CHAPTER 1106: THE AMBUSH

The storm grew heavier and heavier every second. The rain cuts through their cloaks and armor like icy blades because of its thickness and volumes.

The seven groups of adventurers keep pressing onward with determination. Their torches flickering weakly against the thickening fog. Their breath came with the sharp taste of cold mist and rain.

The horses snorted and stomped nervously. Their eyes wide as they saw shadows moved beyond the mist.

The forest around them seemed to breathe. The gusts of wind carried a strange swish sounds like the whisper of something else under all the storm.

The thunder no longer rumbled in the distance. It cracked close and in short intervals, shaking branches and rattling the soaked ground.

"Something is very wrong here," one of the women murmured while gripping her reins tighter. "The storm shouldn’t feel this heavy."

Even when they didn’t hear what she said, the others felt it too. The air grew dense as if charged with a pressure that made their skin prickle. And this was not just rain and wind and fog.

The Mages from each group looked up at the same time. Their expressions hardened as they felt the current of Magic shifting violently in the storm. The energy was twisting unnaturally, bending and coiling like something ready to burst.

"Do you feel that?" one of the Mages whispered, his voice barely audible through the rain.

Another Mage, a woman cloaked in blue, clenched her staff. "The air is filled with corrupted flow. It’s building fast."

A sudden pulse of invisible force rippled through the storm, sending ripples through the puddles around them. The horses reared and neighing in panic and fear.

Every Mage’s eyes widened in unison.

"We have to move faster! Now!" the Mages shouted at once through the storm in panic.

"We have to move faster! Something’s coming!"

Their leaders didn’t question it. They kicked their mounts forward, urging the lines to move.

Mud splashed high as they broke into a desperate gallop. The wind was screaming through the forest road around them.

A moment later the howls came.

They were high, long, and echoing from every direction. The howls rolling through the fog like the sound of marching army.

It wasn’t one or ten, but it sounded like a hundred of them. The sound clawed through the rain and chilling their bones that was already cold.

"Direwolves!" someone shouted.

The next heartbeat shattered the forest’s stillness. Shapes erupted from the fog above the ridges and trees, eyes burning yellow and red.

Dozens of them leapt down from the slopes, their massive forms landing with wet thuds on the muddy ground. The others burst from behind the group of adventurers.

They came in large packs of one hundred direwolves, maybe more. They surround them and charge all at once.

The forest became chaotic in the blink of an eye. Horses screamed and bolted. Blades were drawn, spells flared, and light flashed violently against the darkness.

The groups found themselves engulfed in a tide of fangs and fury. The Direwolves tore through the mud. Their roars blend with the roar of thunder.

"Form up!" a voice bellowed through the storm. "Back to back! Hold the line!"

But the fog closed in tighter, swallowing shapes and voices together. Lightning split the sky, revealing a nightmare of movement of the adventurers who were fighting in circles.

Steel clashing, Magic flashing, and wolves lunging from every side.

The ground shook as more of the beasts poured from the hills. It wasn’t just a battle anymore. It was a deliberate and deadly ambush in the middle of the forest.

—

Coren stood outside the tavern under the roofs, decided to standing guard outside. Fortunately the knocking sounds was nothing.

The rain drummed hard against his roof tiles and pillars and the muddy street.

The storm howled, tugging at the edges of his hood as he stared into the thick fog.

His breath came in uneven puffs that mixed with the cold air.

Behind him, the tavern door creaked faintly with the wind. Inside, he could still hear the low crackle of the hearth and the quiet murmurs of his companions.

Ryn had already fallen into deep sleep after the anaesthetic potion took effect. His wound wrapped tight and his face pale but calm and his condition wasn’t too bad.

Elrin and Lira stayed close by him, whispering occasionally, too tired to argue anymore.

But Coren couldn’t stay inside. The air outside felt strange and he needed to keep watch on it.

The rain lashed against his face as he looked toward the southern hills, his heart thudding fast. Cold and sharp fear crept up his chest.

He hated to admit it but he had never felt fear like this before.

He clenched his jaw.

"We only wanted an easy mission..." he thought bitterly. "A few beasts near the trade routes, maybe a bounty or two. That’s all." His hands trembled slightly, and not just from the cold. "We’re not ready for this shit."

The wind was blowing again and with it came a faint distant sound that made his eyes widened in place.

At first, he thought it was thunder again, but then he heard it clearer. They were long and sharp howls that echoed over the storm.

Then came other sounds beneath the rain. It was a little bit muffled by the rain but unmistakable. It was the clash of steels and the unleashed sounds of Magic. Screams of men and beasts tangled together in chaos.

Even with the storm swallowing everything the rhythm of battle rang through the distance.

Coren’s eyes widened. He turned toward the direction of the sound, squinting through the rain.

The vibrations of many moving things, of weapons striking and spells bursting. He could almost feel the tremors of it beneath his feet.

It wasn’t just a battle. The sounds were too many and too wild. The storm itself seemed to echo with the violence.

"That’s not just adventurers fighting beasts. That’s like an army of beasts." he muttered under his breath.

He stood still for a long moment, the rain streaming down his face.

The howls rose again. Dozens of them overlapping.

Lightning flashed across the clouds and struck something near.

His pulse hammered harder. Whatever was happening out there was a big battle of groups of adventurers and maybe one hundred beasts. He was sure of that.

Coren immediately ran back to the tavern.

—