Chapter 42

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Chapter 042: Darker Than Night

In the late night, a big moon and a small moon were hanging in the sky, casting silver light on the river, making the water grass on the riverbank and the deep forest on the other side look scarier.　　

The treetops of the forest blocked the moonlight. Greed stared at the dark yellow strange eyes, trying hard to figure out which wolf was leading the pack.　　

If they could take out the leader of the pack in time, the whole group of wolves would scatter. Their chances of surviving, Greed and Jesse, would increase a lot.　　

Several younger wolves approached, growling and showing their teeth threateningly, as if challenging Jesse and Greed to make the first move. Greed ignored them, focusing on the older wolves watching from a higher place.　　

"I feel like it’s probably the big one standing on the side… Have you seen it?" Greed said.　　

"How do you know?" Jesse asked.　　

Greed replied, "The one on the side is directing these younger wolves. If you observe carefully, you can see the communication between them through their eyes. Anyway, pay more attention to that guy later, get rid of him when you have the chance, don’t waste too much time on the other wolves."　　

While Greed was pointing out the area to watch, a small wolf rushing at the front suddenly pounced from the side and bit at his leg. Greed kicked the wolf to the ground, about to stab it, but the surrounding wolves started barking loudly, making him hesitate for a moment. By the time he looked back, the kicked wolf had already retreated.　　

Seeing that both of them were provoked, two wolves from the other direction simultaneously attacked Jesse. Jesse raised his stick and forcefully stabbed one of the wolves. It tried to dodge but got grazed on the shoulder and let out a low growl.　　

And another wolf had pounced on Jesse when Greed quickly grabbed the wolf before it could bite, pulled it down, threw it on the ground, and kicked it, breaking its spine.

After this attack, one wolf was injured, one wolf was lying on the ground barely moving, the wolves that had just tried to attack slowly backed off, and the older wolves watching from high ground started to move as well.

"Are they testing us?" Jesse asked.

"Yes," Greed said. "Be careful… Jesse, they probably think you are an easier target to break through and have marked you."

After a few older wolves retreated, the young wolves seemed more confident, barking louder. When the older wolves started to bark, the young wolves rushed towards Jesse, clearly targeting him!

Greed initially headed towards the older wolves but seeing Jesse suddenly surrounded by a large group of wolves, he had to come back and help fend off a few young wolves.

Jesse then realized the advantage of having a long stick. With a quick swing in front of him, the wolves dared not come closer. When he sensed wolves approaching from behind, he turned around and swung the stick again, making them hesitate.

When a wolf charged recklessly, Greed swiftly killed or injured it with his sword. However, he also kept an eye on the older wolves who were cunningly hiding behind the young wolves, clearly waiting for the right moment to strike.

It seemed that after a few wolves suffered losses, the older wolves changed their strategy. After a brief chaos, both sides surprisingly returned to a standoff.

The sky was getting dark, Jesse started feeling tired and his movements slowed down, Greed was the same.

"It seems like they are trying to wear us out," Jesse said. "Shouldn’t we end this quickly?"

"You’re right," Greed said. "Jesse… take care of yourself, I’m ready to give it my all."

"You go ahead," Jesse said.

Although Jesse had doubts about whether he could handle being attacked by several wolves, continuing like this would only lead to certain death. Greed gripped his sword, his eyes fixed on the old wolf he had targeted earlier.

Jesse gathered his courage and shouted loudly, drawing the attention of some wolves in front of him. Greed kicked away a small wolf in front of him and charged towards the old wolf.

This sudden change caused confusion among the wolf pack. Some young wolves tried to attack Greed but couldn’t catch up, while the wolves trying to surround Jesse couldn’t coordinate their efforts. Jesse picked up a stick and fiercely stabbed a small wolf in front of him, then thrust his dagger into its waist, ending its life. He then quickly struck another wolf, causing the younger wolves around to panic and howl.

Greed rushed towards the old wolf pack, but the old wolf he was targeting stepped back, with two other old wolves blocking his path.

Greed swiftly swung his sword at an old wolf’s neck, the wolf tried to dodge but got cut on the mouth. Another wolf took advantage of Greed’s unbalanced posture and fiercely bit his back leg before he could recover his sword.

The loud shout of the dwarf made Jesse look over. He saw an old wolf sneaking up behind Greed, ready to attack him. Greed noticed the danger and swiftly dealt with the wolf biting his leg, but couldn’t shake off the one stubbornly latching onto his head.

The dwarf cursed loudly in Dwarven as Jesse turned around and felt a sudden sharp pain on his back.

While Jesse was distracted, a wolf leaped onto his back, trying to bite his neck. Jesse managed to shake it off, but as he got hurt, other wolves that were circling around attacked too.

Jesse was knocked down by the wolves. He used a stick to fend off the wolf in front of him, pushing it away with all his strength. Just as he tried to stand up, another wolf bit his arm and dragged him down. When he tried to grab that wolf’s eye, another wolf started tearing at his leg.

His limbs burned with pain, and he felt powerless. Meanwhile, Greed was surrounded by several old wolves. He was almost buried in wolves, swinging his sword wildly, cutting the wolves and hearing their cries, but the wolves showed no sign of backing down.

If they didn’t fight back soon, it would be over.

Enduring the pain, Jesse kicked hard, knocking down the wolf biting his right leg. He twisted the neck of the wolf dragging his sleeve and used the stick to hit another wolf trying to attack him, knocking it down hard.

