Thrill Of Combat
Edrick began a sort of guerrilla warfare against the great pack. It might appear difficult to do such a thing in the Great Plains, as the terrain was very flat, and one could see far away, making any sort of ambush very complicated to pull off, but the human scion could manage…
The pack needed to hunt. They needed to feed many mouths, as a matter of fact. This was the moment Anoteros chose to attack the most. He would set traps using beasts under the influence of his servant crest to lure them over, managing to rack up dozens of kills on members of the pack. He prioritised taking out the ones he had decided to dub as ‘protectors’ of the group.
They may be stronger, but an arrow through the lungs and heart was enough to kill them nearly instantly. It left no chance for the healing capabilities of nature energy to show themselves.
Of course, their tactics evolved to counter this–But then, Edrick would merely move on to another method of attack, which was to simply pay them nightly visits. That too was eventually countered, but in doing so, it revealed part of the Great Matriarch’s powers.
Her mastery of nature energy was clearly several steps beyond what was expected of the regular Nature-Blessed Wolf. She was able to block off the entire hole in the roof by manifesting giant, incredibly durable roots.
Anoteros may have been denied two of his ways to score kills, but in doing so, the pack was depriving itself of the usual amounts of food it received. They could hunt, but by taking greater precautions, they ended up bringing less than usual... And it did not mean that they were completely immune to the vile one’s sneak attacks.
That wasn't all. To truly rile them up, the noble made use of his two bestial companions. They spread their odour all over the outside of the temple and its surrounding area, clearly overstepping into the pack’s territory.
Wolves might be social animals, but they weren’t above enacting violence on members of their own species at times. Encroaching on territory was a common source of conflict between packs or individuals.
There were moments of lull throughout it all... Edrick would sometimes return to his camp. It never lasted too long, however… Due to his sasquatch stealth, the wolves never knew whether he was around or not.
The Great Matriarch understood that this was pretty much a struggle for dominance and that it wouldn’t stop unless the problem was taken care of permanently. As a wise beast, her innate instincts told her that the right way to get the enemy to reveal itself was to issue a proper ‘duel’.
One day, some time before noon, the entire pack left the structure, gathering a distance away from it. All except the Great Matriarch.
From a distance, Edrick watched it all. His calculations told him that the entire pack was indeed outside now. None had remained behind.
‘Mmh… This… Is definitely a trap of some kind. It does offer a swift way to put an end to this, though... And a challenge…' The entire point of his presence in Eltysia was to grow stronger, and what better way to do just that than to face a difficult challenge and overcome it?
Edrick and his wolfish followers climbed onto the roof of the old monument. They guarded the way up in case the rest of the pack tried to intervene. With the high ground and Oswulf having a clear reach advantage with her sword, none should be able to slip past–Especially not with Ansbach ready to maul any who managed to evade his fellow’s blade.
The sun was high in the sky, casting its warm shine down into the abyss of the orange structure. Edrick glanced at the distant pack. It had seen a sharp decline in numbers due to his efforts. They had fallen below the threshold of one hundred.
He looked back down. The Great Matriarch was within sight… An impressive beast for certain, definitely larger than her kind should be, but still small compared to Ansbach’s imposing physique.
Anoteros descended into the monument, his cape fluttering upward as he slid down a vine.
“Be smart. Submit to me, and your precious pack will get to prosper like never before. I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy the change in leadership as well”
Edrick cracked his knuckles. The Matriarch did not understand his words, but she seemed to get his intention and growled at him. Apparently, she was either not interested or did not believe a thing of what he was spouting.
The sprawling vegetations of the great hall began to dance and cavort as the greater beast exerted her influence. Grass and moss seemed to come to life, attempting to restrain and weigh upon Edrick... Vines and roots contorted like serpents, whipping at him…
Anoteros wasn’t standing still, however...
Partly transforming legs, he leapt forward with unnatural velocity, forcing his opponent to dodge to the side. Unexpectedly, she was struck and thrown against the wall.
The human’s right sleeve was torn to shreds by the transformation of his arm into that of a sasquatch.
The added reach allowed Edrick to land a direct blow to the Matriarch, but despite it and the subsequent impact, she stood up once again… Not because she was unhurt, but because her healing power was simply outrageous.
Healing was always at its strongest when used on yourself... It was on full display here. She would never be able to heal fellow pack members at such speeds by herself, but because it was her own energy that was being used, the effects were many times greater.
Edrick knew that making the Matriarch submit would require him to restrain her in some way, or to exhaust her stock of inner energy. If it were just about killing, he probably could have done it with that first blow just now.
...The noble was greedy, however. He wanted his cake and to eat it too. Therefore, she had to come under his command–She had much more value alive and in his service than dead.
Edrick summoned the Arm Of Depravity, transforming it into a great blade akin to a machete and slashed through the hostile vegetation with ease. In response, his adversary howled, summoning sharp spikes of wood out of thin air, launching them all at him like darts.
He stepped aside, moving through the areas that weren’t completely covered in greenery, else he was ensnared.
The scion continued to mercilessly cut down the vines and roots that came for him until the Great Matriarch stopped using them, and the two combatants instead circled around one another.
“Unwilling to harm the existing vegetation too much, are we?”
She pounced into the hanging leaves of the weeping tree, disappearing from sight as she concealed her presence. Anoteros followed after her, tearing his way through the soft branches.
Tracking her by smell was all but impossible. The place reeked of countless wolves. Her odour simply melded alongside the rest.
The same was true for him, however. Although he did not know specific techniques to conceal his energy signature and the like, he had plenty of experience with stealth, and his affinity with the ways of the sasquatch made it near impossible for his enemy to find out his position…
She was not planning on doing so, though.
Attacks whistled past Edrick as he dodged at the last possible time. A few shallow cuts formed on his arms, legs, and face, as he was too late to fully evade everything.
It seemed like the Matriarch was running around, firing spells blindly and relying on nothing but pure instinct.
Anoteros wiped the bloody wound on his cheek.
‘...I guess she’ll be able to smell me now–Dominating her will be most rewarding'