Our Family Has Fallen
Chapter 62: Trap_1

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Trap_1

The wolf leader’s advance was halted by Lance, but Lance didn’t attack rashly. A wounded beast is even more dangerous, as it still possesses the courage and strength for a desperate struggle. A counterattack could have been costly.

Elsewhere, Reynard finished off the Barbarian Lance had felled, while Dismas, working with Balistan, dispatched another. They were now hurrying over.

Just moments ago, the wolf leader had been besieging the captain; now, the situation was reversed, with the wolf leader himself under siege. The wolf leader himself probably never imagined this turn of events.

The wolf leader let out a howl, markedly different from his previous roars—much lower this time, tinged with a hint of sorrow, as if he too realized his slim chances of survival.

Lance wasn’t fooled by this display; on the contrary, he felt a surge of resentment.

Damn it. You all massacred the town with such relish, and now that someone has come knocking on your door, you put on such a woebegone expression, acting as if you were owed something.

"Finish him!"

At Lance’s command, the team began to change formation. Balistan and Reynard took the front. Lance pulled back slightly to reload, while signaling Dismas.

"Trying to act tough without a helmet, huh? Dismas, aim for his head."

Dismas didn’t hesitate and immediately raised his musket. Frightened, the wolf leader quickly lifted his Great Shield, but Reynard wasn’t just standing idly by. He brandished his Longsword, forming a pincer attack with Balistan, assaulting from both sides.

Meanwhile, Lance and Dismas roamed the periphery, their muskets a constant threat to the wolf leader.

Lance’s tactics were undeniably underhanded. He toyed with the lone wolf, already surrounded by four hunters, slowly wearing him down as if with a dull knife, quickly leaving the wolf leader flustered and overwhelmed.

He was already struggling to fend off Reynard and Balistan’s frontal assaults and still had to be wary of the lurking Gunner.

It was evident that his condition was rapidly deteriorating. It seemed the effects of his Strengthening had worn off. Naturally, his accumulated injuries began to erupt simultaneously. Blood oozed from his wounds, and weakness began to erode his body and consciousness, driving him to—madness!

ROOOAR!

The battle cry of the Barbarian Tribes resounded. The wolf leader, teetering on the brink of death, erupted with an eerie strength.

Even Lance, standing some distance away, distinctly felt an odd power sweep past. For a moment, it was as if he saw an illusory black wolf’s head materialize behind the wolf leader.

But that sensation was fleeting, and he remained largely unaffected.

However, Reynard and the others were stunned by the battle cry, their movements halting for a beat.

But the wolf leader had no intention of stopping; he raised his Great Shield and smashed it toward Reynard, who was closest.

This desperate blow, whether it broke through their defenses or not, was bound to cause significant damage on impact.

"Reynard!" Lance couldn’t help but call out as he quickly cast [Bless] on them.

He’d never said touching was required to use it; in fact, as long as ’I reckon it’s possible,’ it would work. The touch was merely to make [Bless] more ceremonial, more solemn. But there was no time for such formalities now.

The wolf’s howl resounded in Reynard’s ears. Instantly, he felt as if he were being targeted by a Giant Wolf the size of a bull. His heart clenched, his limbs grew cold and stiff, and the immense pressure nearly suffocated him.

Just then, the Lord’s voice sounded in his ears, and a warm current dispersed the strange sensation. He recovered in an instant, reflexively raising his Longsword to block the Great Shield descending upon him.

Under the wolf leader’s tremendous, barbaric force, Reynard was sent flying, rolling across the ground.

The highly favorable situation had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.

The tide of battle can turn so quickly!

"Balistan, hold the line!" Lance shouted, having no time for anything else as he fired a shot.

He didn’t intend to inflict damage, only to draw the wolf leader’s attention and buy time for his team to regroup.

Although crazed, the wolf leader still had the presence of mind to raise his Great Shield and block the shot. Balistan, reacting quickly, had already taken Reynard’s place.

The two faced off. Balistan’s kite shield seemed somewhat small in comparison, but in the hands of a skilled shield user, it could be highly effective.

Regardless, Balistan stabilized the frontline, buying Lance more time.

Lance rushed to Reynard’s side. He found that Reynard’s chest armor had been pierced, revealing three bloody holes. Fortunately, the armor had absorbed most of the impact, so the wolf’s claw-like talons hadn’t penetrated too deeply. More terrifying, however, was that the impact had been strong enough to knock Reynard unconscious momentarily.

Lance immediately cast [Flesh Reconstruction]. Under its strange, almost eerie power, Reynard’s wounds visibly began to heal. Then, he immediately cast [Bless] to refresh Reynard’s condition, forcibly rousing him from unconsciousness.

PUH! Reynard spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, consciousness flooding back as he muttered deliriously, "The fight... isn’t over..."

After a moment, he struggled to rise, still clutching his Longsword even after having lost consciousness.

"You rest for a bit," Lance said. "We’ll handle the rest."

Seeing Reynard was out of immediate danger, Lance returned to the battlefield. The wolf leader’s earlier outburst seemed to have been his final surge of strength. Engaged by Balistan and Dismas, his condition quickly deteriorated, leaving him even weaker than before. But his Great Shield still protected his vital areas, making it difficult for their attacks to land effectively.

Lance reloaded, his eyes fixed on the wolf leader. He considered shooting but, worried about hitting his allies in the melee, decided against it and charged forward instead.

"His arm is giving out! Balistan, attack the shield! Dismas, his right!"

Lance moved to the wolf leader’s left.

Balistan bashed his shield against the wolf leader’s Great Shield, then swung his hammer, striking it heavily. Previously, the wolf leader could have easily blocked such an attack, but now his injured arm finally gave way, the Great Shield dipping slightly.

Finally, an opening!

Lance thrust his Short Sword forward. On the other side, Dismas swung his weapon as well. No matter how tight the wolf leader’s defense, he couldn’t possibly block attacks from both sides simultaneously.

But what if... he never intended to block at all?

The wolf leader, seeing no hope of escape, had chosen to take one of them down with him. And Lance was clearly his chosen target.

However dim-witted the wolf leader might be, he could see Lance was the team’s crucial commander. He abandoned all defense, letting Dismas close in, and instead swung his Great Shield ferociously at Lance.

The Great Shield once again became a terrifying heavy weapon. Only then did Lance realize it was a trap. The wolf leader had deliberately feigned an opening to lure him into attacking.

My own recklessness, he thought, was like that of a beast falling into a snare.

With no time to react further, Lance felt himself hurled into the air before tumbling to the ground. The pain registered only two or three seconds later.

In that instant, he tasted death.