The most intelligent thing opponents who are superior in numbers can do is attack from multiple sides at one moment. So the most intelligent thing their opponent could do is not to allow them to. Mal was now in that position, but he had no idea how to do it.
The wolves were now both upon him. Two legs falling from the left and one cutting from the right. He only slightly avoided the one on the right and deflected those on the left, which threw him off course. That allowed the wolf whose paw he avoided to bite down into his shoulder. His coat somehow protected him, but the teeth still went 3 cm into his shoulder. He screamed in pain and was not ready to block when the other wolf rotated its body and used its tail as a ram to send Mal flying back.
He was laying on the ground, disoriented by the impact and in pain. One of the wolves was already on him, bringing its claws down onto him. Mal used his hand as a solid piece and thrusted his umbrella into the falling paw of the creature. It wasn't fast enough to avoid it, and the umbrella went through. The wolf thing, now in some pain, fell back. Mal stood up with complications. His left shoulder was seriously hurt and he was still in shock, but that was it for now. However, it showed him how bad the situation truly was. He needed to come up with something. Yes, that was it—he just wasn't sure he could do something like that. But it was a risk he had to take.
'Magic is all powerful, remember?'
Leo was thinking about how to kill them. He had a knife in his hand now and the pistol in his left. He had approximately 2 seconds before they were near him. He focused and fired his next few shots. The wolves were moving, so it was really hard to aim, but he was able, due to his skill, to blind the other wolf. That slowed it down, but one wolf was now upon Leo.
He avoided its measured attack and decided to slash with his knife. It went a few centimeters into the skin of the animal but no further. He tried pulling it out, but the monster's paw collided with his body and he was sent flying back.
Leo took it better than Mal because of his superior physical build, but the second wolf was now behind him. When he turned around to block its attack, another one hit him in the leg and cut deeply inside.
He fell to the ground in pain; one attack missed him, but the second landed in his chest with awesome force. He was thrown back once more. He was bleeding, in pain, and disoriented. His leg was cut in a very serious way, and he felt his bone was shattered there. The two wolves were now circling him as if he were already dead.
Mal and the wolves looked at each other for a few seconds. Then two things happened at the same time. Mal started an incantation while the wolf jumped to attack again. His plan was simple but ambitious. It was to create some sort of spell that would seal one of the wolves for a little bit, which would give him time to finish the other one. He didn't know if he could create such a spell with one ring, but argued, in his head, that the wolf also had one ring and he had more knots. He decided to seal the healthy wolf, as it would be easier to kill the one with the injured legs. But he had to survive until he finished the incantation, which was a long time in the scale of this fight.
"The lord of winds in the sky above the dead city, I ask you for permission."
He barely avoided the attacks of the wolves as he continued with his incantation on the fly.
"Oh majestic birds coursing the clouds with wings, please lend me your power."
He attacked to try to keep the abominations separated.
"Oh wind, how calm can you be when you want to."
That didn't go according to plan as one slashed at Mal and he was forced to again defend himself.
"Oh wind, how terrible can you be when you level cities to the ground."
He watched as they circled him, planning to attack.
"Please oh wind keep my enemies at bay, their sharp claws in your grasp and me in safety."
He decided to gamble and dashed toward the wolf with the injured paw.
"Such command I you, Maledictus Sanguine."
He didn't turn back to see if it worked. His sole focus was now the wolf in front of him.
Leo didn't know what to do. He was as good as dead now. He gazed on the other side of the tiny square and saw one wolf on the ground twisting its body as if in agony. He saw Mal sprinting toward another wolf and he saw the third encapsulated in some sort of ball of raging winds which the wolf was trying to tear out of.
He saw the beauty of that sphere. Such majesty. And he understood. He was a student and The City Under the White Sky was his teacher. This was his first lesson, which he had to learn through blood and pain.
'Magic is everything; one cannot survive in The City Under the White Sky without it.'
And as he was on the ground, he chanted:
"Make the steel stronger and the powder more violent. Make every shot I make more precise and more deadly. Kill my enemies as you were designed to. You are my gun and I command you."
The wolves seemed to hear something and one of them dashed towards him. Leo didn't wait for anything and shot 5 bullets into the body of the creature. This time they didn't deflect; rather, they drilled deeper than ever and heavily injured the wolf. He pointed his gun again and killed the wolf with one precise shot into its skull.