All Heavens Strategy Game

Chapter 44. Wolf Demons Enter the Village? Simple, just kill them all.

The next morning.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, with leaden clouds hanging low, but the raging snowstorm that had lasted all night was finally showing signs of letting up.

Su Ming was awakened by the cold, but even more so by the burning pain in his temples and the tingling, numb feeling that made his body feel like it was falling apart.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a chaotic gray-white daylight, and the fine snowflakes that were still slowly falling.

The warmth lingering from beneath me was no longer the faint warmth from last night, but a completely frozen, hard sensation.

He propped himself up with his leaden arms and struggled to sit up from the wolf king's cold, stiff corpse.

Last night, he curled up almost in an embrace under the wolf king's thick chest and belly fur to barely withstand the bitter cold of the latter half of the night.

He then moved his frozen limbs and checked his injuries.

The wound on his temple, inflicted by the wolf king's claws, had stopped bleeding and scabbed over. The wound under his left wristband was no longer bleeding, but it was still swollen and painful.

The most painful thing was the shock to my internal organs and the excessive fatigue of my muscles. Every breath was accompanied by dull pain, and my internal strength had only recovered to 30% or 40%.

too tired!

No, it's not tired, to be precise, it's just feeling weak!

With continuous high-intensity combat and constant mental strain, it's no wonder they're feeling weak!

"We have to get back quickly—Mother and my older brother must be worried sick."

A sense of urgency welled up in Su Ming's heart.

He made up a random excuse when he left home, saying he would be home that afternoon, but he ended up not returning for a whole day and night because of the wolf hunt.

In this season when wolves are rampant, if someone doesn't go home for a day and a night, their family must be incredibly worried!

He stood up and looked around.

The snow was a mess, littered with traces of last night's fierce battle and the wolf king's dying struggle.

In the distance, at the foot of the hillside, the corpses of several ordinary gray wolves could be vaguely seen half-buried in the snow, already frozen solid.

His gaze finally settled on the largest, silver-white wolf carcass beside him.

Even in death, its body, over three meters long, still exuded a chilling majesty.

Although the silvery-white fur was stained with blood and mud, its extraordinary luster and thickness could still be seen under the dim light of the snow.

And those strong muscles, those sharp claws and teeth—

It's hard to imagine that a wolf could grow up to look so majestic!

"The other ordinary wolf carcasses can be moved by the villagers. Even if they are eaten by jackals and crows in the mountains, the loss will not be significant."

Su Ming pondered in his heart: "But this wolf king is a treasure from head to toe. Its silvery-white fur is priceless, and its flesh and bones contain more qi and blood than ordinary flesh. For ordinary people, it can nourish qi and blood and help them recuperate. The wolf king's body cannot be damaged in the slightest, and it cannot be left here to benefit other wild beasts."

Wolf King's Corpse—

We must not abandon them.

But how do I bring it back?

The wolf king was so huge that its carcass was extremely heavy, making it very difficult to drag even in knee-deep snow, let alone cross mountains and valleys.

Su Ming walked to the wolf king's corpse and tested its weight; it was indeed frighteningly heavy.

He is currently lacking in strength and in poor condition. He might be able to drag himself along, but the mountain roads are rugged and full of potholes, so his speed will be as slow as a tortoise's pace. By the time he gets back to the village, he will probably be exhausted.

He looked around, then at the wolf king's thick limbs and relatively soft belly, and made a decision.

"I had no choice but to carry it back—"

He untied the torn strips of cloth and rope from his waist and tied the wolf king's four legs together as tightly as possible.

Then, he took a deep breath, circulated his remaining internal energy, lowered his stance, reached under the bound wolf legs, and suddenly exerted force—

"rise!"

He struggled to turn the heavy wolf carcass over.

He adjusted his posture, letting the wolf king's cold, coarse back press against his own, while the wolf's head drooped on his head and its paws rested on his shoulders.

Then, using the remaining rope, repeatedly wrap it tightly around the chest and waist to secure the wolf carcass firmly to the back.

After doing all this, he took a deep breath, his wound stinging from the friction.

But he ignored the pain, leaning on the broadsword with its new blade, which he now used as a crutch, he determined his direction and took his first heavy step.

