To the Viper Squad, this was merely a pack of prey.
Yet to the wolves, the Viper Squad was no less a target.
Who was the hunter and who the hunted? That could only be determined by the victor.
Turner roared, "Fire!"
Gunfire erupted with deafening fury as rifles unleashed their wrath. Turner dared not issue a retreat—if they turned their backs now, they would truly become the hunted.
In a deadly standoff, only the brave emerge alive.
With a bellow, Bear-Cook unleashed the thunder of his heavy machine gun. The six barrels spun into a blaze, vomiting a storm of searing lead. Cook was the squad's firepower anchor—his Browning could spit out six hundred rounds a minute. He swept the oncoming wolves with relentless force, struggling to suppress their ferocity.
Dozens of grenades soared through the trees in graceful arcs before plunging into the heart of the enemy.
"Boom! Boom!" The explosions shattered the forest's breathless tension. If rifle bullets couldn't pierce the hide of a G-ranked beast, grenades were the squad's final argument.
After the explosive storm, a number of dire wolves lay maimed and writhing—but they were far from vanquished, their claws still eager to shred the mercenaries limb from limb.
Gunfire. Grenades. The shrill cries of wounded beasts. The jungle howled with chaos.
Old White discarded his emptied shotgun with a growl, peeled off his jacket to reveal a sinewy torso, and gripped his dagger tight.
His sudden transformation stunned the squad—they all knew what it meant.
The legend of the wilds, once a fabled free hunter, was preparing to stake his life.
A dire wolf lunged at White, baring its fangs in a deadly arc. But White did not flinch—instead, he surged forward, dipped low beneath the beast's leap, and with a burst of raw power, drove his blade upward into the monster's heart.
The dagger, under the force of his might, pierced the beast's nearly impenetrable hide and plunged deep. Blood sprayed as the wolf collapsed, writhing in agony on the forest floor.
White barely paused. Another wolf charged. He kicked it square in the snout, sending it reeling. In a flash, he stepped in, wrapped an arm around its throat, and slammed it into the ground. Straddling its heaving chest, he drove the dagger into its ribs with merciless precision.
Two G-ranked beasts slain in moments—their deaths ignited the morale of the Viper Squad.
Turner unsheathed his wolffang dagger and charged, following White into the fray.
The two strongest men of Zone 64, fighting side by side for the first time.
From White's right, a snarling wolf lunged. Turner threw himself at it, colliding in a thundering crash. Pinning the beast, he stabbed at its abdomen.
"Go for the heart!" White bellowed.
Turner's eyes gleamed with steel. He yanked the blade free and plunged it once more—straight into the heart.
The other mercenaries lacked the raw strength of these two titans. They dared not engage the wolves in close quarters. Instead, they provided covering fire, buying White and Turner precious time.
From his perch, Xiao Feng watched the melee below. Seeing the pair locked in brutal combat, he muttered, "Idiots..." and raised his sniper rifle, scanning for the white wolf.
Since losing its left eye to Xiao Feng's shot, the beast had clearly weakened. And with multiple mercenaries hounding it, it had yet to breach White's line.
Xiao Feng found it—his eyes narrowed, seeking an opening, a patch of exposed flesh beyond the reach of fur.
Then, a flicker. He fired, the bullet tearing into the creature's vulnerable underbelly.
The beast's body arched in pain. Calmly, Xiao Feng chambered another round.
It would turn. It had to turn.
And it did.
Howling in rage from the humiliation of the shot, the white wolf wheeled and roared at Xiao Feng perched above.
But Xiao Feng was unfazed. He didn't need a scope at this range.
"Boom!" Another shot cracked—the second eye burst in a blossom of blood.
The wolf was blind.
It fell to its knees, black-red blood streaming from both sockets.
The fight intensified. When the wolves saw their alpha collapse, they went berserk. They darted through trees, weaving through bullets, and surged toward the Viper Squad like a tidal wave of fury.
Some targeted the mercenaries, others encircled White and Turner.
Now Turner too had shed his battle jacket, revealing a physique no less formidable than White's. Back to back, they fought with blades slick with gore, defending one another with every breath.
Xiao Feng, from above, fired again as a wolf leapt at White. The round struck true, slamming the beast aside mid-air—it crashed beside another, yelping in pain.
Together, with Xiao Feng's cover, the two warriors might yet withstand the onslaught.
But not everyone was made of such steel.
Among the trees, lesser mercenaries began to falter. Fear took hold.
A few began to fall back.
Then—an ear-piercing scream from a woman shattered the forest's din and reached Xiao Feng's ears.