Chapter 380: Hidden Wolf
"It's nothing, just someone heading the same way..." Leon smiled and shook his head, signaling to William Merlin that he could relax. In fact, Leon had already heard those sounds long before William Merlin did. Despite his casual, hands-behind-back demeanor since entering the Auridge Mountains, Leon had actually pushed his mana array to the limit. Within a radius of several kilometers, not a single magical fluctuation could escape his notice.
For instance, right now Leon could clearly sense that less than a kilometer away, more than ten mages were chanting spells. Most were Grand Mages, with only three Magi among them—their overall strength wasn't particularly impressive. Still, with over ten casting at once, the spectacle was intimidating.
Moreover, these mages were obviously well-trained, cooperating with remarkable precision. Though it seemed like a dozen people casting spells at once, the magical waves they released were perfectly synchronized—no disorder at all. Ordinary mage teams could never reach this level; only long-term practice and coordination could produce such results.
And their opponents were a pack of Frostwolves...
The chilling howls and icy aura of the wolves—despite being separated by hundreds or even thousands of meters—made Leon feel as if he could see countless Frostwolves surging from all directions, an avalanche of terror...
Without a doubt, this was a mercenary group hunting in the Auridge Mountains.
And it was a rather powerful mercenary group, at that.
Among the dozen mages, three Magi held the fort. Such a ratio was unheard of in typical mercenary groups—just look at the Silvermoon Mercenary Company. With over a thousand members, they only had three Swordmasters and two Magi. Leon estimated that the group battling Frostwolves right now would easily rank in the top five or six in Auckland...
However, this time their enemies were quite troublesome. Hundreds, maybe thousands of Frostwolves—each not particularly high-level, but in such numbers, when they surge from all directions, even the strongest teams would hesitate.
"Hubert, pick up the pace! Move faster!" Leon checked the time and urged Hubert to speed up once again.
As for the battle happening hundreds or thousands of meters away, Leon couldn't care less. The Frostwolf pack wasn't attacking him, so why bother? In the Auridge Mountains, dozens of such fights break out every day—if he tried to intervene in all of them, he'd never get anything done.
"Roar!" After Hubert let out a bellow, the thousands-of-kilogram slaughter hammer crashed down on a Frosthide Rhino's head. Instantly, fine cracks appeared across its thick armor, and with a series of sharp snaps, the cracks widened and deepened. Finally, the level 26 Frosthide Rhino split apart with a piercing scream...
"Whew..." Confirming the last Frosthide Rhino was dead, Hubert finally let out a long breath. This was the fiercest fight he'd faced since entering the Auridge Mountains—seven Frosthide Rhinos, the weakest at level 23, the strongest at level 26. When they charged together, they were even scarier than a pack of Thunderbeasts...
And yet...
Throughout the whole battle, that damned Matthew Merlin just stood nearby with his hands behind his back—not only refusing to help, but also never shutting up, buzzing around like a fly. One moment he was scolding Hubert for poor positioning, the next he was mocking his weak attacks, and then he'd urge him to hurry up and finish...
Damn it, what did I do to deserve this? How did I end up signing a soul contract with someone like him...
"Cousin William, help deal with these Frosthide Rhino corpses." Just as the Dragonblood Orc was grumbling, Leon's eyes suddenly lit up. After hastily instructing William Merlin, he pointed directly at the orc: "Hubert, come with me!"
"Huh?" Poor Dragonblood Orc—he'd barely caught his breath, sweat still clinging to his skin, when he was called out again: "Why is it always me!"
"Because you're unlucky..." Leon didn't bother to explain. He simply cast two Haste spells—one on himself, one on Hubert—and dashed through the dense forest like the wind.