Chapter 147: The Wolf Pack

"Bang!"

"So strong!" With a whip kick, Zhou Tian sent a wolf lunging at him flying back, but couldn't help muttering inwardly at that moment.

Even without using any magical treasures, given his current strength, Zhou Tian might not necessarily be able to defeat a holy beast through pure physical might. However, dealing with ordinary high-tier magical beasts presented no pressure at all.

Zhou Tian knew full well what kind of strength this wolf pack possessed previously. While the pack used to cause him some pressure in the past, the threat they posed relied entirely on their numerical advantage. Aside from the Alpha, no more than three wolves in the entire pack could withstand a single blow from Zhou Tian back then.

Yet now, under the influence of the Blood Moon, these magical wolves had experienced a massive surge in power, advancing several tiers all at once. While not quite doubling, the increase in their strength was nothing short of terrifying.

Originally, a strike from Zhou Tian would guarantee death for even the elites of the wolf pack. But now, an ordinary magical wolf from the pack could successfully take Zhou Tian's attack head-on. Faced with such a dramatic change, how could Zhou Tian not be astonished? If he wasn't in the middle of a battle that had yet to be won, Zhou Tian would have felt tempted to capture a wolf and study what kind of power the Blood Moon possessed to elevate the strength of magical beasts carrying fierce beast bloodlines to such a degree!

"Awooo—" Just as Zhou Tian was distracted by these stray thoughts, the wolf pack did not cease their assault. A rush of hot breath suddenly blasted against his neck, and Zhou Tian realized that several magical wolves had already latched onto his body. Had it not been for the protection of the Immortal Cloud-Net Robe, Zhou Tian would have already sustained injuries under the surprise attack of those wolves.

Silently cursing himself for his carelessness and daring not to be distracted any longer, Zhou Tian turned his head, threw a few punches to knock away the wolves clinging to him, and immediately deployed his magical treasure.

Originally, Zhou Tian's bare-handed combat skills were not a match for the wolf pack. Now that the wolves had grown so much stronger on this Blood Moon night, even with his conceited nature, he could not possibly remain oblivious to how he should respond. Not to mention, Zhou Tian was never a truly arrogant person; when a magical treasure was needed, he would never hold back. Feeling the pressure from the wolf pack, Zhou Tian directly summoned the Heaven-Turning Seal.

Flicking his wrist, he tossed the Heaven-Turning Seal into mid-air. Under Zhou Tian's control, the seal instantly hurtled toward the nearest magical wolf.

Because the Heaven-Turning Seal moved at an incredible speed, that wolf didn't even have time to alter its charging trajectory before the seal struck it squarely on the head. Given the offensive power of the Heaven-Turning Seal, taking a direct hit to the head meant anyone could easily guess the wolf's fate.

Its skull shattered, the wolf probably didn't even get to witness the miserable state of its own death, though the other wolves were fortunate enough to watch their companion's demise.

Seeing the Heaven-Turning Seal eliminate one of their comrades so effortlessly, the remaining wolves felt no terror at all. Instead, they glared at Zhou Tian with even more vicious expressions and once again coordinated to launch a joint encirclement against him.

Before the Blood Moon, Zhou Tian had slain plenty of wolves from this pack. Back then, the pack hadn't been frightened by his slaughter, and similarly, the death of just a single companion could not possibly make them retreat now. Fueled by the taste of blood, the ferocity of the wolf pack was even greater than before. Had it not been for the lack of an order from the Alpha, they probably would have already launched a full-scale assault on Zhou Tian!

Naturally, the Alpha would not issue such an order. Zhou Tian had used the Heaven-Turning Seal against them before. It was precisely because it had witnessed the seal's area-of-effect destruction—wiping out scores in a single blow—that the Alpha had chosen to temporarily retreat despite their deep-seated enmity, all to prevent the entire pack from being wiped out by Zhou Tian's hands.

Now, taking advantage of the power boost granted by the Blood Moon night, the Alpha naturally hoped to eliminate Zhou Tian. Before that, unless absolutely necessary, the Alpha's first priority was to deny Zhou Tian the opportunity to slaughter its pack members on a large scale.

Not only did the Alpha hide itself in the shadows, but the orders it gave to the pack also commanded scattered and fragmented attacks against Zhou Tian.

Zhou Tian was well aware of the Alpha's intentions, which was why he predominantly used single-target attacks with the Heaven-Turning Seal now. While unleashing the full power of the Heaven-Turning Seal looked immensely majestic, when the wolf pack refused to bunch up, unless the Alpha itself was discovered, the massive consumption of spiritual energy meant Zhou Tian could not afford to use such large-scale attacks constantly.