Footsteps sank deep into the snow, making a muffled "crunch, crunch" sound.

With each step he took, the weight on his back seemed to press him into the snow.

A cold wind swept by, blowing against my sweat-soaked back, chilling me to the bone.

But he remained steadfast, and step by step, he slowly moved towards the direction he remembered from the foot of the mountain.

Meanwhile, Sishui Village was already in an uproar.

Su Ming has not returned home for a day and a night!

Liu woke up before dawn, or rather, she hadn't slept all night.

The food in the pot was heated up and cooled down repeatedly. The courtyard gate was opened and closed countless times. I looked around anxiously, but I still couldn't see that familiar figure.

"Yuanbao, Yuanbao!" Just as dawn was breaking, Madam Liu anxiously knocked on Su Yuanbao's door: "Your brother hasn't returned yet—"

Come on! Quick, go out and look for him! Ask the villagers if they've seen him!

Su Yuanbao looked worried, hurriedly put on his clothes, and rushed out the door.

He first went to the homes of several young people who were acquainted with Su Ming, and then asked the people on duty at the village entrance, but all of them shook their heads in response.

"I haven't seen Saburo."

"I haven't seen anyone since noon yesterday."

"With such heavy snow, where could he go?"

The news spread quickly.

Aunt Stone was anxiously sweeping snow in her dilapidated yard—in fact, she hadn't slept much all night, both hoping that Su Ming would avenge Little Stone and fearing that something might really happen to him.

Hearing the commotion outside and Liu's tearful question, the broom in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud," and her face instantly turned deathly pale.

She stumbled out and grabbed Liu Shi and Su Yuanbao, who were about to go to the next house, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "Sister Liu—Yuanbao—I, I'm so sorry! I—I deserve to die!"

Both Liu and Su Yuanbao were stunned.

Aunt Stone knelt down in the snow with a thud, tears streaming down her face. She recounted in broken sentences how she had climbed over the wall the night before to beg Su Ming for revenge, and how Su Ming had agreed and comforted her.

"—He promised he wouldn't go——He seemed so obedient——I thought he really wouldn't go——I..."

I've ruined Sanlang's life!

Just then, Su Dashun, the village chief who had rushed over upon hearing the news, overheard the latter part of the story.

His face suddenly turned ashen. He stepped forward, pointing at Aunt Stone, his voice trembling with anger and worry: "Foolish woman! Foolish woman! Don't you know what kind of person Sanlang is? He promised you he wouldn't go, just to reassure you! Once he knows about Little Stone, how could he not go and fight the wolves?! You're pushing him to his death!"

Aunt Stone trembled from the scolding, tears of remorse streaming down her face. She could only kowtow repeatedly, saying, "I was wrong—I deserve to die—I'm sorry to Sanlang—I'm sorry to the whole village—"

"What's the point of saying all this now!"

Su Dashun stomped his foot heavily, scattering snowflakes: "Hurry up, Yuanbao, go to the ancestral hall and ring the bell! Call all the able-bodied young men! Grab your tools and head into the mountains to find them!"

However, the reality is cruel.

As the bell rang, villagers gradually gathered around.

But when they heard that they were to go into Xiaochongshan to find Su Ming, who might be hunting wolves alone, many people looked troubled.

The snow was so heavy that it reached above knee-deep in the mountains and forests, making walking extremely difficult.

It's so cold. The wind is like a knife. Many families only have one tattered cotton-padded coat, and some families don't even have one. They simply can't withstand a long period of searching in the mountains and forests.

Most importantly, there are wolves in the mountains!

There were a dozen or twenty vicious wolves, and a wolf king that was over ten feet long!

If Su Ming went in alone, the chances of survival would be slim. If these ordinary people went in and encountered a pack of wolves, it wouldn't be saving someone, it would be sending them to their deaths!

"Village chief, it's not that we don't want to go, it's just that the snow is too heavy, we can't even see the road!"

