Chapter 224: Whetstone

The orange flames flickered as the wolves huddled around a small oil lamp, their gazes fixed intently on the one-finger-long, grayish-white strand of fur in the lead wolf’s palm.

After discovering this strand, the lead wolf had used various methods to verify its origins—confirming two key facts:

First, it had been severed by a blade.
Second, it belonged to the limping wolf.

With these two points confirmed, the lead wolf had reached a conclusion. After a long moment of contemplation, he let out a helpless chuckle.

“If my guess is correct, we’ve all been turned into someone else’s whetstone…”

“Whetstone?”

“Big Brother, what do you mean?” The limping wolf asked in confusion.

The lead wolf explained, “That girl was the last survivor of the village. The Universal Immortal trapped us here… most likely to let her personally exact revenge.”

“But an ordinary mortal girl could never kill us…”

At this point, the lead wolf paused briefly before continuing,

“Which means the Universal Immortal must have used some mysterious technique to protect her—allowing her to fear neither death nor pain and to reappear again and again.”

“I suspect that each time she returns, she becomes stronger—until the day she kills us all.”

Hearing the lead wolf’s analysis, a chill ran through the wolves.

This kind of technique—something they had neither heard of nor seen before—could such a thing truly exist in this world?

If the Universal Immortal had merely granted himself some kind of immortality, that would still be somewhat understandable.

But to bestow it upon another, allowing them not only to resurrect endlessly but also to grow stronger with each return—this was simply too absurd.

If such a thing were possible, wouldn’t it be the same as “An immortal lays their hand upon me, and I gain eternal life”?¹

As the wolves stood in dazed uncertainty, the sword-wielding girl once again charged toward them, her face full of killing intent!

And this time, as if wanting to test the lead wolf’s theory, the limping wolf didn’t even need to be ordered—

It voluntarily stretched out its repeatedly hacked leg.

“Hiss!”

The moment the sword sliced down, a sharp sting shot through the limping wolf’s leg, causing it to instinctively retract.

All eyes immediately locked onto its injured limb!

There—where the iron sword had struck—was a thin red mark.

She really is getting stronger.

The wolves collectively sucked in a cold breath.

Then—after just two more strikes, the limping wolf “killed” Qiao Min once again.

For the next half an hour, the wolves heard the word “Kill” repeated over and over.

The limping wolf, hounded relentlessly, ultimately lost a toe before managing to “kill” Qiao Min for the fiftieth time.

“Big Brother! I’ve noticed she’s getting faster! Just now, I attacked first, but she dodged it!”

“Since she only comes out from the cave entrance, why don’t we just wait there and kill her the moment she appears?”

The limping wolf, his bloodied foot still oozing, spoke through gritted teeth, his expression twisted with malice.

But the lead wolf shook his head.

“Go in one at a time. No matter how powerful the technique, it will eventually reach its limit…”

“Dragging this out benefits us.”

At these words, the wolves who had been preparing to help the limping wolf hesitated, then stepped back.

From a tactical standpoint, the lead wolf’s reasoning made sense.

But when one thought deeper…

The girl—who couldn’t die—had already severed the limping wolf’s toe and had dodged his first strike.

Which meant—

She now had the ability to grind them down to death.

And the limping wolf, already marked as her primary target—

Was as good as dead.

By this logic, the limping wolf had essentially become a shield for the rest of the pack—buying them time, forcing the girl to expend her mysterious power as much as possible, and increasing their chances of survival.

Sacrificing a pawn to protect the king—this was the reality of it.

…

After Qiao Min disappeared for the 500th time into the cave, a corpse full of wounds was left behind.

Even the lead wolf, despite his hardened nature, couldn’t help but feel a moment of sorrow as he gazed at the scar-covered body of the limping wolf.

The limping wolf, whose leg had been broken by that short old man, was the weakest among them. His usefulness to the pack had long been the lowest.

So, it was only natural that he was chosen as the first sacrifice.

However, from now on, the lead wolf would not designate who should step up next.

After all, it had become clear from Qiao Min’s actions that she was choosing her targets deliberately.

She started by killing the weakest, locking onto a single target and relentlessly attacking until they were dead.

Only after finishing one would she move on to the next.

And as the lead wolf, his presence and aura far surpassed the rest of the pack.

Which meant that he—would undoubtedly be her final target.

For him, as long as he was left for last, nothing else mattered.

It didn’t matter who among the remaining wolf demons went next; the order was irrelevant to him.

Of course, the other wolves, having gained enough intelligence to become demons, were not foolish either.

Each of them had already started scheming, hoping they would be targeted as late as possible.

The later they were picked, the more time Qiao Min’s mysterious power would be drained.

In other words—the later they were chosen, the higher their chances of survival…

Tap, tap!

As expected, the seemingly harmless girl appeared once again.

Her bloodshot eyes swept over the wolves, inch by inch.

Among them, some bared their fangs, revealing razor-sharp teeth; some tensed their muscles, their forms bulking up as bones and flesh shifted; others let out low growls, as if preparing to confront her head-on.

Qiao Min scanned the pack, her gaze finally landing on a wolf demon lurking in the corner.

This particular wolf was the fattest among them.

And the reason she picked him?

—Just moments ago, when she glanced his way, his eyelid had twitched. Twice.

The moment he saw Qiao Min rushing toward him, the fat wolf’s jowls trembled, his vertical pupils flickering with a mix of anger and panic.

“Kill—kill!”

The iron sword rang as Qiao Min’s steps remained light and agile. In just a few breaths, she had closed the distance.

Her blade sliced upward in a diagonal arc—striking the fat wolf across the waist!

Instantly, the other wolves scattered, making space.

Since the girl had already chosen her target, they had just bought themselves a little more time as spectators.

The fight between one human and one wolf didn’t last long.

After just a few exchanges, the fat wolf managed to “send Qiao Min away”—but at the cost of two three-inch-deep wounds, one on his waist and the other on his shoulder.

With a cold snort, he pressed a heavy paw against his wounds, said nothing, and limped toward the cave entrance, lying in ambush.

It was clear—he had no intention of waiting passively for death…

“One thousand four hundred and ninety-nine times!”

The fat wolf’s body was now covered in wounds—uneven scars crisscrossing his flesh.

Some injuries gaped open like torn lips, while others were deep puncture wounds, riddling his body like holes.

His four legs—nearly stripped of all flesh.

With only one eye left functional, he let out a hoarse, ragged cry, then crouched at the cave’s entrance, awaiting the girl’s next arrival…

Tap, tap~

The sound of soft footsteps echoed.

A flash of steel filled his blurred vision.

Too slow to dodge—

The sword pierced his throat.

His body collapsed lifelessly.