Chương 129: Chapter 125. Alpha

As soon as Rayne unleashed [War Pulse], a flood of information rushed into his mind all at once, so much that for a brief moment he couldn't keep up with it. Every movement, every shift in position, every small thing from the lycans and his party around him came crashing into his senses. It felt overwhelming, like trying to grasp a dozen conversations at the same time, and for a second, his steps faltered. But then, just as quickly, his mind adjusted.

The chaos settled into something clearer, more organized, and it felt as if he had been lifted above the battlefield, watching everything from a higher ground. The movements of his party and the lycans below became patterns instead of noise, something he could follow. There were nearly two dozen lycans around them.

Most of them were focused on breaking through the shield line, slamming their claws again and again against raised defenses, while a few others circled around the sides, waiting for a single opening to strike, and take out his party in seconds. It would have worked against a normal group of soldiers, just not against him. Keeping the skill active despite the strain building in his head, Rayne moved immediately, rushing toward his party.

"Formation 3, now!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the noise of battle. But before he could reach them, he felt it. A presence leaping behind him, claws already out. He turned instantly, raising his shield and smashing it forward. The impact connected with the lycan's face mid-leap, knocking it straight to the ground. It let out a furious growl, trying to rise, but Rayne didn't give it the chance. His blade came down in a clean strike, ending it before it could recover.

Without stopping, he pushed forward again. The lycans surrounding their small shield line came into reach. For a moment, the thought of using [Death Strike] crossed his mind. It would have cleared a large number of them, at least broken their formation entirely, but he dismissed it. [War Pulse] was already pushing his limits, feeding him more information than he was used to handling. Trying to layer another skill on top of it would only strain him further, and he knew his mind wouldn't hold if he pushed too far.

So he relied on what he knew best—His blade. Rayne stepped into the nearest lycan, his sword carving across its shoulder in a powerful strike. The creature howled in pain as blood spilled out, and immediately, the others turned toward him, their attention shifting. Two claws came at him from the left. He raised his shield and took the hit, the force pushing against him as metal rang under the impact. At the same time, he brought his sword up, deflecting another set of claws that came straight for his chest.

The pressure increased on him, but it created an opening for his party. Heins moved first. The smaller man thrust his spear forward with precision. The tip pierced straight into one of the lycans' chests, stopping it mid-motion as it let out a choked snarl. At the same time, Nate and Kesh moved together. Their shields slammed forward, pushing the remaining lycans off balance while their blades followed the next second, forcing them back and breaking their stance.

The creatures stumbled, their footing lost for just a moment as blood coated their fur from the side where the steel had struck them. Before they could charge forward again, Jason stepped in from behind them, bringing his axe down in a heavy swing. The strike crashed into one of the fallen lycans, ending it instantly, while forcing the others to retreat just enough to give the group breathing room as they joined in together.

Rayne and Jason immediately shifted toward the center of the formation, anchoring it while Nate, Kesh, and Heins spread out along the sides as they had practiced. Bran moved just behind them, already nocking another arrow on his bow. The moment they settled into position, Rayne spoke in a clear voice, "Bran, two to your left on the third branch. One right behind us, hiding in the bushes. Take care of them before they move." Bran reacted instantly, turning toward the direction Rayne had called out.

But before he could even release his arrow, the lycans around them exploded with movement. They came from every direction, and descended on the group all at once. The coordinated attack was sudden and overwhelming, meant to break their formation in a single strike. Rayne braced himself as two of them slammed into his shield at the same time. The force was heavy, but he held his ground, his feet digging into the soil as he absorbed the impact without taking a step back.

Claws scraped against metal, sending sharp vibrations up his arm, but he ignored it, focusing instead on the stream of information flowing through his mind.

"Left side, high!" he shouted, reacting to a lycan dropping from above a tree. Kesh raised his shield just in time, blocking the strike that would have landed on his shoulder.

"Behind, Nate!" Rayne called again, and the man turned, catching another lycan mid-lunge with his shield. Each warning came just in time, stopping the lycans from exploiting even the smallest opening. Rayne had known the skill would be useful in battle, but only now did he truly understand its value. It turned chaos into something manageable, something they could fight through. As the seconds passed, more lycans fell. Stolen story; please report.

Bran got into a rhythm quickly, arrows flying one after another as he picked off those trying to flank or climb for a better angle. Each shot was precise, each kill buying them a little more space. But the remaining lycans only grew more aggressive. They began climbing the trees, using height and speed to attack from above, leaping down at unpredictable angles. The pressure increased again, forcing the group to tighten their formation even further.

Still, with Rayne calling out every move, none of them were caught off guard. And even if he was directing the battle, he did not fall into a purely supportive role. His main goal had not changed. He was here to kill lycans and steal a skill, and he did not intend to let any opportunity slip away. Every time he saw an opening, he moved. Whenever a lycan fell to the ground, staggered or wounded by his party, Rayne stepped in and drove his blade toward its vitals without hesitation.

