Chapter 152: The Future Wolf Queen

Sophie was right, though. Even though stamina was the young wolf princess's weakest attribute, it didn't mean she had no way of dealing with Whatening.

"The White Wolf? Hmph. This young lady's ambition is to become the Queen of the Wolf Clan," the young wolf princess snorted.

She lashed out with a claw and cried out in a clear voice, "So, kneel before this young lady!"

The young wolf princess's strength wasn't particularly great. However, this furious attack caused her entire arm to flush crimson in an instant, her power multiplying exponentially as if she possessed the force to split rocks and cleave iron.

It was the thirty-seventh form of Sophie's sword technique: Mountain Cleaver. Executed with the spider-wolf claws, it lacked a fraction of the greatsword's overwhelming majesty, yet it was three parts faster and far sharper.

Whatening brought his arms together, using those pitch-black gauntlets to take the young wolf princess's furious slash head-on.

He finally retreated a step, bowing slightly, almost tumbling over.

The young wolf princess panted heavily, catching her breath, and leaped backward.

"Little fool. Do you want me to demonstrate?" Wenigo suddenly smiled. "Give me your claws."

The young wolf princess tilted her head in confusion, but complied without a second thought. Wenigo took the spider-wolf claws, slipped them onto his hands, and pulled out a mask to put over his face. He leaned forward, hunching his entire body until he seemed curled into a ball.

He looked just like a wolverine about to pounce.

Character selected, analysis complete... reconstruction initiated. Superhero system: Level 35 Wolverine, construction complete.

He did not channel any divine power, because all Wenigo wanted to do right now was demonstrate.

The character he had constructed originated from the video game Wolverine, meaning this wolverine lacked the seemingly heaven-defying regeneration and defense of the original comic book version, yet it still maintained a remarkably high standard in speed and offensive power.

High speed, fierce attacks—this wolverine's advantage was its tempest-like onslaught.

"The White Wolf?" Wenigo sneered. "Then let's see how you fare against this wolverine."

His figure moved, shooting forward as his twin claws lashed out fiercely.

His arms were not particularly long, and the claws were less than half a meter in length. Yet with that single sweep, Whatening failed to block it, leaving a bloody gash across both of his upper arms.

An illusion of distance... Whatening clearly felt that the opponent's claws couldn't possibly reach him, yet Wenigo had still managed to graze him.

Those claws reached far further than they appeared when swung.

Wenigo cracked the corners of his mouth, baring stark white teeth in a faint, mocking grin.

With the tip of his foot tapping the ground, he sprinted forward and lashed out with his claws once more. The Wolverine's movements were peculiar; he slashed while running, as if he were about to trip himself up, yet he performed a bizarre pivot that instantly regained his balance mid-strike.

And across Whatening's gauntlets, another cascade of dazzling sparks erupted.

Whatening finally adapted to Wenigo's attack range, displaying his exceptional talent for defense.

"Not bad," Wenigo praised. He slashed forward—direct thrust, horizontal sweep, downward chop, diagonal rake, hook combination—six consecutive strikes savagely tearing a series of sparks from Whatening's gauntlets.

He slid his feet and retreated half a step. This distance was perfect for launching another assault.

Flowing like running water, his movements were not only fast but possessed a rich sense of rhythm, leaving Whatening zero opportunity to launch a counterattack. In Whatening's eyes, there were only seemingly endless waves of claw shadows surging toward him like a tide.

—To the point of nearly numbing Whatening's senses!

"This is the wolverine's fury, Logan's claws of vengeance," Wenigo chuckled softly. He struck his two claws together and let out a sharp, sudden shout.

Berserker!

In an instant, Wenigo's speed increased by thirty percent. Surrounded by afterimages, he lunged furiously at Whatening. His violent claws attacked like a madness, raining down relentlessly upon Whatening's head and face, forcing Whatening to cross his arms over his head just to block the frenzied onslaught.

Under such circumstances, it was inevitable that Whatening would suffer a few more wounds. Faced with this level of ferocious assault, even someone renowned for defense like Whatening could only ensure his vital organs were protected while ignoring the less critical injuries.

Yet, could he truly protect them all?

Wenigo laughed wildly, charging forward and slashing. As Whatening brought his arms together to thrust upward against him, Wenigo suddenly dashed forward, sliding right between Whatening's legs in a peculiar rolling maneuver.

Shadows of claws erupted, springing wildly from the ground like thorns winding around a tree, wrapping Whatening within them.

This move did not inflict massive damage, but it still managed to knock Whatening airborne off the ground.

Wenigo sneered. Airborne as he was, the surging current of air beneath his feet momentarily stalled him in mid-air for a fraction of a second, and in the next moment, his heavy strike was unleashed.

A pair of twin claws, carrying lethal energy, carved a massive 'X' across the air like two intersecting bolts of lightning, their dazzling brilliance masking the twin blades striking straight for vital points.

Weapon X!

The radiance flashed and vanished. Wenigo landed on the ground, tapped his toes, darted forward, and delivered a fierce, heavy kick.

