Chapter 66: Three Bows to Honor the Wolf King

The howl of the alpha wolf was filled with rage; Chalemu and his companions understood its feelings well. Yet within that howl, there was also a thick undercurrent of joy and excitement, leaving Chalemu and the others bewildered. The reason soon became clear.

Yiran, the young man, was propping himself up with his gun, his chest heaving, breath coming in ragged gasps. He was clearly at the end of his strength. Through his binoculars, Uncle Chalemu saw plainly that Yiran’s clothes were torn to shreds, strips of cloth hanging and fluttering in the wind. Blood streamed from his wounds, running down the tattered fabric and dripping onto the grass, staining the green sea beneath him.

“He’s hurt! Badly hurt!” Uncle Chalemu muttered gravely, and his sons’ faces changed.

“Father, we have to save him,” Silamu declared with resolute seriousness.

“Yes, we must save him,” the others echoed.

Uncle Chalemu nodded in agreement. “Abdullah, you stay and watch the ranch. Silamu and I will take the offerings and the hunting rifles and drive over.”

The family sprang into action. At first, their concern had been driven by a sense of duty; now it grew from heartfelt admiration for Li Xin. Such a powerful and resilient young man surely had a brilliant future ahead. They could not stand idly by and watch him perish.

Soon, a sturdy pickup truck sped out from the ranch toward the wolf pack, its bed piled high with beef and mutton.

…

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Li Xin seized the moment as both sides paused. He quickly opened his inventory and used a large healing potion. His in-game HP surged back to full, but the loss of stamina could not be so easily restored; that would require careful rest and recovery.

Of course, with his game-breaking abilities, those concerns could be set aside.

The King of Games interface appeared before his eyes, and Li Xin immediately allocated thirty more points to speed. He had already slain forty-four common dire wolves, leaving only six, plus the alpha. Thirty seconds would be enough.

This was the foundation of Li Xin’s confidence to face the wolf pack alone—but also his greatest vulnerability. Since his rebirth, this was his first desperate battle. Now, his HP in the King of Games system was down to twenty-one. Though he had kept replenishing his health by killing dire wolves, the sheer number and ferocity of their attacks had outpaced his ability to recover. At this moment, caution was essential—if he wasn’t careful, he might find himself in cooldown before the alpha fell.

If that happened, his spear—transformed from the universe itself—would vanish, and he’d be torn apart by the wolves in an instant.

“One more effort,” he thought. “If I can quickly kill six more common dire wolves, I’ll restore another point of HP. Then facing the alpha will be much easier.”

Li Xin made his calculations silently, but his body was already on the move. With his speed now increased by three meters per second, he was up to thirteen meters per second—now just a bit faster than the wolves.

He recalled the spear techniques from the Three Kingdoms, the videos he had studied. The world's spear arts could be divided into thrusting, pressing, and slanting forms. The Zilong Silver Spear he wielded was best suited for thrusting. Thrust, embrace, slash, lift, twist—he had grown familiar with these five forms.

Now, moving faster than ever, Li Xin unleashed his spear in a storm of attacks.

In five seconds, three thrusts brought down three dire wolves.

In another six seconds, four strikes felled three more.

The pack, nearly a hundred strong at first, had lost more than half their number. The wolves, famed for their ferocity, now felt fear for the first time as they gazed upon the corpses of their kin. The pack howled, as though urging the alpha to retreat. Most of the strong adult males were already dead.

The alpha let out three rapid, mournful cries. The pack hesitated, then raised their heads in a chorus of howls. Seeing them halt their attack, Li Xin stopped as well. The task was done; there was no need for slaughter. The wolves played a necessary role—eradicating them would unbalance the ecosystem.

“Wait, are they retreating?” Li Xin was taken aback as the wolves loosened their encirclement and began to slink away, tails between their legs.

Only the alpha remained, standing atop a boulder, lifting its head in a final, defiant howl.

Li Xin understood at once: the alpha was ordering the pack to retreat, choosing to remain alone for a final battle to preserve its dignity and honor as leader.

For a moment, Li Xin hesitated.

Was this really a game? How could a game create a scene so vivid and real? The vastness of the Jialin continent, its thriving cities and human ingenuity, even this cunning wolf pack—everything was so lifelike.

It was as if he had crossed into another world entirely.

With fifteen seconds left, the alpha attacked, eyes resolute, resolved to die. It leapt high, its body one and a half times the size of an ordinary adult male. Muscles bulged with explosive power; its fangs and claws gleamed like steel knives. Even as it pounced, its killing intent and sovereign authority were palpable.

“This is… this is…” Li Xin murmured.

Not far away, Uncle Chalemu and Silamu, watching from their halted truck, were also lost in awe.

All three could see: for all its formidable display, the alpha was fighting on borrowed strength. That was not quite right—it was truly strong, but its heart was set on death.

The alpha was offering its life in exchange for the survival of its kin.

It had misunderstood—Li Xin had never intended to kill them all.

“Alpha, I—” Li Xin shouted, stumbling back two steps, trying to explain. But it was too late. The alpha landed, its heart impaling itself precisely on the spear’s tip.

A sickening crunch—its heart burst, and blood poured down like scarlet rain from the sky.

“I… I…” Li Xin stood in a daze, words failing him. He let the blood wash over him, turning him into a crimson figure.

Dozens of meters away, the wolves stood, eyes blazing, staring him down.

But then, this human they so hated suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, bowing three times to the alpha’s corpse and to the fallen wolves.

For a man, to kneel is no small thing—especially for Li Xin, once a king among men, a noble soul who bowed only to his parents and to the heavens and earth.

Today, he bowed to the alpha wolf.

“Yiran is deeply indebted to the wolf clan. Today I take the wolf pack’s heads to fulfill my duty, but I will return to settle debt and gratitude another day!”

With a resounding cry, he swiftly severed the wolves’ heads, gathering the coins that burst forth from the game, and was about to leave when he paused, then collected the alpha’s corpse as well.

With a single cut, he ended his own life, his body dissolving into a stream of light that vanished across the plains.

The wolves gazed at each other, howling their grief before darting swiftly into the forest. This human was a demon—so ruthless, slaughtering their kind without mercy. But he was also a deity, able to magically collect the heads and the alpha’s body. He was a man of honor and feeling; his three bows had resolved their enmity.

Meanwhile, in the pickup, Uncle Chalemu and Silamu exchanged bewildered looks. Was this man out of his mind? How could he dare to take his own life?