The alpha wolf truly lived up to its name. At this critical moment, its powerful survival instincts erupted. With a twist of its waist, it dodged what should have been a fatal blow, leaving behind only a wound about a foot long. The stabbing pain made it let out a low growl, and it opened its mouth to spray a burst of icy frost.

The frost, like mist and arrows, shot fiercely toward William Reed's chest. The biting chill made the already cold air as sharp as a blade.

"Ice Arrow!"

William Reed's pupils instinctively contracted. This bronze-ranked demon wolf's talent was truly astonishing—it could actually unleash its battle energy to form a frosty arrow that could injure others.

If that attack had landed, even if he was lucky enough to survive, he would have lost most of his life. Shocked, William Reed pushed off hard with his toes, his figure darting backward, leaving several afterimages behind—this was the Lei family's signature movement technique, Thunder Flash. Under the pressure of a life-or-death situation, his speed reached its peak, but he still couldn't completely evade the Ice Arrow's assault. His arm brushed against a patch of pale white icy mist.

A bone-chilling cold instantly surged along his meridians straight to his heart, freezing everything it touched into stiffness. Fortunately, he reacted in time, channeling all the pure Heavenly Thunder battle energy within him to desperately resist the invasion of the icy mist. At the same time, his feet moved rapidly, constantly retreating. No matter the species, the desire to survive is usually extremely fierce, and he was no exception. In just a few brief exchanges, William Reed was well aware that this bronze-ranked alpha wolf was a formidable adversary—he could easily die at its hands. Not to mention, it wasn't acting alone; it still had half a wolf pack under its command.

There is no shame in fleeing under the threat of life and death.

Reality is not like those hot-blooded hero novels, where the indestructible protagonist always struggles on the brink of death and turns the tables on the demon king through sheer willpower.

Maybe a few months ago, when he was still a pampered young master, William Reed might have vaguely believed in that. But now, he knew all too well that novels are just novels, and drama is still just drama. Reality is far more brutal and bloody than those works of art. Luckily, William Reed retreated quickly, for at that moment, two snow wolves leapt out from the side in a bizarre ambush, their sharp claws slashing at William Reed's afterimages.

After months of life-and-death escapes, hunted and counter-hunting, William Reed had firmly learned one truth: you only get one life. Even the slightest mistake could mean that this moment would be the last of his short existence, ending with the wolves' revenge and becoming their winter feast.

This was far from the first time. Exhausted and somewhat disheveled, William Reed fled for his life, heading once again toward the Hengduan Mountains. His stomach was both hungry and thirsty, and his stamina and battle energy were draining at the fastest possible rate. He wanted to stop, wanted to turn the wolf he had killed into a fragrant dinner to reward his growling belly. But unfortunately, the remaining wolves, led by the alpha, kept a tight grip on him in their home territory. Amidst the constant howls, his nerves were stretched to the breaking point.

In some aspects of wilderness survival and combat instinct, humans really are inferior to animals—especially to creatures that could be called demon beasts. For the alpha wolf, hunting had become a part of its very existence. Indeed, if it couldn't catch its prey, what awaited the pack was hunger, pain, and even death.

Under the threat of survival, the cunning and resilience of animals far exceed what most people can imagine. Moreover, wolves themselves are a highly vengeful species—even before reaching the level of demon beasts or awakening intelligence, if a member of the pack was killed, the rest would pursue revenge relentlessly.

All the more so since this alpha wolf had already reached the initial bronze rank, with considerable intelligence. Of the four remaining plateau snow wolves, one was at the beast level, two had the aura of black iron rank, and the alpha had the strength of initial bronze. And on this snow-swept, deeply blanketed plateau, it was their ideal hunting ground.

As for William Reed, though his Thunder Flash was fast, it consumed a tremendous amount of battle energy—especially in such harsh weather and environment, it was even more exhausting.

The ghost wolf Scott, who had previously died at William Reed's hands, was nicknamed "Ghost Wolf" precisely because he excelled at stealth and tracking, making escape nearly impossible. This showed just how strong wolves' tracking abilities were. In the next dozen or so miles, William Reed was ambushed four times in a row by the relentless pursuit of the remaining wolves. Each time, just as he relaxed a little and tried to catch his breath, the pack would suddenly launch a harassing attack.

Even more terrifying, once the wolf pack realized William Reed's strength, they began to employ harassment tactics—if they missed with one strike, they would immediately retreat, vanishing into the swirling snow. This left William Reed, with his battle energy and stamina nearly depleted, fleeing for his life with no time or space to rest.

In his extreme exhaustion, William Reed was now in tatters, looking nothing like the dashing young master he had been just a few months ago. His haggard expression was full of fatigue, but his eyes still shone with an unyielding light. The wolf pack was employing a war of attrition, aiming to exhaust their prey until he collapsed on his own.