Chapter 220: Sun’s Peak versus the Werefangs

The Werefangs charged.

They came from everywhere- from the trees, from the ground, from the rocky cliffs surrounding the clearing- their movements were so coordinated that, for a brief moment, Sun’s Peak Academy didn’t even know which direction to defend.

"LEFT!"

A student screamed.

Three Werefangs leapt from the trees, but a wall of earth erupted in front of them, causing the monsters to crash into it. The barrier shattered instantly, but that brief delay was enough.

A Sun’s Peak student swung his greatsword, and one Werefang was struck across the chest and thrown sideways. Another monster immediately replaced it.

"Too many!"

"Don’t break formation!"

Graham stood in the center of the formation, his eyes moving constantly. His spatial perception stretched outward. Every movement within several dozen meters entered his awareness.

He could feel the distortions caused by movement through the air. He could sense the positions of his teammates without looking at them, and he could feel the Werefangs.

They were twenty-three- no- twenty-five. Two more had been hiding beneath the ground. Graham’s expression became colder.

"They’re not just hunting." His spatial aura intensified. "They’re testing us."

A Werefang suddenly appeared behind one of the students, its claws descending. Graham moved his finger, and the distance between the monster and its target suddenly expanded.

The Werefang’s claws stopped several centimeters from the student’s back, looking confused. The student looked even more confused.

"What-?"

Graham clenched his fist, and the space folded. The Werefang was violently dragged sideways and slammed into a tree.

The student turned.

"Graham!"

"Keep moving."

The young man didn’t even look back.

"Don’t stop."

Another Werefang charged. A Sun’s Peak student met it head-on. The monster’s claws collided with his reinforced gauntlets, and the force sent him sliding backward.

He gritted his teeth.

"You’re strong!"

The Werefang snarled, jaws open. The student barely managed to raise his arm before a spatial distortion appeared between them. The monster’s head slammed into an invisible barrier, and the student took advantage of the opening.

His fist ignited as he attacked, and the Werefang was sent flying, crashing through several trees. The student breathed heavily.

"Thanks."

Graham finally glanced toward him.

"Don’t thank me yet."

The student looked confused. Then he heard it- a howl from the entire pack. Every Werefang suddenly stopped. Their bodies lowered, while their muscles tensed.

Graham’s eyes narrowed.

"Something’s happening."

The Werefang King raised one hand, and the entire pack obeyed. The monsters didn’t attack. They began moving, separating, surrounding, and creating several layers around Sun’s Peak.

Graham’s expression changed. "They’re forming a hunting formation."

One of his teammates swallowed.

"Can we break through?"

Graham stared at the Werefang King.

"Not easily."

The A-Rank monster smiled. Then it disappeared. Graham’s pupils contracted.

"Behind me!"

BOOOOOOM!

The Werefang King appeared directly behind Graham, its claws swinging downward. Graham twisted; space folded, and the claws passed through where his body had been.

He appeared several meters away, but the Werefang King immediately followed.

Graham blocked the first strike, but the force drove him into the ground, his boots digging trenches into the earth.

The monster’s second claw came; he compressed the space between them, and the attack slowed. His eyes sharpened.

"Interesting."

The Werefang King grinned. "Your ability is troublesome."

Graham twisted his wrist, and space suddenly collapsed around the monster’s arm. The Werefang King pulled his arm free before the distortion could completely crush it.

Graham didn’t hesitate. He disappeared, causing the monster’s eyes to widen. He reappeared above him, his fist covered in purple spatial energy.

BOOOOOOM!

His punch struck the Werefang King’s shoulder, and the monster was driven into the ground. A crater formed. He landed several meters away, and for a moment, nobody moved.

The Werefang King emerged from the crater. His shoulder was bruised; blood ran down his arm, but he was smiling.

"Good."

Graham’s eyes narrowed while the monster wiped the blood away.

"Very good. COME!"

He charged. Graham’s teammates watched in disbelief as the two combatants collided.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOOOOOM!

The battle between spatial manipulation and monstrous physical strength tore apart the center of the forest.

Graham folded space beneath his feet, appearing in different locations with every movement, while the Werefang King pursued him relentlessly.

