The tenth floor of the dungeon, the central clearing of the werewolf settlement.
At this moment, all the werewolves—whether those who'd chosen to leave or those who'd stayed, everyone except Karen—had gathered here.
As for Karen, compared to the future of her kin, she cared more about how to defeat Norris.
The atmosphere in the clearing was tense. Led by the white-furred yet still towering old wolf, they formed a semicircle confronting Little Blue and the half-mushroom wolves who'd chosen to leave but had now returned to the tenth floor.
The old wolf leader stepped forward, his claws digging deep into the ground, as if ready to pounce at any moment. "You banished traitors... dare to come back? Are you here to die?"
Little Blue wasn't scared in the slightest. Instead, he said, "You know what? Werewolves turn into humans when they sunbathe. In the Far North, fur alone can't keep you warm. Delicious mushroom stew is super tasty..."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" The old wolf cut off his rambling.
"What I mean is, look at this place—there's nothing here!" Little Blue stretched his shoulders, loosening up his body, then stepped forward to face the old wolf directly. "I, Wolfgang Shadowhowl Violet Hammond, according to the rules, challenge you to a head wolf duel! I'm taking everyone out with me!"
As soon as Little Blue finished speaking, the crowd immediately erupted in discussion. Even the old wolf himself hadn't expected it to be a head wolf challenge.
After all, the current situation was already favorable to Little Blue's side.
On the surface, both sides had similar numbers of werewolves, and the old wolf's side even had quite a few werewolves who'd reached the LV50 floor cap, with higher levels.
But age causes physical decline.
And among the young werewolves on his side, many were bound only by his authority and long-standing tribal rules, but were actually wavering inside.
Though he talked tough, acting like he'd bite Little Blue and his group to death, he knew in his heart that he was the one who didn't dare make the first move!
Either way, win or lose, the tribe would be finished.
And Little Blue had actually proposed a head wolf challenge, abandoning his greatest advantage for a one-on-one fight?!
Strictly speaking, this actually violated tribal rules—after all, Little Blue and his group had been banished and weren't tribe members anymore, so they had no right to issue a challenge.
But rules were dead, and the old wolf was alive. There was no reason to pass up an option more favorable to himself.
He knew Little Blue's abilities—pretty good among the younger generation, but still far from his level!
And looking at Little Blue now, aside from white shorts made of some unknown material, he wore nothing at all.
Without equipment to bridge the gap, surely he couldn't have been completely transformed in just a few months, right?
However, though Little Blue's proposal was favorable to the old wolf, it still enraged him.
Karen's incident was just about taking away her personal freedom, but Little Blue now wanted to take away everything!
How could the old wolf not be furious?
"Good! Good! Good!" The old wolf laughed in extreme anger, his killing intent spreading like something tangible. "Since you mushroom-stinking brat are looking for death, I'll use your blood to tell all the tribe members the fate of traitors!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old wolf's body erupted with terrifying speed, his claws stabbing straight for Little Blue's heart!
Caught off guard by the old wolf's sudden dishonorable attack, Little Blue really didn't react in time. In his panic, he jumped back half a step too late and was clawed in the chest by the old wolf.
But it only penetrated half a finger's depth before Little Blue pulled away.
So hard!
Like he was wearing armor!
"You old bastard! You're cheating!" Little Blue cursed, feeling like he'd almost been caught out.
"Stop whining. The battle started the moment you said 'head wolf challenge'!"
Then, two figures collided and separated at alarming speed, their claws tearing through the air with piercing shrieks.
The old wolf's every pounce was cunning and vicious, carrying the pure killing intent accumulated from years of bloody battles, targeting vital points without mercy.
His level and experience clearly suppressed Little Blue.
But Little Blue's attacks seemed somewhat restrained. Facing the old wolf's storm-like assault, he mostly blocked and dodged. Even when he counterattacked, he subconsciously avoided lethal areas, as if he hadn't made up his mind to go for the kill against the old wolf.
This seemed like a fight with a huge power gap.
Yet strangely, no matter how sharp the old wolf's attacks were or how many wounds his claws tore across Little Blue's body, he could never inflict truly serious damage. Later on, even the initial chest wound had stopped bleeding and started healing!
The old wolf's breathing gradually grew heavier, and for the first time, his eyes showed incredulous fury.
Among the watching wolf pack, commotion arose too. Some of the sharper werewolves had already noticed something was wrong. This battle, which they'd thought would end swiftly like thunder, was actually showing signs of turning into a war of attrition.
Lin Jun wasn't surprised by this situation at all—in fact, he was somewhat disdainful of Little Blue's performance.
After all, for this "head wolf challenge," Lin Jun had invested quite a bit of capital into Little Blue!
Physical resistance LV10, regeneration LV6, mycelial reconfiguration LV8, sharpness LV10.
He looked naked, but was truly armed to the teeth in every sense!
Precisely because of this, Lin Jun was quite dissatisfied with Little Blue's restrained performance. He continuously whispered in Little Blue's mind, conducting "wartime psychological counseling":
"Hesitation means defeat! Being soft-hearted will get you killed! Gouge his eyes! Kick his lower body! Don't hold back! That claw just now was aimed at gutting you! Are you even a werewolf? Where's your ferocity?!"
Under Lin Jun's whispered instigation, combined with the old wolf's relentless lethal attacks, the last traces of hesitation in Little Blue's eyes were finally replaced by ruthlessness.
His attacks were no longer conservative. His movements became increasingly wild and deadly, the shriek of claws tearing through air growing more piercing.
Seeing this, Lin Jun was finally satisfied. The time was about right.
Just as the old wolf pounced again with fierce speed, his claws colliding with Little Blue's blocking forearm and drawing blood along with wolf fur, several inconspicuous small mushrooms rapidly grew from the old wolf's landing spot without a sound!
Splat!
The old wolf crushed the mushrooms into pulp. The rotten, slippery sensation transmitted from his foot!
The old wolf's center of gravity instantly became unbalanced. His left foot suddenly slipped, his entire body tilting uncontrollably to one side, exposing a fatal opening!
Little Blue didn't think—purely driven by combat instinct, those claws enhanced with sharpness LV10 easily pierced through the old wolf's chest!
The old wolf's charging momentum came to an abrupt halt. He looked down in disbelief at the bloodied wolf claw that had completely sunk into his chest and pierced through his back.
The intense pain hadn't fully reached his brain, but his life force was already rapidly draining as his heart ruptured.
Little Blue was stunned too. He hadn't expected the battle to end so suddenly.
The old wolf opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but only gurgling blood poured out.
Finally, his massive body heavily toppled forward, kicking up a cloud of dust, completely losing all signs of life.
The entire werewolf settlement fell into dead silence.
After a brief silence came the fanatical cheering from the young werewolves who had followed and pledged themselves to Little Blue!
"We won!"
According to tribal tradition, when a challenger kills the old leader in a fair one-on-one fight, they become the tribe's undisputed new king!
Little Blue took quite a while to recover from his daze, then issued his first command as the new wolf king:
The entire tribe would migrate out of the tenth floor. Those who chose to stay would be considered banished!
This time, aside from a few individuals, most werewolves followed behind Little Blue.
(End of Chapter)
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