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nWith a single strike turning the tide, the wolfrat seized the opportunity to pounce.

nIts silver, sharp claws, as lethal as blades, sprung out, slashing repeatedly towards Howard’s upper body.

nEight shining claws on its forelimbs, no different from eight long knives, aimed to strike. .𝒎

nA scratch from these was not akin to a playful nip from a kitten or puppy; it was dismemberment!

nHoward opted not to block but to widen the gap, trading space for time, dodging the wolfrat’s onslaught.

nHis task was never to annihilate this wolfrat.

nWith more magi on the city walls besides himself, all he needed was to engage the wolfrat, preventing it from disrupting the other defensive positions.

nThat alone was sufficient.

nHowever, the wolfrat seemed infuriated by Howard’s continuous evasion.

nIts speed matched Howard’s, but Howard had the advantage in both size and reflexes, rendering it impossible for the beast to land a hit.

nBut that didn’t mean it was out of options.

nEvery creature has its ace up the sleeve, and the wolfrat was no exception.

nThis so-called life-risking skill is essential for survival in the wild, not just to triumph over foes of similar strength but more so to intimidate those more powerful.

nThe wolfrat’s trump card had always been the same, only that Howard hadn’t witnessed it in the valley.

nBerserk.

nThis ability, known by the vast majority of spellbeasts, involves an enhancement of their beastly nature to increase attack power.

nIt unleashes the beast’s instincts fully, merging mana and physique to unleash strength and speed far beyond the normal!

nWith a piercing scream,

nSqueal!!!

nThe wolfrat’s crimson eyes emitted a faint golden light.

nThat was the sign of mana beginning to merge.

nAlthough the situation had not yet called for such a last-resort ability, the wolfrat, with its already unclear mind, became even more irrational with rage, unleashing this power that would leave it vulnerable after use.

nThis act nearly sealed its fate!

nOn the city walls, enemies were everywhere.

nNo one would overlook a low-tier spellbeast.

nNor would anyone ignore the allure of a true spellbeast’s corpse!

nHowever, this also meant that Howard’s real crisis had arrived.

nWith a shriek, the wolfrat’s speed, post-berserk, tripled its normal rate!

nIts fur, soaked with mana, shifted from silver-gray to a striking silver.

nEach hair stood on end and splayed backwards, its body crackling with electrical light, and within its crimson eyes, two golden dots emerged, its hot breath rising in wisps of smoke and dissipating.

nNoticing the electrical light flickering around the wolfrat, Howard’s pupils sharply constricted.

nElectricity!

nAfter berserking, the wolfrat had developed a new ability!

nThere were recorded instances of spellbeasts undergoing mutations after berserking, some even to a greater degree, but these were usually unstable mutated beasts or synthetic creatures.

nFor a naturally evolved species like the wolfrat to develop new abilities post-berserk was virtually unheard of!

nYet, faced with this reality, Howard had no choice but to set aside the knowledge he had recently acquired.

nHe had to give his all now.

nA single misstep, and he might well fall here.

nWith his vision blocked by the intense light, all of Howard’s perceptions suffered severe delays.

nSound, significantly slower than light and more susceptible to interference, was also more challenging to collect.

nEach time, it was only after the wolfrat had already made its move that Howard could sluggishly react.

nEven Hyperawareness couldn’t nullify this time discrepancy.

nHyperawareness could only quicken the speed of reaction, but it had no means to offset such objective time differences.

nThough this delay might only manifest as a tenth of a second or even shorter, in the realm of high-speed combat, a tenth of a second could decisively determine life or death.

nThus, Howard didn’t choose to dodge.

nHe decided to challenge his limits, to confront the wolfrat’s attack head-on.

nThe shorter the distance between them, the smaller the disparity in the speed of different information carriers.

nCapturing the rough direction with mana sensing, then filling in the details of the wolfrat’s movements with sound, was Howard’s sole method of perception at the moment.

nTouch was only applicable for very short-distance perception, leaving hearing as the only sense capable of making remote judgments.

n“It’s truly a desperate situation,” he thought.

nHis eyelids still stung from the wolfrat’s recent move, which, although lacking in substantial attack power, would significantly impair Howard’s combat effectiveness until his vision fully recovered—far more effective than a conventional attack.

nTime seemed to slow, yet in reality, only two seconds had passed in the rapid exchange between Howard and the wolfrat.

nThe blinding white light before Howard’s eyes had yet to fade, and the wolfrat had finally reached him.

nHoward caught a faint whiff of blood in the wind, a salty scent that was slightly nauseating.

nIt was the distinctive odor emanating from the wolfrat.

nIn that instant, Howard cleared all distractions from his mind, activating Hyperawareness with all his spirit focused on the computation and analysis of sound.

nHis brain worked overtime, and the originally blurry panoramic view, like an image in a game being reloaded, suddenly snapped into clarity.

nThe wolfrat was now within arm’s reach.

nTo his right front, two steps away, Howard flipped his right-

nhand blade to intercept the wolfrat’s foreclaw, his body moving in harmony with his hand.

nThat wonderful sensation of everything on the battlefield being under control once again surged within him.

nIndeed, the wolfrat’s speed had increased post-berserk, but berserking did not enhance its reaction speed.

nIf one’s physical capabilities were always at the limit of their reactions, it could be considered an increase in reaction speed.

nHowever, both the wolfrat and Howard had their physical abilities closely matched with their reaction limits.

nAny change in either could lead to a loss of balance.

nIn ordinary combat, this might not pose a problem, but once the intensity of the battle escalated, it could become a fatal flaw.

nAlthough the wolfrat possessed astonishing speed, it lacked the reaction ability to fully master this velocity.

nDespite its fearsome offensive momentum, the wolfrat was actually in a very delicate balance.

nAny slight disturbance could lead to catastrophic consequences.

nHoward’s straight blade parried the wolfrat’s foreclaw, and the wolfrat, unable to adapt to this sudden change in the midst of high-speed movement, tumbled away violently.

nHoward slowed his breathing, the side effects of his brain’s overload beginning to manifest as a series of sharp pains at the back of his head.

nWith his lower limbs powering his movement, Howard followed the tumbling wolfrat, his left-hand blade sweeping upward in a diagonal lift while his right-hand blade descended in a diagonal cut.

nScissor Slash!

nA name that may not sound particularly graceful, yet it carries a brutal, bloodstained implication.

nThis technique, possible only with dual weapons, is a basic move but also the foundation for many advanced techniques.

nLacking the guidance of his eyes, Howard’s execution of the Scissor Slash was slightly off.

nHis intention had been to further open the wound on the wolfrat’s back, but he ended up striking its right hind leg instead.

nWith a shriek, the wolfrat crashed to the ground, rolling nearly ten meters away and leaving a long trail in the dirt.

nLanding, Howard slowly exhaled, calming his racing heart, his steps somewhat unsteady.

nAlthough he hadn’t used all his mana in that strike, it was an overburdened outburst.

nFacing a berserk wolfrat head-on without the guidance of sight, anyone learning of such an act would first think the person mad.

nThe second reaction would be, “That’s impossible.”

nBut Howard had done it.

nNot only had he blocked the wolfrat’s attack, but he had also crippled one of its hind legs!

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