“Return? This… Sir Bloodbeard, it won’t be too appropriate for us to go back. Those people might take this opportunity to attack you.”
Bloodbeard didn’t seem to mind, though. “Let them try, I’ll just push this matter into their hands if they do. Humph, I don’t believe they can remain calm after the loss of the Staff of Revival. I’ll let them have this contribution!”
The werewolf elder pondered for a moment before saying, “Do you mean to say this matter isn’t that simple?”
Bloodbeard revealed a sinister smile. “It’ll be extremely difficult. Gary is dead, Gillette is dead, yet we have no idea who our enemies are apart from the fact that they might be demonkin. And even that is just a possibility. Additionally, I feel that the recent changes in the Black Grove are quite peculiar. It might be related to this case.”
The elder nodded in due seriousness.
Bloodbeard said, “That’s why we should let them do it.”
“But Sir, it’s been a long time since you’ve made contributions. Your rankings...”
Bloodbeard smiled. “Rankings are relative. Even if I stay right where I am, my rankings will shoot up if others fall. Besides...”
He paused for a moment at this point. “Dead people have no ranks.”
Moments later, the large airs.h.i.+p collected its soldiers and flew away.
Atop one of the trees in the Black Grove, Nighteye lowered the Carol of Shadows. “How come they’re gone? I sensed a fairly powerful fellow inside, at least a virtuous count.”
Qianye appeared quite serious as he said, “He must’ve given up because he sensed something wrong. This fellow’s senses are quite sharp, he’ll be a troublesome opponent.”
Nighteye said after some thought, “This kind of talent is quite rare even in Evernight. Yet, we have encountered two such people in the outskirts of the neutral lands. Is it a coincidence?”
“Perhaps it isn’t, it’s possible that such talents are common in the neutral lands.”
“True, they’d probably die pretty fast without it.”
Qianye gazed at the vanis.h.i.+ng airs.h.i.+p and said, “Let’s go and see if there’s anything in town we can use or recycle. We need to be prepared because the next person to come won’t be so easy to handle.”
“That’s not a certainty. Did you notice? The Wolf King’s men are quite similar to the expeditionary army. His subordinates are mostly half-independent and don’t belong to any single force. As long as they’re safe, they wouldn’t care about anyone else’s death. Actually, the same goes for Evernight under most circ.u.mstances. So, the next force might be similar in strength, at most a bit more powerful.”
Qianye nodded. “You have a point, but the necessary preparations must still be done.”
“Oh right, let’s bring Zhuji next time.”
“Zhuji? No, she’s too young.”
“Arachne can hunt since birth. Now is the best time for her to learn combat arts. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Qianye gave it some thought but agreed in the end. Surely, his understanding of arachne couldn’t compare to someone who had grown up on the Evernight side. Little Zhuji really did need more polis.h.i.+ng. The arachne could fight since birth because they had evolved through millions of years of cruelty. Those who couldn’t do so had gone extinct along the river of time.
Several days later, within the totem room of the Wolf King’s main camp. The atmosphere here was austere—everyone was treading lightly, and even the wargs were hiding in the shadows with their tails between their legs.
That roar just now had echoed within a hundred miles, a testament to just how furious the Wolf King was. One would only have himself to blame if he were to trigger the king’s wrath.
The Wolf King was seated upon the high throne in the totem chamber, the steel hand rest of which had already been twisted out of shape.
“Demonkin, you’re telling me it’s the work of demonkin!? Did I raise such a bunch of trash? This is the Eastern Sea, how can there be any demonkin!?”
Bloodbeard lay prostrated on the ground, not daring to raise his head. Several werewolf soldiers nearby lay badly mangled and didn’t even look like werewolves anymore. These were the soldiers who had survived the ordeal in that small town. Now, they had burst apart under the furious Wolf King’s aura.
After an episode of roaring and raging, the Wolf King managed to calm down a bit. The werewolf elder on one of the side seats said, “Great Chief, Gillette sent this information on the verge of his death. It’s likely true.”
The Wolf King seemed fairly respectful of this elder. He forced down the flames of his fury and said, “Great Elder, how can there be any demonkin in the Eastern Sea? What kind of demonkin would come to this d.a.m.ned place?”
The great elder replied, “You can’t be so sure. There are demonkin operating in the Spider Emperor’s area.”
The Wolf King seemed somewhat upset at the mention of the Spider Emperor.
A werewolf general below said, “Humph, that old spider used to be called Spider King but changed his name to Spider Emperor when our great chief received the t.i.tle of Wolf King. Absolutely shameless.”
