Chapter 104 - Howls in the distance

From the outside only a few minutes had passed since the moment Kaiser sat down when he opened his eyes again. "We just need to continue like we did previously for about two minutes or so. Then we'll leave this forest behind and can walk on plains again.", said Kaiser as he slowly rose from his seated position before he began sipping some water from his bottle. "It seems like this plot of land we are standing on is connected to the center of the region. The center is of almost no importance to us though, as we are here to investigate the source of the howls which might be connected to Orion who we've been looking for. If by chance we arrive at the center first though we might as well take the core that we need to insert into the pillars on top of the mountain."

"Yes, we've been through this. Now finish your water and let's hurry up. This mist is really bad for my wonderful fur!", said Gaia as she snuggled deeper into Cirb's fur. Shaking his head at her hurry to continue he suddenly grinned as he realized some thing. "Are you so impatient to meet with your Orion? I know it's been more than a few years by this point but it seems the flames of your love burn even brighter than ever..."

"I'm not in love!", she screeched before continuing in a lower voice. "But at least he understands me and he's a good training partner."

"I'm not buying it.", continued Kaiser which earned him harsh words as well as some teasing from Gaia.

On the rest of the way they traversed through the forest they continued their playful teasing with Cirb and Aeolus getting dragged in at some point. That all came to a stop when they left the forest. Just like the other side this one also ended just as abruptly. One moment the entire field of vision was occupied by trees and in the next the stepped on hilly plains again. Looking to both sides the forest continued, the border appearing extremely unnatural as though it had been drawn with a ruler.

Following the howling that spoke of aggression and even pain they were now also able to hear fighting sounds. The person they were fighting must have been really skilled if she was not only able to last almost 30 minutes or more against a pack of wolves but also inflict pain on them instead of simply running. The howling they had heard just now had not come from far away but instead from a small dip a few hundred meters away which was filled with small trees and bushes similar to more than a few others in it's near vicinity. Preparing himself Kaiser took out his newly acquired spear and checked the positioning of his large knife that was secured in it's sheath on his belt. Checking out the others he saw that they were just waiting for him. Despite that he asked: "Are you ready? I don't know how many we'll fight and how large they are but remember to always go for their rear and their sides. That's where they'll have massive problems."

Seeing them nod Kaiser turned towards the dip and slowly and sneakingly began to approach it. Sadly they had not come far and just about arrived a few meters away from the edge when Cirb's hooves slipped on a particularly slippery pile of mud, causing her to almost fall before she could stop herself. With a low curse on her lips she looked up to see everyone staring at her. Embarrassed she glanced away, the curse stopping midway. Sighing Kaiser realized that the wolves below must have already realized that they were up here so he changed his command. Stay at the edge. When they try to get to us push them back into the dip. We need to maintain the higher ground that is advantageous to us. Nodding the began to spread out a bit and walked closer towards the edge.

From below we could hear the pack conversing.

Who he assumed to be the leader said: "Half of you go up and kill the ones above with Beta. The rest stays with me to finish of the girl."

"Understood!" came the reply from multiple voices as we heard the hurrying up the dip soon after. Deciding to focus on the approaching wolves instead of listening to the rest of the discussion they readied themselves. Looking down he soon spotted the first few patches of fur below.

After a few moments the pack of wolves jumped up and was within his reach. Thrusting towards them he manged to impale one in the side when a wolf tried to avoid it. Merely a second later however the wolves had come to close so Kaiser had to let go of his spear and instead take up the knifes to deal with the close threat. Compared to him Gaia was speeding around like a bolt of lightning, swiftly tearing through the throat and other vital organs with great precision. Cirb wasn't too bad either as she had retreated to our rear and successfully managed to keep the opponents at bay. Only Aeolus was still flying over the mist, looking for aerial threats as he relaxed and watched the fight through their thoughts and perspectives.

Readying his knifes Kaiser was prepared to engage in close combat when a menacing ghostly howl made it's way to them. Instantly the pack retreated with their tails behind their legs. Insecure they opted for running back down into the dip in complete fear, not even worried that we may strike them down which of course Kaiser and his team tried to do with Kaiser once again pulling out his spear while Gaia and Cirb chased them down. Before they had reached the bottom Kaiser had killed one by throwing his spear while Gaia had ripped off a wolf's rear end, spilling his organs everywhere. Following behind, Kaiser and his team, after recovering the spear, soon reached the girl the rest of the wolves had fought.