Wild Sanctuary 09: The Queen's Marking
“Ah, no……!”
In Nade Man’s dazed cry, tick. Tick. Tick tick. With a cheerful sound, the shadows of the territories vanished. Just like that, the frontrunners who had been overwhelmingly in the lead plummeted into the silver zone in an instant. They were on the verge of dropping straight into the gray zone right after.
“M-Me too……!”
But he didn’t give up easily. If it came to greed, Nade Man wouldn’t back down from anyone.
“I’m gonna steal some too!”
And so Nade Man charged into another hunter’s territory. Blindly running as if he’d become just another piece in this endless game of tag.
After that, it was pure chaos. Perhaps because wolves appeared in the “Final Battle Wild Sanctuary,” this was the fitting form.
No more hunters bothered cutting reeds. Cutting reeds was hard and time-consuming. But if you abandoned a bit of conscience, you could snag them easily.
“Steal ‘em! Grab everything you see!”
“No, seriously. Cut your own damn stuff properly!”
“H-Hey, it’s just an event, doesn’t matter.”
“You’ve got your own land, why come to someone else’s territory!”
“If the system wanted to block it, wouldn’t the territories have been sealed from the start? Huh?”
Besides, with a group, there was nothing to fear. When everyone was in that mood, laying hands on others’ reeds felt natural.
And the most decisive factor behind this mayhem: even if you cut every reed on your own land, there was no guarantee it would end there. Yeonwoo had swept up reeds like crazy from the start, leaving an absolute shortage.
Tick. Tick tick. Tick. Tick tick tick.
The leaderboard thrashed nonstop. As cheerful sounds rang out without cease into the twilight, matching the hunters’ frantic footsteps.
Click. Click. Tick. Tick. Click. Tick.
The sounds were so sweet that Yeonwoo unconsciously pulled out her ‘switch’ and clicked it repeatedly.
‘Good. I’ve bought plenty of time.’
Yeonwoo tossed the stolen reeds aside carelessly. She didn’t need them anyway, and for some reason, they felt tainted since they were Nade Man’s.
Instead, she hurried back to her own territory.
“Still a ton of reeds left.”
Thanks to her larger plot of land, even after cutting at breakneck speed, reeds remained plentiful. But that was perfect.
‘No one’s gonna bother cutting reeds at this point.’
Cutting your own was a waste of time already. No one would come to someone else’s land to do it.
Thanks to that, the bricks hidden in the reed field were safe. Shin Gaon had made several trips, stacking up a decent pile, and the territory shadow had spread considerably.
“Might finish faster than I thought.”
Bricks did cast shadows quicker than reeds or wood. But no room for complacency. They’d unleashed the taboo of stealing in the event, so she had to wrap up before it hit the bricks.
The situation was progressing rapidly. Event or not, they’d all gathered to win and claim rewards. They had no choice but to get clever to win.
“Yeah, they can’t steal this!”
“Topple it! Hit it harder!”
“It’s tilting. Just a bit more!”
As proof, people started targeting trees. But chopping trees took way more effort than reeds, and they struggled with weapon use. Axes weren’t common hunter weapons to begin with.
Still, trees were valuable. Their size and weight made them impossible to snatch and run like reeds, turning them into safe assets amid the chaos.
“Gotta hurry.”
Trees would eventually replace reeds. And further, they might notice the bricks.
Yeonwoo glanced around before slipping into the trees.
“Hey, why are there so few bricks!”
But as she headed to the clearing, she revealed her true colors. A decent amount had been moved, but only decent. Pathetic compared to Shin Gaon’s physical prowess.
“Fuck!”
A curse answered instead. Then came the commotion.
Clang, kang!
-Grrrrowl!
Sounds of clashing weapons and wolf howls filled the air. Werewolves everywhere. At the center, Shin Gaon swung her axe like a maniac.
“There’s too fucking many of these mutts!”
Werewolves surrounded Shin Gaon. But that alone was fine. She was a lunatic who could crush them barehanded; no real threat.
“And why’s this bastard using a weapon so cockily!”
The problem was the special ones. A sword-wielding werewolf blocked her front. It tilted its blade, cold eyes fixed on Shin Gaon. Its stance differed from the others.
“This fucker keeps dragging out time!”
Shin Gaon slammed her two-handed axe down vertically. The werewolf raised its sword horizontally to meet it.
Kang!
Crunch.
The ferocious blow sank the werewolf’s body. Even with a weapon, it couldn’t fully withstand a Tier III hunter’s power. But then came the issue.
-Kyaaak!
-Yelp!
Whine!
“Still, from behind—ugh! Fuck!”
The surrounding werewolves exploited the opening, lunging in. Claws and fangs scraped her body.
