Chapter 119: Ganging Up Is Out of the Question

Not long after, the pack of werewolves—formerly cowboys—charged into the valley entrance. Knowing that anyone capable of finishing off Alod must be formidable, they had prepared for a coordinated ambush, intending to overwhelm Ou Xiaolu with numbers and eliminate him in a single strike.

They had even designated roles: who would lead the assault, who would flank, and who would provide support, ready to initiate as soon as they spotted their target.

Yet, upon entering the valley, they were met with confusion. They saw Ou Xiaolu, but the presence of Beludan, who accompanied him, was unsettling; the circular shield and spear composed of pure light were clearly not to be trifled with. Additionally, the tiger at Ou Xiaolu's side paced with eyes glowing with excitement, looking ready to pounce at any moment.

Before the werewolves could react, Ou Xiaolu released two sharks and a lion formed of sword energy, shouting, "I'll hold off two of them; you handle one each!"

Aro immediately lunged at the lead werewolf, opening its maw to unleash a black gale laden with dark smoke and iron filings.

Beludan flashed behind the remaining werewolves, striking one to the ground with a bash of her circular shield. The werewolf recovered quickly, rolling across the dirt to counterattack, but Beludan’s spear was already thrusting toward him, forcing him to roll further away to escape.

Meanwhile, Ou Xiaolu stood his ground against two werewolves, engaging them with calm, measured movements. His [Purple Gauze Robe] kept him invincible, while the two sharks controlled the positioning of his opponents, allowing Ou Xiaolu to use the two men-turned-beasts as practice for his swordsmanship.

Ou Xiaolu was in high spirits. His Lion King Swordsmanship was becoming increasingly refined, slowly bearing his own unique mark. If previously Booth had mastered the style while Ou Xiaolu had merely mimicked the motions—relying primarily on the Lion’s Continuous Slash—now, the Lion King Swordsmanship had integrated into his very instincts.

No longer did the phantom image of a lion appear on his blade; instead, the silhouette of a shark was slowly coalescing. Furthermore, where his strikes once only carried the sound of wind, they now manifested the visual effects of snapping shark jaws and jagged teeth at will. This thrilled him; it had been a long time since he had encountered opponents suitable for such training. With this rare opportunity, he was eager to push further, hoping to carve out a path of his own.

The battle on Aro’s front concluded first. The werewolf fighting Aro had been engulfed by the Lung-Channel Metal-Evil Wind-Sand Technique from the start. Although Aro hadn't acquired new metal shavings recently, the technique had been significantly empowered. The remains of the Silver Dragon King’s son, combined with the body of the "Little King" who could transmute his entire body into metal, provided far superior raw material than ordinary scrap metal.

The black wind and iron sand now carried a thick, cloying scent of blood that would daze an ordinary person, a pressure even the werewolves struggled to withstand. The werewolf had dodged frantically at first, but his speed slowed until he was finally swept into the vortex, leaving behind only a piercing scream.

With one down, the remaining three werewolves were rattled. Having struggled while four against three, their chances of victory were nonexistent now that the odds were even. A retreat was forming in their minds.

However, realizing they could not escape simultaneously, one of the werewolves fighting Ou Xiaolu deliberately took a sword strike. He clawed at his own wound, smeared his blood-slicked paws above his head, and let out a deafening howl toward the sky.

Under the influence of the howl, all the werewolves were shrouded in a crimson mist. Their eyes turned blood-red, and they began to foam at the mouth, charging at their opponents with reckless abandon.

As two werewolves lunged at him, their sharp fangs inches from his neck, Ou Xiaolu felt a strange intuition: the werewolf that had howled was actually trying to flee. Though he couldn't explain the feeling, he chose to trust his instincts. He decisively had Aro take over the other opponent while he charged directly at the howling werewolf.

As Ou Xiaolu closed in, the creature faltered. A glimmer of strikingly human confusion passed through its red eyes: why was this human pursuing him so relentlessly? Could his [Wild Howl] have been detected? That was impossible; he had been far too subtle.

Something was wrong. As the werewolf prepared another secret technique to incite his companions and create an opening for his escape, Ou Xiaolu—unconcerned with the internal hierarchy of his foes—decided that if something felt wrong, the best solution was to eliminate the source of the problem before it could manifest.

Twenty-five experience points were the same regardless of the order.

With that, Ou Xiaolu thrust his longsword forward, the tip manifesting the phantom of a shark composed of sword energy. "Such a good chance to practice, and you won't even let me train for a while longer. I won't find opponents like this again."

As he spoke, he added force to his thrust. His wrist flickered, and a flash of inspiration struck him: his blade-tip split into five directions. The single shark phantom transformed into five massive, gaping maws, with countless fangs biting at the werewolf from all sides.

The werewolf, caught in the midst of preparing a secret art, panicked and stepped backward. Because Ou Xiaolu had positioned the battle at the valley entrance to avoid damaging the valley itself, the combatants were tightly packed. As the werewolf retreated, he stumbled right into Beludan’s range. She didn't care whether he was forced back or retreating; she delivered a backhanded shield bash that sent him sprawling to the ground.

Ou Xiaolu’s sword followed instantly. Five jagged maws tore into the werewolf’s body, accompanied by precise, rapid stabs from the blade, before a final flick of his wrist severed the creature's head.