Re-Awakened: Echelon Supreme

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Noyan stood up with great difficulty. Fortunately, even after falling from a tall tree, his bones did not break. The bodies of Sumerû Nomads were tough and burly, and even though Noyan had not inherited the burly aspect, his body was unusually tough nonetheless.

This was partly due to his mother, who put him through hell by her unusual means in his early childhood to temper his physique. And partly due to his luck. Due to this, even though Noyan looked like a pampered young noble of the civilized world, his temperament was as nomadic as it could possibly get.

Currently, however, more than a young noble, he resembled a young beggar or a dying dog. His face was unusually pale, his skin red like a tomato, his breathing labored, and it seemed like he could roll over and die at any moment.

Noyan did not have the leisure to curse at his misfortune. Calculating the time, he realized that the beast would arrive in just minutes. And although his situation was extremely miserable, Noyan forcefully swallowed the blood that was churning in his mouth and smiled widely, as if he was not dying but had won a lottery instead.

Noyan did not dare dilly-dally too much. First, he needed to improvise his plan. After coughing up blood all over, Noyan knew that the cunning wolf would definitely smell it and get attracted. In such a situation, he could not hide like before and pounce on the opportunity. In this situation, he would have to create the opportunity himself.

Noyan was not naive; he knew that he did not need to take such big risks. He even knew that Torgana was perhaps somewhere nearby and definitely wouldn't let him die so easily. That's why he dared to gamble fully; after all, he was reassured that he could afford to gamble his life. Of course, this assurance did not mean that he would be complacent. In fact, it was because he had this assurance that he dared to treat his life as a game. He knew that if he took the coward's way out, firstly, his mother would definitely not be happy, and secondly, it was not in his nature.

Noyan had seen some things in his young age that had a profound impact on his character, especially when his mother guided him to think a certain way. He knew that his mother was trying to prepare him, but he himself also wanted to be strong, have status in this dog-eat-dog world, experience all the fortunes of life, and live well. That's why he was willing to put in his best efforts.

Noyan quickly thought of a plan. It was more than crude to say the least, but knowing that the wolf was also probably in a desperate condition, he felt that the chances were not shallow.

But before taking this great gamble, Noyan knew that he could not afford any distraction. He first had to deal with the strange effects of Greenglow, the blessing of The Northern Emperor that was chipping away at his life. Fortunately, Noyan had found a solution to this problem during his weird experience earlier... probably.

For the last time before the imminent skirmish, Noyan delved into his inner world somewhat fearfully, secretly making a vow that he wouldn't do this again for a while. The strange phenomenon had really traumatized him.

As he once again observed his body's defenses crumbling before the green ghostly particles, Noyan sighed in wonder. He had realized one thing, which was that the green particles had a corruptive quality, and thus, it was very difficult to deal with. He prayed to the Eternal Starry Sky and wished that his trick would work. Then, he immediately got to work.

Noyan knew that the ghostly green particles were not sentient. And conveniently, they only attacked the genome structure in his cells. The scary thing was that these particles would corrupt the genetic code and, in a way, cause the body to malfunction. At some point, the body would attack itself in confusion, and the victim would die a miserable death.

But due to the secret meditation technique of Mind's Eye, Noyan could take control and stop his body from being confused. However, he could not stop the decay of the fabric of his existence. He also couldn't stop the ghostly particles from messing up his genetic code, and there was no place to hide either. Thankfully, he had found a huge secret.

Noyan could not stop the ghostly particles, but he was the God of his own body. So, he could guide these particles towards a certain place... a foggy, mysterious glimmer hidden deep in his existence. And so that's what he did.

Soon, Noyan laughed in jubilation. Just as expected, the ghostly particles were attracted to the mysterious glimmer like moths to the flame. The surprising thing was that these particles completely disappeared into this glimmer without a single ripple, as if they had never existed in the first place.

Immediately, Noyan directed all the harmful particles towards the glimmer that was the black hole. The strain on his body was finally reduced. He immediately began to repair the world inside his body. This was like putting a bandaid over a wound so it wouldn't bleed and fester. This was naturally not enough, but for now, it was more than enough. The rest, he trusted his mother would handle. Speaking of which, he was looking forward to experiencing that warm, spring-like sensation of healing sorcery once again.

Having solved all the immediate threats, Noyan smiled in relief and satisfaction. He then finally began to enact his audacious plan to hunt the beast.

...

Beneath the Eternal and Endless Skies, a large, ferocious silhouette streaked across the grasslands and rolling hills of the Sumerû Plains. The beast had been on a stride for a long time; it had a bloody, mangled wound on its side that looked very hideous, but it also gave off a bloodthirsty and intimidating aura.