Graham appeared behind it; the monster turned. He vanished as the monster swung, and the attack destroyed a tree.

He appeared above and kicked downward, but the Werefang King blocked, and the impact sent both of them in opposite directions.

Graham landed. The Werefang King landed on all fours. Neither spoke. Then they charged again.

Meanwhile, the rest of Sun’s Peak was fighting for survival.

"ADELE!"

A Werefang leapt toward a long-haired girl. She raised both hands.

"Piercing Volley!"

Dozens of compressed energy projectiles erupted.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Several Werefangs were struck and thrown backward, but another came through the barrage. Adele’s eyes widened.

"Too fast!"

A shield appeared before her, and the Werefang smashed into it. Holsman had arrived.

"Move!"

Adele rolled away as Holsman slammed his shield forward.

"Fortress Breaker!"

A shockwave erupted from the shield, and the Werefang was blasted backward. Another monster immediately attacked Holsman from the side. He barely raised his shield.

CLANG!

His knees buckled.

"Heavy..."

The Werefang pressed down. Holsman gritted his teeth.

"Someone..." His eyes narrowed. "...help!"

A blade pierced through the monster’s side, causing it to freeze. Quinn pulled his weapon free.

"You’re welcome."

Holsman shoved the creature away.

"About time."

Quinn grinned.

"You’re alive, aren’t you?"

"Unfortunately."

They immediately returned to the battle.

Across the battlefield, Diva was struggling to maintain everyone’s condition. Her hands glowed with soft energy as injuries slowly closed.

"Don’t spread out!" She shouted. "If you go too far, I can’t reach you!"

The warning came too late.

Three Werefangs broke through the outer formation. One charged toward Diva, causing her eyes to widen. She raised her hands, and a barrier formed. The Werefang smashed through it.

Diva was thrown backward. The monster raised its claws.

BOOM!

The Werefang suddenly disappeared sideways. Graham had redirected its momentum from across the battlefield. He didn’t even look toward Diva.

"Stay behind the formation."

Diva stared at him.

"How did you..."

"I can see the entire battlefield."

Graham’s spatial aura spread farther. His eyes became increasingly focused. The Werefang King noticed.

"You are dividing your attention."

Graham turned toward him.

"I’m managing."

"You’re protecting them."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Graham’s expression remained calm.

"Because they’re my teammates."

The Werefang King laughed.

"Humans."

His aura exploded, and the entire battlefield shook. Several Sun’s Peak students stumbled. Graham’s expression hardened.

The A-Rank monster’s aura was overwhelming, but Graham didn’t retreat. He was an A-Rank himself.

His spatial energy expanded, and the two auras collided. The forest trembled between them. The Werefang King grinned.

"Then protect them."

He vanished. Graham’s eyes widened.

"Everyone-!"

The monster reappeared in the center of Sun’s Peak’s formation, his claws sweeping outward. Students were thrown in every direction.

Graham appeared directly in front of the Werefang King and caught the monster’s wrist. For a fraction of a second, the two stared at each other.

He smiled faintly.

"Got you."

Space folded. The Werefang King’s entire body was suddenly pulled downward, the ground beneath him collapsing. Graham raised his other hand, and a massive spatial distortion formed.

The surrounding air warped, and the Werefang King’s expression changed.

"So that’s your true strength."

Graham’s eyes glowed.

"I haven’t shown you my true strength."

He brought his hand down.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The forest erupted, and a gigantic crater appeared. Trees were ripped from the ground; dust swallowed the battlefield. For several seconds, there was nothing.

Then a claw emerged from the crater. The Werefang King slowly pulled himself upward.

Blood covered his face, and his breathing was heavier, but he was laughing. Graham stared at him. The monster stared back.

"Now..." The Werefang King cracked his neck. "...this is a hunt."

Graham’s expression became serious.

Around them, the remaining Werefangs began howling. Sun’s Peak’s students tightened their grips on their weapons. The first exchange had only been the beginning.

And above the battlefield, the observation drones continued recording every second.

The City AF Qualifiers had suddenly become far more dangerous than anyone had anticipated.