Chapter 10 10:A Play Between Hunter And Prey[3]
The Direwolf claws approaching him slammed on the ground and the play of cat and mouse went on for a while.
Lucas made an effort to retaliate by raising his dagger but he could not muster his strength while rolling on the ground.
The Direwolf was also getting used to his partly tricks and took a step backwards even before Lucas could swing his dagger.
As such several clashes like this went on.
A few times, he rolled on the ground to avoid the wolf and a few times he raised his dagger to attack or block its paws but unlike him, the wolf did seem to panic at first.
Just like a hunter who drove his prey into a corner, the Direwolf drove Lucas all around the place without any mercy.
However, pretty soon, it started to get anxious. It had killed several humans who struggled desperately for survival but all of them had one end which is…
Dying by getting torn with claws and becoming a plaything.
But for the very first time, it met a human as resilient as him who desperately clutched every straw he could find just to survive.
No matter how hard it tried, the human would slowly escape from his sharp claws at the last moment.
Not only that, this sinister human even played dirty by throwing dirt into its eye.
GRRRRRRR!
With a bestial shriek filled with immense frustration and anger, its body shot at Lucas who was rolling around crazily.
However, Lucas was not moving around without any plan. Slowly and steadily while directing the wolf's attention to him, he approached the wrist holding the firearm.
The excitement of hunting possessed the beast's mind. It was intuitive for it to kill the prey before as quickly as possible and play with the corpse.
The beast knew that the moment he landed a strong blow, it would be the death of that man after which he could chew and tear it off into pieces and scatter the pieces of its body to trap another prey like him to play with so it felt that his chance to win had appeared.
Rolling and sliding, Lucas spread his hands around and finally caught the flintlock pistol.
The dire wolf's ear perked up as he saw a new toy in the prey's hands.
Wondering what it was, it dashed towards him.
"Just die you menace, "Lucas spat and slid his finger towards the trigger.
Instead of dodging, he threw his body towards the Direwolf.
Twisting his body, he slumped down on the floor at the very moment the Direwolf leapt to slide down under the wolf in case he failed to shoot properly.
Lucas back glided down and aiming for the head pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Smoke spread and with a fast speed, the bullet hurled towards the dire wolf.
Lucas's arm jolted back due to the reaction force of the shot causing the aim to change and the bullet hit the dorsal side of the wolf.
A dark red spot appeared from which blood gushed causing the Direwolf to let out a painful groan and it toppled to the ground and rubbed its back.
Lucas, who dodged the Direwolf numerous times, had noticed two dark red spots at the back before.
"The wound is similar to two dried red spots that I have seen on the back which means they are wounds due to this pistol."
Lucas's heart wobbled as he found that the pistol might not be enough to kill this guy.
Firearms are not popular here because they fell short to kill monsters and at a higher level, one could even dodge bullets.
Though one can take the risk of using guns against lower levels, monsters and beasts generally have a tough outer layer that blocks much of the damage.
So people mostly use mana and aura to sharpen their weapons and kill the monster.
"I remember reading somewhere that flintlock pistols have 5 shots. I don't know whether this applies here but with two wounds on its back previously and one from mine, it means I have two in here if the other party did not miss before dying."
GRRRRRRRRRR!GRRRRR!
Unfortunately, the Direwolf did not give him time to calculate properly as the Direwolf charged in again.
Lucas jerked his head and raised his gun aiming for the spot on the snout and pulled the trigger again while praying in his heart for the bullet to hit.
However, how can a newbie who had not even held a gun before pull such a feat after firing once?
He was neither experienced nor a heaven-defying genius in terms of shooting.
The recoil of the shot pushed back his hand again and Direwolf reacted instantly causing the bullet to miss it entirely.
Lucas was startled and tried to get back into a proper stance before pulling the trigger again but this allowed the dire wolf to charge in.
His body, which had reacted quite well at the last moments of the attacks previously, failed to do so this time because he was exhausted and he had lost his balance due to the recoil of the shot.
BANG!
With a thump, he shot through the sky.
