I Am Not The Duke's Evil Son
Chapter 35: The Calamity Wolf

Chapter 35: The Calamity Wolf

The sun had begun to vanish, and the colored moon appeared in the sky, yet the towering trees obscured their presence. The soldiers fled at full speed, but even so, they were far too slow. Their path was filled with rampaging beasts, and every so often they had to slow down to protect themselves from sudden attacks. Still, they lost four more men, and ten others fell behind, unable to keep pace, stretching their nerves to the limit.

Whoosh!

A pack of wild dogs burst out from between the trees, attacking the man in the lead. Unfortunately for them, it was Andrew. Without hesitation, he swung his spear in a wide arc, slicing through three dogs at once. These wild dogs were common creatures in the forest. Although they resembled wolves, their much smaller size led the common folk to call them dogs. Their scientific name in this world was Squirrel Wolves.

Tarian reacted swiftly as well, casting the Flaming Hand spell. A massive fiery hand appeared, smashing all the dogs in its path and hurling them far away.

Roar!

A loud roar echoed, making them all tremble. They immediately recognized its source.

"Damn it, he’s here!" shouted one of the soldiers in panic, nearly falling off his horse.

"Tch. Those useless fools. They couldn’t delay him for more than a few seconds. Damn them!" Andrew cursed bitterly. He had agreed with what Tarian did and had hoped the two D-rank soldiers they’d left behind would buy them some time.

Roar!

"Damn it!"

A horse carrying two soldiers panicked from the bear’s deafening roar, stumbled, and collapsed. The two soldiers acted fast and jumped off, but that brief pause sealed their fate. Before they could continue running, the trees behind them exploded and shattered as a massive bear emerged, a soldier’s corpse clenched in its jaws.

Screams!

The bear swung its sharp claws, shredding the soldiers into strips of flesh. Without pausing, it resumed chasing the fleeing soldiers with relentless fury. To their misfortune, the bear’s terrifying roars panicked their horses, sending them into uncontrollable frenzies. Many stumbled or crashed into trees along the path.

Even the magical beasts along the way fled, leaving behind only a few D-rank monsters waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Just as humans sought beast cores, beasts too coveted human bodies full of nourishing energy. The maddened bear’s roars also attracted more powerful creatures, for it was not the strongest in the forest, nor the only C-rank monster.

"He’s getting closer. Damn it!" Andrew swore with intense frustration. Suddenly, a terrible sense of foreboding washed over him, prompting him to abruptly change his path. From the direction he was just about to cross, a massive grey wolf—horse-sized—emerged. And it wasn’t alone. Within a second, dozens more appeared, surrounding him from all sides. Yet they didn’t attack. They simply stood there, calm and composed, in stark contrast to the frenzied beasts that had lost their minds to the Beast Frenzy.

’What is this?..’ Andrew couldn’t understand what was happening, but his heart trembled in fear, fear that quickly escalated into sheer terror, freezing him in place.

He wasn’t alone. Even the horse he rode, which had been running wildly, suddenly halted. It turned to the left, body trembling violently, and in total submission, dropped to its knees, a surreal sight that defied reason.

Andrew couldn’t grasp what was going on or why. It had only been a second—or perhaps a few—but to him, it felt like an eternity. As soon as he managed to move again, he looked to the left, following the horse’s gaze... and immediately wished he hadn’t.

Amid the shrubs, under the dim moonlight filtering through the trees, stood a massive black wolf, covered in scars. Its eyes glowed with an ethereal sky-blue hue amidst the darkness, and red streaks ran across its body, markings that signified one thing: it was a B-rank monster.

’The Calamity Wolf.’ That was the last thought Andrew had before the surrounding D-rank wolves lunged at him and his horse, tearing them apart with savage hunger. Neither he nor the horse screamed, they both knew there was no escape. All he did was stare up at the sky with hollow eyes, unable to comprehend what was happening. He felt it was unfair, his future had been so bright. He was on track to obtain wealth and glory that would far surpass that of the Baronet. Yet here he was, being devoured by dozens of savage wolves in a forsaken forest. He hadn’t even had the chance to resist. The aura of the wolf leader alone had frozen him in place.

With what little consciousness remained, he burst out laughing like a madman. It wasn’t death itself that disturbed him, but the pathetic and meaningless way it came. In that final moment, he realized he had been nothing more than a worthless joke. His arrogance, his ambitions—they meant nothing. Power was the only truth. And even the wolf that dragged him into the depths of hell would have faced the same fate had it encountered an A-rank creature.

...

The emergence of a B-rank monster was enough to silence an entire region spanning several kilometers. Many powerful beasts regained their sanity and fled, while others froze in place, unable to breathe. Even the Mountain Bear that had terrified everyone stopped running and turned toward the source of the wolf leader’s aura. Though they were a mile apart, it felt as though the two monsters could see each other. After a moment, the bear turned and fled back to its lair, the shock alone having restored its rationality.

The Thorned Shadow Forest was vast, immense, and brutal, filled with dangers deep within. Its outskirts, by contrast, were populated mostly by E and D-rank beasts. Even the goblin horde expected to attack in a few months had not emerged from its depths, but rather from a nearby area. This wolf was merely a glimpse of what lay inside, and perhaps B-rank wasn’t even the real threat. There could be creatures far more savage, stronger... and smarter.

Awooo!

The wolf leader howled loudly. Its howl was like a stern general’s command to his army. Dozens of wolves of E and D-rank, and even two C-rank ones, surged forward, spreading chaos. They slaughtered soldiers and beasts alike, showing no distinction. Even Nerian, the earth mage who had been treated with utmost respect in the barony, met the same miserable fate as Andrew.

Only a few soldiers were lucky enough to escape or hide in unlikely places, managing to survive the massacre around them. Among them was Tarian, who quickly assessed the situation and turned back, following the trail of the fleeing bear. Its pungent scent caused many wolves to veer away from the area he passed through. None of them dared face the bear, except the wolf leader. Even the two C-rank wolves weren’t its equals in strength.