Feeling the eyes of countless humans focusing on her, Scaly could not help freezing on the spot as a shiver ran down her spine.
Being the sole focus of so many humans at once was nothing short of a terrifying experience. Especially so considering that every single one of them was looking at her with greed. Wanting nothing more than to kill her and claim the bounty thing mentioned by the powerful human.
This... Was it perhaps a mistake to leave the town?
Thinking such useless things as she recovered, Scaly didn’t dare wait around for the humans to move, as she continued moving in the direction of the forest directly behind the ancient dire wolf.
Making sure to make a bit more distance between herself and the humans fighting the ancient dire wolf.
"That bounty is mine!"
Whoosh-!
Unfortunately, this didn’t do much to stop them, as one of the humans decided to break from the group and jump towards her with a greedy expression plastered all over his scared face. Not caring about the annoyed looks he got from the rest of the humans who were already regretting not making the first move.
However, before the man could reach Scaly, the ancient dire wolf seemed to have found an opportunity, as it managed to get one of its claws past the three powerful humans-
Swish-!
Cleanly cutting through the man without any resistance. Instantly killing him on the spot to the horror of the rest of the humans and the delight of Scaly who no longer had to worry about being attacked.
Well... The happiness of Scaly didn’t last for long, as it didn’t take long before the rest of the humans present only stopped for a short moment as they waited for the powerful human to jump in and restrain the ancient dire wolf before a few of them daringly made their way towards her.
The main difference compared to before being that they were moving far slower than the first one and kept an eye on the ancient dire wolf in case it found an opportunity to break free and attack them.
After all, given what they had just witnessed, neither of them had any intention of recklessly rushing towards her at the risk of the ancient dire wolf taking the opportunity to kill him. Especially considering that even with their lowered speed, they were still faster than Scaly who was using all of her strength to escape from the humans.
Roar-!
Seeing this, the ancient dire wolf tried to attack them, but it was to no avail, as they quickly stopped before its attack could reach them. Giving the stronger human more than enough time to step in and save them. Preventing another death from happening, while also giving them the opportunity to keep chasing after Scaly.
They really want to kill me, But... If I get closer to the ancient dire wolf, it shouldn’t be possible for them to stop it that easily. Although, doing so would also put me at risk of being attack and I don’t really think any of those powerful humans will try and stop the ancient dire wolf from doing so...
Thinking this to herself as she looked towards the ancient dire wolf who was angrily using its large claws to try and tear the strong humans apart to no avail, Scaly hesitated for a short moment before moving closer to the ancient dire wolf.
Even if it was risky for her to get that close, as she not only had to worry about the ancient dire wolf but also the humans currently confronting it, she also understood that continuing to try and escape towards the forest wasn’t an option.
After all, the humans chasing after her were far too powerful and would inevitably end up catching up with her. Not to mention, she doubted that they would simply stop chasing after her because she made it to the forest safely.
With that in mind, she wanted to try and make use of the ancient dire wolf to either kill them or buy herself enough time that she could find somewhere to hide inside the forest long enough for the humans to give up chasing after her or for them to be forced back to help in the fight with the ancient dire wolf.
Roar?
Seeing how Scaly rushed over, the ancient dire wolf didn’t take long to realize what she was planning to do, as both its eyes shone for a brief moment before it deliberately increased its offensive against the three powerful humans holding it down.
Not so much to protect Scaly from them attacking her as she got closer to them, but more so to have Scaly lead more of the weaker humans close enough for it to kill them.
"This beast... It wants to take advantage of the lizard to kill more of our people!"
Also realizing the intent behind the ancient dire wolf’s actions, the elemental knight who could be considered the second strongest among the three holding down the ancient dire wolf, frowned worriedly as he said this while looking in the direction of the three or so humans who were chasing after Scaly.
"Don’t worry about it, this is expected. The only thing we have to do now is to wait for the ancient dire wolf to move and take the opportunity to land a serious blow on it." Not showing the same degree of worry as the elemental knight, the grand explorer and also the strongest among the three, calmly said this as he continued fending off the massive claws of the ancient dire wolf.
"I see... You already planned for something like this to happen when you announced the increased bounty for that little lizard...!"
"Indeed, killing this ancient dire wolf is difficult and it will just return in the future stronger if it isn’t dealt with. Possibly strong enough to destroy the town in another few months if it continues to grow like this. The sacrifice of a few people to kill such a terrifying monster is worth it!"
No hesitation whatsoever as he said this, the grand explorer didn’t say anything more as he continued fighting with the ancient dire wolf.
The few people chasing after Scaly were already dead in his eyes, as they were nothing more than tools to help ending the life of the ancient dire wolf.
""...""
Hearing this, the two others wanted to object, but couldn’t find the courage to do so when they realized just how dangerous it would be if the ancient dire wolf managed to escape this time around.
If things continued and it grew stronger, it might even reach a level where an A Rank Adventurer was required to deal with the situation, something that neither of them wanted to inform their higher ups outside the dungeon about.
After all, to get an A Rank Adventurer to act wasn’t a simple thing and required a lot of effort on the side of the guild. Especially considering that the dungeon that they were in at the moment didn’t attract much attention from adventurers at that level and would require them to- Well... It was a troublesome ordeal that would probably end up with them losing their current positions as people in charge of managing part of the dungeon floor they were on.
"Good to see both of you agree. Now get ready, they are about to get close enough for the ancient dire wolf to attack regardless of us trying to stop it!"
Smiling slightly upon seeing that neither of the two objected to what he said, the grand explorer and strongest human present quickly instructed for the two of them to get into position for launching a deadly blow the moment that the ancient dire wolf decided to attack the group of approaching humans chasing after Scaly.
Of course, they didn’t make it obvious to the ancient dire wolf and instead pretended to become more aggressive as the group of humans got closer. Seemingly to try their best to prevent the ancient dire wolf from attacking them...
Why are these humans so reckless!?
At the same time that all of this was happening, Scaly was looking back at the humans chasing after her, as she couldn’t understand why they continued to chase her in an almost obsessed manner.
Was the bounty thingy mentioned by the powerful human really enough for them to risk their lives like this?
ROOOOOOAR-!
Lost in her own thoughts for a brief moment as she continued her escape, Scaly was brought back by the loud roar of the ancient dire wolf, as she suddenly saw the terrifying claws that had easily torn apart a human far stronger than her with ease approaching her at a speed that was impossible for her to dodge.
Luckily, the target of the claw wasn’t her, but the group of humans behind her.
"EVERYONE! SCATTER!"
Having also paid attention to the ancient dire wolf while chasing her, these humans didn’t waste a single second upon seeing the claw attack, as they all scattered in different directions to avoid it.
Swish~!
However, they were still too slow, as the speed of the ancient dire wolf was far beyond what they could escape from. Killing one of them before rapidly moving towards the second human-
"NOW!"
It was just at that moment, the three powerful humans who seemed to have been knocked back by the ancient dire wolf as it made its move earlier, suddenly jumped up like they hadn’t been affected and soon appeared next to the ancient dire wolf before attacking the leg that had been used to attack the weaker humans with all of their strength.