21: Chapter 21 Ghost Wolf, Stormhawk

Hearing the Scarface Captain's words, the hearts of Wang Dongxin and the others instantly sank.

A Ghost Wolf!

They had only heard the name in the idle chatter of veteran squads—those bold enough to enter the inner perimeter and who had earned over two hundred points in the first Assessment.

It was the evolved form of a Shadow Wolf, typically active only in the core areas of the inner perimeter of the secret realm, and served as the leader of Shadow Wolf packs.

Not only did it possess greater strength and speed, but its most terrifying trait was its signature ability: Etherealization. It could become immune to most physical attacks at critical moments, making it impossible to guard against.

If they could barely manage to defeat the Shadow Wolf from before by giving it their all, then against a Ghost Wolf, let alone winning, they would be lucky just to escape.

Faced with such an absolute gap in power, numerical superiority was utterly useless.

They stared at the massive wolf, its body wreathed in an ominous black mist.

The slight excitement they had felt from defeating the Shadow Wolf vanished instantly; their faces turned pale, and their hands gripped their weapons with stiff, trembling fingers.

A deathly silence fell over the scene, broken only by the sound of the wind whistling through the trees.

Unlike the others' bloodless terror, Gu Changming's expression remained calm as he held his Tang blade horizontally, his gaze locked firmly on the Ghost Wolf ahead.

He had long since sensed it hiding nearby; otherwise, a mere Shadow Wolf wouldn't have been enough to cause this part of the secret realm to be sealed off.

The creature's intention in hiding was likely to let the Shadow Wolf draw their attention before launching a sneak attack, which was why Gu Changming had held back—he was guarding against it.

He just hadn't expected it to be so patient, or perhaps it had sensed that he was watching it.

It had waited until the Shadow Wolf was killed without making a move.

As Gu Changming stared at it, the Ghost Wolf stared back without blinking, seemingly sensing that he posed the greatest threat.

Man and wolf stood in a brief, tense standoff.

Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred!

"Run!"

Someone shouted, and in the next second, the remaining three members of the Scarface squad were like startled birds.

Unable to withstand the terrifying pressure any longer, they turned without hesitation and fled desperately in different directions!

"You bastards, don't run!" Wang Dongxin roared in shock and fury. "If we stand together, we have a slim chance! If we scatter, it'll just pick us off one by one—it's a death sentence!"

However, the other squad was beyond listening, and if anything, they ran even faster.

"Damn it!" Wang Dongxin cursed.

By now, they were lagging behind; even if they wanted to run, they wouldn't be able to escape.

Wang Dongxin looked at Gu Changming, who was still facing off against the Ghost Wolf, his eyes urgent. He gestured to Ye Qing and Li Haoxing, signaling them to prepare to move in and support him.

"Xiao Gu..."

Before he could finish, Gu Changming raised his left hand without looking back, making a gesture to stop them.

"I can handle this alone."

Wang Dongxin and the others were stunned. Before they could react, Gu Changming shot forward like an arrow from a bow, launching the first attack!

His Tang blade sliced through the air, trailing a cold flash of light as it struck straight for the Ghost Wolf's head!

"Clang!"

Another ear-piercing clash rang out. Amidst the flying sparks, both Gu Changming and the Ghost Wolf slid back several paces.

Wang Dongxin and the others watched, dumbfounded.

Just moments ago, the seven of them had struggled against a single Shadow Wolf, yet Gu Changming was holding his own while facing a significantly stronger Ghost Wolf alone?

The Ghost Wolf steadied itself, the murderous light in its eyes intensifying. With a low growl, the black mist around it surged, and its massive body lunged forward again, moving so fast it left afterimages.

Standing to the side, Ye Qing saw it clearly and immediately shouted a warning, "Watch out! It might use Etherealization!"

However, perhaps because the warning came too late, Gu Changming didn't seem to hear it. His Tang blade didn't stop, slashing directly at the wolf's head!