"Yes, my wife and kids are counting on me. If I were to die in the mountains—"

"Sanlang is indeed very capable, but how could he be so careless, going into the mountains alone—alas, I'm afraid—"

"If you ask me, it's all Aunt Stone's fault for being so talkative! Otherwise, how could Sanlang have—"

"Sanlang did it all for the village—"

"The Wolf King! He's a wolf king who's become a demon! I heard his eyes glow and he's invulnerable to swords and spears!"

The crowd was abuzz with discussion. Some complained that Su Ming was too confident and reckless, some sympathized and sighed, some secretly blamed Aunt Shi for meddling, and some were terrified of the wolf pack.

Fear and the difficulties of reality are like two mountains, pressing down on people and making it hard to breathe.

Hearing these words, Aunt Stone felt as if her heart was being torn apart, feeling that she had ruined the hope of the entire village.

She suddenly stood up and slammed her head against the earthen wall next to her!

"Let me die! I'll go down and join Little Stone, I'll apologize to Sanlang!"

"Grab her!" Su Dashun reacted quickly, and together with two other men, they grabbed her tightly.

Aunt Stone collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly.

Liu's face was ashen, and she swayed, but Su Yuanbao caught her. She kept muttering, "No, no—my Sanlang will be alright—he promised Mother he would come back safely—if I had known he was going to the mountain, I would never have let him go out—"

Su Yuanbao was so anxious that his eyes were bloodshot, his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked, and he paced back and forth like a trapped beast.

Su Yuyu arrived at some point. She stood at the edge of the crowd, head down, her small body trembling slightly. Her hands, hanging by her sides, were clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white from the force, showing that she was far from calm inside.

Looking at the bewildered, fearful, and arguing villagers before him, and then at the desperate Aunt Shitou and the Liu family on the verge of collapse, Su Dashun knew that arguing any further would be pointless.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anxiety, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop arguing! Sanlang only went in and out for the sake of our village! We can't just stand by and watch him die!"

"If you're a real man, someone who's not afraid of the cold or death, bring your machete and clubs, and follow me!"

"Those who dare not go, stay in the village and take good care of the elderly and the weak!"

"We won't go deep into the mountains, just near the foot of the mountain, as far as we can search! Let's go!"

In the end, about twenty men with a bit more courage stepped forward.

They were either men who had received favors from Su Ming and were grateful to him, or they had close ties with Su Ming's family.

Everyone gritted their teeth, picked up their makeshift weapons, and followed Su Dashun and Su Yuanbao, trudging through the barricades at the village entrance and heading towards the white expanse of Xiaochongshan.

The mountain road was indeed difficult to travel.

The snow was knee-deep, and every step required tremendous effort. The biting wind was relentless, quickly chilling one to the bone.

The group was already on edge, and looking at the eerily silent snow forest around them, they became even more apprehensive. They could only grit their teeth and call out Su Ming's name.

The sound echoed faintly in the empty mountain forest.

After searching for about half an hour, just as everyone was getting cold and tired and almost despairing, a sharp-eyed young man suddenly pointed to a distant hillside and shouted in terror, "Wolves! Wolf demons! There are wolf demons!"

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a "person" standing on a high slope a hundred paces away!

No, that's not a person!

The figure was exceptionally tall, almost as tall as two people, and covered in silvery-white "fur" that stood out conspicuously against the snow. At the top was a ferocious wolf's head, and its emerald green eyes seemed to be coldly looking down at them!

It walks upright like a person, and is slowly making its way towards the village!

"My goodness! It's a wolf demon!"

"The wolf king has become a spirit! He's standing up and walking!"

"Run! The wolf demon is coming down the mountain!"

"It must have eaten Saburo and become even stronger! It's come looking for us!"

Extreme fear instantly overwhelmed the makeshift search and rescue team.

Suddenly someone shouted, and the twenty-odd people were terrified. They dropped their sticks and machetes and scrambled to run back the way they came!

Saving lives and camaraderie among villagers are thrown to the winds in the face of life and death!

They had only one thought in their minds: to escape back to the village!

Su Dashun and Su Yuanbao were also terrified by the sight, their scalps tingling with fear. They never imagined that there really were spirits in the mountains!

As their leader, they suppressed their fear and shouted to try to keep the group in line while retreating, but at a much slower pace. They kept looking back at the approaching "wolf demon," their hearts sinking.

