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Chapter 38 Half an Arm, Beast Under the Moonlight
But the killing also fully unleashed the ferocity of the remaining three beasts.
They pounced from three directions almost simultaneously!
Xia Lin withdrew his longsword and retreated rapidly, avoiding a coyote's head-on attack.
The coyote's claws slashed across its chest and abdomen on the left, leaving scratches on its armor.
The hyena on his right lunged at his arm, but he raised his left arm and used his small round shield to block it. The fangs snapped against the metal shield, making a chilling scraping sound.
The smell of death stimulated the primal instincts of the terrifying upright ape.
There is no longer any "humanity" on the field, only four wild fighting beasts!
Xia Lin grunted, and the veteran's longsword plunged deep into the coyote's eye socket!
The hyena, writhing in agony, released its grip and rolled away. Xia Lin kicked it away, the longsword slicing through flesh and blood, blurring his vision.
Before he could think, the hyena pounced again. He had no time to dodge and could only raise his longsword to block.
The coyote's heavy body crashed into the sword, the immense impact sending him staggering back several steps until his back braced against a tree trunk.
The foul-smelling wolf's mouth was close at hand, drool dripping from it.
"It fucking stinks!"
Xia Lin roared, channeling all his strength into his arm, and thrust the longsword forward fiercely despite the wolf's bite!
The sword tip pierced through the fur and emerged from the coyote's back.
He twisted the sword hilt and shattered the beast's heart.
The last hyena cunningly attacked from the side and rear, its timing impeccable.
Xia Lin barely had time to turn to the side before that gaping maw bit down hard on his left shoulder!
The sharp canine teeth pierced through the armor instantly and penetrated deep into the flesh.
Xia Lin was in so much pain that his vision blurred, but his survival instinct and boiling rage made his right hand move faster and more ruthlessly than he could think.
He used the force of twisting his body to swing the longsword backhand!
"Snap!"
The sword struck the coyote's foreleg joint with pinpoint accuracy, and the crisp sound of breaking bones was clearly audible.
The hyena howled in pain as it loosened its grip and collapsed.
Xia Lin staggered a step, turned around and gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, using all his remaining strength to thrust downwards!
"Pfft—!"
The blade pierced through the fur and muscle, entered through the neck, penetrated the throat, and embedded itself deeply into the frozen soil below.
The hyena's limbs twitched and kicked violently, splattering mud mixed with blood, like a live chicken that had been beheaded for the New Year.
Finally, it made a hoarse, leaking sound in its throat and gradually stiffened.
In the middle of the road, four wolf carcasses lay lying, their blood pooling into dark red puddles under the moonlight.
A strong stench of blood permeated the night air.
Xia Lin leaned on his sword, panting heavily. A sharp pain shot through his left shoulder wound, and sweat mixed with blood trickled down his forehead.
The battle is far from over!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
The sound of a girl crying came from the carriage behind us...
A buzzing sound filled my ears; the screams of the convoy, the clashes of the fighting, the howls of wild beasts—all blended into a blurry, distant noise, indistinct and indistinct...
Jimmy gripped the broken spear tightly with his only remaining hand, barely managing to keep from falling.
Right now, he is the only shield protecting the girl.
If I had known... I would have preferred to stay in my hometown in the countryside...
The thought popped up abruptly, tinged with bitter self-mockery.
He raised his head, his vision blurry and swaying from blood loss and excruciating pain.
But the figure in front of him was incredibly real—nearly eight feet tall, with a wolf's head and a human body, rough, dark brown fur covering bulging muscles, and a pair of scarlet eyes looking down at him, exuding an aura of cruelty and savagery that was almost tangible.
And in the monster's mouth, filled with sharp teeth, was a familiar, still-dripping piece of something.
That was his left arm.
The excruciating pain from the cut seemed to have numbed, replaced by a cold, weak feeling that life was gushing away from the wound.
But he still "stubbornly" stood in front of the girl's carriage.
With all his might, he focused his fading gaze and glanced sideways at the approaching demon.
"...weak...foolish."
The gnoll's throat bobbed with indistinct syllables, as if he were evaluating or enjoying the dying struggle of his prey.
It wasn't in a hurry to kill its prey; its gaze was as if it were appraising an insect that it could play with and dismantle at will.
Jimmy stopped wondering why the monster could speak human language, and he no longer regretted his short-lived adventure.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and with the last of his strength, he tremblingly spat at the hideous wolf's head.
"Ugly...disgusting dog!"
His voice was hoarse and weak, yet it carried a clear contempt.
The gnoll's bloodshot eyes blazed with ferocity, clearly enraged by the provocation of its dying prey.
It growled, threw away the severed arm from its mouth, opened its mouth wide, covered in foul-smelling saliva, and raised its sharp claws.
It wanted to tear this human being apart alive, to make him consciously feel the pain of every piece of flesh being torn away.
Just as those blood-stained claws were about to strike.
Whoosh!
A sharp, piercing sound tore through the air!
The gnoll displayed an agility disproportionate to its massive size, leaping suddenly to the side and backward.
A crossbow bolt grazed the spot where it had been standing and embedded itself in the ground, its fletching trembling violently.
It suddenly raised its head, its scarlet eyes fixed on the direction from which the attack was coming.
Where the moonlight mingled with the lingering flames of the distant convoy, a figure staggered yet walked with unwavering determination.
He was covered in blood, his armor was torn in many places, revealing the gaping wounds underneath, his left shoulder was a bloody mess, but his right hand was tightly gripping a longsword that was still dripping blood.
Stepping over the scattered wolf carcasses and human remains on the ground, he finally stood beside the dying Jimmy.
It was Xia Lin who had left and then returned.
He quickly bent down, supported Jimmy's limp body from behind, and gently laid him down.
He took out the last bottle of low-grade healing potion from the leather pouch at his waist, removed the cork, and carefully poured half of the pale red, viscous liquid into Jimmy's mouth.
Seeing that the other person's pale face had slightly recovered and their breathing had become steady, he tilted his head back and drank the remaining medicine at the bottom of the bottle in one gulp.
A gentle warmth instantly spread from my stomach, and the burning pain in my left shoulder and the other wounds was temporarily covered by a cool numbness. The dizziness caused by blood loss was also greatly reduced.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
The gnoll in front of him exerted far more pressure on him than the hyenas he had faced before, and even slightly more than the earth goblins.
That was a more cunning, more sadistic threat.
[Serial Number: 014 - Gnoll]
Appearance: Tall and strong (about 2.2-3.4 meters), with a head like a coyote, greenish-gray or dark brown skin, and a body covered with dirty mane.
Appendix: Information on Mutant Individuals
None (regular individuals already pose a sufficient threat, but there are gnoll variants such as savage soldiers and poachers, which are even more ferocious).
Personality: Tyrannical and cunning, taking pleasure in killing and torturing intelligent beings, especially enjoying the screams of its prey. Behavior is directly influenced by the phases of the moon, descending into rage during a full moon.
Danger Level: Single animal ≈ one fully armed warrior; threat increases exponentially when in groups. Its fighting power and ferocity double on a full moon.
Commonly found in: wilderness, sparse forests, hills, and ancient battlefields. They tend to establish camps and altars on high ground or ruins where the moon can be seen.
Recorder's notes:
"They are nightmares under the moonlight, the embodiment of pure malice. Do not try to negotiate or show them mercy; your painful wails are their best spoils."
Upon encountering an enemy, always first confirm the lunar phase; if it is a full moon, evacuate immediately and call for support. Most encounter reports indicate that the majority of teams suffered no survivors.