Chapter 20: Traps

Having rested during the day, as dusk fell, Kalo and the other nine Claw Wolves got ready to set out and deal with those who stole the grain. Kalo led the way. Maruku didn’t know much about this Knight of the Void, but after spending time together these past few days, he realized Kalo had his skills—after all, according to the proud traditions of the Claw Wolves, competition was common in their daily lives.

The weather that night wasn’t good. Dark clouds had accumulated throughout the day and finally covered the sky completely. The air was humid, suggesting that snow might fall before dawn. Maruku’s group consisted of fighters at least at level 6, so they weren’t afraid of the wind and snow. Kalo didn’t reveal his tracking method; he simply led them forward at a normal walking pace, without rushing. After a little over three hours, they finally reached their destination.

Although the members of Kalo’s group were usually arrogant, they didn’t act carelessly or presumptuously when carrying out tasks. Kalo and Maruku conducted a thorough search and quickly found the five large carts that had disappeared during the day.

“It seems this hidden camp hasn’t been here for just a day or two,” Maruku said. The camp in the valley was not only concealed but also fortified with barriers, along with several earthen shelters of varying sizes, arranged in an orderly manner with clear functions.

Kalo let out a cold snort and said, “These guys are quite bold. I, Pedro, and Nars searched this place once before—it must have been the former base of the Storm Team.”

“Oh, no wonder. With a lack of clothes and food, it’s impractical to stay in one place and search for another. They must have returned after wandering around.”

After investigating the situation, the two turned back. There was no need to wait until dawn. They quickly assigned tasks and set off immediately. The valley walls were steep, with an average depth of nearly a hundred meters. There seemed to be five entrances, but only two had ramps that allowed easy descent; the others were dead ends. Kalo and Maruku each took four men and descended via those two paths. They hoped to trap the grain thieves in the earthen shelters, but even if that didn’t work, it didn’t matter—these narrow valleys were easy to defend but difficult to navigate, so they should be able to block most those trying to escape.

With no light in the sky, the night was pitch black, and the cold wind howled. Maruku and his four Claw Wolves were all in their wolf form, moving swiftly and lightly. Despite wearing armor, they made little noise as they moved. They all had dark vision spanning about 30 meters, so they didn’t need any lighting. Even though there were many rocks in the valleys, it didn’t affect them much.

They calmly descended the valley and walked about a hundred meters before reaching the narrowest section of the path, about 10 meters wide. Maruku led the way, followed by the four Claw Wolves.

Suddenly, an unusual sound of wind breaking through came from above. Maruku was quick-witted and immediately realized it might be a trap. Shouting “Charge!”, he rushed forward. The wolves behind him were well-trained and instinctively followed his lead.

At that moment, a thorny net descended from above, instantly trapping three and a half Claw Wolves. Strangely, the net was alive—after ensnaring half of the Claw Wolf that had rushed after Marklu, four dark red thorny vines shot out, wrapping around the wolf and pulling it along. The other three Claw Wolves trapped were even luckier; the “living net” seemed to have a central control point. As it descended, thorny vines tipped with eerie light fired like arrows, and more vines pierced through the gaps in the net. Though the Claw Wolves had combat abilities to protect them, the thorns couldn’t pierce too deeply, but their toxins were extremely potent, causing brief yet excruciating pain that even their resilience couldn’t prevent them from screaming in agony. In that instant, their minds were filled only with pain, leaving them unable to think clearly. Their attempts to break free from the net looked chaotic, as if they were scrambling around in pain.

Yet despite this, the Claw Wolves still had their combat abilities. The golden-edged claws on their wild-style gauntlets were already extremely sharp, and with their combat energy channeled into them, the thorny net, though tough, wasn’t indestructible. Marklu reacted quickly—he rolled away upon attacking, then turned around instantly, swinging his claws with combat energy glowing as he charged at the net.

Just then, on the ground opposite the net, someone suddenly leaped up like a fish breaking the surface, drawing a sword and charging forward. Instead of attacking the trapped wolves, he aimed straight at Marklu.

Marklu roared in response—not just out of anger, but also to warn Carlo’s team. If they still didn’t realize their supposed surprise attack was actually a trap set by the enemy, they were truly fools.

The swordsman was Neo, who had already transformed into a wolf. His fighting style was bold and aggressive. Despite Marklu’s claw strike, he ignored it and swung his sword, seemingly willing to risk mutual destruction just to land a blow on Marklu.

At this point, Marklu remained calm and composed. Seeing that his subordinates were about to break free and knowing Neo was alone, he chose not to engage in a desperate fight but to take a steady approach.

Neo fought boldly, launching several reckless attacks, but his excessive aggression caused him to trip over his own net and fall suddenly.

