章 29: Ambush? Okay, but why are they so cold?!

"It's snowing," Strax said as he stepped out of the carriage, something he had never witnessed in his past life, considering he lived in a location with a reasonably tropical climate.

"Watch your step, the accumulation might confuse your battle sense, stay alert," said Samira, her expression completely changed. Now, Strax could truly say, 'A strong woman,' he thought.

"When we pass through this mountain, we'll have to camp in a cave or clearing. Descending the mountain at night and in a snowstorm and fog will leave us one step close to death," she commented. Jason and Strax nodded as they began to walk forward, where Samira's Guild group was waiting. They were on horseback, and some were on guard.

"It's an ambush! Protect the contractor!" shouted one of them up ahead, starting to retreat as growls began to echo around the area. The narrow passage was sealed by beasts.

"Wait inside the carriage!" ordered another. However, Strax looked at Jason, who nodded. "Alright, but don't overdo it," said Jason, and Strax smiled.

Before Strax knew it, an arrow flew towards him, but he had enough time and reflex to dodge it.

"Tsk, idiots," he muttered and drew his sword, a plain sword with no special features. "Damn, this uncomfortable feeling again," he said, gripping the sword.

"They're ten common beasts, white wolves," said Samira, and Jason added, "Ten warriors and a mage, plus the idiot archer who tried to attack the young master," he said angrily.

"None above the condensed realm," said Samira, sheathing her sword and putting it back on her waist, sitting down.

Strax looked at that and... "Seriously?" he questioned her, who promptly looked at him disdainfully and replied, "If you want to get yourself killed, go ahead. I'm confident in killing them all, but you? Please, you'll die," she commented with a smile, and Strax responded, "Are you going to let them fight alone? They might die."

"Hm? Since when does that matter? We're Adventurers, our life is like this, day after day we sell our lives for money. They're working," she said, as if... "I care about them, but I trust in their abilities. Before you ask with that moralistic look," she said and then.

"WOOSHH"

Something flew past Strax very quickly, and he looked to the side, seeing only a corpse of a White Wolf completely cut and bleeding. Its fur was stained red with blood.

"Sorry!" he heard the excited shout of a man, who was fighting ahead with two more wolves.

"Tsk, these show-offs," muttered Samira, watching her comrades fight like... idiots.

"Well, I'll give it a try," said Strax and grabbed his sword, launching himself forward. "Young master, wait!" Jason shouted quickly, but it was already too late.

"Leave some for me, guys!" said Strax and struck. After all, he wanted to test his new skills! He then focused and, during his advance, used his newly acquired combat skill called "Brutal Cut," towards one of his enemies, a wolf with a cut on its side...

"Brutal Cut" was used abnormally, with a single precise strike. The wolf barely had time to react, it just felt a terrifying aura that left it paralyzed, as if an Alpha were looking at it with bloodthirsty desire.

It was only half a second, but the body of the injured white wolf simply... split in half, causing instant death that initially startled everyone, even Samira, who saw it, couldn't believe it... After all, there were ten specialists, and none of them had managed to accomplish such a feat.

The silence was broken seconds later.

"Damn! This guy is strong!" exclaimed one of the adventurers. However, Strax...

'Brutal Cut... is too strong, isn't it?' he wondered, looking at his trembling hands from the force of impact.

[The Brutal Cut accompanies the individual's growth, Cultivation has been applied to the Brutal Cut] he read, as if the system itself was responding to his thoughts. He simply smiled... after all...

These wolves were weak. Despite appearing truly strong, the reality was that they were wolves without any kind of cultivation in their ethereal cores.

"SKRINKKK"

An ice stake the size of a palm flew towards Strax, who quickly defended himself with his sword, which was bothering him. "Tsk," seeing those various wolves turning towards him, the Adventurers turned.

"Are you taking care of them, kid? We'll stop those guys over there," said one of them with a smile. Strax just nodded, after all, the wolves died with a swipe of the "Brutal Cut."

The wind howled as the wolves looked at Strax hungrily. From the frozen ravines, the snowstorm began, along with the fog. Now it was almost impossible to really see what was happening. The white veil fell over their eyes, and everything began to blur.

"This is..." He murmured, feeling a bad feeling. Soon, he completely lost track of where he was, as if caught in an illusion. However, that was not the case. Strax was now... trapped in the sudden snowstorm, which clearly was nothing normal.

He held his sword tightly, increasing his caution even more. He prepared for the impact that could come, after all, he was still fighting against creatures adapted to climates like this. Despite the chaotic moment created by the abrupt weather change, he couldn't falter.

Suddenly, his sharp eyes caught movements in the distance, a stealthy movement amidst the snowflakes and dense fog. The first wolf, agile and fast, made a violent lunge towards his neck. The creature's teeth were sharp and gleaming like ice.

His movement was swift. He dodged the attack by spinning to the right of the wolf and delivered a decisive counterattack to its side. His sword sliced through the air, meeting the wolf's flesh and tearing it apart completely.

"Howwwl!" The wolf emitted a sharp sound of pain as the sword blade deeply cut its icy skin, blood gushing onto the ground. The first wolf fell. However, the others advanced, each more ferocious than the last.

One of them came from Strax's flank, trying to hit him from behind, but he wasn't caught off guard. His instincts were so sharp that he could easily sense his opponents. Thus, Strax quickly spun and blocked the sneaky attack with his sword before slashing a Brutal Cut across its head.

"This is getting complicated," he said, seeing the corpses of the two wolves. As far as he remembered, there were only three or four wolves left.

He could no longer relax like before. The visibility kept his whole being constantly alert. Aiming for survival, he positioned his sword for attack, already sensing another of his opponents ahead.

Strax didn't see his opponent, but he heard the sound of the leap and swiftly ducked, completely avoiding the wolf's advance. With another quick movement, he landed another Brutal Cut on its stomach. "Howwwl!" It felt the pain and fell backward from the impact, its organs spilling out of its stomach.

Strax was in a deadly dance in the snowstorm. With his lunges and counterattacks, he managed to hold his ground. Thankfully...

"Ah~ It must be over now," Strax said panting, seeing the wolves' bodies staining the snow with a distinguishable crimson red. "I didn't receive any notifications..." he muttered. Despite all his efforts, any XP notifications simply vanished.

He took a deep breath and stood up, the vapor from his breath dissipating into the cold air. He was exhausted, but in these conditions, he could no longer rest.

"This was strange. Out of nowhere, a snowstorm... I need to find Jason and Samira," he said and pulled out his sword, which was stuck in one of the wolves.

"Damn, it's cold."