The mountain roads in Eastern Europe were pitted and extremely bumpy.
A rickety jeep drove along the dirt road, its creaking frame sounding as if it might fall apart at any moment.
"Turn left! Turn left! Trust me, I can smell the scent of God Almighty's guidance!"
Father Moreau, clutching a nearly empty wine bottle, slumped in the passenger seat and shouted while pointing toward a pitch-black cliff ahead.
"Father, that's a cliff." Dr. Banner gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white as his glasses slid to the tip of his nose. "Any further and we'll be meeting God Almighty; we won't make it to your Monastery at all."
In the back seat, Johnny Blaze looked disgruntled as he propped his legs up on the back of the front seat, chewing a piece of long-tasteless gum.
"Doctor, I told you I should be the one driving. My motorcycle can smell the scent of sin even with my eyes closed, while this old drunk's nose can't smell anything but alcohol."
"Your motorcycle can't fit all of us, and... we need to keep a low profile right now." Banner sighed, instinctively glancing at the rearview mirror.
"To the right, that small path that looks like it was trodden by a Beast."
A calm voice rang out directly in Banner's mind.
Banner immediately yanked the steering wheel. The jeep let out a piercing screech of grinding metal as it plunged into the muddy trail hidden by bushes on the right, amidst Father Moreau's startled cry.
"Thanks, Lin Huai," Banner thought to himself.
Screeech—!
Banner slammed on the brakes, and the jeep skidded several meters across the mud before coming to a sideways halt.
"What happened? Are we there?" Father Moreau opened his eyes blearily, his head bumping against the windshield.
"No, some guests have arrived."
Johnny spat out his gum, two orange-red flames igniting within his deep-set eye sockets. He pushed open the car door, his leather boots making a dull thud as they stepped onto the soft, decaying leaf mold.
The surrounding forest was eerily quiet.
Even the chirping of insects had vanished, leaving only the whistling of the wind through the treetops.
Rustle, rustle, rustle... Dense sounds of movement came from all directions.
Then, countless pairs of crimson eyes lit up in the Darkness.
It was a pack of wolves.
These wolves were the size of calves, their fur rotting and falling off to reveal dark red muscle and white bone. Their eyes were crimson, glinting with a madness that didn't belong to any Beast.
"Carrion Wolves..." Father Moreau snapped awake instantly. He grabbed the crucifix hanging from his chest, his face pale. "These are products of hellish power Erosion of reality! We're not far from the Monastery! How could they be here?"
"There sure are a lot of them." Johnny cracked his neck, his leather jacket beginning to smoke. "Just as well, I was feeling a bit cold."
Roar—!
With a roar from the alpha, dozens of Carrion Wolves lunged forward with snarls.
Boom!
Johnny transformed into the Ghost Rider in an instant, his flaming iron chain sweeping out.
Crack!
The three Carrion Wolves in the lead were whipped in half. Their wounds didn't bleed; instead, they were instantly ignited by Hellfire and turned to ash.
"Hulk!"
Banner let out a roar, his body rapidly expanding. The green giant burst through his shirt and leapt up from beside the car.
Hulk grabbed a dead tree next to the jeep, ripped it out by the roots, and swung it violently.
Bang—!
Seven or eight wolves were sent flying dozens of meters by the strike, slamming into the rock walls and turning into a bloody mess.
But these Carrion Wolves were completely unafraid of death, continuing to pour out from the depths of the forest in an endless stream.
"Hulk! On your left!" Johnny's chain coiled around a Carrion Wolf trying to ambush Hulk and slammed it hard onto the ground.
"Roar!" Hulk punched another Carrion Wolf away, then stood back-to-back with Johnny, warily watching their surroundings.
The pack didn't retreat despite the deaths of their companions. Instead, they grew more frenzied, waiting and wearing them down.
Inside the car, Father Moreau held a double-barreled shotgun, firing sporadically out the window, but the ordinary shotgun did little damage to these monsters.
Meanwhile, Lin Huai, who was sneaking along behind, remained in a stealthy state. His gaze swept over the fodder and scanned the entire battlefield.
"Something's not right."
Although there were many Carrion Wolves, they didn't possess the aura that gave him a sense of convergence. They were just cannon fodder, sent by Mephisto to wear them down.
Lin Huai closed his eyes, extending his spiritual perception to its full limit.
He was looking for the threads.
Behind the chaotic Spirit Thread of the wolf pack, he saw a thicker, darker line. It connected the spirits of all the Carrion Wolves, and its source was hidden atop a cliff behind the battlefield.
