The flowers on the ground and fence suddenly moved. Their petals turned in unison toward the approaching beast pack. Then in an instant, those beautiful flowers bloomed into giant maws full of sharp, serrated teeth.
SNAP!
A Dire Wolf in the front line jumped too late. A Devourer shot up from the ground and bit into the middle of its body with the sound of cracking bones. But before the plant could drag its prey down, the pack's alpha attacked brutally. Its gleaming black fangs tore through the Devourer's stem until it snapped. Thick green blood spurted everywhere.
The pack immediately scattered, their hunting instincts shifting to survival mode. Three wolves released sharp wind blades from their mouths. Several Devourers were sliced clean through. Petals and green stems scattered through the air.
But it wasn't enough. For every Devourer that was destroyed, five more rose from the ground.
Dozens of plant maws exploded from all directions like sharks that had caught the scent of blood. One wolf leaped high while clawing at two plants. Its reflexes were good. But a third Devourer came from its blind spot and bit its hind leg. CRUNCH! The leg was severed with a spray of red blood. The wolf tumbled down, and within seconds, three more Devourers attacked from different angles. They pulled. RIP! The wolf's body was torn apart.
The alpha dire wolves howled loudly. Not an attacking howl, but a defensive command. The five remaining dire wolves immediately gathered and spun like deadly propellers. Wind blades flew in all directions. A tornado formed in the midst of chaos. Dozens of Devourers were shredded within a ten-meter radius. Stems snapped, green blood sprayed, petals scattered. For a moment, they had breathing room.
But the Devourers from the fence weren't idle.
A dozen massive stems extended like giant whips. They moved far faster than seemed natural for plants. One hard lash struck a dire wolf's head. The impact sounded like a hammer hitting meat. The wolf was thrown dozens of meters, its jaw shattered, teeth scattering. Before its body hit the ground, three Devourers were already waiting and immediately dragged it below with a chewing sound that made hair stand on end.
Two other stems moved in sync, pinching another dire wolf from the sides. The thorny stems coiled like a constrictor. The thorns slowly pierced inward. The dire wolves howled in pain while thrashing wildly. Its teeth managed to sink into one stem, nearly severing it. But a third stem had already wrapped around its neck from behind and pulled viciously. SNAP! The dire wolf's head tilted at the wrong angle. Its limp body was dragged to the fence and disappeared into the mouth of a giant Devourer there.
The alpha direwolves decided this was the time to go all-in. It leaped with all its remaining strength. Dark aura blazed around its fangs. Its bite tore through three plants at once. Thick green blood soaked its brown fur. It didn't stop, spinning like a deadly top. Its claws shredded four more Devourers into pieces.
For several seconds, the alpha dire wolves truly dominated.
Until the ground beneath it collapsed.
Dozens of small Devourers exploded out like piranhas bursting from water. They bit from every angle. Legs, belly, tail, ears, neck. The alpha roared and spun like a killing machine. Seven small plants were destroyed in its jaws. But they kept coming. And kept coming. The ground beneath turned red and slippery from its own blood. The alpha's dire wolves' movements began to slow. Its breath came in gasps. But it still bit, still clawed, until the last second before its knees touched the ground. Then it sank into the moving green mass that fed greedily. SNAP-SNAP-SNAP!
The last three wolves had no choice but to run.
The first ran in a zigzag pattern with panic, successfully dodging attack after attack. Its reflexes were sharp. But a Devourer stemming from the fence was already floating silently in its path. Like a snare wire. The wolf couldn't stop in time, and its neck was immediately caught. The stem coiled tight. Its hind legs kicked at empty air uselessly. Its eyes bulged. Tongue lolled out. Until finally its body stopped moving and was tossed to the small plants below that immediately swarmed like ants.
The second almost reached the edge of the field. Almost made it to safety. But two Devourer stems shot out and caught both its hind legs. The wolf clawed at the ground desperately. Its claws dug deep, leaving long trails as its body was slowly dragged backward. It howled, thrashed, and even tried to bite its own legs free. But the Devourer lifted its body high and slammed it to the ground. WHAM! Then again. WHAM! And again. WHAM! Until its bones were crushed and its body stopped moving.
The last one was truly almost free. Just a few more meters. But suddenly, dozens of small Devourers appeared right in front of it like a living wall. The wolf desperately jumped. But the plants also jumped, even higher. Dozens of tooth-filled maws attacked it in midair. It fell into the moving pile. Its angry growls slowly turned to weak groans, then total silence.
Silence.
Some Devourers were indeed destroyed in this battle. But all twenty Dire Wolves were annihilated. All that remained were pools of red blood slowly seeping into the ground, scattered fur, and the faint sounds of chewing from below. Slowly but surely, the plants returned to their original positions. The beautiful flowers bloomed again as if no brutal battle had just occurred. Only their sweet aroma was now mixed with the metallic scent of blood.
The predatory smile on the demon wolf's face, who was watching from a distance, froze instantly.
Without thinking twice, she turned and ran as fast as she could. Her powerful legs leaped in long bounds.
She knew if she stayed one second longer, she'd be the next prey. Now she understood the fox tribe's most guarded secret. Their guardian wasn't an ordinary being. Maybe it was from a demon race, it was because of that magical plant!
Swoosh!
But only halfway through her escape, her back exploded with terrible pain. Her entire body was thrown hard to the ground and rolled several times in the dust.
And the most terrifying thing was the low voice that sounded from behind. A voice that sounded very... amused.
"Aww, scared already, puppy-chan? Come on, play with me a little longer for my new magic spell."