Chapter 347: The Two wolves The wolves attacked simultaneously with devastating coordination, their movements flowing together like a perfectly choreographed dance. The silver wolf launched forward with blinding speed while the gold wolf circled to flank, creating a pincer attack that would have overwhelmed most opponents through sheer sophistication. Lola deflected the silver wolf’s initial strike with a hastily conjured fire barrier, but the force behind the attack sent shockwaves through her defensive magic that suggested significantly more power than the Graphorn had possessed. The gold wolf’s follow-up assault from the side forced her to teleport rather than simply dodge, the creature’s jaws snapping closed on empty air where she had been standing. These aren’t ordinary grandmaster-rank beasts, Lola realized immediately as she reassessed the level of attacks thrown at her. Their power output is at least double what that Graphorn demonstrated. She created distance with a burst of flames that separated her from both attackers, giving herself precious seconds to analyze the situation properly. The wolves regrouped instantly, their coordination suggesting decades of fighting together as a bonded pair. "Noah, move much further back!" Lola called out urgently, her tone filled with concern rather than simple caution. "These creatures are at high grandmaster rank, probably approaching the threshold to peak. Their combined power make them exponentially more dangerous than fighting them individually would suggest." Noah immediately complied, retreating several hundred meters until he was well beyond any possible collateral damage range. He had learned enough about magical combat to recognize when his presence would be a liability rather than assistance. The silver wolf conjured blades of moonlight-like energy that shot toward Lola with speeds that approached her own attack velocities. The gold wolf simultaneously generated spheres of solar plasma that tracked her movements with intelligence. The combination of lunar and solar elemental attacks created a devastating synergy that exploited natural magical resonances. Lola incinerated the moonlight blades with concentrated fire while deflecting the plasma spheres through careful manipulation of thermal currents. But she could feel the strain of defending against two high grandmaster opponents simultaneously, their coordinated elemental attacks forcing her to spend mana at unsustainable rates. I can win this through attrition if necessary, but it would require extended combat that might compromise our timeline for reaching the World Tree, Lola calculated rapidly. Better to end this decisively before they can fully release their most powerful techniques. The wolves charged together, their movements perfectly synchronized as they wove around with fluid grace. The silver wolf’s body began radiating an aura of moonlight that created visual afterimages, making its true position difficult to track. The gold wolf’s form blazed with solar radiance that made direct observation painful, creating a complementary illusion effect. Lola conjured a massive wall of flames to block their approach, but both wolves simply leaped through the barrier with protective auras that deflected the worst of the heat. Their resistance to her primary element was impressive, suggesting they had encountered fire-specialized opponents before and developed countermeasures. Their defensive capabilities are more developed than I anticipated. Standard techniques won’t be sufficient for a quick victory, Lola acknowledged as she barely avoided a dual strike that would have caught her between both wolves’ attacks. She needed additional power to end this fight decisively before the wolves’ coordination and elemental synergies created an opening she couldn’t defend against. Her eyes found Noah’s distant figure, and she made a quick decision based on the resources she knew he possessed. A temporary power up should do the job. Without hesitation, Lola took out a fruit smoothie from her storage ring. Then, unsealed it with a gesture and consumed the contents in seconds, feeling the familiar surge of attribues flowing through her system. The luxury fruit smoothie provided massive temporary boosts to all attributes, but most importantly for this situation, it dramatically increased her magical power output and mana regeneration for a limited duration. The enhancement transformed her from merely superior to absolutely overwhelming in the power dynamic. The wolves sensed the change immediately, their instincts warning them that their opponent had just become significantly more dangerous. They attempted to press their advantage before the enhancement could take full effect, launching their most powerful coordinated technique. The silver wolf howled, and the sound carried magical resonance that manifested as waves of solidified moonlight that cut through space like invisible blades. The gold wolf roared in harmony, and solar flames erupted across the battlefield in patterns that perfectly complemented the lunar attacks. The combined assault was genuinely impressive, demonstrating why mated pairs of high grandmaster beasts were considered threats that even multiple peak practitioners struggled to handle. The elemental synergy created effects that exceeded what either wolf could achieve individually. But Lola’s temporary boost allowed her to respond with overwhelming force that simply overpowered their coordination through