Saburo—I'm afraid it really is—

The villagers fled back to the village, crying and screaming. Several people almost crashed into the barricades, scrambling and crawling through them before desperately blocking the gap.

The women came out when they heard the commotion. Seeing the men's distraught state and hearing cries of "The wolf demon has come down the mountain!" and "Sanlang has been eaten!", they were thrown into chaos.

Some children were so frightened that they cried loudly, and some women fainted.

Upon hearing "Sanlang was eaten," Aunt Stone's vision went black, and she collapsed backward.

Liu swayed, but was caught by the quick-thinking Su Yuyu, though her face was ashen.

Su Yuyu held her mother's hand; it was icy cold and trembling violently.

"Light the torch! Quickly, light the torch!"

"Bring everything that can be burned! Wolves are afraid of fire!"

Su Dashun, being the village chief, managed to calm himself down and gave orders in a hoarse voice.

Soon, several bonfires were lit at the village entrance. The men picked up all the "weapons" they could find—hoes, shovels, kitchen knives, and even carrying poles—and hid behind barricades and firelight, trembling as they looked towards the hillside, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Hunter Su Shunfa and his son trembled as they drew their bows, aiming the arrows at the approaching silver-white figure, their palms drenched in cold sweat.

They had never seen such a huge "wolf" before, one that could walk upright; it was completely beyond their comprehension.

The "silver-white wolf demon" seemed to pause for a moment, then continued with steady steps, walking down the hillside, across the frozen stream, and heading straight towards the village entrance.

Closer and closer, fifty paces — thirty — two —

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows now!" someone screamed in terror.

In a panic, one of the men loosened his grip, and the arrow flew off at an angle, lacking power, and landed far away in the snow a few steps in front of the "wolf demon".

The "wolf demon" seemed to pause for a moment, and then, a scene that left all the villagers dumbfounded unfolded. The "wolf demon" raised one of its "front paws" and waved it from side to side with some difficulty towards them.

Immediately afterward, a voice, though somewhat hoarse and tired, yet unmistakably familiar, pierced through the cold air and rang out clearly: "Village Chief? Yuanbao? Uncle Shunfa? Why are you running? It's me, Su Ming!"

"I'm carrying something big on my back, so I can't walk fast. I just happened to see you guys and was thinking of asking you to help me carry it!"

", a deathly silence."

The campfire crackled, and a cold wind swept by.

Everyone froze, their eyes wide and mouths agape, staring in disbelief at the approaching "silver-white wolf demon."

"He ate Su Sanlang, so he can speak Su Sanlang's voice. This is a spirit imitating the voice of the person he ate, trying to lure them out!"

"No, it really does seem to be Su Sanlang!"

"It's him!"

As they drew closer, illuminated by the firelight, they finally saw clearly!

That's not some wolf demon standing upright!

That was clearly a blood-soaked, tattered, and pale-faced boy carrying an enormous, ridiculously large, silver-white wolf on his back!

The giant wolf's head and the front half of its body slumped completely on the boy's shoulders. From behind, it looked exactly like a giant wolf standing up!

Because the wolf carcass was so large, it almost completely covered Su Ming's back, leaving only his calves and occasionally waving arms exposed. In the dim light and under extreme fear, he was seen as a terrifying "wolf demon"!

Su Ming took a few more steps forward and finally arrived at the barricade. Through the firelight and the barrier, he looked at the faces inside, still terrified and dumbfounded.

Especially the expressions on the faces of village chief Su Dashun and his elder brother Su Yuanbao, as if they'd seen a ghost—

He roughly understood, and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, revealing an extremely tired, yet somewhat helpless and amused smile.

"Su—Su Ming? Is it really you?" Su Dashun was the first to react, his voice changing as he pushed aside the villagers blocking his way and rushed to the barricade to take a closer look.

In the firelight, the boy's face was covered in scabs, his hair was disheveled, but his eyes were bright and calm. Who else could it be but Su Ming?

The enormous silver-white wolf corpse on his back, which exuded an invisible sense of oppression even in death, made Su Dashun gasp in shock!