Bang!

Whatening... was he hardly injured at all?

"I have a trump card of my own, too," the barbarian warrior known as the White Wolf said, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a grim smile.

His gauntlets, which had looked like cast iron, had now transformed. The rough iron hoops now sprouted three thick, elongated talons, appearing somewhat like unsharpened blocks of iron yet naturally exuding an inexplicable, ferocious aura.

That was no ordinary iron; they were massive claws harvested from an ancient primordial beast! The reason they existed in the form of gauntlets was because the Malzan shamans had crafted them into a "magic artifact" using ancient sorcery.

Such magical-weapon-like entities possessed miraculous abilities under the influence of sorcery. For instance, transforming into gauntlets; for instance, radiating the ferocious aura of an ancient beast—an aura that instantly granted the less offensively minded Whatening terrifying lethality.

"Behemoth Claws?" Wenigo uttered in realization, flicking the blood from his own claws.

"Three minutes, and I'll kill you!" Whatening grinned hideously.

"Three minutes is too long. One minute. Akana, do you want to take him or should I?" Wenigo replied.

Akana let out an excited, skyward howl and lunged forward abruptly. Treading on the air beneath her feet, she charged at blinding speed straight toward Whatening, caught the spider-wolf claws tossed by Wenigo in mid-air, and swept her claws downward with the momentum of her descent.

Weapon X!

It wasn't a very precise imitation, but the spirit was certainly there. Wenigo drifted to the side in satisfaction, having canceled his character construction just a moment prior so he could retrieve the spider-wolf claws and toss them to the young wolf princess.

Now, it was simply time to watch the show.

"Unflashy, but it looks quite fun," the young wolf princess evaluated Wenigo's—or rather, Wolverine's—fighting style. She stretched her neck and crooked a finger at the retreating Whatening.

Whatening had taken that previous blow head-on. In terms of value, those claws of his far surpassed the young wolf princess's spider-wolf claws, so he hadn't come out at a disadvantage in a direct clash of hard forces. However, the injuries he had sustained earlier from Wenigo's cuts couldn't withstand repeated heavy impacts, forcing him to temporarily withdraw.

And the young wolf princess clearly had no intention of giving Whatening time to catch his breath. Seizing the moment when your enemy is sick to take their life was the young wolf princess's style.

The wolf's style.

Charging forward, rolling, and rising to her feet, the young wolf princess was already behind Whatening. Whatening had just been sliced using this exact method by Wenigo, so he was naturally not entirely unprepared this time. He spun around in time, swinging the heavy Behemoth Claws to sweep aside the young wolf princess's thrusting blades before bringing them down with tremendous momentum.

Shockwave!

The young wolf princess was stiffened by the impact. With nimble reflexes, she let herself fall backward, rolling out of the way of Whatening's follow-up claw strike.

"No wonder you don't use this usually. How is anyone supposed to hit anything moving that slowly?" the young wolf princess curled her lip.

"Using absolute force to compensate for a lack of speed is a viable option, too," Wenigo reminded her from the side. "Don't underestimate your opponent."

"I know that of course," the young wolf princess retorted. She fished two gummies from her waist, popped them into her mouth, and pounced silently.

The gummies carried by the young wolf princess and the others were invariably potions crafted by Wenigo using Nanoka-style invention techniques. While they occasionally ate them just to satisfy their cravings, they always saved their true life-saving, game-turning high-grade potions for critical moments.

Like right now.

The acceleration potion could induce a sudden surge of hormones within the body in a short span, granting the young wolf princess vastly enhanced explosive power. As a result, her speed advantage became even more pronounced, while her strength received enough of a boost to give her claw strikes significantly greater lethality.

With the potion swallowed, the young wolf princess's movements instantly grew far more ferocious.

The two sets of claws finally collided. Clearly, the immense strength of the Behemoth Claws and the sorcery imbued within them held a clear advantage; the young wolf princess was driven back by Whatening's strike and nearly stumbled. As Whatening stepped forward boldly to slash down at the top of the young wolf princess's head, the little wolf curled her lip in disdain.

"I thought you were actually formidable, but you're still just a clumsy fool," she mocked her opponent, dropping flat and rolling across the ground.

The same old trick? Whatening pivoted, swung his claws, and followed up with a shockwave.

He missed?

The young wolf princess hadn't attempted an attack; instead, immediately after rolling, she executed a rapid directional change and leaped aside. Whatening's shockwave struck empty air.

His heavy blow slammed uselessly into the ground. As a result, Whatening needed precious time to dissipate the recoil and lift his claws back up... and the young wolf princess clearly did not plan to grant him that time.

Rapid sprint, frenzied combo!

The instant she slammed into Whatening during her high-speed dash, the young wolf princess unleashed her claws—direct thrust, horizontal sweep, downward chop, diagonal rake, hook combination—six consecutive strikes, mirroring what Wenigo had done earlier, savagely tearing through his wolfhide, the flesh beneath, and the blood vessels and bones beneath the muscle!

Until her opponent was torn to shreds!