Originally, the plan Nawa and Natee's group had was that after they distracted the wolf pack, Nawa would be the one to break through the pack and deal with the pack leader. If successful, the wolf pack would disperse, and everyone would be safe.
However, the situation has now deviated significantly from the plan. After the pack leader was injured, it chose to call its pack back, making Nawa's chances of dealing with it almost zero.
Even so, Nawa was more pleased with this change in situation. If the pack leader and all the wolves were now targeting him, it meant Natee and his friends could seize this opportunity to escape.
Although they hadn't agreed on this beforehand, Nawa was quite confident that Natee would see this opportunity as well.
While letting Nawa face the entire pack of wolves alone seemed cowardly, considering the pros and cons and the overall situation, it was a reasonable choice. At least it was better than everyone risking their lives here.
But Nawa's expectations were completely opposite to the reality. Natee and his friends not only failed to seize the opportunity to escape... They also engaged in combat with the pack of wolves returning to their pack leader.
"What the hell are those kids doing?"
Nawa cursed, his face instantly becoming tense. He couldn't tell whether he should be happy or sad.
Although he knew perfectly well that they did this to protect themselves from being attacked by the wolf pack, it meant that Natee and his friends had given up their only chance to escape. And now, the pack leader was heading straight for Natee and his group.
There was no time for Nawa to think. If he wanted everyone to survive, the only way was to deal with this pack leader.
Nawa pulled five arrows from his dimensional storage, loaded them onto the bowstring, and pulled it back to its full power. At the same time, he activated his Air Bomb skill at full power. The surrounding air currents converged on the five arrows.
"Boom!"
A deafening air explosion resounded. The recoil of the bowstring and the instantaneous expansion of the air mass sent all the arrows soaring into the sky like bullets.
Nawa intended to use the same method to deal with the wolf pack leader again, but the moment the arrow was fired, the wolf pack leader stopped running towards Natee and his friends, spun around 180 degrees, and charged at Nawa at full speed.
"Damn...that cunning dog!"
Nawa cursed in frustration. He now clearly realized that he had fallen into the wolf pack leader's trap. The earlier distraction of Natee and his friends was just a ploy to make him complacent and lower his guard.
But no matter how frustrated he was, there was nothing he could do. Nawa raised both arms to the sky and swiftly swung his hands down. Suddenly, all five arrows began to change direction as if pulled back by some unknown force.
Because of the direction Nawa had fired the arrows, the chances of him pulling them back to intercept the wolf pack leader's attack were almost impossible. However, a fatal blow was still possible. If the wolf pack leader attacked, it would have to take all the returning arrows as well.
Nawa decided to do this because he was wearing his Dragon Scale Armor. No matter how sharp the wolf pack leader's fangs were, Nawa was confident they wouldn't kill him easily. And if he was lucky, he might even end the fight.
The wolf pack leader bit Nawa hard in the middle of his torso.
"Ugh..." Nawa coughed up a large amount of blood.
The sound of his ribs cracking echoed loudly in his head. If it weren't for the Dragon Scale Armor, Nawa's body would probably have been torn in two by the wolf pack leader's fangs.
But even though the wolf pack leader's fangs couldn't penetrate the armor, Nawa was still severely injured. The force of the wolf pack leader's bite was far more powerful than he had anticipated.
Several of Nawa's ribs were cracked, and his internal organs were damaged. If Nawa didn't act quickly, he would surely become the wolf pack leader's victim.
Nawa gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and tried to control the five arrows, shooting them towards the undefended wolf pack leader's back. But as the arrows came within ten meters, Nawa's eyes widened.
Suddenly, everything vanished from his sight. The next thing he saw was five arrows hurtling towards the ground where he had been.
Nawa never imagined that the wolf pack leader could use its instantaneous movement skill while carrying his body in its mouth. Even though he didn't want to admit it, Nawa had completely lost this gamble. He couldn't even help Natee's group; his own life might be in danger at any moment.
Although the wolf pack leader's fangs couldn't penetrate his dragon scale armor, Nawa's body wasn't strong enough to withstand the pressure of its jaws. More than half of his ribs were already cracked. If he didn't act quickly, his internal organs would soon be destroyed.
Desperate, both of Nawa's arms were pinned to his body by the wolf pack leader's fangs, leaving him unarmed and unable to use skills. With no other choice, Nawa decided to summon White Snake to join the fight.
Normally, Nawa wouldn't let White Snake participate directly in combat. Although the White Snake has sharp fangs, its small size makes it difficult to inflict significant damage. More importantly, Nava is unsure of the consequences if the White Snake were injured or killed.
According to the texts Nawa read while in the Himmapan forest, those who fuse with a demon's spirit to use it in battle will inflict almost all of the damage on the spirit to the user. Simply put, if White Snake dies, Nawa could also die.
But even if that didn't happen, Nawa didn't want to lose White Snake. His rapid strength was partly due to White Snake's limitless devouring ability. However, there was no time for thought. If he didn't act, he would surely die.
In a fraction of a second, White Snake shot out from Nawa's chest, instantly appearing in front of the wolf pack leader. Although its form resembled a baby snake, the sheer killing intent and power caused the wolf pack leader's eyes to widen and his body to stiffen for a moment.
