"How far away are we?" Mada asked as the whole group could be seen dashing through a dense forest area.

Up ahead were Noelle, Rivock, and Mada. They were running at a steady but impressive speed, moving side by side like seasoned hunters.

Struggling to keep up were the yellow bands which comprised Grey, Ray, and Liam. They were at least a metre behind because of how fast the direct descendants were moving, their breaths slightly heavier but still persistent.

"Twelve minutes at most," Noelle coldly replied without losing a hint of breath as she kept her sharp eyes on the road ahead.

'I wonder what that instructor was thinking, grouping us all together. Something is definitely brewing in his mind and I would love to know what it is. Or maybe he is trying to force us to get along?' Grey thought as he paced himself with a casual look that betrayed the effort he was putting in.

"Will you three pick up your pace and stop slowing us down?!" Mada roared, his voice echoing through the forest as he glanced back for a second to scowl at the trio.

"If I were to pick up my pace, you wouldn't be able to keep up." Grey clapped back with a smirk spreading across his lips.

A visible vein popped on Mada's forehead as he slowed down for a bit. Then, glancing at his companions, his face twisted with irritation.

"I think we have slowed down enough for these ungrateful peasants. Come on, let's speed up." Mada whispered sharply.

"Gladly," Noelle replied, and without warning, she pushed off the ground with explosive strength, her body dashing ahead with speed so fluid and lethal that the wind hissed around her.

"Whatever," Rivock grinned as he decided to accelerate too, though he only used half of his real speed. Within moments, he was side by side with Noelle, keeping his posture relaxed as though it was nothing.

Mada was the last to make his move. Turning his head back one more time with a grin of superiority, he muttered, "Try to keep up." With that, he leaped into the air, vaulting onto a tree branch. He began bounding from tree to tree, each jump stronger than the last, before exploding forward with all his strength and appearing neatly beside the duo in front.

"You are on, monkey." Grey smirked as Ki and wind magic began swirling around his feet. His smile widened as his eyes gleamed mischievously, then he turned toward Ray and Liam.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, and with that word, his body shot forward like a rocket.

He tore through the air at astonishing speed, leaving a huge gust of wind in his wake. Within seconds, he was directly behind the direct descendants, stunning them.

'Ho… how did he?' Rivock thought as his eyes narrowed on Grey, who only grinned wider.

"Curse you!" Mada roared, channeling all his Ki into his feet before bursting forward again. His speed surged as he left his companions behind, determined to reclaim his position at the front.

"Tch! You really don't know who you are messing with," Grey scoffed under his breath. From his pocket, he pulled out a small pouch and retrieved a pill. Actually, two pills — one blue, one green. He had prepared them earlier for situations exactly like this. Without hesitation, he shoved them both down his throat.

Almost immediately, the effects surged through his veins. He felt the bubbling rush of power within, his body responding with raw energy. The wind howled louder as it bent to his will, and then, without him realizing, faint streaks of lightning began to crackle around the soles of his feet.

BANG!

A deafening thunderclap tore through the forest, startling even the beasts lurking within the shadows. The direct descendants halted for a split second, their eyes wide, only to see Grey blitz past them like a blur. He appeared four metres ahead in an instant, and yet he didn't slow down. His pace only increased.

'This guy is full of surprises,' Noelle thought, her sharp gaze fixed on his back. 'It won't be wise to engage him without knowing every single thing about him. I need to know how he survived that fall from the cliff. Something about him is far from ordinary.'

"Keep up, losers!" Grey's mocking voice carried from far ahead, his laughter laced in the wind.

Rivock sighed deeply, shaking his head. "I didn't want to join in, but alright," he muttered. His grin sharpened, his aura faintly flaring as he prepared to truly display his speed.

BANG!

BOOM!

In the blink of an eye, he was already right beside Grey, who had been at least five metres away only a moment ago.

"What the?!" Grey yelped loudly, startled to the core as Rivock appeared next to him in the twinkle of an eye, his unsettling smile making Grey's skin crawl.

'This guy… he is dangerously strong and shouldn't be messed with.' Grey gulped inwardly, his eyes narrowing as his guard instinctively rose.

"I think I can see the town up ahead." Noelle muttered. And she was right. Within a few minutes, they had climbed to the crest of a tall hill.

From their vantage point, the scene below was one of chaos.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Liam and Ray finally pulled up behind the group, both of them huffing and panting in exhaustion with sweat pouring down their faces like a stream.

"We…we…we're supposed to be a team. Don't go run…running off like that," Liam scolded in between gasps as he struggled to catch his breath. But his complaint was ignored.

That was because Grey and the direct descendants had their eyes locked on the town below, scanning every corner with sharp gazes, trying to figure out how best to intervene.

The town itself was small, no more than a few dozen houses scattered loosely across the land. But the real danger lay only a few metres away.

There, a swirling portal pulsed with malevolent energy, and out of it poured strange wolf-like beasts.

They were nothing like ordinary wolves. These monsters stood upright, towering at around two and a half metres tall, their very presence oozing bloodlust. They were predators bred for war, and the sight of them made even the air grow heavier.

They were the dreaded Dredfang Lycans.

Their bodies were cloaked in dense, coarse brown fur streaked with pale gray lines that glistened faintly under the light, almost like scars left by countless battles.

Every movement flexed their muscular frames, thick limbs ending in elongated arms tipped with claws so sharp they looked capable of carving through steel. The claws themselves shimmered a dark metallic silver, twitching as though eager to taste flesh.

Their faces were a horrific blend of wolf and demon—elongated muzzles crammed with jagged, mismatched teeth. Beneath their shadowed brows burned eyes of molten amber, glowing like embers in a dying fire, eyes that locked onto prey with unnerving, almost human focus.

Each breath came out as a low, rumbling growl, mist spilling from their mouths as though they carried the cold of the grave within them.

Despite their massive size, their movements were terrifyingly swift, smooth, and silent. When they sprinted, it was like watching black blurs rip through the air, their padded feet making barely a sound as they closed distance in mere seconds.

The Dredfang Lycans moved in chilling synchronicity, trickling out of the portal and spreading like a tide of death. Their snarls rose and fell in harmony, their flanks closing as though guided by a single, unseen commander. Then came their howls—piercing, thunderous, splitting the air like war horns. The sound alone was enough to make even a seasoned warrior's heart falter.

"Damn it! Is this what we're faced against?!" Liam shouted in horror, gulping so loudly it echoed.

"What we're faced against," Ray corrected with a scoff, tilting his head toward the orange-haired boy. "Your job is to get the civilians to safety. Don't slow us down."

"What do we do, Rivock?" Noelle asked sharply. Her sleeve slid down in one swift motion, revealing an eight-metre-long whip coiled tightly around her arm, the sharp, pointed tip glinting menacingly.

"I can see about a hundred of them," Rivock murmured, his eyes darting rapidly across the battlefield as he assessed the situation. "The boss is nowhere in sight… not yet."

"Best option is simple," Grey muttered, stepping forward with an unflinching look. "We take care of the beasts without burning ourselves out. If the boss shows up, we'll need strength left to deal with it. That means we fight together, covering each other's backs. That's the only strategy that might work."

"Who as…"

"He's right." Rivock cut Mada off before he could say more, his tone curt and final.

"Let's go!" Noelle shouted as her eyes widened in alarm. A civilian down below was about to be ripped apart by one of the beasts' claws. Without hesitation, she leaped off the hill, whip cracking through the air, with the others following immediately behind her.