Seeing this, Marklu was overjoyed and charged forward bravely, only to realize that the fall had a deeper meaning—the empty left hand landed precisely on the head of the Claw Wolf that was half-trapped and about to escape, its hand emitting a sinister dark green glow.

With just a press and a swipe, the soul of that Claw Wolf was seized, leaving it motionless.

Meanwhile, another Claw Wolf about to break free suddenly felt its feet tighten, then its body sank as if it had fallen into mud. Before it could even cry out, it disappeared into the soil.

Seeing this, Marklu immediately realized he had fallen for another trap. Filled with rage, he switched to a brutal fighting style, attacking fiercely. Now, it was Neo who was on the ground, struggling desperately to defend against Marklu’s combat-energized claws, and his thorny armor soon bore cuts.

Hiss! Hiss! Two vine thorns with blood-red glows at their tips pierced at Marklu. It was a multi-pronged attack—the net itself was multi-faceted; the Octopus of Webs—this form was the true essence of multi-facetedness.

Marklu was already furious and feared none of these attacks. He continued to fiercely assaultNeo on the ground, merely tilting his body slightly. Ding! One vine thorn struck his armor and was blocked, but another pierced his body. The Wildset only protected his vital areas, leaving his mobility largely unaffected. That’s why one thorn could still get through—though it only penetrated half an inch deep—Marklu could still sense the deadly potency of its poison.

As if struck by lightning, the intense pain spread instantly throughout his body. Caught off guard, he let out a half-roar and shuddered.Neo seized this opportunity, leaping up to end his passive situation of taking hits endlessly.

At the same time, another Clawwolf trapped in the net was pulled into the ground by the Death Vines. In fact, with proper preparation and calmness, these Clawwolves could easily break free from such restraints. But under these circumstances, with this unprecedented type of ground trap, not only the Clawwolf soldiers but evenNeo might struggle to react quickly. Any hesitation would allow the Death Vines to pull them deeper, and once the vines “released” their grip, the effect of the Groundborne Aura vanished, turning the once-soggy soil into solid earth—almost like being buried alive. After all, the Death Vines’ “soil-loosening” ability didn’t soften the soil like earthworms did; instead, it used energy vibrations to maintain a sufficient concentration of special soil element energy particles in that area. For this reason, the Death Vines couldn’t pull people into the ground at will—they had to prepare in advance. Moreover, since those special soil element energy particles constantly dissipated, the affected area was limited.

With only one Clawwolf left, it was much easier to deal with. The living net of Multi-facetedness could be folded up and pressed down layer by layer, combined with more vine thorn attacks. After using the thorns to bury the second one, it quickly pulled the last one half under the ground. This Clawwolf was mentally prepared and struggled hard, but Marklu was occupied fightingNeo and couldn’t provide support. He was poked relentlessly from all sides by Multi-facetedness. Eventually, overwhelmed by pain, his internal combat energy became chaotic. His vital points like his neck and eyes were injured, and he cried out as he became Multi-facetedness’ prey.

Marklu truly was a well-trained elite warrior; at this moment, he embraced courage, roaring as he fought bravely. As a level 9 warrior, although he didn’t possess many innate skills, his combat skills were far more extensive than Neo’s. He used techniques such as charges, heavy strikes, and slashing cuts with great proficiency. More importantly, his level itself reflected his strength—he had better stamina, greater power, and faster speed, by a significant margin. If not for Neo’s rich combat experience, his five mental pathways to assist in battle, his skill in setting tactical traps, and his willingness to risk injury in return, even in werewolf form, Marklu would have had no chance of winning—unless he used dark magic.

After killing four Claw Wolves, Death Vines did not participate in the fight against Marklu. Not only had Marklu and Neo already left the pit area, but given Death Vines’ toughness, Neo wouldn’t let it engage. For a professional like Marklu, who was on guard, it would be dangerous for Death Vines to attack—it wasn’t fully developed yet, and it wasn’t a true combat vine.

Polyface could help, though not in close combat. Its consciousness remained distorted, making it fight like a madman, which didn’t fit Neo’s tactics. So Neo simply ordered it to perform the simplest form of assistance: whenever he gave a mental command, it would pierce Marklu with its vines. The strength of these vines was only equivalent to the weakest magic arrows, barely more impactful than a mosquito bite—after all, Marklu was also a werewolf with rapid healing abilities from his wolf bloodline. But Polyface’s poison was very useful; the sudden intense pain could disrupt Marklu. Even if he used skills like “Steel Will” or “Rock Body” to reduce pain temporarily and make his body as hard as iron, he would still be affected.

Neo’s main weapon wasn’t the crossbow in his right hand but the “Life Theft” abilities on his left and right. So far, Neo couldn’t extract life force without direct contact, so he had to rely on his fists and feet to subtly weaken Marklu. It was only because Marklu was ruthless and determined to kill Neo that Neo could deal with him at all.

