Annihilating the Wolf Pack, Saving Athena
Xalen lay in wait, and soon enough, Shadowwind Wolves took the bait.
The bushes rustled and parted. A black shadow surged forward on a gust of wind.
But as it drew closer, even the Shadowwind Wolf’s bone-chilling gaze flickered with confusion.
The sheer number of fallen pack members made this inherently vicious and bloodthirsty creature hesitate.
But even if the Shadowwind Wolf sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.
With a soft thud—
A nearby tree suddenly rustled violently.
A shadow plunged down from the foliage, dropping like a hawk swooping in on its prey.
Before the Shadowwind Wolf could react, a fist landed squarely on its head with casual ease.
Bam!
Without a sound, the Shadowwind Wolf collapsed dead on the spot.
Previously, Xalen could already one-shot these Shadowwind Wolves.
Now, that was even truer.
Especially with the reinforcement of the dragon scale, he didn't even get a scratch.
Next, Xalen swiftly cut it open, retrieved the Gene Crystal, and then leaped back onto a large tree.
The disemboweled wolf carcass, in turn, became fresh bait.
And so it continued.
One after another, Shadowwind Wolves were drawn in by the thick scent of blood, only to fall at Xalen's hands.
Xalen reaped a good harvest with minimal effort.
But the wolf pack he had envisioned still hadn't appeared.
...
Meanwhile, a chase was underway.
“Huff, huff.”
Athena sprinted desperately, glancing behind her every few seconds.
When she saw the five Shadowwind Wolves still hot on her heels, her delicate face twisted into a bitter grimace.
Yesterday, she had taken down several Shadowwind Wolves using her Rare Gene’s White Fox abilities.
That success had inflated her confidence.
She had thought that Shadowwind Wolves weren't so tough after all.
Maybe Instructor David had overestimated their strength.
But now, Athena’s mind had changed completely.
One Shadowwind Wolf wasn’t scary.
But two? The threat level spiked.
A pack of three or more Shadowwind Wolves? Even a Rare Gene Soldier had to run for their life.
Athena was unlucky. She had run straight into a squad of five.
So, she quickly found herself overpowered and was forced to flee for her life.
But these five Shadowwind Wolves had locked onto her and refused to let up.
Seeing this, Athena activated her skill.
Phantom Split!
In an instant, Athena’s figure split into two.
One Athena stopped, turned around, and charged at the five Shadowwind Wolves.
The other Athena kept running.
Without question, the one still running was the real Athena.
The one left behind to block was her clone.
But in just a few seconds, the clone dissipated into a flash of white light under the wolves' combined assault.
Sensing this, Athena’s heart sank, but she wasn't surprised.
Her Phantom Split skill created an illusory duplicate.
This clone leaned heavily toward illusion and only had thirty percent of her actual fighting power.
When facing a single Shadowwind Wolf, using this clone with her main body gave her a huge advantage.
But against the siege of five Shadowwind Wolves? It was completely outmatched.
Still, it had at least slowed the wolves down, buying Athena a little bit of time to escape.
But the effect didn't last long.
Shadowwind Wolves had keen noses, and this forest was their home turf.
So, pretty soon, the five wolf silhouettes appeared behind Athena again.
“They just won't let up!”
Athena gritted her teeth and activated Phantom Split again.
Besides the Phantom Split skill, her White Fox Gene also had a Charm talent.
But that talent was completely useless in this situation.
Faced with the relentless pursuit of five Shadowwind Wolves, all she could do was keep creating clones.
But this ability wasn’t without cost.
In fact, it drained her physical energy heavily.
Half an hour later, Athena’s face was pale, and her steps were staggering.
Constantly making clones and running non-stop had sapped her stamina dry.
Her energy was almost completely depleted.
The wolves behind her were gaining ground.
A look of despair flickered in Athena’s exquisite eyes.
Didn't they say Rare Gene Soldiers could breeze through instances? Why was she having such rotten luck?
Was she going to be the first Rare Gene Soldier to die in the Initiation Instance?
As these wild thoughts raced through Athena's mind, something strange appeared up ahead.
In a daze, she seemed to see a large number of Shadowwind Wolf corpses.
At the same time, an overwhelmingly strong smell of blood hit her in the face.
Athena's expression changed, but then a fierce light flashed in her eyes.
It looked like a battlefield up ahead.
Charging into a battlefield blindly—she had no idea if it was a good or bad move.
But right now, she didn't have the luxury to care.
Athena quickly created one last Phantom Split, then sprinted toward the battlefield.
A hundred meters, fifty meters...
In the blink of an eye, Athena approached the scene.
But once she got there, she froze.
What lay before her wasn't a battlefield at all—it was a graveyard of Shadowwind Wolves!
Around seventeen or eighteen wolf bodies lay strewn across the ground in a mess.
Traces of blood were everywhere.
“How are there so many dead Shadowwind Wolves?!”
Athena was shocked, but she felt no joy.
It was clear she had gambled and lost.
There were no other Gene Soldiers here.
It seemed like the fight was over and the person had left.
But what puzzled her was: why were all these valuable wolf corpses just left here?
But this was no time to figure that out.
Athena turned her head and her pupils shrank.
The five Shadowwind Wolves had caught up again, and they were spreading out to surround her.
Athena's heart sank to the very bottom.
But just then, a voice drifted down from above.
“Hey, Athena, looks like you’re in a tight spot.”
Hearing this voice, Athena looked up in shock.
She saw a handsome blond boy sitting leisurely in a large tree about ten meters away.
“Xalen?!”
Athena was stunned. She hadn’t expected to run into Xalen here of all places.
At that moment, Xalen jumped down from the tree with agile grace, landing right next to Athena.
“Watch out!”
Snapping back to reality, Athena’s face paled as she shouted a warning.
The five Shadowwind Wolves hadn't retreated because of Xalen's arrival. Instead, they bared their fangs and lunged forward even more aggressively.
Athena wanted to step in and help, but her body went limp, and she slumped against a tree trunk.
Feeling how weak she was, Athena’s face turned white with despair.
It was over.
She couldn't fight anymore.
As for Xalen... how could he possibly handle five Shadowwind Wolves?
But just as this thought crossed her mind, something unbelievable happened!
Bang, bang, bang!!!
Xalen charged forward, dispatching the five Shadowwind Wolves in a clean, swift flurry.
It looked almost effortless.
Athena watched this, completely dumbfounded.
…