The beast, desperately seeking fresh water after its grievous injury, seemed to be heading towards the nearby Aanjin River. Despite its injury, the beast ran in a very agile manner, leaving behind gusts of wind. It was really strange, as if it should not be this way—it signified two possibilities: either the beast had gone mad, or something really was strange about the beast.

The Sumerû Plains were largely empty and full of grasslands, hills, and elevations or utter wastelands. Only the Great Rivers that originated from the Holy Mountain in the far North breathed life into this unfortunate vast land. This was why the region near the rivers would usually be full of trees and green foliage.

The beast, a large alpha direwolf, narrowed its eyes in desire as it saw the dense foliage finally appear. This meant that plenty of water was within reach, as well as prey to hunt and a place to lick its wounds.

Thinking of its wounds, the direwolf howled sorrowfully as if lamenting its unfair little life. At the same time, a flame of hatred and desire for revenge kindled in its red eyes.

The tenacity and immunity of the beast was truly something wonderful. Even after running for tens and hundreds of miles with a serious injury, the wolf still seemed relatively active. This only proved how dangerous such creatures were.

The direwolf entered the river's vicinity in no time. Suddenly, it stopped and snorted. A familiar scent tingled its nose... it was the scent of blood.

The wolf was cautious and immediately slowed down. It was very tempted. Although it seemed fine, the injuries were severe even if they weren't deadly. The wolf was also exhausted from a long journey and the life-and-death struggle that had occurred prior to that. In the end, the brave direwolf could not resist the temptation of potentially having a free meal in such an urgent hour. Its mouth salivated, the sharp and long fangs glinting by the glow of the rising sun.

Chilly morning winds blew, permeating a pungent scent of blood by the river bank. The water calmly flowed downstream—and the birds that were starting to wake up sang happily, culminating into a serene atmosphere.

Suddenly, the leaves rustled faintly; two red eyes glowed in the shadowy camouflage of the dense foliage. The direwolf had finally arrived to investigate.

What its cold, wild, and cruel eyes saw was a human child, all bloody and seemingly lifeless, simply lying there unmoving in a pool of blood. Compared to the huge body of the wolf, the 'lifeless' human child looked defenseless. To the wolf's eyes, this was like a heavenly fortune. It was as if a parched, dying man were to suddenly encounter water paradise in the middle of a desert; or a fish falling out of a small water bowl only to drop into a vast ocean.

The wolf had already scouted the vicinity thoroughly; it was very clever and patient. It observed the 'dead body' for a long time, and only when it thought that the human child was truly dead and there was no one around, it moved towards the feast. The wolf inwardly thought that it was very lucky. Of course, it would soon find out that it was perhaps the most unlucky direwolf in the world.

In normal circumstances, the wolf perhaps would have sensed something, but this time, it really was quite desperate. It had lost a lot of blood already, and its instincts said that such a small, lifeless thing couldn't possibly be a threat.

Gaining its confidence, the direwolf approached. Still very cautious, it took small steps. Its posture was quite stretched, its paws ready to strike at any time, and its mouth open, showing the yellow sharp fangs that still had a hint of blood on them.

Seeing this scene, Torgana, who was hiding nearby with her nerves stretched to the limits, thought that the young prince was a monster through and through. His courage was truly beyond this world. She had witnessed everything that Noyan had been doing, from him climbing the tree to them falling off and then playing dead in a very, very convincing manner. For a moment, she doubted if he really was dead. Had Greenglow taken his life already? How could a twelve-year-old child be this cunning? Sure enough, mother like son, both were a pair of freaks of the same blood.

As she observed quietly, she was ready to intervene at any second. In fact, her bow was already drawn, and her long sword was quietly sheathed and hung behind her back. She had absolute confidence that on her watch, the young prince would not come to any harm.

The direwolf, at least five times larger than Noyan, cast a full shadow over his bloody 'dead body'. The pool of blood, in fact, had already made contact with its paws that were scratched in several places.

Suddenly, the wolf's gaze fell on the pendant that glowed very, very faintly. Then, as if in a daze, its gaze stalled at the ring Noyan was wearing. Then, it inexplicably sensed danger! Alarms suddenly rang in its mind. Eyes narrowing into slits, the direwolf suddenly exuded a peerless aura. In lightning speed, it raised its paws and moved to jump on the 'dead body' to rip it apart completely. If noticed carefully, one could even see gusts of wind swirling around the wolf in an unnatural manner. Noyan was not aware of this at all.

Even if Noyan wasn't aware, someone had already noticed something. The instincts that were honed from countless battlefields played their part as Torgana sensed danger just as the wolf laid its eyes upon the pendant on Noyan's chest.

With a twang, she let loose the outstretched bowstring. In an instant, cutting through the air and creating a razor-sharp whistling sound, the arrow shot forward—straight towards the wolf!

