Chapter 42: Wind Wolves *THUD* “Awooo” A cry of pain left the mouth of the beast which was sent flying. The beast hit a nearby tree violently. On closer inspection, one could see different cut marks on its body. The beast was a Wind wolf, they usually grow to the Late stages of the Arcane Plane, and there have even been records of Wind wolves breaking through to the Origin Plane. This Wind wolf wasn’t much though, it was only still at the peak of the Fusion Plane and still can’t use the trademark ‘wind blades’ the wolves are good at. Wind wolves usually move in packs, but surprisingly, this one was all alone. Due to being injured in multiple places, the wolf had already lost its ability to fight back. It just laid on the floor motionless and stared at the human who was walking closer to it with hate filled eyes. The human stood in front of the wolf and gave it a decisive blow, ending its life with a simple stab to the head. “This is just a Fusion Plane beast yet it is so hard to deal with” The voice of a youth complained. Grey had already headed more than four kilometers into the mountain. The Misty Mountain is said to cover an area of over seven hundred kilometers in length and spanned over a width of over three hundred kilometers. Grey was still in the outer region of the mountain. From the information he gathered, getting past the one hundred and fifty kilometers mark, he would start seeing beasts in the Early stages of the Arcane Plane. The deeper he heads in, the stronger the beasts get. But some strong beasts have been heard wandering in the outer region of the mountain, unless you’re unlucky, you will most likely not encounter them. Magical beasts have always had a strong repulse towards humans, and have something like a kill on sight policy whenever they encounter one. Humans also kill these beasts for different reasons, this is a cycle that has lasted for ages and will continue for more. A continuous battle between humans and magical beasts. Although it is said humans have the upper hand, there are beasts they don’t dare to wantonly kill. Grey had already engaged with six beast, with all of them being at the Late stages of the Fusion Plane. He was getting used to his weapon and also his techniques. He was moving at a slow pace to ensure he gets the best of his training as he heads deeper. If he still couldn’t completely use his techniques instantly, then he would be in a tight spot if he encounters a magical beast in the Arcane Plane. Gaining mastery of his techniques was a must for him. Grey quickly departed the area, since this was a place infested with beasts, they are bound to be attracted to where he was by the smell of blood. Grey didn’t forget to take out the core of the beast before leaving. He placed it in his backpack and went further into the mountain. It was already almost sunset, Grey decided it was best to camp early since this was his first day in the mountain. He found a hole at the side of a huge tree, it was probably dug by a beast. But it had long been abandoned from the looks of it. Grey patrolled the surrounding just to be extra sure, he cut down some branches from trees around then used them to cover the opening on the tree. Grey being an Earth Elementalist, could sense any vibrations on the ground through the Earth element. He is also a very vigilant person with keen senses. So unless the intruder is an expert, he had no fear of not noticing them. Grey sat in a meditative position and soon fell asleep. Late at night, all was dark “Rustle, rustle” The soft sound of something rustling against the grasses could be heard. A group of powerfully built Wind wolves with grooming black fur were pacing about through the forest. Their green-tinted eyes were restlessly scouring the area as their strong limbs quietly stalked through the area. Still seated crossed leg, Grey’s eyes snapped open as he immediately stared southward. He couldn’t see or hear anything, but he knew the vibrations he felt from the ground were real. Although soft, he was able to feel them. This was the sensory ability being an Earth Elementalist gives. One can easily sense things using the tremors on the ground. “A group of magical beasts is headed in this direction. They will reach here in approximately two minutes” Grey deduced from the vibrations. There was no way he could know the Plane of the beasts, or what type of beasts they were. But since they were moving in a group, it was most likely a wolf pack. Since he was still in the outer regions, he didn’t think there would be a pack filled with Arcane Plane beasts. There are three major types of wolf packs; Ice wolves, Wind wolves, and Gray wolves. Gray wolf packs were the weakest with the Ice wolf pack being the strongest. Grey came out of the tree to scout out the beasts. Peering through the trees, it was just as he had predicted. There was a group of Wind wolves moving in his direction. A fully grown Wind wolf will be at the Early stages of the Arcane Plane. From what he could see, there were juveniles in the pack. There were about ten or fifteen Wind wolves. ‘They shouldn’t be hard to deal with. I’ll have to leave this area once I’m done with the battle though’ Grey thought. The wolves quickly got to where he was and immediately charged at him when they saw him. Grey unsheathed both his short blades for the battle, he plans on ending the battle quickly then moving from this area. The wolves were fast after having imbued their bodies with the Wind element. Grey wasn’t any slower than they were. Within two minutes of the fight, he had already injured four of the wolves. With cut marks on different parts of their bodies. The injured wolves cried out in pain. “Crash!, Crash!, Crash!” Grey successfully sent three wolves flying with strong kicks. He was already getting better with battling and is much more proficient with his blade. He was still uninjured during the battle, and this was thanks to his good use of his techniques. He would deploy the Lightning Steps technique whenever he needs to dodge a sudden attack from the wolves, or he would use Earth Wall to form a protective barricade around himself. “Hoooowl” The wolves suddenly let out a loud howl, which was met with howls coming from all directions close by. Grey suddenly felt a chill down his spine when he heard this, ‘How did they get this close?’ He asked himself with a stunned expression. What he saw next shocked him. The wolves which were just coming out were all in the Arcane Plane, there were about eight coming out. Added with the previous thirteen, the pack was made up of twenty-one wolves. When these wolves appeared, they immediately sent out their trademark attacks ‘wind blades’. Over twenty deep green blades of wind appeared out of nowhere. Grey’s scalp went numb when he saw this. “Lightning Steps” Grey immediately used his movement technique to escape the area of the attack. ‘How can I be so unlucky?, this is just my first day in the mountain and I’m not even allowed a good night’s rest’ Grey complained as he escaped. “Brother wolf, why don’t we settle this amicably?. I know it was wrong of me to kill one of your brother, or sister. I will apologize for it” Grey yelled as he dodged their attacks. The wolves snarled when they heard it. It was like his statement provoked them more. They immediately attacked again. “Fuck” Grey cursed out loud before employing his movement technique to dodge the attacks again.