"She will definitely be useful; the decision to leave her alive was the right one," Asura concluded, while I observed Jiaxing Er.
She used her mist for both defense and attack. It was strong enough to kill a high-level servant, but it couldn't harm her. So, as long as she can maintain the mist around her, she is invulnerable. At the same time, a wolf can simply bite her before the poison finally kills it. It is for this reason that she directs what look like trails of poison towards the wolves that appear before her, which absorb them with incredible speed and gradually kill them, dissolving their flesh. I think she was able to achieve such an effect after training with creating a poison sword, as these were not different spells, but control of something already created.
However, nothing can be as easy as it would be desirable. Jiaxing Er is still just a first-tier beginner-level mage, albeit with great potential and abilities. And even though she has almost reached the second tier, it is still not enough to counter so many high-level servants. She stood, breathing heavily, and sweat streamed down her face; this clearly showed how difficult this battle was for her. She couldn't last long.
But it should be noted that by this time, about thirty to forty wolves had died by our hands and the girls', naturally, I killed the majority, covering them from my tree. However, they are also doing well; Zhou Min had about ten to her credit, and Jiaxing Er had about nine. This number of wolves was quite large and resembled a small den or, more accurately, a pack, so if a leader, a nimble wolf, or something else that giant Tibetan wolves can evolve into appears, I will not be surprised at all.
"By the way, I've noticed for a long time that Jiaxing Er has a special feeling for you. I just can't figure out if she considers you a god or a promising guy? It's hard to draw a clear line based on her attitude," Asura said thoughtfully. The duel below didn't interest him at all; after all, it was well controlled by me.
"You really noticed that?" I remarked skeptically. "I thought you were only interested in slashing and killing beautifully."
"You wound me, of course, what you said is incredibly fascinating, but I can look around," he replied, slightly offended.
"I think she considers you a god after all. The first time you met, you appeared before her first and inspired her respect with your killer aura," I said, indifferently spreading my hands, while sending lightning bolts in anger at the wolves that had appeared on both sides of me.
"But she's already in love with me, at least with my bright side."
"Ha-ha-ha! Well said, nothing to add!" Asura laughed.
"And you're not going to reciprocate her feelings? I, for one, will be a god-mentor for her and will polish this diamond of a ruthless killer," He added, calming down a bit.
"No," I answered clearly, sharply feeling pain and emptiness in my chest.
"Still upset about that fool, Lin Yun Er?" Asura asked sharply in a indifferent tone.
"There is such a thing," I answered calmly.
"It's entirely my fault that she finally left me," I said, shrugging my shoulders and waving my daggers, killing a couple more wolves.
"Well, get her out of your head, there's another girl practically throwing herself at you here!" Asura objected to me, with strange notes in his voice.
"No, Jiaxing Er was chosen by me only as a tool, excessive attachment can interfere with her use," I answered indifferently.
"As for Lin Yun Er, for some reason incomprehensible to me, she managed to become the first significant and beloved person, in essence, for both lives. So my feelings for her will not fade soon, if they fade at all. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have known what love is, and most likely Xu Zhao Ting, Zhou Ming, Mo Fan, Jiaxing Xia, Xiao Hou, He Yu, and all the others would have remained ordinary characters in my imagination."
"I understand, but haven't feelings for Jiaxing Er already settled in your heart?" Asura asked mysteriously, with a sly smile on his face.
"Definitely. I'm not the same as I used to be, now I value other people's lives more. Besides, her fate is so similar to mine, only she didn't have enough strength and skills to follow my path. But it's okay, as my tool, she will receive proper polishing and gain the abilities she so desperately needs to achieve her goals," I said seriously, killing a couple more wolves.
By this point, things were nearing disaster for the girls. If not for my protection, they would have been dead long ago, they simply wouldn't have coped with such a flood of wolves. Perhaps I chose the place poorly and we are on the border of some packs or even in the territory of one of the herds, then the appearance of the commander-in-chief is also possible. Although the bait is not strong enough to attract him, the death of nearly a hundred of his servants is a worthy reason for him to appear. I killed about sixty, the rest are divided equally between Jiaxing Er and Zhou Ming. The first is almost falling, and her mist is gradually dissipating, while the second, although holding on, is slower in building star paths and gradually depleting her magical reserves. If the influx of wolves doesn't stop soon, we'll have to retreat.
"What's wrong with Jiaxing Er?" Asura's interested voice suddenly sounded.
"She must have overexerted herself. Under normal circumstances, a high-level servant should easily kill a novice mage of the first stage. She's lucky that her opponents are easily corroded by her poison," I said, glancing at Jiaxing Er, while killing a couple more wolves with a wind blade.
"No, look closely, don't you think she's almost broken through to the second stage and simultaneously awakened her inner energy?" Asura objected in a thoughtful voice.
"Indeed, there is such a thing," I replied, scratching my chin. It was at this moment that an energy bomb seemed to explode inside Jiaxing Er, her whole body filled with energy, and her face became slightly less like a ghost.