The next second, White Snake lunged towards one of the wolf pack leader's eyes, sinking its delicate yet sharp fangs into it. Green blood spurted from the hole in the eye like a fountain.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"The wolf pack leader shrieked in pain, spitting out its fangs from Nawa's body before rolling on the ground in agony.
"How long has it been since I felt this close to death?" Nawa said, blood trailing from his mouth. He pushed against the ground with both hands, struggling to get up.
Even though the wolf pack leader had lost an eye, Nawa was severely injured and unable to move as before. Just being able to stand was incredible. Overall, Nawa was at a huge disadvantage. Even so, his eyes still shone with confidence.
"Alright… let's end this fight."
With that, Nawa turned one hand palm up. Suddenly, a ball of fire appeared in his palm. It started the size of a ping-pong ball and rapidly grew larger. In an instant, it was bigger than a basketball. The heat radiating from it… The grass on the ground within a 3-meter radius was completely scorched.
Nawa used all his power to create this fireball. In terms of destructive power, it was comparable to the attack skills of high-ranked players. Although the wolf pack leader was a high-level professional monster, it wasn't particularly strong in defense. If hit directly by this fireball, it could be incinerated in a single attack.
The wolf pack leader stopped rolling on the ground and glared at Nawa with its single remaining eye, a look of fury and murderous intent.
"Grrrrrrr…" The wolf pack leader roared before charging directly at Nawa, showing no fear of the fireball in Nawa's hand. It even activated its Instantaneous Movement skill, hoping to kill Nawa as quickly as possible.
At this moment, it seemed that pain had clouded the wolf pack leader's judgment. It was like a rabid dog, with only one thought in mind: to kill its enemy.
Nawa narrowed his eyes slightly before raising his arm, which was wearing a steel gauntlet. Suddenly, a gust of wind converged on his armguard. In an instant, Nava slammed his iron armguard into the fireball in front of him with full force.
"Boom!" An explosion rang out, and the fireball hurtled towards the wolf pack leader at high speed.
This fireball was different from all the others. Nava had used his Air Bomb skill to enhance the shot, similar to how he used his arrows, doubling its speed. Not only that, Nava also used telekinesis to control the fireball's direction.
Even though the wolf pack leader was in a frenzy, Nava wasn't careless. This was all of his power; if he couldn't subdue the pack leader, he himself would become its meal.
Due to the fireball's speed, even though the pack leader activated its dash skill to close the distance in an instant, the increased speed allowed it to reach the pack leader before Nava could.
But just as the fireball was less than 10 feet from the pack leader, its massive form vanished from Nava's sight.
Before appearing dozens of feet away beside the fireball, the pack leader's previously frenzied demeanor vanished in an instant, as if everything that had happened had been just a performance.
The reason the pack leader activated its instantaneous movement skill at the start of the attack was merely a theatrical act of madness, intended to make Nawa overconfident, thinking that it couldn't use instantaneous movement again because it had just activated it.
Then, when Nawa attacked with the fireball, it activated the skill again to dodge.
The reason the pack leader did this was because it feared the power of Nawa's fireball skill. If Nawa chose to fight to the death using the fireball at close range, even if it wasn't fatal, the pack leader would likely suffer severe injuries or even be crippled, which the pack leader didn't want.
Even though using instantaneous movement continuously consumed exponentially more energy and put a heavy strain on the body, rendering it unusable for several days afterward and significantly reducing its overall combat power, it was essentially the pack leader's trump card, something it wouldn't use unless absolutely necessary.
But no matter how weakened the alpha wolf was, it still had more than enough strength to kill Nawa, who was now unarmed and powerless to fight back. The alpha wolf lunged directly at Nawa, its mouth open, revealing sharp fangs, ready to bite his defenseless neck.
Even in a life-or-death situation, Nawa showed no panic. On the contrary, a smile appeared on his lips, the smile of a victor.
"You're really clever. Even with an eye lost, you still devised such an ingenious plan. But that's why you lost today."
As Nawa finished speaking, the fireball that had previously missed its target shot towards the wolf pack leader from its blind spot.
"Foom!"
Upon impact, the fireball exploded, creating a blaze over ten meters high, engulfing the pack leader. The pack leader's mournful howls echoed throughout the area, causing the other wolves to panic and scatter in all directions.
Although the fireball missed its target initially, Nawa controlled its trajectory, creating a curved arc that returned to him like a boomerang.
This was a backup plan Nawa had devised in case the first attack failed. While not 100% effective, Nawa anticipated that if the pack leader dodged the first attack, it would close in to finish him off.
To be honest, if we compare intelligence, it's hard to say definitively that Nawa is superior. However, when it comes to wisdom and understanding of life, the pack leader lags behind Nava, a man who deeply understands the principles of Buddhism.
Nawa is quick to let go of mistakes. He doesn't deceive himself into believing he's not wrong, and he doesn't dwell on self-blame. This allows Nawa to overcome errors—or rather, to use failure to his advantage. This is what people call turning a crisis into an opportunity.
In contrast, after his plan succeeded, the pack leader became overly proud of his intelligence, to the point of arrogance, leading him to misjudge the situation. In the moment he thought victory was in his grasp, he became complacent, falling into Nawa's deadly trap.