Chapter 118: You’re no match for the Primordial Plague that runs through my veins

There was only one way to find out.

Kaelen stepped forward and began walking through the battlefield, his eyes locked onto the alpha wolf, who imitated his movement and began approaching.

Then, simultaneously, they broke into a light sprint before the earth exploded beneath their feet as they cleared the distance between them.

The alpha wolf lunged forward with its maw spread wide as it dove for Kaelen’s head. Kaelen screeched to a halt and sidestepped before throwing a right hook at the airborne beast.

Thud.

The blow sounded like a fist against concrete, and that was exactly how the alpha wolf’s head felt compared to Kaelen’s fist.

The blow didn’t harm it, but the force behind the fist knocked its head to the side, deflecting its deadly maw from snapping around him.

The alpha screeched to a halt before it shot forward once more, this time faster. Its fur became a blur as it clamped down on Kaelen’s shoulder and knocked him off his feet, thrashing him around in its maw, its canines sinking deep into his shoulder blades.

But before it could rip out a chunk of him, its hairs stood on end, and it didn’t need to be alerted twice before immediately letting go of Kaelen. But it wasn’t fast enough to avoid the spinning roundhouse kick that landed squarely on its side, the blow packing more punch than Kaelen’s fist.

It stumbled but quickly rolled and jumped back to its feet, only to see two Kaelens standing there.

The one it had gravely injured and incapacitated slowly disappeared, like it was being erased from existence. But in its place appeared another Kaelen, perfectly healthy and strong.

Several more appeared and surrounded it like an illusion, but the alpha wolf could feel that every single one of them was as real as the last. It also noticed their strength was considerably weaker than the Kaelen that had kicked it.

"You’re tough, aren’t ya?" Kaelen said as his lips slowly curled.

Though Kaelen said this, he was fully certain that the alpha wolf could tear down all his clones, including the real him, unless he began speed-running his evolution realm with his reserve Evolution Points balance.

But Kaelen never planned on doing that.

That was simply because he wasn’t fighting to win in a fair fight. This was simply a battle of attrition, and all he had to do was keep the wolf busy... and stay alive.

The alpha wolf roared ferociously before lunging at the nearest clone without warning. Its jaws clamped around his leg before he could leap away, and it thrashed him on the ground before tearing into his guts and lunging at the next just as that one disappeared from the spot.

It moved like a killing machine—fast and efficient, without wasting a second longer than it should on a clone before jumping onto the next.

But no matter how fast it moved, more Kaelens simply popped out of thin air and jumped at it without fearing for their lives. Meanwhile, its target, Kaelen, was simply standing behind the line and checking his phone every now and then, with no plans of joining the battle.

’What a coward. You think these mere constructs can stop me? I’m going to show you I didn’t survive all these years just swinging my claws and snapping my jaws.’

The womanly voice flashed across the alpha wolf’s mind, and as it said that, a chain of invisible runic symbols strewn across its fur began lighting up with a dense blue glow as power surged into its muscles.

Its claws grew longer and deadlier, its fangs sharper and laced with poison, and its eyes flashed with lightning as it streaked through the phalanx of fake Kaelens in an instant, leaving afterimages and blooming crimson flowers of blood in its wake.

It appeared before Kaelen in an instant, swiping its claws before the human could react.

’I’m gonna kill you, you monster!’ the womanly voice screamed from within, but it came out as a terrifying roar as it lunged at its target.

’Wait, something’s off... Why’s he smiling at a time like this?’

The alpha wolf immediately noticed Kaelen’s faint smile as he looked at his phone and back at her.

"Right... about now," Kaelen suddenly muttered as he was consumed by shadows and teleported to the side.

At the same time, the alpha wolf immediately felt its stomach churn and its muscles go rigid as it phased through the spot where Kaelen had once stood and crashed to the floor.

Before it could even make out what had happened, a searing pain shot through its body like a million parasites were feeding on its body from the inside out.

It howled out in agony, and the pack attacking the shadow army immediately halted their attacks as their heads snapped simultaneously towards the alpha wolf and Kaelen.

They immediately lost interest in the shadow army and began dashing towards their alpha and Kaelen.

"This is the time for reckoning. Do not let them anywhere near that alpha, and protect Lord Kaelen at all costs, even if it means laying down your lives for the cause. Transform!" The Supreme Elder Dragon roared ferociously.

The army screamed in unison as they dashed forward before leaping into the air and shapeshifting into feral dragons. Their wings kicked up clouds of dust as they cleared the distance between themselves and the wolves in an instant and began picking them off one after the other and running them down their throats.

The Supreme Elder Dragon wasn’t an exception, as he transformed into the colossal dragon he was, his wingspan sweeping the wolves off their feet and sending a terrifying windstorm that rooted out everything in its path.

It roared ferociously, the guttural sound sending ripples of shockwaves that instantly disoriented the wolves and stunned them in place before its neck glowed a sickening crimson as it threw its head back and spat out a rain of fire that scorched the entire earth, consuming everything in its path but somehow splitting to the sides as it swallowed Kaelen and the alpha wolf, leaving them untouched.

At this point, the alpha wolf could barely make out what was happening as it felt its life slowly slipping away. And at that moment, its body trembled and shapeshifted into that of a woman who was barely clad in much clothing, revealing the runic symbols strewn across her exposed skin.

"W-What is happening to me..." she forced herself to ask painfully.

Kaelen was stunned for a moment upon seeing her true form, but quickly recovered from the initial shock and looked down on her like an absolute predator would look down on an ant.

"Isn’t that obvious? You’re dying. Your internal organs are melting from the inside."

"H-How?" she croaked.

"Ever wondered why I created so many clones with flesh and blood instead of more shadow clones to flank you? I enjoyed watching you get drunk on power... and my blood." Kaelen asked as his lips slowly curled into a wicked smile. "You survived much longer than I thought. I’ll give you credit for that."

"...But you’re simply no match for the Primordial Plague that runs through my veins."