"So that's where you're hiding."
Lin Huai opened his eyes, his gaze locking onto a crooked tree at the top of the distant cliff.
In the shadow of that tree stood a giant wolf twice the size of the others. Its fur was pure black, and there was a strange flame mark on its forehead.
It was the one using some kind of mental fluctuation to command the entire pack.
"Hulk."
Lin Huai's voice rang out in Banner's mind once again.
"Can you hear me? Stop smashing randomly; there's a Commander."
Hulk, who was tearing through the wolves, suddenly paused, a glint of reason flashing in his green eyes.
"Hulk?" Hulk growled lowly.
"Do you see that cliff over there? Under the tallest crooked tree, there's a big black fellow. That's the alpha. Kill it, and the pack will scatter."
Hulk looked in the direction Lin Huai pointed, his green pupils instantly locking onto the target.
Roar—!
Having found an outlet for his rage, Hulk let out a roar. Ignoring the fodder at his feet, he lunged with his legs, his massive body leaping high into the air, crossing over a hundred meters to smash down toward the cliff.
The alpha hadn't expected to be discovered. It let out a howl and turned to flee.
But it was too late.
Boom—!
Hulk descended from the sky, his fists slamming heavily onto the alpha's back.
The ground shook violently, and the cliff collapsed halfway. The alpha didn't even have time to scream before it was smashed into the ground by Hulk, turning into a pile of mangled flesh and bone mixed with dirt.
With the alpha's death, the remaining Carrion Wolves instantly fell into chaos. Facing the two killing machines, they tucked their tails and whimpered, turning to flee and quickly disappearing into the depths of the forest.
The battle was over.
Hulk grabbed a large rock, intending to throw it in the direction the pack had fled.
Lin Huai's voice rang out in Banner's mind again, his tone calm: "That's enough, big guy. Don't waste your energy; the main player is still waiting for us ahead."
Hulk grunted, his body gradually shrinking back into the raggedly dressed Dr. Banner.
Johnny also withdrew his Hellfire and reverted to human form, walking over to kick a smoking wolf carcass on the ground. "A bunch of trash. Not even enough to warm up my tires."
"Stop complaining." Father Moreau crawled out from under the seat, protectively clutching the unbroken wine bottle. "Drive, quickly! Those wolves were likely the attack on the Monastery's outer Sentinel. Their presence here means the Monastery might have already been breached!"
Banner restarted the car.
The jeep rolled over the wolf carcasses littering the ground and continued forward through the mud.
The further they went, the more eerie the surroundings became.
The trees became twisted, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of sulfur and blood. On the rocks by the roadside, dark red runes began to appear, emitting an unsettling faint glow.
Finally, after turning around a massive mountain pass, a castle Monastery appeared before them.
It was built on the peak of a solitary mountain, connected to the outside world by only a narrow stone bridge.
A faint golden barrier enveloped the Monastery, isolating it from the surrounding Darkness and evil.
"We're here." Father Moreau pointed at the building shimmering in the night, his eyes filled with piety. "That's the Monastery, our important stronghold for fighting Hell in Eastern Europe."
Banner slowly drove the car onto the stone bridge.
As the jeep passed through the golden barrier, he felt a wave of warmth wash over him. The fatigue from the previous battle and the chill in the air dissipated significantly.
The Monastery's heavy iron gates slowly opened, and several warrior monks stepped out warily. They wore gray robes and held Cruciform Spears.
Leading them was a tall, dark-skinned monk. When he saw Moreau, the tension on his face relaxed slightly.
"Moreau, you're finally back. Those wolf packs outside..."
"They've been dealt with." Moreau jumped out of the car and patted the monk's shoulder. "I've brought help."
He pointed toward Banner and Johnny.
The monk's gaze swept over the two of them, finally lingering on Johnny with a slight frown and a hint of wariness in his eyes.
"They were introduced by Kamar-Taj," Moreau explained.
Hearing the name Kamar-Taj, the monk's wariness faded somewhat. He nodded and stepped aside to clear the way.
"Come in. The Dean is already waiting for you."
The jeep entered the Monastery, and the heavy iron gates slowly closed behind them, completely sealing off the Darkness outside.
Banner and Johnny looked around the ancient Monastery. The warrior monks were all moving in a hurry but with resolute expressions. The solemn atmosphere helped calm their minds.
On a nearby tree, Lin Huai still sat quietly, his gaze piercing through the leaves toward the Bell Tower at the highest point of the Monastery.
A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.