He aimed for the throat, the eyes, the heart, anything that would ensure a clean kill. It was hard to tell if he had already gained anything from them, as the constant stream of information from [War Pulse] drowned out the faint notifications in his mind, but he did not slow down. If anything, he pushed harder, making sure he did not miss even a single chance. As the seconds stretched into minutes, he and his party fell into a steady rhythm.

The lycans were fast, faster than most enemies they had faced before, and by now, all of them had entered a frenzy. Their fur glowed with a deeper crimson, their movements becoming sharper and more aggressive as they tried to break through the formation. But no matter how fast they were, they could not outpace Rayne's awareness. He saw them before they moved. His voice rang out again and again, guiding every movement of his party.

With their shields raised and ready, they deflected the attacks with growing confidence, turning aside claws before countering with precise strikes of their own. Each blocked strike created an opening, and each opening was punished without hesitation. Only a few times did the lycans manage to surprise them. One such moment came suddenly. Rayne had just driven his blade through a lycan's legs, forcing it to collapse to the ground in front of him.

He was already preparing to finish it when another lycan used the falling body as a platform, stepping on it mid-motion and launching itself upward. Its claws aimed straight for his shoulders, eyes filled with a savage hunger as it tried to break past the shield line. Even with the strain building in his head, Rayne reacted instantly. Instead of stepping back, he pushed his mana forward and used [Weaver's Protection].

Threads formed in front of him in an instant, not as a full shield, but as a scattered web meant to disrupt rather than block. The lycan clearly didn't expect it. Mid-air, it tried to adjust, its body twisting awkwardly. The movement threw off its trajectory just enough. It landed behind Rayne instead of on him. The moment its feet touched the ground, Bran's arrow struck. The shaft pierced cleanly into its side, halting its movement for just a second, and that was all Rayne needed.

He turned, his blade already in motion, and cut through its throat in a clean, decisive strike. The body dropped after a painful scream. He turned back to the front immediately, slipping back into the flow of the battle as if nothing had happened. Around him, the number of lycans steadily decreased. Bodies littered the ground, red fur stained darker with blood, and the pressure on their formation began to ease slightly. His party started to adapt as well.

They no longer relied entirely on his calls, and began to recognize patterns on their own, anticipating movements, reacting faster with each passing moment. The formation held stronger now, each man moving with more confidence than before. And yet, the fight was not over. More lycans continued to pour out of the cave. They came in waves, replacing the ones that fell without pause. But the alpha was still missing.

Rayne kept glancing toward the cave between strikes, his senses stretched to their limits as he tried to detect any sign of it. By now, it should have appeared. The noise, the blood, the deaths of its pack—it would have known what was happening outside. So where was it? A doubt crept into his mind as he parried another strike and shoved a lycan back. Had they been given wrong information?

Had the alpha not been here, or was it hiding deeper inside, waiting— A heavy howl echoed out from within the cave, cutting through the chaos of battle and his thoughts. For a brief moment, everything stilled. The lycans around them hesitated, their movements faltering as the howl echoed through the forest. Rayne and his party eyes immediately turned toward the dark opening ahead. Jason shifted beside him, tightening his grip on his axe as he muttered under his breath, "We're following the plan, right?"

Rayne gave a short nod, his gaze fixed on the cave.

"We—" He didn't get to finish. The alpha burst out the next second. It came out like a force of nature, its massive body clearing the cave entrance in a single leap before landing heavily in front of them. The ground seemed to tremble slightly under its weight as it straightened, letting out another sharp, commanding growl that cut through the air. For the first time, they saw it clearly. And Rayne had to admit—it was terrifying.

It was nearly twice the size of a normal lycan, its body packed with bulging muscle that shifted under thick red fur. A dark black stripe ran across its chest, cutting through the crimson like a mark of dominance, while its claws were darker still, almost black, with faint traces of crimson mana moving along them like veins. It was clearly already in a frenzy. Its glowing eyes moved across the battlefield, taking in the corpses of its pack scattered across the ground. For a split second, it stilled.

Then, the alpha lunged straight at them.

"Brace!" Rayne shouted, raising his shield, but none of them were ready for the strength behind the beast. The alpha struck Jason first. One claw slammed into his shield with immense force, the sound of impact ringing out as cracks spread across the metal instantly. The sheer strength behind the blow sent Jason flying backward, his feet leaving the ground as he crashed a few steps away. Before the others could react, the alpha followed through.

Its legs came up in a powerful kick that struck the rest of the shield line, sending Nate, Kesh, and Heins stumbling back as their formation broke apart under the force. Rayne felt the impact hit him as well. His shield took the blow, and cracks formed across its surface right in front of his eyes, the force traveling through his arm and into his body. But he held his ground, forcing himself not to be thrown back like the others. Then, he looked up, and the alpha's glowing eyes met his.

For a fraction of a second, everything seemed to narrow between them. Then a claw came down at him.

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