EnCoffin Me Chapter 68 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 68.1
The hunter, enraged by his impolite words, slowly raised his grappling hooks, poised to strike. Helgodon instinctively felt that this method of control was the same principle as when Alexio levitated a fruit for him to eat. This ability came from mental power. He tilted his head slightly, already growing wary. He suspected this hunter might suddenly launch a mental attack.
This was the terrifying nature of werewolves. They might not understand many principles, but they had instincts and strong associative memory. Anything they encountered once would leave an imprint in their minds on how to deal with it.
After awakening, Helgodon, bearing the bloodline of the werewolf king, had perfectly inherited this advantage. Upholding werewolf tradition, he launched the first attack! The human form gave a werewolf agility. Helgodon darted swiftly between the hooks, closing the distance to the hunter in the blink of an eye. He widened his ice-blue beast eyes. Suddenly, his intuition faintly sent out a warning.
It saved his life.
The werewolf boy transformed midair into his wolf form and instinctively dodged the vital strike. Countless golden lightblades rained down from above, slicing open many wounds on his body. The giant wolf let out a low, painful growl. Fortunately, his thick fur provided enough defense to keep his heart from being pierced. Still, the crossing swords pinned him to the ground.
The giant wolf tugged at his pinned forepaw, a searing pain shooting through him. He twitched his ears and heard the hunter's steady footsteps approaching.
“I am fundamentally different from Zhu Qing, who fell at the conservation center.”
Aamon stood beside the giant wolf, sword in one hand. The blade gleamed like flowing gold.
“I am a hunter.”
He had survived countless trials, gained great strength through years of grueling training, and was loyal yet stubborn, calm yet ruthless…
A hunter.
Aamon raised his sword, ready to strike down. His ocean-blue eyes darkened with gloom.
“You're not qualified to be my opponent. Better call Alexio.”
Helgodon lay prostrate on the ground as the sword came down over his head. His four paws dug into the earth, but he couldn't break free. He knew others wanted to help him from behind, but the hunter's sword would surely fall and sever his head before aid arrived. He felt he had disgraced the reputation of werewolves. Charging ahead was right, but he wasn't strong enough to crush the enemy. This was his failure.
Still, he refused to give up struggling. With all his might, he fought to hold on to any chance of life. He struggled and silently called out within himself. Even facing death, he stubbornly lifted his head, trying to bite this powerful hunter—
“Rumble—”
A distant crash echoed through the snow and wind. Nothing was visible, only the thunderous sound ringing in everyone's ears, as if a heart had begun to pound.
Yes, to Helgodon, the sound felt like a heartbeat. Miraculously, he felt new strength gathering beneath his paws. Although the hunter forced him down, the heavy surging power of the earth flowed into every part of his body. He gradually moved. The lightblades began to shatter. With one final roar, his battle cry drove back the sword-wielding hunter.
Empowered by his【Battle Roar】, the giant wolf began to counterattack. Even still bearing the lingering lightblades of Holy Judgment, he moved with terrifying agility. Aamon stood his ground, three chains swirling around him to block the wolf's claws. Then, three more shot out swiftly, the tremendous force flinging the giant wolf over ten meters away.
Aamon took a deep breath, still feeling the heavy impact lingering in his hand.
Was this really a creature of darkness? How could it be so…
Helgodon lay on the ground for a moment before stubbornly rising again, only to be pushed back once more. He panted heavily, his unyielding will making his ice-blue eyes sparkle. After being knocked down a third time, he shook his head and slowly got back up.
After awakening, his fur had become an excellent defense. Although he felt the pain, neither the earlier lightblades nor the current heavy blows had drawn blood. Aamon noticed this too, and his expression grew serious.
Was the speed at which he got up after each knockdown getting faster and faster…
The crashing sound echoed again. At the edge of the snowstorm, near the mountains, a white mist seemed to rise. Aamon's eyes sharpened. He couldn't delay any longer. Even if it meant revealing his trump card here, he had to kill this giant wolf quickly. Only then could he threaten the dark creatures resisting the light burst in the back. The killing intent solidified. He ran his palm along his sword's blade, the flowing blood contrasting against the golden hue.
“【I must kill】!”
The holy sword activated. This was a hero's blade, forged to slay demon kings, preserved by the Holy Temple until now. Only he had been deemed worthy to wield it. He had intended to save its first use for Alexio, but to speed things up, he had no choice but to use it now.
His mood was dark, and the sword's power surged violently with it. The giant wolf sensed the danger and let out a low howl. To avoid being interrupted mid-fight, Aamon wisely chose to ascend into the air.
