The sound of the alarm jolted everyone awake. Something was happening. Avryn and Leifren’s squads were the first to report alongside the night’s watch. The outpost was under attack. major Shalshukein was already on it.

  “You rookies, get to the mounted guns,” he ordered.

  “Yes, sir,” they stepped to.

  Hordes of Corpse wolves were attacking the outpost. Their hungry maws were trying to bite the gates open. Jovie’s squad was already there leading the counterattack alongside some of the veteran squads. Avryn found a mounted gun and surveyed the battle. There was at least six direwolves leading the attack. Wolves absolutely flooded the choke point. He loaded the gun and started firing. The wolves fell down like dominoes.

  An absolute hail of bullets rained down from the combined firepower of the mounted guns. More wolves came flooding in from the forest.

  “Damn, it looks endless,” Harver remarked.

  “Cannoneers, bomb them,” the major ordered.

  They lobbed magical cannonballs that exploded on impact, thinning the wolf pack. The direwolves countered by howling in unison. The amplified howl reached the outpost. Their magic started to take effect. Avryn started to feel it, but he had strength enough to aim the cannon and take out one of the direwolves. That was one down. Five more had to be killed.

  The veterans made quick work of the wolves. Their experience was key in efficiently cutting down their numbers as quick as they came. Leifren took the liberty and aimed for the second Corpse direwolf and punched in his shot. The bullet was true and found its mark on its skull.

  Several wolves piled on each other and were aiming for the mounted guns. Fighting broke out in the battlements of the outpost. Avryn used the explosive blasts of his gunblade to help out his fellow rookies. Wolves flew down as quickly as they climbed up.

  The major was even involved in the battle now,

  Keep them from overwhelming the mounted guns,” he ordered.

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  Jenilah and Rinna were already on it. Their styles complemented each other perfectly. Rinna slashed her way through in-between Jenilah’s pauses. Avryn and Harver backed were on the other flank tearing holes through the wolves.

  The magic that was weakening the soldiers loosened its grip as more direwolves fell. Now it was down to two. The creatures decided to retreat. Their pack followed them after. The defense was successful. The battlefield was a canvas of purple blood, wolf corpses, and bullet casings. The soldiers took account to the wounded. Shalshukein surveyed the damage.

  “Hmph, at least the gate held,” he tested with his hand.

  “Sir,” Leifren approached him. “We should launch a counterattack.”

  “I’m not too incline in risking sending a lot of troops to chase after some dogs,” he replied.

  “We can track them, sir. A small team should be enough,” Leifren tried to convince.

  “Fine. Talk with recon and see what you can come up with. Jovie’s squad will be with you,” he gestured towards one of the tents.

  The squads met up with the recon team and went over the database. The wolf pack was based in the nearby mountain, just past a small patch of forest. They assembled outside the gates and met with another two platoons.

  “Boss told us to back you up. Let’s kill some wolves,” one leader of the platoon headed to his jeep.

  It was a fifteen minute ride. They followed the fresh tracks to the base of the nearby mountain. Leifren looked up through his binoculars. There were at least three cave entrances. They went over strategy: the two platoons would enter the left and right entrance. The third platoon would rig the middle entrance with bombs and deal with the stragglers. The platoons executed the plans after the trap was set. They used their torch lights to look into the caves. The wolves’ alarm had sounded and they were duty-bound to defend their homes. They were cut and gunned down quickly. The dire wolves knew they were outmatched at this point and howled to retreat.

  The wolves ran as fast as they could. They must, otherwise they face total elimination. They must abandon their homes and search for a new one after the whole ordeal was over. It was then they were caught in the blast of the traps. Explosions ripped their limbs apart. The direwolves jumped over the explosion radius and landed outside. They were enraged by this and decided to make their last stand here. Anger gave their howls a needed bite. Weakening magics started to take effect once again.

  “Gun them down!” Avryn exclaimed.

  The bullets flew and peppered the direwolves’ bodies. They hunched over and fell to the ground and bled out. A pool of blood formed underneath them.

  “Well,” Avryn panted. “That was something.”

  Their mission was almost done. Leifren phoned in for the recon teams to do a full sweep. No more of those wolves would come to threaten the outpost again. Still, there was an ominous feeling among the troops. Something was amiss. Avryn felt it, Leifren felt it, but most especially, Tvira felt it.

  “There,” she pointed.

  A large presence emerged from the forest. It was an Alpha Direwolf. Standing over ten feet tall, it towered the three platoons. Not wanting to wait, Avryn stood in front of it.

  “Who’s a good doggy?” he taunted it.

  “Avryn, what the hell are you doing?” Rinna reprimanded him.

  Tvira drew her bow and shot at the wolf, only for it to catch the arrow in its jaw. It was a futile attempt. Jovie organized the platoons to formation. Gunners behind, the rest in the front. The wolf slowly walked towards them. It marched confidently. It knew he was more than a match for this. Avryn was getting antsy. His desire to fight fueled Lerosa, and for the first time, her glow was starting to fully realize.

  Avryn jumped the gun. Which earned the ire of Jovie.

  “Hey, kid! Stick to the formation!” the veteran shouted.

  The wolf bared its fangs to meet Avryn. There was one thing for sure: this clash would prove to be deadly to either side.