Meanwhile, Carlo had already led four other wolves into the camp.

“Huh? I saw someone on duty behind the walls during scouting—where are they?” Carlo grew suspicious. He turned and whispered to the four Claw Wolves, “Be careful for traps. Be ready to fight at any moment. Follow me!”

A 5-meter-wide trench and a 2-meter-high wall were a piece of cake for fighters at level 5 and above, not to mention the werewolves’ exceptional jumping ability. There were several fires lit in the camp for lighting purposes, arranged very cleverly. The size of the fires was carefully controlled so as to illuminate the camp without creating bright shadows in the air or covering areas near the barriers and other important locations, which were usually used for setting up night watch posts. With the enemy in the light and them in the dark, such camp lighting was fairly standard in the pitch-black night. But the question was—where were the people?

There were no night watchmen, no panicked shouts, no ringing of alarm bells. Carlo and the four werewolves had expected to face opponents who could hold their own, but all they saw was emptiness and all they heard was the crackling of the campfires.

Carlo sensed something was wrong. Not long ago, when he and Makru went to scout, they had seen the silhouettes of night watchmen in the dim light and heard their conversations. How could it be so quiet now? How could there not be a single night watchman on duty?

Full of doubts, he kept moving forward. Carlo kicked aside the simple door curtain of one of the earthen huts and rushed into the largest hut with his four Claw Wolves.

Upon entering, he was stunned. There was indeed a fire in the room, but the people sitting around were puppets. These puppets were intricately crafted, and most importantly, they could move! The shadows on the walls that he and Makru had seen from a distance, illuminated by the firelight, were actually caused by these moving straw puppets!

Carlo swung his sword and split one of the puppets open. A bunch of slimy, worm-like vines tumbled out, filling him with anger and disgust. Even the pungent smell of smoke and sweat lingering in the hut seemed to come from these things.

“Such disgusting things surely come from no good source. Cutting them only dirties my sword!” Carlo refused to look at those filth anymore and led his Claw Wolves out of the room.

Unwilling to give up, he checked several more earthen huts and finally confirmed they had been tricked. Fueled by rage, Carlo still retained his sanity. He quickly realized that although the path Makru had taken was a bit longer, it was far from too long for him to still not have arrived.

“Makru is in trouble. The enemy must have planned this ahead. They likely set a trap to ambush Makru and the others.” With this thought, Carlo immediately called out to his four Claw Wolves, “Follow me quickly!”

Not far from the valley crossing where the camp was located, leading to the path Makru and the others were on, Carlo heard sounds of fighting. “It’s the wind! It’s the wind from this special terrain blocking the sound. No wonder we couldn’t hear Makru and the others’ shouts or the sounds of combat. Damn it! These cunning guys even took this into account…” Carlo realized they had suffered a major setback in this surprise attack. As for the four Claw Wolves, their hearing was far better than Carlo’s, so they naturally knew what was happening. Without needing to be urged, they rushed forward at full speed.

“Marklu, hold on! We’re coming!” Carlo shouted loudly as he ran at full speed. His vision wasn’t as good as that of a werewolf, so on a pitch-black night like this, he could only rely on his sense of touch. But in such a race against time, relying solely on touch was insufficient. Yet this didn’t deter Carlo—he combined leaps with powerful landings, covering distances of over 15 meters with each leap. With each landing, his feet would strike like hammers, crushing any rocks in their path and sending them into the ground. The continuous thuds he made were truly astonishing.

Marklu heard Carlo’s cries. He really wanted to hold on, but he was already too weak.Neo had stolen most of his life force over and over again, and the intense toxicity of the multi-pronged thorns made it difficult for him to realize how much strength he had lost. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late to escape.

Hearing Carlo’s cries,Neo also became desperate. With fewer fighters on his side, he seemed determined to capture Marklu, even if it meant taking some damage himself.

Marklu was a brave man. After those dozen minutes of fighting, he knew very well thatNeo had extensive combat experience and was extremely cunning. His concern now was thatNeo might flee again if things turned unfavorable. If he missed this chance, Marklu couldn’t imagine how long it would take to catch him again.

“Damn you! Do you think only you dare to fight to the death? You killed my brother! I’ll die rather than let you get away!” SeeingNeo fighting desperately, Marklu knew an opportunity had arisen. He resolutely decided to die by draggingNeo down with him. Moreover, for once, Marklu used a tactic—pretending to be weak to deceive his enemy.

AsNeo went wild, Marklu first pretended to defend himself desperately while waiting for reinforcements. Suddenly, seizing an opportunity, he abandoned his defense and fought back againstNeo, trading injuries. It worked—he managed to cut off a third ofNeo’s neck, while his own claw pierced intoNeo’s heart.