No matter what, a wolf couldn't fly into the sky.
Helgodon looked up at the hunter soaring high above. A terrible feeling settled in his heart. He clearly realized that as soon as the hunter's sword came down, whether it struck him or his companions behind him, they would all die. But he couldn't fly. He didn't have wings like Alexio. He—
Suddenly, Helgodon froze. The power of the earth beneath him continued to surge into his body, making him stronger and more resilient. He kept his【Empathy】open, breathing and beating in rhythm with the endless snowfield. He felt the cold breath of the wind and snow flowing inside him.
If only he could have a pair of wings…
No. He could have a pair of wings!
“Helgodon!” a voice shouted from behind. It was the lich. “Your wings don't need to fully support your weight. You still have magic! The wind and snow are everywhere. It's enough! The elements are enough!”
Frost flowers began to crawl along the void, the earth granting them solid form. Amid the howling snow, Helgodon unfurled two wings, each feather of ice crystal sharp and distinct. He let out a battle-hungry roar towards the sky, and as his frost wings abruptly flapped, the surrounding wind and snow were all lifted beneath them!
The giant wolf ran toward the horizon. In his ice-blue eyes, the image of the hunter gradually reflected.
*****
Alexio had been exploring the mine for over half an hour. The paths twisted and branched endlessly. Even with some of the overseer's memories, he couldn't avoid getting lost. He had found a partial map, but it only showed a portion of the area. Likely for security reasons, each overseer held only a part of the map.
He needed to hurry, find the lunatic, and return to camp as quickly as possible. Thinking this, he paused in front of a new fork in the path. The map ended here. Even the overseer whose memories he extracted didn't know what lay deeper inside.
Besides, the people inside the mine had been deliberately scattered. While this reduced the chance of Alexio being discovered, it also made finding his way much harder.
“Meow…”
A faint cat's meow sounded, bringing with it a chill of ice and snow. The little black cat had somehow followed him inside, its golden eyes shining brightly. Its tail twitched slightly as it stepped past Alexio and stopped briefly at the left fork, then softly meowed again.
Unlike the long drawn-out meows it had given when it first met Alexio, this time the cat's meow was reserved and restrained. It gazed at Alexio with gentle affection in its eyes. That familiar feeling returned. Alexio thought he heard the bubbling sound of air pockets that one only hears when submerged in water. This sound lasted only an instant. He steeled himself and, without a shred of doubt, followed the little black cat, which was deliberately waiting for him, into the left fork.
Patrols began to appear in the mine, signaling that he was on the right track and drawing closer to the core. Alexio felt as if he had circled through the mountain's heart before suddenly arriving at a hollow chamber. Specks of everdark stones dotted the walls and ceiling, emitting faint, elegant light in the darkness.
From the moment he entered the mine, Alexio had sensed his power being absorbed by the everdark stones. The reason he remained so calm was that the energy drained…
Was only a tiny fraction.
As a third-generation vampire and sovereign of the eternal night, Alexio's dark power far exceeded ordinary limits. Unless faced with a massive amount of everdark stones, it posed no real threat to him. This was why he had entered the mine without hesitation. So the lunatic's idea of burying him under a pile of everdark stones, even if it succeeded, would probably cost the lunatic a lifetime of debt. Pfft.
Thinking of the lunatic, Alexio's easy mood tightened slightly. He heard some noises, so he immediately raised his concealment to the highest level, halted all simulated physiological functions, and moved forward slowly.
The little black cat had disappeared without him noticing. Leaning against the mine's side wall, Alexio felt strands of energy being drawn from him by nearby everdark stones. He also caught faint, indistinct sounds of clashing weapons.
Before a massive pit, Lucius lifted his eyelids slightly. His attack landed on a solid barrier, which caught him somewhat off guard. Inside the barrier, Delvie, after a moment of shock, quickly recovered. She reinforced the barrier and demanded in disbelief, “You actually intend to betray us? Aren't you trying to kill that vampire? Besides us, who else would help you?!”
She was genuinely shocked. This barrier wasn't originally meant to guard against his betrayal, but rather to withstand his dying counterattack after they betrayed him. That was the proper use! She immediately felt fear. Without this barrier, she feared she would already be dead on the spot.
The saint showed no expression.
“That's the question I should be asking you,” he said calmly, not annoyed by missing his strike. “The Holy Temple plans to betray me too, right? Such a strong barrier, what are you guarding against? My… dying counterattack?”
His tone was light, yet it made Delvie take a step back involuntarily. She soon realized what was going on. Thinking of the arrangements here, she understood she shouldn't be afraid. The one to fear was the hunter standing before her!