wang Suo suddenly understood. Li Qiu wanted to use the tactic of "driving the tiger to devour the wolves." At that moment, Li Qiu's idea was truly a brilliant plan.
Wang Suo instantly channeled his energy to his dantian and let out a mighty roar, "Awoo—!" It pierced the sky and resounded for miles around.
Hearing this roar, the pack of wolves trembled all over, and neither the White Wolf Leader nor the Cyan Wolves were exceptions.
Wolves were wolves after all; faced with the roar of the king of the forest, instinctive terror gripped them.