Chapter 41: Chapter 37: Brothers
"Awooo!"
In an instant, the sounds of roars and battle cries were heard all around as the people and beasts clashed together!
Gang Le sidestepped to avoid the ferocious wolf’s attack, swinging his war axe horizontally!
The desert wolf let out a miserable cry as blood drew an arc in the air!
"Useless wolf!"
Gang Le grinned broadly, laughing wildly, as he swung his war axe and felled another desert wolf!
He wasn’t the oldest in the team, but he was the most enduring, the fastest to react, and the fiercest in battle, which is why he was elected as the captain.
The desert wolves, seeing two of their companions slain, hesitated to attack, circling around Gang Le.
This sight boosted everyone’s morale, and they all fought fiercely without fear, until seven or eight more desert wolf corpses littered the ground.
Just as Gang Le thought it was an easy victory, a large black-furred desert wolf suddenly charged out from the side, scaring Gang Le into quickly dodging!
"The Wolf King?!"
Gang Le sensed something was off; how could the Wolf King appear here?
The next second answered Gang Le’s question.
—Another large black desert wolf rushed at him!
There couldn’t be two Wolf Kings in a pack!
"What the hell is this?!"
Gang Le didn’t have time to think, holding his axe to fight against the black desert wolf!
This black wolf was strong and agile, quickly entangling Gang Le, making it hard for him to break free.
"Help the boss!"
Doron shouted, ready to rush forward when another desert wolf pounced at him!
Doron instinctively swung his sword to block, when suddenly a third black wolf leapt from behind, knocking him down!
Doron reacted swiftly, slashing back with his longsword, slicing a bloody line on the black wolf, forcing it to retreat!
However, another desert wolf seized the opportunity, opening its bloody maw and pouncing on him!
In a panic, Doron could only block with his arm, and the desert wolf bit down on it!
The sound of metal scraping was heard, as the chain armor blocked the desert wolf’s sharp teeth, but Doron’s arm was firmly held by the wolf!
The black wolf that was knocked away by Doron turned back, viciously pouncing on him again, causing his longsword to fall to the ground!
The hairy fangs enlarged in front of Doron’s eyes, the foul stench assaulted him, instantly making him feel the primal ferocity!
Doron broke out in a cold sweat on the back of his neck, frantically waving his arms to defend, but to no avail!
As he was knocked down, more desert wolves seized the chance to pounce on him!
"Doron!" The soldier nearest to him wanted to help, but was pinned down by three fierce wolves!
"I’m going to die!"
The sinister fangs closed in on his throat, Doron felt like he had fallen into an ice cave!
Woo!
At this life-or-death moment, the war axe sliced through the air in a silver flash, blood splattering everywhere!
"Get lost!"
Gang Le roared angrily, and the black wolf let out a wail, flying backward!
Immediately after, Gang Le’s war axe swept across, flesh and blood flying!
The other soldiers quickly rushed up to block the wolf pack!
Gang Le extended a hand and pulled Doron up,
"Can you hold on?"
Having narrowly escaped death, Doron came back to his senses and nodded heavily, "I can hold on!"
Gang Le patted Doron on the shoulder to comfort him, turning to shout to everyone, "Be careful! These wolves are not normal!"
As he spoke, Gang Le swung his axe again, toppling the attacking desert wolf.
Without the massive black desert wolves, the wolf pack’s momentum was crushed again, circling Gang Le and the others, howling but not daring to advance.
Roar!
At that moment, a short wolf howl sounded, and the surrounding wolf pack didn’t linger, immediately turning to retreat!
"Rein succeeded!"
Gang Le was overjoyed, then glared angrily,
"You think you can come and go as you please?"
Gang Le loudly ordered, "Don’t let them cause trouble for Rein!"
In an instant, the offensive and defensive roles reversed, and Gang Le led his men to chase the wolf pack directly!
But the wolves had come quickly and retreated just as fast, and by the time they caught up with Rein, they hadn’t managed to kill many more wolves.
Still, the desert wolf pack had left behind nearly twenty wolf corpses.
"Is everyone okay?"
Gang Le’s gaze swept over everyone, relieved to see that they were mostly unharmed.
Mainly because Gang Le and his brothers were well equipped, making it hard for the desert wolves’ claws and fangs to cause much harm to those wearing chain armor.
As long as they protected their vital areas, their lives were generally safe.
Rein quickly ran up to Gang Le,
"These desert wolves are unusual, normal arrows pose no threat to the Wolf King."
"Then why did it run?" asked Gang Le.
"With this."
Rein showed Gang Le a piercing arrow and explained, "A gift from the Lord, it’s like your war axe."
"I see."
Gang Le suddenly understood.
Rein sighed as he looked at the arrow in his hand, "It’s a shame we didn’t kill the Wolf King, it took my piercing arrow with it."
This piercing arrow, Rein only had two of them, use one and it’s one less.
"Don’t worry, we’ll clean up these spoils and take them back, the Lord can reward you again."
Gang Le turned to shout to his men, "Clean the battlefield."
Though the wolf pack wasn’t completely eradicated, this many spoils couldn’t be left behind, they had to be gathered and taken back.
While everyone was busy collecting the desert wolf corpses, Doron walked up to Gang Le.
He hesitated for a moment, haltingly speaking,
"Boss, can I choose again?"
"Huh?"
Gang Le turned back, "Because we saved you just now?"
Doron remained silent.
Gang Le casually waved his hand, grinning broadly,
"You don’t have to stay out of gratitude, we’re teammates, brothers, helping each other in battle is normal, isn’t it?"
"I know, but I also know I can’t be a farmer like before, I’m destined to rely on fighting to earn gold coins."
Doron looked at Gang Le, mumbling with his head lowered, "I seriously thought for a moment, maybe if I leave you and these brothers, I’ll never find another brother like you, who would pull me back from the brink of death."
Mercenaries are all about making money, often fighting if they can win, retreating if they can’t.
Just like the guards in the sands, if the enemy is too powerful, being taken captive is not out of the question.
Unless you’re surrounded by trustworthy old teammates, who would really dare to offer their back and risk their life?
"Boss, would you still be willing to keep me?" Doron’s voice was a little soft.
"What the hell are you talking about!"
Gang Le gave Doron a hefty punch on the shoulder, "We’ve been brothers for over ten years, if you want to stick around with us, you’re always welcome!"
"Thanks, boss!"
Doron sighed in relief, showing a smile.
"But weren’t you going back to marry Katie?"
Doron chuckled, "I will, I’ll bring Katie over."
"That’s perfect, Frost Leaf Town doesn’t have a tavern, go talk to the Lord when we get back, we brothers can pitch in to open one for her."
Gang Le laughed heartily, "Katie’s brewing skills are top-notch, business will surely be booming, and when we’re old, we’ll have a place to retire!"
"That’s a great idea!"
"Doron, we’ll be counting on your family’s Katie from now on!"
The other brothers also laughed and jeered.
"Alright, hahaha!"
Doron laughed along, the tense atmosphere of the bloody battle replaced with ease.
The other three brothers who were planning to leave exchanged glances, stood up, and approached Gang Le to apologize, all wanting to stay.
Gang Le naturally didn’t hold any grudges, happily standing up to embrace them.
They took out the silver coins they had received earlier and returned them to Gang Le.
But Gang Le took them all and handed them to Doron as startup capital for the tavern.
"Killing a few beasts made me hungry."
Gang Le rubbed his belly, picked up a cold rabbit, and headed for the fire,
"It’s not too late, let’s go eat some more!"