Chapter 12: The Catalyst of Death

Ding! "You have obtained a Death Opportunity. Kill all the frenzied jackals by self-destruction within three hours. Mission reward: your physique will be fully restored to the standard of a normal person."

Hearing the system’s prompt, Gu Feng was stunned for a moment, then elated.

He was acutely aware of his own condition. Normally, the average person’s strength hovered around five, but his was only two. A first-level warrior's strength doubled that of an average person, reaching ten. Yet when he reached the first level, his strength also doubled, but only to four. At the second level, the strength should be twice that of a commoner, and so on. As a fourth-level warrior, his strength should be twenty, but he only had twelve—his body was simply too weak.

Now, with this second Death Opportunity, the reward was full restoration of his physique to normal. To Gu Feng, it was as if a pie had fallen from the sky—a stroke of incredible fortune.

Staring at the pack of jackals, green eyes gleaming with angry red light, Gu Feng felt no fear. Instead, excitement surged within him. These jackals would mark the beginning of his transformation.

Only, his sister on his back was a complication. If he killed himself in front of her, it would take twelve hours to revive, and she had no idea he could come back to life. She would be utterly devastated and might do something foolish. Yet, the Death Opportunity only lasted three hours—the reward was too great to miss.

"I'll take my sister back to Sen Village first, then lure the jackals away and self-destruct to wipe them out. That way, I can complete the death mission," he thought.

A howl pierced the air.

The jackals had reached the peak of their frenzy. With a furious roar from one, all caution vanished—they hurled themselves at Gu Feng with savage abandon.

With his plan clear, Gu Feng watched as the jackals surged toward him from every direction. In this berserk state, each jackal’s strength had nearly doubled, equivalent to that of a first-level warrior. Even with his advanced skills, Gu Feng’s twelve points of strength would be hard-pressed against fourteen jackals, each as strong as a warrior. The realization left him shaken.

"Run."

Gu Feng fixed his eyes on the direction of Sen Village and charged toward a jackal, slashing with his short sword.

Crack!

The steel blade was instinctively blocked by the jackal’s claws, slicing through them cleanly.

The jackal tumbled away, and Gu Feng found his opening, sprinting at full speed out of the encirclement. His heart pounded with shock: the jackals’ strength, now berserk, was formidable. Though he’d severed a paw, his own arm was left numb from the impact.

Howls erupted behind him.

Foiled in their ambush, the jackal pack howled in fury and gave chase. Even the jackal with the severed claw scrambled up and joined the hunt.

"Brother!"

Gu Yan’s heart was in her throat. The scene just now had been terrifyingly dangerous, but thankfully her brother had broken through.

"Don’t be afraid, I’m here." Gu Feng, though shaken by the jackals’ strength, still worried that they might abandon their pursuit. If they didn’t chase him, he’d lose his Death Opportunity. Though he still had nine more to use at will, he didn’t want to waste a single one. The phrase “ten thousand deaths” was self-explanatory—he would have to die ten thousand times, which meant each opportunity was hard-won and would only get harder as he advanced.

Fortunately, the jackals hated him enough to keep up the chase, their speed astonishing. Without his equipment, Gu Feng would never have outrun them.

He stuck to his original plan: get his sister home, then lure the jackals away and sacrifice himself, taking them all out and claiming the reward.

Howls echoed behind him as the jackal pack pursued relentlessly.

The villagers of Sen Village, hearing the crazed cries of the jackals drawing ever closer, were terrified and sleepless. Those with cellars hid there with their families; those without found other hiding places, hoping to escape the jackals’ notice.

They were bewildered—what had driven the jackals into such a frenzy, invading the village?

None could have guessed that it was Gu Feng who had drawn them here.

Gu Yan, seeing her brother lead the jackals back to the village, asked anxiously, "Brother, those jackals are so savage. Won’t you endanger the villagers by bringing them here?"

"Don’t worry, just listen to me. When we reach the house, I’ll let you down. Run inside as fast as you can and bolt the door. I’ll lure the jackals away..."

Before he could finish, Gu Yan burst out, "No! They’re too dangerous, they’ll eat you!"

Worried he would abandon her, she insisted, "Swear you won’t leave me behind, brother!"

Gu Feng felt a pang of bitterness. "Yan’er, trust me. I promise I’ll be fine. I’ll come home alive by noon tomorrow."

Still, Gu Yan was terrified. "No, brother, I’m scared."

"Silly girl," Gu Feng soothed her, "I faced bandits and didn’t flinch. These are just jackals. Trust me."

"But..."

"Enough, we’re almost there. You must listen to me. I’ll be all right."

Carrying Gu Yan, Gu Feng reached the village gate, leapt over the wooden barrier in a single bound of more than two meters, and entered the village.

The crazed jackals did the same, swarming into Sen Village in hot pursuit.

Their howls echoed even into the cellars where villagers cowered. Some particularly sensitive warriors sensed the jackals’ berserk aura—a presence they’d only felt from true warriors like Wang Yuanwu.

Becoming a warrior was extraordinarily difficult. Out of a hundred people, perhaps one had potential. Sen Village hadn’t seen a new warrior in years; those who had become warriors had all left for the town, where life was safer.

Now, a whole pack of jackals, each exuding a warrior’s aura, had invaded. The entire village was gripped by terror; the faint of heart even fell into despair.

Experienced hunters guessed that someone had enraged the jackals, driving them into this frenzy and endowing them with such strength—now even more fearsome than most first-level warriors.

These hunters, while terrified, were also deeply puzzled. Who could have provoked the jackals and then led them here? Was someone trying to exterminate the whole village?

"Damn it! What’s happening tonight? Bandits ran wild in the first half of the night, now a pack of jackals descends in the second. Did Sen Village anger the gods?" Many complained bitterly.

Others suspected that the bandits had riled up the jackals and led them into the village.

No one, no matter how much they speculated, thought for a moment that Gu Feng was the one who brought the jackals.

While the villagers at the gate quaked in fear, the jackals had already chased Gu Feng far away. Hearing the howls receding, those at the village entrance breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Woof! Woof!"

A hunting dog from one household, braver than most, barked furiously at the jackals and even leapt from the yard, assuming a fighting stance.