Dark Moon Era Chapter 46: First Fight

No. 12 couldn't look into the silver-tailed iron-toothed wolf's eyes.

The wolf's judgmental and cold gaze showed ferocity and cruelty unique to a wolf.

He lowered his head and almost cried. Neither did he have the courage to start the fight, nor did he dare to simply move.

It was an absolutely normal reaction from a normal person who had never gotten stuck with a wild beast in such a narrow space. 

However, outside the iron cage, Tang Ling softly sighed when he saw the scene.

Two seconds of performance revealed a lot. No. 12 might not survive five minutes because he lost to the wolf's feral nature.

A grown silver-tailed iron-toothed wolf weighed about 75 kgs and belonged to the larger group of a dozen more species of wolves out there.

Strength-wise, even a grown man could never gain the upper hand against it. Moreover, it was known for its iron teeth with its astounding chomping abilities.

Tang Ling had never come across this type of wolf before, but he knew never to reveal his fear in front of a wolf.

The vigilance of a wolf allowed it to observe an unfamiliar opponent. Meanwhile, the cunning nature of a wolf allowed it to smell its opponent's fear, and decide from there what its next move would be.

Therefore, the right way to face a wolf would be to stare into its eyes without fear and be more threatening than it. 

On top of that, by taking the initiative to get close and feign an attack could one triumph over its feral nature. As a result, one would be able to drag out a minute or two in the iron cage.

Meanwhile inside the cage, on the 13th second, the iron-toothed wolf started to circle No. 12, but it was not in a hurry to attack. While it slowly paced around, it was closing its distance to No. 12.

No. 12 was scared, but he also noticed that the scary wolf was moving closer.

He started to pace back step by step towards the north-west corner of the cage. He clenched his fists several times as if he was trying to punch the wolf but ultimately did nothing.

After all, the condition to pass the exam was to survive for ten minutes, not to kill the wild beast in the cage. As long as the wolf stayed back, time would go by.

No. 12 dared not provoke the iron-toothed wolf.

Tang Ling watched quietly, able to make out the wolf's typical offensive pattern. It was searching for a suitable angle to pounce on its prey while calculating its prey's escape route.

The correct way out of such a situation would be to stay in front of the wolf at all times and not fall into its pace which would allow it to force oneself to the corner to cut off the escape route.

"Hmm, in the north-west corner, would he be able to call for help and escape from the cage?" Tang Ling slightly shook his head as he observed the battle and measured the young man's strength so that he could better prepare himself for his own test.

Even though No. 12 performed poorly, Tang Ling would not think that he was above all the other cadets. The only thing that they fell behind Tang Ling in was experience if they panicked.

Tang Ling was very clear that he did not rightfully acquire his qualification to enter the exam.

Perhaps because of the silver-tailed iron-toothed wolf's "kindness", the bloody scent in the iron cage was relatively faint.

Half a minute went by as they circled each other.

The teenagers outside the iron cage waiting for their turn finally felt a sense of ease, but when Tang Ling saw the silver-tailed iron-toothed wolf arch its back, his heart raced.

The wolf moved without any sign or noise. Its powerful hind legs perfectly launched itself in a perfect angle as it jumped at No. 12 like a gale.

"Aah!" Screams came from the crowd.

No. 12 panicked, nervously moving to the left and hardly dodging the bite from the iron-toothed wolf.

Shua!

The noise of the claws tearing his uniform was clearly heard. Even though he barely escaped the bite, the wolf's claw left three bloody lines on his body. Several drops of blood spewed and landed on the iron bar, adding a dash of red on top of the claret color.

No. 12 chose to run.

"Silver-tailed iron-toothed wolves can run 25 meters per second while No. 12 can run 13.6 meters per second. Running away… is probably the worst choice." Tang Ling's Precise Instinct swiftly came into play. His Precise Instinct was not just used to getting numbers in action. He was trying to use it as his battle instinct so that he could precisely judge the outcome of the battle between the two.

The facts proved that Tang Ling's judgment was correct.

Running away started the melody of slaughter.

The silver-tailed iron-toothed wolf chose to fight in the most preservative method. It did not give its best to chase. Instead, it forced its prey to the corner and when the prey had to turn around, attacking via the sealed path would deliver the most precise attack, so it could easily land a hit.

It did not need to be lethal. It just had to consume the prey's stamina. That way, the wolf would not lose anything or face any danger.

The battle tactic unique to the wild beasts performed a lively yet bloody show for the other teenagers outside the iron cage.

Claw after claw, it tried to catch its prey. Chomp after chomp, it tried to bite its prey.

Dripping blood sprayed all over the cage. In less than two minutes, No. 12 turned into a bloody man. Again and again, he was forced to the edge of the iron cage by the wolf, leaving bloody trails on the iron bars.

"I forfeit! I forfeit! I want to forfeit!" No. 12 shouted his lungs out as the pain finally pushed him to the edge of collapsing. He did not have the courage to hold on.

"Maybe he doesn't need to give up just yet." Observing the whole fight from the start, Tang Ling had formed more than five ways to fight the wolf, and even after all the injuries No. 12 suffered, it was not the end yet.

It was difficult for him to not put himself in No. 12's shoes. Therefore, if he was the one in the cage, after all the injuries, the only way to drag the time or even kill the wolf would be to approach it with initiative and exchange blows.

Wolves had many weak points such as the nose, the eyes, the belly, and even its hind legs. 

If he could seize the moment when the wolf opened its muzzle to close the distance, risking a heavy injury to blind its eyes might not be entirely impossible. Bashing the wolf in the nose might not be that difficult either. He could even break the wolf's legs.

No. 12 was not weak in terms of strength. He was able to knock the leaping wolf away several times, and he was obviously stronger and faster than Tang Ling.

Tang Ling felt a little disheartened. No matter how much cruel experience the teens of the settlement grew up with, they would still fall behind the teens who grew up in Safety Sector No. 17 who had relatively better nourishment during their growth.

Tang Ling was unable to tell No. 12 all the tactics he came up with, and the only thing the latter could do in the cage was to scramble to the gate in the cage without further ado.

Perhaps, the guard had gotten used to all the bloody scenes, so even after No. 12's frantic shouting, he was not in a hurry to open the gate. He casually searched for the key and opened the gate calmly.

No. 12 was 30 meters away from the gate, and after he got a glimpse of hope to escape the torture, he did not care anymore. The short distance would only take him two seconds, so he ran with all his might without even turning back.

"Mm." Tang Ling's heart skipped a beat. Why would No. 12 expose his back to the wolf?

Did he assume that the wolf had been running at its full speed?

As expected, the silver-tailed iron-toothed wolf was not happy when its prey escaped from its grasp, especially when it was this close.

It dashed all of a sudden and disregarded the tactic of winding its prey down as it chased No. 12 with its explosive speed.

Together with the momentum, the wolf jumped on No. 12 from the back, widening its mouth and going for the jugular.

Chapter end