Wait! Marklu knew he was dead. But he thoughtNeo might not survive either. Yet in his final moments, he saw that his claw had missed its target—not the heart. More importantly, he saw a smile onNeo’s lips. Then he heard Carlo and the other four clawed werewolves rushing over in shock. Marklu instantly realized that his last strike had fallen forNeo’s trick.Neo had anticipated his move and done it right in front of Carlo and the others! Looking closely, the monster that had been shooting thorns at him moments ago was gone—obviously, it had gone to set up another trap.

“Be careful of the trap!” At that moment, Marklu really wanted to warn Carlo and the four surviving brothers. Yet Neo’s sword kept cutting through one of his carotid arteries and damaging his vocal cords, leaving him unable to speak. “Damn it! I’ll give it my all!” Marklu tried to muster his last bit of strength to move his arm buried in Neo’s body. With the sharpness of pure gold and the power of his combat abilities, maybe he could actually damage Neo’s heart! But Neo’s left hand had already grasped his arm, sucking energy frantically and holding him firmly. Even if he tried to use his body weight to twist the blade, it was no use!

In the eyes of the four Claw Wolves, the last thing they saw was Marklu’s claw piercing into Neo’s left chest, while Neo cut half of Marklu’s neck. Blood gushed from Marklu’s neck as he collapsed to the ground. Neo then used his left hand to press on the wound, while his right hand rested on the ground as he staggered back.

How could the four Claw Wolves doubt anything? Their eyes turned red instantly, filled with rage and fury. Their potential surged as they rushed at him wildly. Although Carlo wasn’t much slower than these four Claw Wolves, his vision problems prevented him from seeing what happened. Moreover, the path was quite narrow, and before he could react, four wolves had already rushed over, one even climbing up the side wall. Carlo instinctively hesitated for a moment—either to become part of the second wave of attackers or to check on Marklu’s injuries and see if he could be saved.

This delay made a huge difference. Neo, clutching his wound and staggering away, seemed unable to fight anymore. The four Claw Wolves, unaware of the trick, rushed into the narrow passage. Suddenly, Neo threw his sword into the air and slapped his hands together hard.

Snap!

With that sharp sound, Carlo and the four Claw Wolves felt a buzzing in their heads and their vision went dark instantly. Their connection to their bodies was severed in an instant. Though it was only for one second, the four Claw Wolves, moving at high speed, tumbled heavily.

The thrown sword served as a signal. The net-like multi-sided weapon descended from above, trapping the four Claw Wolves tightly. Their situation was even worse than those captured earlier—they could be caught all at once. Given their dazed state, it was clear they had no chance of escaping.

By now, Neo had caught the falling Cross Sword. Earlier, while covering his wound, he had used Healing Touch and Water-based healing magic. Coupled with his Wolf Blood ability and the healing effects of the Deathvine, he had also taken a vial of healing potion obtained from Victor’s beautiful adjutant. His injuries were healing at an incredible speed. He leaped high, stepping on the heads and bodies of two Claw Wolves who were struggling. His target was Carlo, who had also fallen badly but wasn’t trapped in the net. Although Neo didn’t know he was the leader of the three Knight of the Void, he could tell his combat strength was on par with Marklu’s. Naturally, he would deal with the most threatening one first.

But Carlo was quite remarkable. Once his consciousness returned and he saw the situation, a layer of green light flashed around him, lifting him into the air under that glow.

“Seer!” Kalo’s identity surprised Neo. He tossed his crosssword aside and clapped his hands together.
Snap!
Kalo’s vision went black again, and his connection to his body was severed. Though not as severe as the first time, it still disrupted his abilities, causing him to fall from the sky. Yet Kalo was meant to survive—before his body fully hit the ground, he emitted light once more. Neo was just a little too far away, so he could only shoot a flying knife, which successfully pierced Kalo’s back but failed to knock him down. Without hesitation, Kalo activated his spirit guide abilities and fled at full speed. Neo had no choice but to accept this imperfect outcome. He sent Thorne with Falconheather to track where Kalo would go, while he turned to clean up the mess.
For a long time after that, Kalo would feel panicked whenever he heard the sound of slapping. It wasn’t until a magic alchemist joined Neo’s team in hunting him that Kalo learned that Neo’s slaps weren’t as miraculous as he thought. The effect required the victim to inhale a certain magic powder, which, when combined with specific audio vibrations, would take effect—its strength depending on how much powder was inhaled. After careful reflection, Kalo finally figured out where he had been tricked: the earthen kiln! Neo used the smell of sweat and pungent smoke as cover, causing him and the four Claw Wolves to inhale the powder without realizing it, with him inhaling the most…
Thus, the “Provision Guard” was destroyed by Neo alone. The supplies meant to reward the Gale Team were hidden by Neo. He knew well that the arrival of the New Year also meant the onset of the coldest month of the year—the Ice Month. It was a long, harsh winter, and surviving it would not be easy…