Chapter 135: Chapter 135

With a loud, bone-rattling howl from the Alpha boss, the pack immediately responded, snarling as their glowing blue eyes locked onto Zen. In an instant, their paws crackled with lightning, and they bolted forward like bolts of living thunder. Normally, wolves were already fast, but with their Veils amplifying their speed, they moved at blinding velocity.

Within seconds, the entire swarm was upon Zen from every direction, lunging at him without hesitation.

Seeing this, Zen snapped out of his daze and gripped his sword tighter, his knuckles whitening. His eyes sharpened as he focused on the incoming onslaught.

One of the beasts leaped into the air, its jaws wide open, aiming straight for his head. Zen ducked instantly, feeling the gust of air above him, and swung his sword in a clean arc. The blade sliced through the creature’s torso like butter, sending its body crashing lifelessly to the ground.

"Huh? Oh yeah... this sword’s a B rank, and these are just C ranks," he muttered with a half-smirk. But his words died the moment another wolf came crashing down at full force, slamming into the ground where he stood a heartbeat ago.

He couldn’t even finish before another wolf sprang forward with insane speed, its paw glowing with lightning. Zen barely had time to raise his sword when the paw connected, sending him flying through the air and crashing hard into the ground.

"Shit!" he cursed as he flipped midair and stabbed his sword into the dirt, dragging himself to a halt. Dust kicked up around him, and his glare darted toward the pack already charging again.

He yanked the sword free, the motion flinging a clump of dirt straight into a wolf’s face. The beast yelped as the force sent it tumbling away. But before Zen could reposition, another wolf darted beside him and swiped low at his legs. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by ɴovelfire.net

Zen jumped back, but a second beast rammed into his chest with brute force, sending him tumbling across the clearing.

And from above, another wolf descended, claws aimed for his throat.

"Damn it!" Zen rolled aside just in time, the beast crashing where he had been a second ago. The impact shook the ground, dust exploding upward. Without missing a beat, Zen dashed into the haze, his blade flashing once. The wolf fell, its body cleaved cleanly in half.

"Seems like these beasts can only use lightning to boost their speed. Nothing else," he muttered while spinning on one foot, parrying a swipe to his face. He retaliated with a fierce kick, sending another beast flying.

The moment his foot connected, a jolt of pain shot through him from the electric fur, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it. The rest of the pack was already surrounding him again.

’Their Veils are really troublesome,’ Zen thought as he leaped backward, narrowly dodging a snapping jaw. He sidestepped another attack and brought his sword down, splitting a wolf’s skull with clean precision.

’But I want to see how far I can go. Erin’s words... they got to me. Without my Veil, what am I? My strength depends on nullifying others’ powers. If someone bypasses that, what can I really do?’ he thought, determination flashing in his eyes.

Despite his thoughts, Zen’s body didn’t stop moving. He weaved between the beasts, ducking, rolling, slashing—his instincts sharp, his focus absolute.

Every attack was fluid, controlled. Though some strikes grazed him, none caused serious harm. After all, these were just C-ranked beasts, and he was done running.

’Which is why I have decided not to use my Veil against these beasts. But I’ll be forced to use it against the boss though. I mean, even if I want to test myself, I still don’t want to die,’ he thought with an inward chuckle.

’But come to think of it...’ Zen frowned as he kicked one wolf away, its body flipping twice before crashing into a nearby tree with a sharp thud.

Without missing a beat, he twisted his body midair, his sword slicing cleanly through another beast that tried to sneak up on him. Blood splattered across his face, hot and metallic, but he didn’t stop.

The next moment, another beast rammed into him, sending him skidding across the ground, dirt flying in his wake as blood trickled down his wrist.

’I’m all alone. All the previous times I faced B-ranked beasts, I wasn’t alone. I always had my friends and help on my side. But today, I’m forced to confront one all alone? Can I even do it? Do I have the strength to?’ he thought as he immediately ducked down, barely avoiding a beast that lunged past his head.

{If you don’t, you’ll just die. No problem with that.}

’And if I die, nobody would find my body here, since no one even knows where I went,’ Zen thought, his jaw tightening as he shook his head.

That thought made him shudder, his focus faltering for just a moment and that was all the beasts needed. One darted forward, its paws crackling with lightning, and slammed into his face. The impact sent Zen tumbling backward, dirt scattering from the force.

But he didn’t stay down. He rolled, pushed off the ground, and regained his footing right before crashing into a tree. The moment his eyes steadied, he caught sight of two more wolves charging straight toward him.

’No! I can’t and won’t die here!’ he thought fiercely.

With a sharp intake of breath, Zen kicked off the ground and shot into the air, leaving the beasts clawing at the spot where he once stood. The other wolves immediately looked up, snarling, their eyes glowing brighter as arcs of lightning surged around their paws. But Zen wasn’t afraid — he was focused.

He clenched his sword tighter as a glowing message flickered into view.

[Sword’s Active Skill Activated]

Immediately, the sword began to crackle with wild, raw energy. Lightning snaked violently across the blade, humming with deadly power. Gritting his teeth, Zen lifted the weapon high above his head, his eyes burning with defiance as he glared down at the beasts below.

"I will never lose... nor die!" he roared.

Without hesitation, he swung the sword down with all his strength. A massive slash of lightning erupted from the blade, cutting through the air like a storm unleashed.

A deafening explosion echoed through the forest. The lightning slash smashed into a few dozen of the beasts, obliterating them instantly. Their bodies convulsed before shriveling into charred husks, smoke rising from their remains.

Only a handful of the beasts survived — the rest were nothing but scorched corpses scattered across the ground.