In the next instant, the blade passed through the Ghost Wolf's body without any resistance.

The Ghost Wolf's true form instantly appeared behind Gu Changming. With Gu Changming's defenses wide open, the wolf opened its bloody maw, its sharp fangs aiming to bite down hard on his waist!

Seeing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically.

Li Haoxing immediately drew his bowstring to its limit, aiming an arrow at the wolf's head to intercept the strike for Gu Changming.

But once the bow was drawn, he hesitated. With the two figures intertwined, he wasn't confident he could hit the Ghost Wolf without harming Gu Changming.

Yet, in that lightning-fast moment, Gu Changming used his forward momentum to snap his waist around, his body spinning half a turn like a top!

Using the momentum of the spin, his Tang blade traced a perfect silver arc. With a backhanded upward slash, the edge of the blade struck with unerring precision into the Ghost Wolf's wide-open maw!

This change of technique was as fast as lightning and as smooth as flowing water, as if it had been calculated long ago!

The blade swept through, trailing a spray of blood!

The Ghost Wolf let out a pained wail, and a rare, faint smile touched the corner of Gu Changming's mouth.

However, the Ghost Wolf's reaction to being wounded far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Its massive body didn't falter from the injury; instead, it became like a pool of stirred, turbid water, twisting and deforming violently in the air!

The turbid water surged and condensed. In the blink of an eye, the original giant wolf form vanished, replaced by a massive hawk with a wingspan of over four meters and feathers of a bluish-black hue!

It hovered in mid-air, staring fixedly at Gu Changming on the ground and letting out a screech filled with rage.

"A Storm Hawk?!" Wang Dongxin cried out in shock, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Ye Qing and Li Haoxing were also horrified, their brains almost grinding to a halt.

This was the first time any of them had seen such a sight; it completely defied their understanding.

Gu Changming also raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes. Clearly, he hadn't anticipated this turn of events either.

But that surprise was quickly replaced by a faint, hard-to-detect trace of joy.

The weirder and stronger it was, the better.

This way, the power he would gain after taming it with the whistle of contract would far exceed his expectations.

High above, the Storm Hawk flapped its wings violently, causing the airflow to become turbulent. Then, it let out an ear-splitting screech, and dozens of translucent, curved wind blades instantly condensed around its wings!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The sound of whistling wind rang out as the wind blades rained down, covering the spot where Gu Changming stood!

"Take cover!"

Gu Changming barked a low warning toward Wang Dongxin and the others. Simultaneously, his body reacted with a swift side-roll, narrowly avoiding the main impact zone of the wind blades before disappearing into the dense forest.

In truth, they didn't need Gu Changming's warning. After that strange cry, their hearts had tightened, and they had already scrambled to hide behind the nearest boulders and thick trees, pressing themselves flat against the ground.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dense wind blades slammed into the ground and surrounding trees. The solid earth was carved with deep, crisscrossing furrows, soil flew everywhere, and trees caught in the crossfire were sliced through easily, their stumps as smooth as mirrors.

From a distance, Li Haoxing watched the scene from behind a bush and swallowed hard. If he hadn't dodged just now, he feared he wouldn't have had the slightest hope of surviving that attack.

Li Haoxing's gaze shifted and quickly locked onto Gu Changming, who was hiding in the distance.

He then raised his longbow and waved it vigorously toward Gu Changming's hiding spot, silently mouthing the words, "Use this!"

The opponent had transformed into a hawk and taken control of the sky, making it very difficult to get close again. Now, only his bow and arrows could be of any use.

Ye Qing and Wang Dongxin also looked over, their expressions complicated.

They had no intention of helping; by now, they all understood that they couldn't interfere in the battle between Gu Changming and that creature. Rushing in would only make them a burden.

Gu Changming obviously noticed Li Haoxing's gesture, but just as before, he shook his head, declining the kind offer.

Then, Gu Changming tightened his grip on his Tang blade, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings—the tall trees, the interlacing branches—as he began to calculate his next move.