Everything happened too quickly, from the wolf realizing something to the arrow being shot, only seconds had passed. At this critical juncture, the direwolf showed why it was an apex predator.

The arrow reached the wolf in a blink of an eye, but an accident had happened. Just before reaching the direwolf, suddenly, wind stirred with a silvery glow. The arrow's trajectory was slightly altered!

This is also where the direwolf was shaken; the whirlwind was so strong! But the strength behind that arrow was even stronger! In fact, this collision of arrow and wind created fiery sparks, but the arrow was still unstoppable.

The wolf howled in fury; these puny things dared to scheme against it?! This was unacceptable! The direwolf's bloodthirsty nature was fully aroused. It immediately tried to dodge, but the arrow still grazed by, adding another bloody wound. Fortunately for the wolf, the arrow was not fatal due to its special wind abilities!

"Not good!" Torgana's face went stiff. She knew that if anything were to happen to Noyan, that vicious woman would definitely not let her go so easily! But mostly, she was disappointed in herself.

Torgana knew that it was not yet over. She trusted Noyan's abilities, and so instead of drowning in regret, she shot forward like a rocket, directly borrowing power from her Bloodline Tattoo, reaching unimaginable agility, even faster than a beast like the direwolf!

The direwolf finally felt immense danger. It no longer felt lucky. Feeling intense bloodlust, the beast turned towards Noyan, who had already realized the peril he was in by now.

Not wasting any time, the direwolf pounced furiously, swinging its paws around as it sought to tear the audacious little bastard in front of it.

Noyan reacted quickly; he stretched his legs against the ground, then, with the support of his arms, he immediately pushed himself backwards in an awkward half-lying posture. It looked extremely strange and naturally, wasn't enough to escape.

Then, another accident happened! In an inexplicable manner, the wolf actually... stumbled! Absolutely flabbergasted, the direwolf could not understand what was happening. It felt its body stiffening as a sudden wave of dizziness washed over it.

The movements of the direwolf were interrupted for a fraction of a second, but in a life-and-death situation, a fraction of a moment could mean life or death. Noyan instantly caught this change and grinned, "Hahaha, the poison I mixed in the blood all around me, it worked! Hahaha!" Noyan laughed in a mocking manner.

Then, suddenly, pain washed over him as his laughter faded abruptly. Looking down at himself, Noyan found his arm all mangled and bloody. Deep claw marks could be seen on his right arm. It turns out, the direwolf had managed to strike a little even though it was interrupted. Noyan shivered, "What would have happened if the direwolf wasn't poisoned?" He thought with lingering fear. Then, feeling the pain coursing through his arms, he suddenly got angry and yelled out, "Motherf*cker! Almost got me..."

After so much had happened, Noyan could no longer hold on. His vision was slowly darkening. But Noyan knew that he couldn't pass out just yet—as he could see the direwolf lunging at him once again in pure hatred, not giving him any chances. Behind the direwolf, he could vaguely make out a strong figure approaching like a gust of wind.

Noyan did not expect the situation to escalate in such a manner. He could faintly feel the shadow of death looming. The direwolf's claw was almost upon him. At this critical moment, when Noyan's will to live exceeded all bounds, it was as though time had slowed down suddenly. In his frenzy, Noyan did not notice this. He could only see the large direwolf that was going to rip him to shreds in mere seconds. At this thought, Noyan felt boundless strength pouring into him from an unknown source. Noyan couldn't even bother to pay attention to this; only killing intent oozed out of his short figure as he unsheathed a dagger from his waist. Unbeknownst to him, an unnoticeable crack appeared in the ancient glimmer inside his inner world—from which, a very tiny wisp of energy flowed out, immediately rejuvenating his cells mysteriously.

As this was happening, a trace of black lines appeared on Noyan's upper neck, from which, an aura of suppression flowed out; momentarily sending the direwolf into a daze.

In an instant, the black lines disappeared as if something was not enough to form the entire image. But even a tiny dot from this image struck a sense of fear in the direwolf, as if an existence far, far superior was gazing at it coldly from far above.

Noyan was not even conscious to understand what was going on. Seeing the deathly claw approaching him, he simply swung his knife—pushed by the momentary outburst of power from earlier.

Sparks flew as the claw and the knife collided. The direwolf stumbled back, while Noyan's arm immediately broke from the shock. But most importantly, he had somehow saved himself. Noyan finally closed his eyes in relief, feeling his entire body scream out in unimaginable fatigue. But he was satisfied, as he saw a reliable figure brutally swinging her longsword from behind the stumbling direwolf.

The last thing Noyan saw before fainting was the splattering of blood; as the direwolf was beheaded in one clean sweep. The trial given by his mother had finally ended.