I'm hungry... My hunger, the hunger of my people, doesn't go away..., but I'll fix it!
I don't know how many times that thought crossed my mind, a thought of a simple and clear nature. Still, whenever that thought came back to mind, the tiredness that my body felt... as well as my hunger... ceased to be an issue in my head.
It seemed that the more I thought about it the more strength entered my body. It made me realize that this wasn't just some random thought that kept popping into my head over and over again.
It was a prayer.
That was a prayer, mine and from my people. A silent prayer that registered our pain and suffering, as well as our resolve.
And the strength of our desires was what strengthened me with every step I took.
As I thought about this I noticed that, in the distance, a small group of wolves were standing around a carcass, one they had just caught considering the smell of blood I could smell. Their number was small, less than ten, but the chance that an entire pack is nearby exists.
Of course, the most sensible thing to do was to run away. Direwolves are dangerous opponents, even more so when in a pack, and I shouldn't take that risk.
After all, if I die here, what will be of my people's future? Can I wait for a miracle from some kind and powerful being like Tempest-sama?
Of course not.
Still, in the face of my people's hunger, can I really back down...?
The burden of carrying the lives and hunger of all my people weighed heavily on me and clouded my mind, but that only told me one thing: I had reached the forest. The Great Forest of Jura! The place where my blessings, blessings that I will seek with my own hands, would reach my people!
No matter how tired or hungry I was...
I can no longer retreat!!!
Feeling that the prayers of my people had reached me, I ignored my tiredness and started running towards the carcass that the wolves were eating, even with empty hands. I may not even have a weapon with me, but nothing will stop me from reaching the food I want.
Just as I expected, the moment I started to run towards the wolves I was noticed. At first only one of the wolves looked at me, but soon the entire group, as if they were a single entity, turned their faces towards me, their faces distorted into angry expressions with teeth bared.
I didn't stop, despite the clear threat, and instead I felt myself getting even faster. The magículas inside me seemed to get more and more excited by the food in front of me.
This did not go unnoticed by the wolves.
Once they realized I wasn't going to stop even with their threats, the wolves broke away from the carcass they'd been eating earlier and began to run separately through the trees. They were probably trying to attack from different directions to try to find my blind spot.
Not that I minded that. I was actually really glad they did.
There are seven of them! Three on each side, hidden by the trees, waiting to ambush me, and one that's coming from the front to get my attention.
With that conclusion in the back of my mind I reached out with my hand to grab a branch from one of the nearby trees, plucking it from the tree to use as a weapon.
Catching an enemy faster with an attack is a very difficult task. And under these conditions, carrying out a surprise attack would be impossible. Still, the "surprise effect" that a person normally uses in a surprise attack is something that can be achieved in multiple ways.
With that in mind, I gripped the branch with my left hand and twisted my body, ready to launch a full-strength attack at the wolf in front of me. My body, because of my position, was quite open to a possible attack, but that wasn't a problem.
Before the wolf in front of me even had the chance I swung the branch with all my strength, a blow that could easily crush that wolf's skull if it had hit squarely.
But, as expected, the wolf was a faster opponent. Before I even finished my attack, the wolf had already jumped back, moving away from the possible attack. My attack had been too obvious and therefore easy to dodge.
Unfortunately for the wolf, I also expected him to dodge that attack.
Loosening my grip on the branch, the force with which I was swinging it threw the branch in my hands away and, as the wolf was retreating, precisely in the direction the wolf was trying to retreat.
This surprised the wolf, but he recovered from the surprise quickly enough to stop his previous retreating movement and dodge to the side, avoiding the branch altogether. A quick, fluid movement though it was a four-legged creature, but I could see how forced this movement was to the wolf by the fear and stress in its expression.
Unfortunately for him, that was also part of my plan.
Before the wolf, who had been distracted by the branch, could even realize what happened, his neck was already between my teeth.
It's a normal thought for any warrior, but keeping your balance when using any type of weapon is very important. Otherwise when you swing a hammer, ax or some other heavy weapon and don't move your feet properly, you end up losing your balance and falling.
And I, taking advantage of that, took advantage of the impulse of having thrown the branch away, dropped my body to where the wolf would escape and jumped. When the wolf, distracted by the branch, dodged towards me, I just bit into his neck like it was the first piece of meat I'd eaten in days.
And indeed, it was the first bite of food in days, since the day I met Tempest-sama. Which is why, when I felt the wolf's blood flowing into my mouth, I instinctively bit down and ripped his entire neck off in one bite, causing the head and body to fall almost completely apart.
For a moment I could hear a surprised snarl, probably from the surrounding wolves who didn't expect their mate's death. Even so, I didn't stop moving, aware of my obvious disadvantage.
Without even getting up properly I ran towards where I had thrown the branch before, and almost at the same time I could already hear the sound of the wolves running after me with even more fury than before.
But I didn't care. I had already achieved my goal.
As soon as I got to the branch a wolf bit my shoulder, but I ignored it and grabbed the branch before turning back, swinging the branch at all the other wolves that came along with it.
Surprise seemed to wash over the wolves as their bodies flew away in pain.
Well, they probably didn't expect me to ignore the pain like that just to attack. No creature under normal circumstances would do such a thing.
But...
I am starving!!!
Without thinking twice I caught the wolf's head that was biting my shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding the branch, and he was unable to resist as he was surprised by the attack from before. At first he tried to resist my strength, but with the tightening of my fingers I could hear a clear cracking sound before the wolf's body went limp.
But he didn't fall to the ground.
I took the wolf's head off my shoulder and brought it close to my mouth, and then proceeded to eat the wolf in front of his other companions, who had only just recovered from the surprise and pain of the attack. A mixture of anger and fear took over the environment as the wolves watched their mate get eaten, but they didn't approach this time.
The aura surrounding my body, which was previously not much better than the aura of these wolves, suddenly expanded.
I could feel that I was getting stronger.
But...
It's still not enough... Not yet!!! I still am....
"HUNGRY!!!"
Those words instinctively tumbled out of my mouth as my aura expanded, exploding out of me, and then all the wolves changed their expressions of wariness to an expression of sheer terror, recognizable regardless of one's race.
<<Use of Intrinsic Skill [Intimidation] has been confirmed!!>>
Ignoring the female voice in my head I watched for just a second as the wolves awkwardly tried to get away from how scared they were before charging towards them.
What passed after that was nothing more than a slaughter I barely remember.
I'm pretty sure at least one wolf I've punched to the ground hard enough to split its body in two. One of them I hit the branch on him so hard he flew into a tree and got caught in one of its branches. And at least one of them I didn't even use my hands, I advanced on him with my teeth and took his life with a single bite.
What really matters is when I finally came to my senses.
I'm not sure how many wolves I've fought, how many reinforcements have come, os how many I've devoured, or how much time has passed.
I was only sure of three things as soon as I woke up.
First, the forest around me had been painted red with blood and a few remnants of wolf fur and pelts.
Second, I was still hungry, even though I was sure I had eaten more than ten of my people would normally be able to eat.
And the third...
[Do you hear me, my people?! Hear the voice of your LORD!!!]
I had acquired skills. Wolves' Intrinsic Skills, which I somehow knew how to use as if I'd always had them. And among them there was [Thought Transmission].
[Everybody come to the forest! Tempest-sama's blessings await us!!!]
A smile formed on my face as I felt the power of the wolves coursing through my veins. My enemies' power became a bit more mine, and I could even use their skills. My childhood dream, my people's dream, Tempest-sama's will...
I felt like I could do anything, even as I felt my hunger grow.
[Let's quench our HUNGER!]