The momentum carried by the giant wolf's body along with the acceleration was enormous and Lucas felt his bones being crushed when being directly hit by such a huge body.
The Direwolf did not forget to flick his paws at the last moment and the sharp claws tore off the flesh from his right shoulder exposing the whitish shoulder blade which was soon dyed with blood.
Leaving behind a trail of blood, Lucas's body slid against the ground and struck a rocky protruding boulder causing a layer of dust and debris to sweep around.
The dagger and the pistol that was clutched until the end looked miserable.
Blood dripped down and painted the right half of the body.
The man's breathing faintly started to subside and his heart slowly died down showing the sigh of its approaching death.
Even if he doesn't die now, if left like this he would die of blood loss.
The Direwolf tilted his head wondering if he had won after such a brittle struggle.
The beast was cautious and observed him for a moment and then it strode over admiring the corpse.
Its eyes shone with ecstasy and it let out a small growl of happiness while looking at the hunted prey.
More than that he was happy that the prey was not a normal being and contained a rich nutrient source of mana which would allow it to advance and grow stronger after being consumed.
The beast opened its jaw wide and its large sharp protruding fangs were exposed as he stood right before the human.
As the shadow of the wolf covered the boy whom it fought previously, its eyes gleamed with happiness.
The wolf lowered his guard, discerning itself to be the winner.
The wolf's large fangs were just a few inches away from the boy's face and his warm breath brushed past Lucas's face caressing his hair, it was just then….
SHIIIIIIR!
It heard a sharp object piercing him, and following it was a sudden onslaught of rapid pain.
The dire wolf's eyes widened as the short dagger in the man's left arm stabbed right below the throat causing its head to jolt up due to the assault of skin-tearing pain.
Noticing the dire wolf's negligence, Lucas's sneak attack became successful and his dagger pierced deep into the neck region near the throat where the skin was not tough compared to other parts.
The wolf's movements ceased for a moment and its blank stunned bloody eyes stared at the human and then at the blade that pierced it alternatively.
The dire wolf was too shocked to react to the sudden influx of pain.
Lucas used this opportunity to move away from the wolf's jaws and paws.
Slouching downwards, he pushed the dagger with more strength.
"Did you forget that I promised to bring you down with me?"
As the dagger dug deep into the wolf's neck a little more, blood started to gush out like a fountain.
It tried to slash its claws but due to pain, his vision became blurry momentarily and the attacks were slow.
Lucas tottered his body to and fro dodging the weakened attacks.
Already knowing this wasn't enough, Lucas sprang upward like lightning startling the wolf.
Before the Direwolf could react, Lucas placed the pistol on its perked ear, and with his bloodied right arm, he emptied the last bullet of the pistol.
BAM!
Sparks flickered from the pistol followed by a loud sound.
A sharp pain transversed from his fist to his shoulder causing his shoulder blade to chip due to recoil.
He was already close to losing the sensation of his arm so he was unable to take on the recoil.
The crackling of bones resounded and the pistol flew back as Lucas lost the grip.
BANG!
The left ear of the Direwolf burst into pieces causing blood to splatter on Lucas's face.
The bullet which had been fired from point-blank range dug deep into the skull causing the Direwolf to leap backward in agony.
Blood gushed out like a spray, then the beast howled loudly. It was a voice that resonated throughout the forest.
"Ahhh…my arm…It hurts as hell."Lucas groaned in pain and spat.
Except for pain, he could not feel any sensation from his right.
Watching the Direwolf rolling around in deep agony and misery, he knew that this was the moment of revenge.
Dragging his exhausted body, he raised the dagger and jumped on the beast from behind.
Positioning himself over his huge back, he stabbed his dagger, then pulled it out and stabbed again.
WOOOO!WOOOO!WOOOO!WOOO!
Turning deaf ear to the beast's pleas, he continued digging holes in the dire wolf's body causing it to shriek louder and louder.
For a moment, except for the soul-wrenching cries and screams of a dying beast along with the deep grunt of the human, all other noises ceased.