Nightfall – Ashfang Hollow
The howls grew louder.
Low, guttural calls echoed across the valley, answering one another with haunting rhythm. Somewhere beyond the forest ridge, clawed feet padded against dry earth. Twelve Fenwolves. Lean beasts of sinew and shadow, born from cursed blood and moonlight. Each stronger than a human warrior. The Alpha? Twice that.
Gorak stood at the top of the Watchtower. He peered into the treeline, eyes glowing faintly with hunter's focus. No fear in his stance. Just calculation.
Below him, Drask painted the ground in glowing crimson sigils, his staff pulsing faintly with every completed rune.
"We'll have one shot at this," Drask grunted, voice tense. "They're faster than they look. When they break formation, we strike the flank."
"I'll take the front," Gorak replied.
"You'll get surrounded."
"I know."
Drask glanced up. "And you're fine with that?"
Gorak's lip curled into a grin. "That's the plan."
[System Alert: Defense Event – Blood Moon Siege]
Enemies: Fenwolf Pack – Alpha-class (x1), Standard (x11)Objective: Survive the AssaultBonus: No Structural Damage to Watchtower | Reward Multiplier x1.2Time Limit: Dawn
Hour 1: Contact
The first wolves emerged like shadows slipping through trees—low to the ground, eyes glowing red, fur matted with rot and dried blood. They didn't rush. Not yet. Predators knew patience.
From his vantage, Gorak could make out the Alpha—massive and sleek, its hide laced with old scars, a bone-white streak running from muzzle to flank. It stalked just behind the formation, watching.
Leading. Measuring.
Smart.
"Drask," Gorak said without looking down, "focus fire on the left flank when they charge."
"On your mark," came the whispered reply.
They waited. Hearts steady.
Then, the Alpha howled.
A pulse of cursed magic surged outward, and the pack charged.
Hour 2: Engagement
Gorak leapt from the tower.
His body crashed into the dirt with a thunderous slam, scattering dust as he rolled forward, axe already in hand. The first Fenwolf lunged, jaws snapping—but Gorak pivoted mid-slide, slashing upward. The axe cleaved the creature's lower jaw clean off, and he finished the motion with a kick to the chest, sending it tumbling.
Another lunged from the side.
He ducked under the leap, spun, and drove the axe backward into its spine.
[Fenwolf (Standard) killed.][XP Gained: 140][Command Core Sync Bonus: +15% Tactical Insight][Warrior's Instinct Activated – Next Evasion Increased]
Gorak grinned.
They bled like any beast.
Above, a burst of red light flared across the sky. Drask's sigils erupted beneath three Fenwolves, sending a wave of searing flame into their legs. One screeched, caught alight. Another staggered—but the third powered through, charging straight for the Watchtower.
"Drask—!"
"I see it!"
The half-ogre raised his hand, and a shimmering barrier of molten air surged up just as the wolf leapt. The beast collided with it midair and was thrown back like a toy.
"Shield integrity holding," Drask muttered, but sweat dripped from his brow.
Hour 3: Counteroffensive
Gorak was a blur of motion now. The axe was no longer just a weapon—it was part of him. Each swing cut through tendon and hide, turning feral grace into ragged corpses. He moved with purpose, never wasting motion. Never flinching.
But still, they were strong. Too strong to kill without effort. He bore a deep gash across his arm now, his breath heavier.
Two wolves flanked him—one on each side.
He dropped low, sweeping out a leg to trip one. As it stumbled, the second lunged at his exposed side.
He let it.
The wolf's teeth sank into his shoulder.
Then Gorak roared, grabbed its neck, and with one brutal heave, ripped the beast off him and slammed it into the earth. The crunch of bone echoed in the night.
[Fenwolf (Standard) killed.][Level Up: Lv. 4 → Lv. 5]
Stat Points +5Trait Gained: Pain Threshold II – Reduces debuff from injuries by 20%.
Still standing. Still grinning.
The Alpha watched from afar, tail twitching.
Hour 4: Alpha Joins the Fray
When the last of the standard wolves fell with a whimper and blood pooling under it, silence returned—for only a heartbeat.
Then the Alpha moved.
Faster than expected.
One moment it was in the treeline. The next, it was above Gorak, mouth wide, eyes glowing with savage intelligence. It crashed into him with enough force to dent the earth, slamming him to the ground.
Gorak's ribs cracked. His axe was knocked from his hand.
Drask shouted something, but Gorak barely heard it. The beast reared up—and Gorak twisted, grabbing a sharp bone fragment from the dirt and plunged it into the wolf's eye.
It screamed.
He rolled out from under it, coughing blood, and scrambled to his feet. The Alpha staggered, but it wasn't down.
It turned, eyes bleeding, and growled.
"Drask—now!" Gorak roared.
A searing lance of fire tore through the air, slamming into the Alpha's back. The beast howled, fur igniting. But still—it charged.
Gorak picked up his axe just in time to meet it head-on.
Steel met claw.
Muscle met fury.
They collided.
And Gorak refused to yield.
Hour 5: Dawn
The Alpha lay motionless, half its skull crushed beneath Gorak's axe. Blood soaked the ground around them, steam rising from its corpse in the cold air.
Gorak stood still, panting heavily. His left eye was swollen shut, his shoulder nearly dislocated, and a deep bite mark ran across his torso—but he stood.
Drask limped over, eyes wide. "You mad bastard."
"We lived," Gorak said.
[Siege Complete – Fenwolf Pack Eliminated][Ashfang Hollow – Threat Rating Reduced][XP Gained: 1200][Bonus Objectives Achieved – Watchtower Undamaged][Reward Multiplier Applied: x1.2]
[Loot Acquired: Cursed Fang x5, Alpha Pelt, Moonblood Crystal][Territory Prestige +15][Ashfang Hollow Reputation: Fledgling Stronghold][Recruitment Rate Increased]
They burned the bodies by sunrise. The fire turned the ash-gray soil darker, richer.
The first defense. The first true test.
They had passed.
Ashfang Hollow was no longer just a patch of cursed land. It was their land.
Gorak, leaning heavily against a post, looked out over the valley and said, "We'll need more traps. Stronger walls. Supplies."
Drask nodded. "And more people."
"We'll find them. Warriors. Crafters. Anyone who can serve. And when we do, we make this place a fortress."
He looked up at the sky, watching the last star fade with the morning light.
"This is just the beginning."
To be continued...