superior magnitude. She conjured flames that burned with intensity beyond anything she had demonstrated during the Graphorn fight, the temperature reaching levels that made the surrounding rocks melt. The moonlight blades dissolved before reaching her, unable to maintain cohesion against the extreme thermal energy radiating from her position. The solar flames were absorbed and redirected, their power insufficient to match her enhanced output even with their natural elemental advantage. "I respect your partnership and your strength," Lola called out to the wolves, her voice carrying genuine admiration despite the ongoing combat. "But this needs to end now." She created a massive sphere of compressed fire above her position, similar to the technique she had used to finish the Graphorn but scaled up dramatically thanks to the smoothie’s enhancement. The temperature was so extreme that it created a vacuum effect, air rushing toward the sphere as it consumed oxygen and converted it to plasma. Both wolves recognized the threat and attempted to flee, their survival instincts finally overriding their embarrassment and anger. But Lola had anticipated the response, creating walls of fire that channeled their movement options while herding them toward specific positions. The silver wolf tried to phase through the barriers using moonlight manipulation, but Lola’s enhanced flames burned through its defensive aura with contemptuous ease. The gold wolf attempted to counter with solar energy, but the power differential was too vast for elemental advantage to compensate. Lola released the compressed fire sphere, but rather than allowing it to explode catastrophically, she split it into two precisely controlled streams that pursued each wolf independently. The flames moved with intelligence, tracking their targets through evasive maneuvers and defensive techniques. When the fire streams made contact, they didn’t incinerate the wolves outright. Instead, Lola demonstrated the precise control that separated peak practitioners from those with merely overwhelming power. The flames wrapped around both creatures like living chains, restraining their movement while applying just enough heat to cause pain without fatal injury. The wolves struggled desperately, their combined strength actually impressive even while restrained. But Lola simply poured more mana into the binding flames, tightening the restraints until both creatures finally ceased resistance and lowered their heads in submission. "I’m going to release you now," Lola said calmly, maintaining the flame bindings while speaking. "We genuinely didn’t intend to intrude on your privacy, and we have no interest in causing you further harm or embarrassment. Will you allow us to pass peacefully, or must I kill you and continue our journey?" The gold wolf made a sound that might have been agreement or simply acknowledgment of defeat. The silver wolf’s posture showed similar acceptance, its earlier fury having transformed into resigned tolerance of the situation. Lola gradually dismissed the flame restraints, ready to reimpose them instantly if either wolf showed renewed aggression. But both creatures simply moved away from each other and from Lola, their body language suggesting they wanted nothing more than for this entire embarrassing encounter to be forgotten as quickly as possible. "Thank you for your understanding," Lola said respectfully as she backed away, gesturing for Noah to rejoin her now that the immediate threat had passed. The wolves watched them depart without pursuit, apparently deciding that their dignity had suffered enough damage for one day without prolonging the interaction further.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ As they walked away, Noah’s expression showing curiosity about her decision to spare them. "Why didn’t you kill them? They were clearly powerful threats, and leaving high grandmaster rank beasts alive in our path could create problems on our return journey." Lola’s expression softened as she considered the question. "I felt genuinely bad for intruding on them like that. They weren’t hunting or acting aggressively until we stumbled into their private moment. That embarrassment and desire to protect their dignity was completely understandable and provided sufficient reason for their hostile reaction." She paused, then her expression shifted to something more playful as a teasing smile formed. "Besides, if someone suddenly entered during my intimate time with yo—I would surely have that exact same reaction. Probably worse, actually." Noah’s eyes widened in shock at what he thought he heard, his facial expression breaking completely. "With who?!" "Who what? I don’t know what you’re talking about, hehe~" Lola replied with obviously exaggerated innocence, her ruby eyes sparkling with mischief as she turned away and continued walking toward their destination. She giggled at his reaction, clearly enjoying how she was able throw him off balance with her words. The playful tension between them had become a comfortable pattern, though her teasing carried tones that suggested desire beneath the humor. Noah followed behind, still processing her comment and unsure whether she was simply joking or hinting at something more serious. The ambiguity was probably intentional, he realized, recognizing Lola’s talent for keeping him uncertain about where playful banter ended and genuine flirtation began.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​