“Cut it out already!”
Furious, Shin Gaon wildly swung at the approaching wolves.
-Grrk.
Then the sword one closed in again.
Kang!
Shin Gaon had no choice but to focus front. The absurd cycle repeated.
Her wounds piled up as a result.
“Feels kinda backwards.”
It looked familiar. Like human and monster roles swapped.
“Shut up!”
Even amid it, her mouth kept yapping. But the situation sucked. One sword wolf she could handle, but—
-Sniff.
-Grrrowl.
Two werewolves blocked Yeonwoo’s path to join her. One held a dagger, the other a mace. Two top elites targeted her.
Simple reason. The wolves’ sharp noses instinctively sniffed out the real threat.
Regular werewolves gathered near Yeonwoo too. Far from easy.
If she couldn’t deal with those three armed ones, forget bricks—she might get booted from the event.
“I’ll handle it somehow, so hold on!”
Shin Gaon recognized the bad spot too. She gripped her axe tightly, glaring at the sword wolf with grim resolve. Time to tank the pain and drop it.
“Perfect.”
But Yeonwoo’s reaction differed.
‘We need to move bricks anyway.’
The elites’ appearance was an opportunity. Yeonwoo crouched with a faint smile—not leisure, but determination to pull it off.
‘Plenty of materials to spare.’
She had grounds. Yeonwoo shot forward like a bullet.
-Grrrk!
-Kyaaa!
The two elites blocked her. Yeonwoo twisted both wrists. Iron sword and marble sword in each hand. Standard-length blades gripped tight.
Then, blatantly, she pulled them back hard toward the pair. Crossed arms drawn to her shoulders.
-Yelp!
-Groooowl!
The two raised weapons to counter. Smarter than average wolves, aware of their numbers. They planned defensive play to wear her down slowly.
It was working on Shin Gaon, her wounds mounting in real time.
But not Yeonwoo. Arms drawn back, she crouched lower.
-……!
-…Gr, grrk?
Yeonwoo didn’t swing. She slipped through their defensive gap with her small, agile, flexible body. Then sprang off the ground like a rebound.
“Get ready!”
Leaping high, she stomped one werewolf’s head for extra boost.
-Kiiing!
A cute squeal propelled her higher. Soaring into the twilight sky, Yeonwoo stole every gaze—human and werewolf alike.
-Grrrowl!
Werewolves raised claws, poised to shred her on landing.
“Hey! You’re in da— “
“Keep ‘em tied up somehow!”
Yeonwoo shouted. She twisted both wrists. Dagger in left, long tree branch in right.
-……!
Werewolf eyes widened to tears. A truly tempting branch—perfect length, thickness. Chewable, crunchy, tooth-itchingly good.
Yeonwoo’s weapon: Cursed Branch. With Curse of Sharpness gone, just a dog-distraction stick now.
And not just that. It sparkled faintly. Werewolf pupils dilated fully. Irresistible urge to chew, tear, savor.
-Awooooo—!
One couldn’t hold back a howl.
“Good dogs!”
Yeonwoo hurled the cursed branch far.
Whoosh—thud!
Every werewolf’s gaze followed like a grudge match. Hearts moved, bodies followed. Forgot attacking the falling Yeonwoo. Instinct drew them to the shiny stick.
But the sword werewolf differed. True elite, it pulled its blade, eyeing Yeonwoo.
“Haha! Danger my ass! You’re fucking insane!”
Shin Gaon charged in. Finally got the “tie ‘em up” meaning. Laughing off the frenzy, she blocked the sword personally.
-Gr, grrk?!
In its panic, Yeonwoo slashed down with her dagger on landing.
Slash—
A long gash on the exposed foe.
“……Hey?”
-……Grrrng?
Just that. Shin Gaon, expecting drama, and the werewolf, braced for pain—both stared in confusion.
“Not killing it.”
Yeonwoo stated firmly. No intent for lethal even.
“It’s got a bigger role.”
Bricks were key. Needed undisturbed time to haul max speed. Just two of them lacked numbers. Needed a distraction drawer.
-……Grrk!
The sword werewolf shuddered violently. Trying to shake Shin Gaon.
“What the hell’s with this guy.”
But Shin Gaon noticed its power subtly weakened. When Yeonwoo slashed, she’d activated Queen’s Pheromones.
‘More.’
Cursed branch lasted seconds. Yeonwoo bit her lip, slashing repeatedly without deep cuts.
Slash—slash—slash—
Queen’s pheromones marked it. Stacks filled the limit.
-Grrk?
-Grrowl……!
A foreign scent filled the sword werewolf. As stimulating as the glowing branch. Every wolf—even armed elites—turned hostile to the pheromone-soaked one.