[LU-EL@LIVESTREAM - GODDESS’S VESSEL]

ROAR!

Poru@Beast: Your opponent is an almost meter-tall large wolf, not a regular wolf.

Poru@Beast: Don’t expect it to aim low and target your legs or ankles to destabilize you and bring you to the ground.

Poru@Beast: It is tall enough to directly aim for your throat, neck, and head for an instant-kill attack.

Poru@Knight: It can maneuver skillfully on all fours, so don’t bother trying to outmatch it in terms of speed. Instead, lower your stance and stabilize your center of gravity. Wait for it to enter your range, then deliver a series of swift strikes.

Poru@Knight: Swing your battle axe from below, making a powerful diagonal upward strike. Then halt your swing before reaching its full height and quickly—skillfully—shift your grip for a swift diagonal downward return strike.

Poru@Knight: I call this technique—VOLG WHITE FANG!

Poru@Sage: Volg White Fang?

Poru@Sage: Googling... Searching...

Poru@Sage: OLD!—Just how old are you, exactly?!

Poru@Knight: I was there 3,000 years ago—HAHAHA!

Luvira@Goddess: Don’t name it after someone else’s technique and get Goddess’s Vessel sued for copyright and plagiarism!

***

If only it were that easy!

Despite his complaints, Lu-el followed the advice and instructions of his loyal viewers in fighting the cursed dire wolf charging at him—all while ignoring the Goddess’s bickering about copyright and plagiarism.

Lowering and steadying his stance, he waited for his opponent to enter the range of his attack.

He then made a quick stride, swiftly stepping forward to extend his range and outsmart his opponent before executing his on-the-spot, improvised technique.

His first upward strike cut through the left shoulder of the cursed dire wolf as it suddenly halted its charge in an attempt to dodge his attack.

The downward return strike, however, cleaved through its head, killing the cursed dire wolf as Lu-el’s axe crushed its skull.

[Poru@Astronaut: Too gruesome without any elegance!—FAIL—Do it again!]

"As if there would be any elegance in fighting a beast..." Lu-el whispered, unable to restrain himself from retorting to his loyal viewers.

[Poru@Astronaut: Just look at how Kaori is fighting!]

Looking at Kaori, Lu-el witnessed her taking down her third cursed dire wolf by stopping its charge with her dagger piercing its head, killing it in the process.

She then calmly pulled it out, letting the corpse fall to the ground before gracefully sidestepping to her left to dodge the fourth cursed dire wolf that jumped at her, and swiftly swung her knife to behead and kill it.

[Poru@Sage: Aren’t those Divine Weapons super OP? They cut through the beast’s thick hide like butter.]

[Poru@Knight: Don’t forget to praise her own skill.]

[Poru@Beast: And the power-up she got after intimacy.]

Feeling proud that she was his lover—and that it was his seed that gave her womb Mana—Lu-el shifted his gaze from Kaori toward the two more cursed dire wolves charging at him.

A different set of advice and instructions were given to him by his loyal viewers, and Lu-el followed them without hesitation.

He charged ahead at full speed to intercept his opponents before they could time their attacks.

Gripping his battle axe tightly, he swung with all his strength, embedding the blade into the flank of the first cursed dire wolf, killing it in the process.

He then continued his swing, using its corpse to smash into the second one and send it stumbling to the ground. Before it could stand, Lu-el yanked his axe from the corpse and rushed to chop off its head.

His rough, gruesome handiwork, which lacked elegance, received another failed mark from his loyal viewers—but Lu-el wasn’t going to complain now that he had already completed his quota.

There were over a hundred one-meter-tall cursed dire wolves that attacked their caravan from all directions, despite the leader of the pack having already been taken down—not that they would back down, since they were affected by the Curse and were no longer acting like a normal herd.

With 75 individuals in their caravan, each person had to take down at least two cursed dire wolves—and Lu-el had defeated three.

Kaori, on the other hand, had taken down six before approaching Lu-el to stay close to him in case of unexpected danger.

"I said, not that close!" Kaori retorted as Lu-el teased her again by trying to embrace her from behind.

***

"That wasn’t half bad, kid."

Back at their carriage at the center of the caravan’s formation, Daichi approached Lu-el and Kaori after the confrontation with the herd of cursed dire wolves ended.

The caravan’s forces easily wiped out the enemies, keeping all the carriages safe and sustaining only light injuries—mostly among the young hunters who didn’t have lovers yet to share and receive the blessing of intimacy to physically grow stronger.

Still, the injuries they sustained were quickly healed by the Priestess in other adventurer parties guarding the merchandise carriages.

Daichi dismantled the fangs and claws of the three-meter-tall Cursed Dire Wolf for both loot and evidence of the encounter before Manami cast her magic and opened several large fissures at the clearing on the sides of the mountain road, where the corpses would be buried after Mikoto offered her prayers to purify their Curse so they wouldn’t rise as undead or corrupt the land.

[Poru@Astronaut: Where did Ghost and Undead go? They suddenly went offline.]

[Poru@Sage: They didn’t get purified and finally rest in peace, right?]

"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Daichi," Lu-el said in response to Daichi’s report, though he couldn’t help but worry that the scammer goddess might actually smite his loyal viewers.

"Come on, kid. Just Mr. Daichi is fine," Daichi replied, laughing at Lu-el’s awkward courtesy before continuing.

"I’m sorry, young lady, but we’re taking a bit of a detour," he added, referring to Kaori.

"Where are we heading?" Kaori asked, worried by Daichi’s serious tone.

"I recognize this herd of Dire Wolves. They came from the territory of an Alpha Dire Wolf and a Mystic Dire Wolf near Fumoto Village at the foot of the mountain."

Lu-el and Kaori immediately understood what Daichi meant.

The herd they had just fought was led by what used to be the Mystic Dire Wolf before it became Cursed, which meant the situation could only go in three possible directions.

First, the Alpha Dire Wolf was still alive in its territory.

Second, it had already died and been devoured by the Cursed Beasts.

Lastly—and the worst—the Alpha Dire Wolf had also been Cursed.

"We don’t have time to waste," Kaori said with an anxious look on her face.

"Let’s head straight to Fumoto Village."