Red watched the battle. He thought it was over when the Chief was sent flying into the building and shot by the fireball. He didn't think the Chief would survive the fire, no matter how strong the Chief was.
If the Chief were killed, then the tribe would be done for. If the champion fell, no one could beat the Dire Wolf King. Escape! Run! That was what came into his mind at the realization that the Chief had been killed.
He was about to turn his back against the tribe until he saw a shadow crawling from the pillar of flame that slowly subsided. He saw the silhouette of the Chief, standing up while holding his axe.
The Chief walked out from the pillar of fire. He lost part of his armor, the result of being smacked by the Dire Wolf King. Despite getting engulfed, it only left scalding marks on his skin.
Red realized that the tribe had a chance to win against the Dire Wolf King as long as the Chief was still standing. That belief stopped him from running away.
He quickly scanned the situation. The fourteen dire wolves stopped the hobs and other warriors to help the Chief fight the Dire Wolf King.
He thought of assisting the Chief from a distance with his slingshot, but he quickly threw the thought. His slingshot was not enough to hurt that Dire Wolf King. It would not be a help, but the hobs were a great help to the Chief for sure.
With that in mind, he found his goal. It was to help them get rid of the dire wolves, so the hobs could assist the Chief. If it were the dire wolves, he had a chance against them.
Red didn't quickly take action. He observed the dire wolves and used Appraisal on them. He needed to be strategic with his approach. With his current strength, he needed to get the weaker dire wolf, which would help the warriors get rid of the remaining dire wolf.
Dire Wolf
Level:?
Skill: ???
That was the first time that the result appraisal came back like that. This was the first time his appraisal failed. He was confused at first and used Appraisal on the second dire wolf, and the result was the same. His Appraisal failed again.
Not giving up, Red used Appraisal on the fourteen dire wolves. Thirteen Appraisals failed, but he managed to bear fruit on the fourteenth dire wolf.
Dire Wolf
Level: 8
Skill: ???
Red had a guess at what happened, why his Appraisal failed on the other thirteen dire wolves. It is because of the level difference between him and the target. The Appraisal succeeded against a monster three levels higher than him, and it failed if the gap was too big. Curious, he used Appraisal on the Dire Wolf King.
Dire Wolf King - Elite
Tier 1 Beast
Level:?
Skill: ???
At the same time, the appraisal's result came back to him, and he also got a notification.
[Appraisal has leveled up!]
His appraisal reached level twelve. Not just that, for the first time, he got a new result. It showed the word elite next to the name, and the result also revealed that Dire Wolf King was a Tier 1 Beast. He didn't know what it meant yet, but it told him that the other dire wolf and the beast he hunted so far were Tier 0 Beasts.
Again, he still had not figured out about this tier as well. His window status showed him that his Might and Magic were still tier 0. That was something he needed to figure out later, but not now.
Red looked up, locking his target: Level 8 Dire Wolf. The warrior retreated when the Chief was blasted away. The same with the dire wolf, they stood around the Chief like how the wolf protected the Dire Wolf King.
The goal was to eliminate the dire wolf one by one, freeing the hobs from the dire wolf that would help the Chief to fight the Dire Wolf King.
He was analyzing the situation, thinking about how to kill the dire wolf quickly. That was when he realized that he was equipped with a weapon that was unsuitable for a battle. His tools were meant for hunting, not a battle.
Fortunately, all kinds of weapons were scattered around. There were swords, shields, and maces all over. That was the dead warrior's weapon. He had his weapon, and now he was waiting for the dire wolf to clash again.
When he said he would, he was not going to join the warrior. He would attack the dire wolf from an unexpected angle. It didn't take long for them to clash again.
The Dire Wolf King howled before jumping at the Chief, who just come out of the fire. There were no more dark tentacles to tie it down. The Chief swung his axe to meet the Dire Wolf King's claw, pushing him back into the fire.
The warrior tried to cover for the Chief, but the fourteen dire wolves stopped them from joining the fight.
That was when Red made his move. He rushed out of the house and picked up the spear that was not far from the house. His eyes locked on the target, Level 8 Dire Wolf. As it was busy fighting off the hobs, he came from behind, moving to the side, and he aimed his spear toward the neck.
The dire wolf whined in pain, tried to wriggle off the spear, but Red twisted the spear to inflict even more pain. The wolf and the warrior were surprised by his arrival. The warrior took the chance, ganging up on the level 8 dire wolf together. Four warriors jumped into the same dire wolf, killing it.
Red left the spear inside the dire wolf as he made his run toward another house instead of trying to finish the dire wolf together with the others. That was his plan: hit and run.
When he peeked outside, something exploded near the Dire Wolf King. He could not figure out what it was, but that explosion sent the Dire Wolf King away.
The dire wolf who thought of chasing after him stopped, regrouping with their king. His plan somehow succeeded; not only did they take one dire wolf down. The other warriors took advantage of the explosion and killed another dire wolf.
However, the dire wolf was not the only one who died; one hob and six goblin warriors also died in that clash. He hid inside the building, eyeing his next target.
The explosion still lingered in his head, wondering who did it. He just realized it might be the same individual who did the dark tentacles earlier as well.
As he thought that, the same dark tentacles appeared below the Dire Wolf King. As if the Dire Wolf King had gotten used to it, the dark tentacles only managed to bind one hind leg and one foreleg.
It still gave the Chief a chance to land a hit, hitting the Dire Wolf King's side belly that sent the Dire Wolf King tumbling to the side.
That was when Red started to make his move. The dire wolves focused on the warrior, ignoring the one who hid inside the house.
He rushed over the closest dire wolf, jumped on top of it, and stabbed the sword into the neck again. This time, he didn't run right, encircled the wolf with his hand, and brought it down with him, choking the wolf with all his strength.
The warrior didn't waste their chance as three spears, two swords, and one axe hit the dire wolf's head.
Again, Red immediately released the dire wolf and made his run to another house, picking just one sword this time. His plan bore fruit as his involvement managed to reduce the dire wolf's numbers.