Of course, a Heaven-Turning Seal operating at less than full power was only weaker in a relative sense. Even if it looked no larger than a fist, when its single-target attack landed on someone, it was undoubtedly equivalent to hurling an entire mountain at them. Even a holy beast would perish under such an assault, let alone ordinary magical wolves.

Therefore, although Zhou Tian was well aware of the Alpha's strategy, he didn't mind it too much. As he clashed with the wolf pack once again, he commanded the Heaven-Turning Seal to dart and weave all around him. Relying on the defensive might of the Immortal Cloud-Net Robe to ignore the attacks of the magical wolves, he then utilized the seal's overwhelming offensive power to vanquish enemies. These two simple tactics left the wolf pack completely unable to break through despite exerting all their effort, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides.

Time slowly ticked away. Although Zhou Tian had killed quite a few wolves thanks to the attacks of the Heaven-Turning Seal, his own spiritual energy consumption was equally significant due to driving the magical treasure. If the wolf pack's attack rhythm hadn't remained relatively moderate, Zhou Tian might not even have been able to hold out until now.

However, the situation wasn't entirely unfavorable to Zhou Tian. What gave him the most peace of mind was that the Blood Moon had already been hanging in the sky for the better part of the night. Under normal circumstances, the end of the Blood Moon night was not far away. As long as Zhou Tian could persist for a little longer, he would successfully survive the night unscathed.

Yet, would things really end so simply?

Zhou Tian knew that the Blood Moon night was drawing to a close; could the Alpha possibly not know? The Alpha's intelligence was by no means lower than Zhou Tian's. In truth, compared to the Alpha, Zhou Tian's wits might not even measure up. There was simply no reason for the Alpha to remain blind to something Zhou Tian could figure out.

The fact that the Alpha had shown no reaction thus far, as if completely unaware that the Blood Moon night was about to pass, left only two possibilities. One was that the Alpha had no intention of fighting Zhou Tian to the death; the other was that the Alpha had other arrangements in place.

The first possibility could be dismissed immediately. If the Alpha truly didn't want to make an enemy of Zhou Tian, it could have chosen not to seek trouble in the first place. Since the Alpha had brought the pack to exact revenge, it would never end in such a whimpering, anticlimactic fashion. Therefore, the more calm and indifferent the Alpha appeared, the more it indicated that its backup plan was exceedingly dangerous—dangerous enough that, according to its calculations, the arrangement would ultimately take Zhou Tian's life. Otherwise, the Alpha could never have remained so composed while watching Zhou Tian slaughter its subordinates.

Regrettably, Zhou Tian was completely oblivious to this. Moreover, due to the prolonged combat, his mind was entirely occupied with how to fend off the wolf pack's assaults, how to conserve his spiritual energy, or how to figure out a way to snatch a moment to recover his depleted reserves.

With his focus entirely misplaced, how could Zhou Tian possibly detect the Alpha's conspiracy? Consequently, when the Alpha unleashed its final trap, Zhou Tian almost fell victim to it.

"Awoo-woof!" While the other wolves were locked in intense combat with Zhou Tian, the Alpha let out a commanding howl and directly ordered the pack to retreat.

Seeing the wolves fall back, Zhou Tian naturally felt puzzled. However, because he was already approaching his own limit, he considered himself fortunate that they were willing to withdraw, and thus didn't dwell too much on their abnormal behavior.

He hurriedly retrieved a spiritual elixir from the system store and swallowed it. Feeling the spiritual energy within his body begin to recover rapidly, Zhou Tian finally let out a sigh of relief.

However, no sooner had his heart settled than it was yanked back up by the arrival of several wolves.

If it were just a few ordinary wolves, Zhou Tian wouldn't have cared too much. After all, given their combat power, dealing with them would merely be a matter of using the Heaven-Turning Seal a few times.

The problem now was that those wolves weren't simply running over to stir up trouble for him! Right behind them as they sprinted toward Zhou Tian were several massive beasts hot on their tails!

"Damn it!" Zhou Tian finally realized what kind of game the Alpha was playing. Cursing inwardly, he had no choice but to start running.

Not a single one of the "big guys" lured over by the magical wolves was an ordinary entity. Their eyes were blood red, the veins across their bodies were bulging, and their demonic energy was so violently riberated by the crimson hue that it was nearly out of control—all of this told Zhou Tian that the Alpha had intended to sacrifice a few of its own subordinates to drag several ferocious beasts no weaker than itself right to his doorstep!

Regrettably, Zhou Tian realized it far too late. The moment those wolves entered his field of vision, the towering fierce beasts trailing them spotted Zhou Tian as well. True to the nature of fierce beasts during the Blood Moon night, any living creature falling into their sight became an immediate target for attack. Not only would those beasts refuse to spare Zhou Tian, but if they actually managed to kill him, they might even engage in a bloody battle amongst themselves before the Blood Moon night came to an end.