"My God—"

Su Dashun stared at the enormous corpse, then suddenly raised his voice, filled with immense excitement and lingering fear: "It really is Sanlang! Quick! Quickly move the barricades! Sanlang is back! He's alright! He even brought—he brought the Wolf King back!"

With a "boom," the crowd erupted in chaos!

The barricades were quickly moved aside, and the villagers rushed out, but they were immediately stopped in their tracks by the sight of the giant wolf carcass on Su Ming's back. They could only form a circle, staring wide-eyed at the carcass, looking it up and down, and letting out suppressed gasps of surprise.

"It really is Saburo!"

"Wolf—the Wolf King? This is the silver-white Wolf King?!"

"My goodness, this...this is huge! It's bigger than an ox!"

"Sanlang alone—did he really kill it? And carry it back?!"

"I thought it really was a wolf demon—it scared me to death!"

People focused their attention on the wolf king's corpse.

Even though the wolf king was dead, the lingering power of his corpse and his enormous physique made the villagers afraid to approach Su Ming.

The more terrifying the Wolf King is, the more unfathomable Su Ming becomes!

Liu pushed through the crowd and stumbled to Su Ming's side. She wanted to hug him but didn't dare. Tears streamed down her face as she touched his face with trembling hands: "Sanlang—my son—where—where are you hurt? You scared your mother to death—"

"Mother, I'm fine, it's just superficial injuries."

Su Ming gently comforted her, trying to smile, but the movement aggravated the wound on her temple, causing her to wince in pain.

Su Yuanbao rushed over and punched him in the uninjured shoulder, his eyes red-rimmed: "You brat! You still know how to come back!"

The second sister, Su Yuyu, stood a little further away, watching her younger brother surrounded by the crowd. Her tightly clenched fists finally loosened slowly, and she quietly turned her back and wiped her eyes hard.

Aunt Stone was helped over. Seeing Su Ming unharmed, and then at the wolf king's corpse on his back—a symbol of revenge and end—she knelt down again with a thud, this time weeping with joy, kowtowing repeatedly: "Mountain God, please protect me! Mountain God, please protect me! Sanlang, you're alright—you even avenged Little Stone—I—I—from now on, my life is yours—"

Su Ming wanted to help her up, but carrying the wolf king on his back was too inconvenient, so he said to the women next to him, "Aunties, quickly help Aunt Stone up, the ground is cold."

Su Dashun walked to Su Ming's side, looked up at the huge wolf carcass, then at Su Ming's pale, tired but straight back, his old eyes filled with indescribable shock, relief, and a trace of lingering fear.

He patted Su Ming on the shoulder, all his unspoken words culminating in just one sentence: "It's good you're back, it's good you're back!"

At this moment, the old hunter Su Shunfa squeezed in. Being an expert, he suppressed his excitement and carefully examined the wolf king's corpse, especially the fatal knife wound on its neck and the horrific sight of its blinded eyes. He couldn't help but ask, "Sanlang, this—this really happened by you alone? How did you do it? So many wolves guarded and tried to stop it, how could you have killed the wolf king—"

All eyes immediately turned to Su Ming.

Yes, beneath the wolf king's enormous corpse, the boy's frail body was so inconspicuous.

It's incredible that someone with such a small body could defeat a huge wolf king.

Moreover, this wolf king was surrounded by many vicious wolves. How exactly did Sanlang manage to hunt down the wolf king among a dozen or so wolves?

They were eager to know how this thirteen-year-old boy had accomplished this almost mythical hunt amidst the freezing cold and surrounded by wolves.

At this moment, against the backdrop of the wolf king's corpse, the boy seemed to be elevated invisibly, imbued with a mysterious and unknown aura, making people hesitant to meet his piercing gaze.

Under everyone's gaze, Su Ming slightly turned his body, seemingly trying to adjust the weight on his back to make it more comfortable.

His face showed no particular expression, only the fatigue of a long and arduous journey and a hint of calm after completing a difficult task.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the shocked, curious, and awe-inspiring faces around him, and replied in a calm tone, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary: "It's very simple."

He paused, then exhaled a puff of white breath.

"Kill all the other wolves, then kill the wolf king last. Then there won't be any wolves blocking our way, right?"