The rest of the wolf pack went wild, not caring about their fallen comrades. Before Jesse could hit a howling wolf with the stick, he was bitten from behind and dragged back, almost falling.

A mix of anger, nervousness, and madness gripped Jesse’s mind tightly.

It’s time, it’s time.

——Fargate.

The long stick in his hand trembled slightly.

This tremble made Jesse suddenly sober, his almost out-of-control emotions calmed down a lot, and the intense pain in his limbs, back, and neck suddenly struck, making him close his eyes in pain.

He endured for a while, until a few seconds later, the intense pain slightly eased to a bearable level.

However, when he looked around again, there was not a single wolf standing.

The wolves in the forest wailed, and several wolves with their tails tucked crazily fled, as if they had seen a terrifying devil and dared not look back.

The old wolves around Greed were all gone, leaving only a few bodies lying on the ground, seriously injured and unable to move.

The alpha wolf was still alive, trembling all over as it stared at Jesse, with feces and urine flowing, but still refusing to back down.

However, Greed was not looking at the wolf, he was looking over here too.

"…Did you do this, Jesse?"

Jesse was unsure how to explain. He looked at the stick in his hand, purple magic lights flowing through the cracks wrapped in coarse cloth, very evil. He felt freezing cold around him, alternating between icy cold and pain, almost making him unable to stand steady.

The lead wolf fell down, its eyes still fixed over here unwilling to close. Greed stood dumbfounded, his sword already dropped on the ground.

"Your hand, Greed." Jesse pointed at the dwarf’s hand. The dwarf slowly lowered his gaze, realizing his hands were trembling violently, completely out of control.

They remained silent for a long time afterwards.

Greed squatted by the river washing the blood off himself and his clothes repeatedly, until his hands stopped shaking.

Jesse checked his wounds, much lighter than he had imagined, no excessive bleeding, probably not hitting any major blood vessels.

He tore his already torn and messy shirt into bandages, then sat on a big rock by the river.

The dwarf packed up his things and walked over to Jesse carrying a small jug.

He lay down on a rock, took a deep breath, and asked, "Did you learn such powerful magic from those two books?"

Jesse shook his head and said, "I learned it from another warlock."

Despite the long beard covering his face, Jesse could still see that the dwarf looked very serious.

Jesse remained silent as Greed put his hand on Jesse’s shoulder and said, "While resting, let me tell you a story."

"Long, long ago, Ironforge was the common home of dwarfs. We lived in the mountains of Dun Morogh from the earliest recorded times. Ironforge was the most magnificent city built by all dwarfs and our pride."

"However, nothing lasts forever. There were too many dwarfs in Ironforge. Some were forced to move to the mountains and caves of Dun Morogh. The three largest dwarf clans, Wildhammer, Bronzebeard, and Dark Iron, all wanted to stay in Ironforge and rule the city. Over 200 years ago, the last king of the mountains passed away, and everything fell into chaos."

"I do not wish to judge who was right or wrong, who struck first, who killed the most dwarfs, or who brought the most destruction to Ironforge. These things are now buried in history and unclear."

"In the end, Bronzebeard emerged victorious. My ancestors journeyed north and excavated another huge underground city in the mountains there, the great Grim Batol."

"However, not long after, the king of the Dark Iron clan who settled in Redridge, who called himself the "Sorcerer-King" Thaurissan, used the rich minerals and wood in the area to create a huge army of golems. Then, he and his wife Modgud led their armies to attack Dun Morogh and Grim Batol, trying to conquer all the dwarves."

"Modgud attacked Grim Batol. The witch surrounded Grim Batol for a long time without taking it, and she became so angry that she cursed the whole city with an evil artifact she obtained from unknown sources. Although she died in battle, the power of the artifact was much stronger than Modgud herself. It deceived this woman and also deceived the once wise mage king Thaurissan. But once they understood, it was too late, and the dwarves could never return to their former glory."

"The artifact fell into the depths of Grim Batol, and no one has seen it since. However, the entire city became a fallen abyss filled with evil souls and shadow curses, causing thousands of dwarves to die in agony. We had to leave there and continue north until we reached the Hinterlands."

"Dark magic is not good. It makes people lose their way, lose their minds, become more and more extreme, and eventually become unrecognizable, my brother."

"However, I don’t want to influence your choice."

"Everyone has their own choices. My people love freedom and know how precious it is, so we don’t like others telling us what to do or not to do. Likewise, I don’t want to do that to others, especially not to you."

By now, the dwarf was slurring his words a bit. Although he took a sip of alcohol after each sentence, Jesse knew he wouldn’t get drunk so easily. He just wanted to give up, but didn’t want to admit it, so he was deeply conflicted.

"But I have to admit, your magic is really powerful." Greed looked at the wolf bodies lying on the riverbank and said, "I was fighting them hard, and suddenly felt a fear like I had never felt before. Even facing troll hunters in the dark of night, I wasn’t as scared. I thought it was all over, knew I might not win, and was about to be bitten to death, so I was scared stiff, only to find out that the wolf was even more terrified than me. It trembled as if it had seen a live lion, which was quite amusing."

"That’s when I realized, oh… we were afraid of the same thing." The dwarf chuckled twice as he said this.

"If one day I am no longer myself, you kill me," said Jesse.

Greed shook his still slightly trembling right hand, the smile on his face slowly fading.

"You know I can’t do it, Jesse. Don’t say you’ve changed, even if you turn into an Orc, I still can’t do it. But if that day really comes, I will walk far away from you, as far away as possible, until I completely forget about you as a person."