Mythology: Ragnarok

Meanwhile, Izzy was truly on the brink of death. The demonic wolf quickly caught up with Izzy and opened its blood-red maw, about to swallow her whole. At that moment, a sharp arrow shot out and pierced the demonic wolf's upper palate. The demonic wolf's internal tissues were unprotected and were directly pierced through. Fortunately, it was still a demonic beast, and its strong muscles stopped the arrow; otherwise, the arrow would have almost pierced the demonic wolf's brain.

Iz glanced to the side and saw that the archer was Uncle Leeller. It seemed the commotion from the dire wolf had woken him up. However, the wounded wolf became even more ferocious, abandoning Iz and charging towards Uncle Leeller. Uncle Leeller seemed to already know his fate. Seeing the wolf's incredible speed, he threw down his bow and arrows, drew his dagger, and shouted, "Iz! Run!"

Iz was filled with mixed emotions, but she still ran away again without looking back. On the other side, the wolf rushed up and opened its big mouth, instantly biting Leler's waist. Leler didn't even have time to resist before he was torn in two. Blood that had entered his trachea flowed from his mouth and nostrils. Leler took one last look at Iz's departing figure and muttered to himself, "You have to survive, brat."

The wolf then crushed Leler's head with a stomp and continued chasing after Iz. Iz ran desperately into the jungle, and the wolf followed closely behind. Seeing that the wolf was getting closer and closer and was about to catch up with her, Iz quickly used her familiarity with the forest to run into a nearby small cave that could only accommodate a few people.

Iz crawled into the cave, and the wolf arrived shortly after, stuffing its mouth into the cave and biting at Iz repeatedly. Iz broke out in a cold sweat. Driven by survival instinct, Iz pulled out the fine steel knife Uncle Reiler had given him and stabbed it into the wolf's nose. The wolf instantly cried out in pain and pulled its mouth out of the cave. Shaking its painful nose a couple of times, the wolf glared fiercely at Iz. Judging from its stance, it would not rest until it had torn Iz to pieces.

As Iz gasped for breath and recovered his strength, he forced back his fear and, with trembling hands, picked up the dagger he had dropped when he stabbed the wolf. At that moment, Iz saw the name 'Iz' engraved by Reiler on the hilt. This instantly reminded Iz of Reiler, who had died trying to save him from the wolf, and his own parents who had perished. Rage finally overcame his fear, and Iz gripped the hilt tightly. In that instant, Iz understood: he could no longer run away; he had to fight his way out!

Thinking of this, Iz grabbed her dagger and rushed out. At that moment, the demon wolf had just turned around to find a more comfortable position to crouch at the cave entrance. It hadn't expected the little thing inside to be so brave as to take the initiative to attack. By the time the demon wolf reacted, Iz had already plunged the fine steel dagger into the wound that Iz's father had created with his magic arrow. After stabbing it in, Iz immediately exerted her strength and tore open a huge wound before slipping back into the cave like an eel.

The wolf, its main artery severed in an instant, turned back in fury to confront Iz, but this time it was a step too slow. It was just a hair's breadth away from killing the bastard who had stabbed it and then run away!

Iz, still shaken, stared at the dire wolf before him. He realized the situation was beginning to turn in his favor. The wolf's wounds were bleeding profusely; if it delayed any longer, it would become extremely weak. The wolf, enraged, recklessly stretched its forelimbs into the cave, trying to pull Iz out. But all it got in return was Iz using a knife to stab its forelimbs, further exacerbating its injuries.

The wolf was unwilling to accept defeat. This bastard took advantage of the wolf's weakness—no, he took advantage of the wolf's vulnerability! The wolf was filled with impotent rage. As time went on, the wolf lost too much blood and became weaker and weaker. After a while, the wolf fell silent and quietly lay at the entrance of the cave. Iz could easily see that this beast was trying to lure him out. However, Iz couldn't afford to wait any longer. Those who killed his parents might be nearby. He had to escape the encirclement as soon as possible.

Seeing the wolf bleeding profusely, Iz knew it was exhausted and decided to take a gamble. Iz charged forward with his dagger. The wolf instantly awoke from its slumber, its crimson eyes snapping open. It immediately lunged at Iz, but just as it was about to bite, Iz plunged his dagger into the wolf's neck. Simultaneously, his other hand reached into the wolf's mouth and found the arrow Uncle Leler had previously shot inside. With all his might, Iz used his left hand to shove the arrow back into its mouth, while his right hand relentlessly stabbed the wolf's throat with his steel dagger. This two-pronged attack killed the wolf instantly. The excruciating pain from the dagger in its neck prevented it from biting, and Iz seized the opportunity to plunge the arrow back into its mouth, instantly destroying the wolf's brain.

However, the wolf's sharp teeth still managed to bite Iz. Although the wolf was extremely weak, it was more than enough to bite into Iz's delicate skin. A row of huge bloody holes appeared on Iz's body from his left thigh to his right shoulder. In an instant, the wolf's blood and Iz's blood mixed together, turning Iz into a 'blood man'. Fortunately, Iz's attack killed the wolf first, which allowed Iz to survive by chance. However, if he didn't stop bleeding to heal his wounds, he would still die.

Even after the wolf died, it was still carrying Iz's body in its mouth. Iz struggled to pry open the wolf's mouth, and then it fell to the ground. Iz staggered forward, but the pain from the severe injury and blood loss made his vision gradually blur. Finally, Iz managed to reach the riverbank in the forest before collapsing into the river and passing out. Iz was then swept away by the current.

Shortly after Iz was swept away by the current, the Church of Light came looking for him. The captain, looking at the bloodstains that stretched to this spot, deduced, "That guy was probably seriously injured after killing the demon wolf and fell into the river. Let's go downstream and take a look."

John then jumped in to disagree, saying, "I think we shouldn't. Even if he got lucky and killed the demon wolf, he must be badly injured. If he gets swept away by the river, he'll be doomed. The current in this river is very strong, and besides, there's another territory further downstream. We should leave as soon as possible. This place is the water source for many villages nearby. If we stay any longer, the residents of the nearby kingdoms will find us."

This time, the captain did not object to John's suggestion. They really needed to leave as soon as possible. Just now, they had burned the entire town to the ground. Although they left no trace, if people saw their whereabouts, it would inevitably give them something to talk about. In the end, the captain agreed to the proposal and said, "Alright, let's leave here."

The group then walked towards the border, but the captain suddenly looked back at the rushing river and murmured, "Why do I always feel uneasy?"

But then he shook his head to clear his head of those chaotic thoughts and followed his team on their journey back to headquarters.

Meanwhile, Izzy was swept downstream. Whether it was divine intervention or Izzy's fate, a dark-skinned boy who went to the river to fetch water found Izzy downstream. Unfortunately, this was not good luck, because the boy was a slave. Out of kindness, the black boy carried Izzy back to his master.

Looking at the wounded Iz, the slave owner thought to himself, "What a wonderful thing! A slave delivered right to my door!" So he casually called a traveling doctor to give Iz some basic treatment and then left him in the woodshed to his fate. But Iz's future was destined to be fraught with hardship. If he lived, he would become a slave; if he died, his body would probably be fed to the dogs by the slave owner, leaving no trace.

Two days later, Izzy finally pulled through. The black boy who rescued him had been taking care of him and feeding him water to keep him alive. Otherwise, Izzy would have died from high fever and dehydration long ago. To be honest, Izzy was able to survive thanks to this boy.