"Are you ready to accept your trial?"
Dense Elemental Power shrouded everyone's vision like a thick fog, hiding the massive figure of the North Wind Wolf King. Only two huge, ferocious eyes flickered with ice-blue light.
Accompanied by a piercing wolf howl, the North Wind Wolf King revealed its terrifyingly huge form from the mist.
This majestic king wolf shone with blue light all over its body, its steps elegant yet filled with killing intent, making everyone suddenly feel as if they had returned to that barbaric era when the Archons competed for supremacy and humans were like ants.
Arkz couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Is this a glimpse of the Archon War? It truly is terrifying."
Outside the battlefield in the circular deep pit, Oz rushed back to the scene after pulling the three unconscious people to a safe place.
During the process of being pulled by Oz, a passerby who woke up due to the pain intended to express thanks upon realizing they were rescued, but fainted again upon hearing the piercing wolf howl.
Arkz exchanged glances with Fischl and Barbara behind him, and they nodded.
"Come on!!!" x 3
"Omen of the Abyss!"
Fischl smiled confidently, touching the eyepatch over her left eye. Lightning flashed in her hand. Oz, far away, teleported above the North Wind Wolf King at her summons, crossing the spatial barrier.
As Fischl threw the Electro Element sphere in her hand and injected it into Oz's body, Oz in the air spread his wings, let out a fierce cry, and thousands of bolts of lightning descended like arrows, pouring down toward the North Wind Wolf King.
The barrage of lightning attacks, resembling a carpet bombing, struck the rocky ground, leaving deep craters.
Under such a powerful attack, even a mighty Ruin Guard would probably not have lasted and would have long since turned into scrap metal.
"Starting off with a big move, Fischl, who did you learn that from? It's so cool."
Although Arkz was amazed by Fischl's move, his own speed was not slow in the slightest.
Arkz slammed both hands onto the ground, and huge, thick vines instantly shot up from the earth, wrapping around the North Wind Wolf King's massive body and tightly restraining it.
The barrage attack from the sky poured down, while the vines on the ground tightly restricted the North Wind Wolf King's displacement skills. If this strike had landed, the North Wind Wolf King would surely have been seriously injured.
But was the matter really that simple?
The North Wind Wolf King let out a roar, surrounded by a whirlwind, and the vines, as thick as arms, disintegrated one by one. The combined strike from Fischl and Oz was completely repelled.
As the whirlwind dispersed, the North Wind Wolf King roared again, completely unharmed!
Just as everyone was shocked, the North Wind Wolf King's attack followed immediately. Ice shards began to spread across the ground, and the smooth, cold surface made it easy to slip if one wasn't careful. The Wolf King raised its sharp front claws and swung them swiftly and fiercely toward everyone.
Fortunately, Arkz quickly summoned a vine to wrap around Fischl's waist and pulled her backward; otherwise, this single strike could have incapacitated Fischl.
The North Wind Wolf King missed with one move and immediately launched another. Huge ice spikes rained down from the sky toward everyone. The three without shield skills could only dodge in embarrassment.
Luckily, Barbara, who was positioned further back as a support character, was not injured.
Perhaps because this was a trial, the North Wind Wolf King was holding back its strength. Otherwise, how could it, having survived the Archon War, not know to attack the healer first in a group fight?
Seeing the wounds inflicted by the ice spikes on Fischl and Arkz in front of her, Barbara quickly activated her healing skill.
"Concert, begin!"
Water rings adorned with musical notes quietly appeared on Fischl and Arkz.
"Oh no!"
Arkz quickly pulled the vine to fling Fischl behind him, but he himself was frozen in place by the ice spikes summoned by the North Wind Wolf King, turning into an ice sculpture.
Barbara's pupils contracted sharply, and she quickly canceled the water ring on Fischl.
"This... how is this possible..."
The North Wind Wolf King stopped attacking, looking at the two who had lost their fighting spirit. It had thought it could stretch its limbs a bit, but the result disappointed the wolf.
"The battle isn't over yet, are you planning to surrender?"
"You lack not only combat experience but also the will of a warrior who fights until the last drop of blood is shed. You are not worthy of passing my trial."
Barbara bit her lip so hard that she didn't notice it had broken.
"Because of my mistake, Mr. Arkz is dead!"
"Am I really as untalented in combat as my mother said?"
Fischl looked at the ice sculpture in front of her, but she wasn't worried about Arkz at all. Her nemesis—the Giant Forest Bear, the Tyrant Candiff—Arkz wouldn't be defeated so easily.
She just didn't know why Arkz wasn't displaying his Giant Bear form.
"Barbara, are you okay? That guy Arkz isn't that easy to take down. What we need to do now is keep fighting!"
Fischl's loud shout awakened the disheartened Barbara.
"Mr. Arkz is not dead!!!"
"Fischl, you are right! The battle is not over! I will help him reclaim the victory he lost!"
"Great North Wind Wolf, the trial is not over yet!!!"
The North Wind Wolf King looked at the two young women who were high-spirited and fearless, and at Arkz, who was secretly accumulating Elemental Power hidden inside the ice, planning to ambush it when it attacked the ice block. It nodded in satisfaction.
"Good fighting spirit. The battle continues. I won't hold back next time."
Fischl and Barbara exchanged glances and nodded tacitly.
"Hooray! Charge!"
"Hey! Wasn't Barbara supposed to use guerrilla tactics? Why did you charge in!"
Apparently, the tacit understanding between the best friends only existed on the surface.
However, while Fischl was stunned, Barbara had already rushed next to the North Wind Wolf King, and as she passed the ice sculpture of Arkz, she casually picked up his Traveler's Sword that had fallen on the ground.
"Hya!"
Barbara forcefully lifted the Traveler's Sword and slashed at the North Wind Wolf King's front claw, but she failed to pierce the enemy's armor.
The North Wind Wolf King mercilessly swung its sharp front claws and heavily slapped Barbara, who was trying to trim its claws, sending her flying. The sharp claws left deep wounds on Barbara's body, and blood traced a bright red line on the ground.
"Truly disappointing!"
"Barbara—No!!!"
Fischl screamed and rushed toward Barbara at top speed. However, Barbara suddenly scrambled up, and a large water ball flew out of her hand, drilled into the North Wind Wolf King's mouth, and then, under Barbara's control, penetrated deep into the Wolf King's body.
With a foreign object suddenly flying into its mouth, the North Wind Wolf King immediately began to gag.
When Fischl reached Barbara and anxiously checked her wounds, she was surprised to find that Barbara's injuries had already completely recovered. If it weren't for the residual bloodstains on her clothes, one wouldn't have known Barbara had been seriously wounded.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"