Taking advantage of the moment of adrenaline and energy surge from the double breakthrough of both inner and magical energy, she went on the offensive, releasing all the created poison forward at the wolves. A rather impressive wave of poison flew forward at high speed, corroding everything in its path, creating an absolutely barren zone. However, when I turned my gaze back to Jiaxing Er, she lay face down, unconscious.
"She couldn't take it. It'll be good if she doesn't die from such overexertion," Asura replied indifferently.
"I chose her knowing full well that she wouldn't kick the bucket from such fun," I said, waving my hand and killing all the wolves on Zhou Ming's side with a couple of wind blades, giving her a few minutes of respite.
"Jiaxing Er!" Zhou Ming's cry sounded, and she turned and rushed to the fallen girl.
"What's wrong with you, wake up!" She shouted, turning her face up. The sight was not pleasant. Her whole face was dirty, her eyes rolled back, and blood was slowly flowing from her nose and ears. As soon as Jiaxing Er was in Zhou Ming's arms, she twitched in short convulsions and soon calmed down.
"Here, give her this to drink, it should help," I said, jumping down to them and throwing Zhou Ming a very potent healing potion.
"Why did so many wolves attack us? And where have you been all this time! Look what happened to your sister!" Zhou Ming started shouting at me, grabbing the bottle and pouring its contents into Jiaxing Er's mouth.
"It's all because of me, I lured them with a special item," I said indifferently, causing Zhou Ming's eyes to widen and become like saucers.
"I sat there, watching the fight, by the way, if I hadn't killed most of the wolves, you would already be dead."
"What!" Zhou Ming literally roared after listening to my indifferent explanation.
"How could you even think of that, you damn sadist! Have you lost your mind completely! How could you bring so many monsters upon us yourself! Why the hell did you do that, you idiot! Did you decide to kill us all here?! And what do you mean you watched from the sidelines! We both almost kicked the bucket, and you only appeared at the last moment when your sister was on the verge of death! What kind of brother are you!" Zhou Ming shouted with all her might, not noticing that a crowd of wolves was gathering around, including three spiky Tibetan wolves.
To be clear, spiky Tibetan wolves are monsters of the true pack leader level, similar to three-eyed wolves, only their peculiarity is spikes all over their bodies, not three eyes. By the way, they only have two eyes. They are no different from three-eyed wolves, except that their spikes are a good material for artifacts, I think I'll find a place for them.
"Well, stop shouting," I said with icy calm, taking out Asura's mask. It happened involuntarily; in all my serious battles, I wore it, it's almost a reflex now.
"We'll talk later, I have business to attend to now. Sorry, but I won't allow you to see my real strength, so sleep for now."
"What?" Zhou Ming asked, stunned and silent for a moment, after which the contract activated and, inflicting minor damage to her soul, disabled it. The damage was almost imperceptible, but in her state, it was enough for her to lose consciousness. She wouldn't even feel it when she woke up.
"Well, now, let's play a real game," I said, smiling with Asura's signature smile and putting on his mask.
"Well, it's your turn to have fun too!"
My answer was the howl of three spiky wolves, sending their minions into battle. It seems we ended up in the territory of a large pack, three leaders and about a hundred and fifty servants. My miscalculation, but there was no time to regret it now, I was ready for such an outcome anyway, so no problems. Summoning my artifact, I immediately activated my daggers. Now I could freely use two daggers, with some difficulty three, which was enough to deal with the small fry.
Three daggers shot out in different directions, and immediately the pathetic whimpers of wolves were heard, whose heads were pierced, limbs severed, or holes left in their chests. Although they ran at high speed towards me and the girls, I was faster; not a trace of fifty servants remained in just a few minutes. All of them fell dead, sliding to my feet by inertia.
Seeing this, the three leaders took a couple of steps back; they weren't fools and certainly weren't going to die. However, it was too late; even though they stood in a way that surrounded me, from three sides, at approximately equal distances, I wouldn't let anyone escape. The one on the right couldn't hold back first; he tried to charge at me with all his might, clearly thinking I wouldn't be able to dodge while protecting the girls. How wrong he was; I didn't even need to move.
Three daggers flew towards him; he managed to dodge the first, the second sliced half his face, and the third, making a feint, pierced his chest, deflecting to the side. However, he remained alive, though he lay on the ground, barely getting to his feet, and blood flowed from his new wounds. Give him a little time, and he could attack me again and possibly succeed. Only I wasn't so merciful; a lightning strike hit him directly in the head, breaking his skull and burning his brain; the wound left by the dagger helped significantly.
Seeing such a massacre, the other two tried to escape, but I, using wind magic, rushed after them. The second spiky wolf was thrown off its running rhythm by daggers that left deep wounds in it, and a gust of wind blades slammed it into the ground; a dagger piercing its skull and digging into its brain finished the job. I had to chase the last one a little longer, but fortunately, he didn't get far, as he was initially caught and knocked off his feet by a whirlwind of wind blades. When I finished with the second one, he was just starting to get up. Daggers at incredible speed plunged into his side, making his already wounded limbs buckle, and his body collapse. A lightning strike again finished the job, piercing his skull. After finishing all the business, I returned to the girls, gave them the solution, and treated their wounds. I must say that I did not expose their intimate parts. Despite everything, I would have felt bad if I had done so when they woke up.