A tide of wolves surged forward, their howls tearing through the air.
The sudden turn of events made the faces of the two clan leaders and elders drop.
Although they had successfully held back the wolf tide, it had been a close call and extremely strenuous. If another wave this strong came, they had no strength left to resist.
For a moment, the elders and the two clan leaders unconsciously stopped fighting.
"Didn't the intelligence report say there were only three Lightning Crown Alpha Wolves?" an elder cried out.
"No, this one is injured, and the pack isn't that big," Gu Yue Bo said, forcing himself to stay calm.
"Could it be the one that attacked Xiong Family Village?" an elder shouted, slapping his forehead.
That was highly likely, almost a sure thing.
The elders' hearts still felt heavy. One elder rasped, "If the pack is already here, doesn't that mean Xiong Family Village has already..."
"Damn Xiong Family Village! How could they be so useless? They couldn't even defend against a single wave of the wolf tide!" someone cursed loudly.
But someone else was more optimistic. "Look, this Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf's front legs are badly injured, the muscles and bones have atrophied!"
Everyone looked, and their flagging morale lifted slightly.
It was true.
This Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf had strong hind legs, but its front legs were short and atrophied. This forced it to hop forward like a kangaroo, using only its hind legs.
"Wait, this doesn't seem to be a Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf..." The Bai family patriarch suddenly realized something and shivered.
"It's a Lightning Cunning Wolf!" Fang Yuan had already found the answer in his heart.
Among five tigers, there is one biao. Among three dogs, one ao. Among ten wolves, one cunning wolf.
The cunning wolf is also a canine, but several times smarter than ordinary wolves, often serving as the pack's strategist. This Lightning Cunning Wolf looked very similar to a Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf, so it was natural for the scout Gu Masters to be mistaken. But it was a genuine Ten Thousand Beast King, with intelligence no less than a human's!
Although this Lightning Cunning Wolf was slightly inferior to an ordinary Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf in close combat, its human-like intelligence made it far more dangerous. Adding to that the countless lightning wolves it could command, it was no wonder Xiong Family Village was destroyed.
"Time to go!" Fang Yuan flared his Lightning Wings and immediately took flight.
The elders before him had been fighting for a long time and were heavily depleted. They couldn't pose a threat to the pack. More importantly, their mutual suspicion prevented them from cooperating.
Fang Yuan turned and fled. A Ten Thousand Beast King was no joke. Even though there were still two wild Gu flying around the battlefield, he couldn't afford to care about them.
He had to get out, or he might not be able to leave at all!
Knowing oneself, knowing when to let go, was the first principle of navigating the world.
"Retreat! The wolf tide is too strong, we can't fight it!"
"Back to the village, set up the defenses!"
Although the elders still hadn't recognized the Lightning Cunning Wolf's identity, they too were thinking of retreat.
But at that moment, the Lightning Cunning Wolf suddenly howled and opened its huge maw.
Its fangs were jagged as knives. Between its teeth, a mass of black energy formed from nothing, condensing into a black ball in the blink of an eye.
Whoosh!
The black ball shot out, drawing a slightly curved black arc in the air before crashing into the ground.
"It missed?"
"This Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf is finished! Its aim is terrible!"
The elders shouted, but Fang Yuan flew even faster.
Boom—!
The black ball of smoke exploded violently. Amidst the deafening roar, black smoke radiated outwards.
Its momentum was incredibly swift. In almost an instant, it covered an area of a hundred li.
"This is a rank four Wolf Smoke Gu!" Fang Yuan's heart sank. He had already made the most accurate and wisest reaction possible, but the black wolf smoke spread too fast, completely enveloping him.
For a moment, he was in pitch black darkness, unable to see his hand in front of his face. Everywhere was choking smoke, making him struggle to breathe. It was awful.
But fortunately, he had the Lightning Wings Gu. As long as he flew straight up, he could escape the smoke's range.
Crack.
In the next instant, a bolt of lightning tore through the layers of black smoke, like a thunder snake or a mad dragon, crossing a hundred li to blast towards Fang Yuan.
This was the Lightning Cunning Wolf making its move.
How fast was lightning? It was nearly impossible to react.
But in this critical moment, Fang Yuan's combat instinct transcended his thinking speed, moving first.
Lightning Shield Gu!
Celestial Canopy Gu!
A circular electric shield suddenly appeared beside Fang Yuan. At the same time, a layer of white phantom armor gleamed on his body.
The violent lightning, blindingly bright, like a roaring celestial dragon, slammed into the electric shield first.
The shield lasted less than a second before it was ruthlessly torn and shattered by the lightning bolt.
The lightning struck Fang Yuan. In that instant, even though he had squeezed his eyes shut, he still found it extremely blinding.
A tremendous force surged into him, blasting him down.
He almost passed out. Electric currents coiled around him, numbing every muscle in his body, almost making him forget to breathe!
With a *thud*, he crashed into the ground.
Sharp pain jolted him awake.
He endured the intense pain and numbness all over his body and hastily climbed to his feet.
The Lightning Shield Gu was dead. The Lightning Wings Gu was also caught in the blast, barely alive and unusable. The Celestial Canopy Gu was also heavily injured and slightly listless, having endured such a powerful electric shock.