"You guys are forgetting something," Kiba called out.
The four wolves turned around and looked at Kiba with confusion. The injured man, on the other hand, felt his muscles tightening up with fear.
"W-what do you mean?!" The injured man tried to calm himself, but no matter how he tried, his body tensed further. His hands and feet turned cold and he knew this was not due to the stream water.
"I’m sure you know what I mean." Kiba jumped down from the boulder before turning towards the wolves. "You shouldn’t forget your meal."
The fierce eyes of the wolves brightened up as they realized the meaning of Kiba’s words. Not only has he spared their lives but now was also permitting them to complete their original mission.
They were excited and once again expressed their gratitude to Kiba.
"N-no!" The injured man shouted.
He knew the wolves hated him and the hatred has crossed the limit after he orchestrated the death of their leader. It was just that they didn’t dare show it due to the threat posed by Kiba but now there was no one to stop them.
The wolves growled and slowly walked towards their food.
"Please stop them! I have tons of gold and money!" The man begged. He was in no condition to even stand much less flee.
"Not interested." Kiba tapped a foot on the water and he jumped up high in the air. "Dear wolves, have a happy meal without restraints."
The wind surrounded him, like invisible wings, as he flew away.
The injured man didn’t even get a chance to say another word as the four wolves pounced on him. They opened their mouth and released a rancid breath.
The silent stream was filled with blood-wrenching screams as the wolves clamped down on their meal...
----
A few miles ahead.
Kiba landed on the ground and start walking. He was in no hurry to find the core region since he knew there were weeks left before it opens up.
From what Eva informed him, the core region was surrounded by a strong gravitational force field and miasma. These natural barriers would only subsidize at a certain time for a fixed interval.
"The entry to this core region is different from the meteorite where I got the Cosmic Spark," Kiba mused as he stepped further, "But then again it is too soon to judge without checking it myself."
He walked for some twenty minutes before coming across a thick tree trunk blocking his path. The trunk was lying vertically and the long branches were spread out like a net.
"Hmm?" Kiba’s eyes radiated with excitement as he sensed something far away from the tree. "How interesting."
Kiba cleared his thoughts and decided not to teleport. He leaped up from the ground and landed on a branch which was full of needle-thin twigs. They were almost invisible with sharp thorns, and if one steps between them, then death was certain.
Kiba clenched his fist and punched between the twigs. It was like his hand was covered with an invisible gauntlet as his fist moved ahead, without actually touching the leaves and thorns.
Swoosh.
The twigs and the thorns shattered into fine particles before disappearing in the air. Kiba walked till the end of the branch before jumping down.
His feet made a heavy landing on the grassland. The region wasn’t as dark like the before, and Kiba continued his journey for a few minutes.
"ROAR!"
"Help!"
Suddenly, the two sounds entered Kiba’s ears.
Some distance away from him, a dark-brown haired girl was rooted against the trunk of a tree. She was wearing glasses which had cracks.
Her yellow dress was stained with blood, and there were even missing patches in the clothes, exposing her fair skin.
In front of her, three brown wolves were closing towards her with open mouth. Saliva dripped down from the tongues and fell on the ground.
"Help me!" The woman noticed Kiba and shouted in a voice filled with despair. Her pitiful appearance and sweet voice could strike a chord with even the cruelest of the men.
The wolves turned their heads and warned him with their bloodshot eyes. Their ghastly teeth left no doubt on what would be the outcome if he didn’t follow their request.
"My teammates are facing other beasts while I’m stuck with these three!" The girl begged once again. "Help me and I promise my team will offer you suitable compensation! My name is Ruby and I swear I won’t go back on my words!"
Kiba appeared to be in a dilemma but then he gritted his teeth and nodded.
"I will handle them," Kiba rushed towards the wolves, "You should use it as an opportunity to escape."
Ruby’s eyes lit up with tears streaming down.
Kiba vaulted into the air with his fist aimed at a wolf. The air whistled as his punch moved ahead with a tremendous force. His punch hurtled down the back of the wolf.
SNAP
The skeleton of the wolf shattered and its bones protruded out of its skin and flesh. The wolf lied on the grass under a pool of blood.
"Awoo!"
The other two wolves leaped on Kiba. He took a half-step behind and dodged their claws.
"Damn," Kiba jumped on one of the wolves but another wolf attacked him with its mouth. Kiba somersaulted in the air and backed away.
"I will also help," Ruby also rushed ahead. She waved her hand and the thorns from the nearby vegetation flew out.
The thorns carried a tremendous force as they shot down on one of the two wolves.
The wolf twisted its body to dodge but without success as the thorns changed their trajectory. Like sharp swords, the thorns pierced throughout the body of the wolf. There was no sign of movement from the wolf except for the blood flowing from its wound.
Ruby fell down on her knees, huffing for breath.
"Here."
Ruby raised her head and saw a hand stretched out to offer her support. She placed her hand on him and stood up.
"You killed the remaining wolf?" Ruby’s eyes turned to a tree where a wolf’s body was struck.
"Yeah," Kiba wiped the sweat from his face, "You brought me the opportunity."
"No," Ruby shook her head, "It was all thanks to you."
Her breasts moved up and down as she greedily sucked air.
"You didn’t even get a scratch," Ruby further complimented him.
"I was lucky," Kiba turned his head towards another direction, "We should catch up with your friends."
"Right!" Ruby rushed ahead and Kiba followed from behind.
A minute later.
The two arrived in an area which was filled with broken trees and corpses of wolves. Among the corpses, two men were standing.
One of them was thinly built with brown skin while another one was well-built with a similar skin tone.
"Kyron! Xander!" Ruby called out.
"Ruby!" The thinly built man named Kyron was startled. Xander was also surprised but then his eyebrows creased after he noticed Kiba.
"Who is he?" Xander asked in a stern tone.
"Don’t talk like that!" Ruby stepped in front of Kiba, "He saved my life!"
"What?" Kyron and Xander asked together.
"You heard it right. I have promised him a compensation," Ruby further explained.
"There is no need," Kiba interjected before her teammates could express their views, "It is only natural to help those in need."
"No!" Ruby closed upon him. Her chest rubbed on him as she disagreed, "A promise is a promise!"
"It would go against my morals," Kiba gulped down with his cheeks turning red as her breasts rubbed on him.
"Well...How about you join us then?" Ruby made a suggestion out of nowhere much to the disbelief of everyone.
"You seem to be alone," Ruby explained her reasoning, "And the forest is a dangerous land. We could use your support and you could benefit from our company as well."
"No way!" Xander loudly refused, "We can’t trust him!"
Kyron was hesitant before adding, "He helped Ruby so he should be a good man."
"YOU!" Xander was incensed.
Ruby ignored the two and looked at Kiba.
"You won’t decline, right?" Ruby removed her broken glasses.
"O-of course not," Kiba scratched his head embarrassingly, "Thank you."
"No! It is me who should thank you!" Ruby said as she hugged him.
Xander observed everything with a scowl.
"Welcome to the team," Kyron stepped ahead to greet him.
"I’m sure you would have a lot of fun!" Ruby added after the greetings were over.
"Well, I’m also sure of that," Kiba said with a smile, "This is surely going to be interesting."
Kiba’s lips were curved up in a sincere smile but deep in his eyes, there was an icy glint.