The Wolf King said while gripping the hand rest, “That old spider is still a bit stronger than I am. It’s his business what he wants to call himself, no need to pay him any attention.”
The general was unsatisfied. “How dare he call himself Spider Emperor when he doesn’t even dare to challenge Zhang Buzhou!? He might not be the great chief’s match in a real fight.”
The elder shouted, “Enough! Are you trying to make the chief fight the Spider Emperor?”
The general replied hurriedly, “That wasn’t my intention.”
The Wolf King said indifferently, “Fighting him is fine, but there’s no benefit to that at the moment. It’s a different story altogether if he’s sending demonkin over to stir up trouble in my territory.”
The great elder said, “There’s no need to rush to a conclusion without any proof. We can’t be negligent about such a major issue. In my opinion, Master Heaven’s Eye owes you a favor, it’s time to use it.”
The Wolf King frowned. “Gary is already dead, do we really need to?”
“There’s also the Staff of Revival.”
The Wolf King pondered for a long while. He nodded in the end and gave the great elder a chipped jade token. “You go, I don’t want to see that old b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
The great elder put the jade token away and stood up. “I’ll set out immediately, you’ll receive news by tomorrow night.”
“Take my airs.h.i.+p, it’ll be faster.”
One day later, the Wolf King’s airs.h.i.+p landed a thousand kilometers away on a lone island in the middle of a vast swamp.
This island was the largest of its kind in the wetlands. There was a cl.u.s.ter of crude wooden huts in the center, with strings of white skulls hanging from the eaves and rattling oddly in the wind.
The great elder walked down from the airs.h.i.+p and arrived at one of the huts. There, he knocked on a fist-sized skull embedded in the door.
“Who is it?” A shrill voice came from the hut.
“The Wolf King’s emissary.”
The wooden door opened and behind it appeared a stooping old lady. She sized the great elder up with her lizard-like eyes, saying, “Where’s that little wolf? Why didn’t he come?”
The great elder said, “The Wolf King’s status is no longer the same after challenging Zhang Buzhou. I hope you can change how you address him.”
A glimmer flashed through the old woman’s eyes. “Fine, fine, I’ll call him Wolf King out of consideration for Zhang Buzhou, okay?”
“The Wolf King’s successor has died, we want to know who did it.”
The old woman glanced unhappily at the werewolf soldiers behind the elder. “Where are the offerings? These? Little Wolf, no, the Wolf King should know that I like children under the age of three.”
The elder said indifferently, “The Wolf King says you owe him a favor.”
The old woman stared at the elder with a vicious expression, but the latter simply wouldn’t budge. In the end, she opened the door and said unwillingly, “How long ago was that? He still remembers it?”
The elder ordered the soldiers to remain outside while he himself entered the hut. Soon afterward, the door shut tight on its own.
The elder produced a crystal bottle filled with blood. “Master Heaven’s Eye, this is the Wolf King’s blood.”
The old woman s.n.a.t.c.hed the bottle away with a greedy expression. “This is barely enough, barely enough!”
The elder made no attempt at exposing her. “If it’s enough, then please begin. I’m in a rush to report back.”
Heaven’s Eye arrived at the side building and placed a bunch of odd things like spiders, unknown herbs, and pieces of rotten meat into a stone basin. She brought a huge bucket of beast blood and poured it in as well. After all the preparations had been completed, she carefully poured three drops of the Wolf King’s blood into the brew. Then, she quickly closed the bottle tight with a pained expression.
The elder couldn’t watch on. “Master Heaven’s Eye, I think it might not be enough. Won’t you add a few more drops?
“How can it not be enough? The Wolf King’s bloodline is so powerful. Three drops are enough. As long as the other party is still in the neutral lands, they won’t be able to escape my secret arts. The only problem is how strong their bloodline is. It should be no problem if the culprit isn’t a duke’s descendant.”
The great elder was quite skeptical. “Then please perform your arts.”
Heaven’s Eye went around the stone basin, dancing madly while mumbling unintelligible incantations.
The dancing went on without end. At one point, the old werewolf let out a dry cough and said, “This… Great Master, I’ve been working as a shaman in the tribe for over a hundred years. Let’s just skip the ceremonial parts.”
Heaven’s Eye glared at him. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
She sat down on her knees in front of the basin and closed her eyes, once again praying for something. This time, the blood in the receptacle began to move and soon reached a boiling point. However, the things that had been placed inside the basin remained motionless at the bottom, almost as though they were a thousand tons in weight.
In the eyes of the werewolf elder, the small frame of Heaven’s Eye seemed to be hiding a vast ocean. The darkness origin power within her surged continuously into the stone basin and showed no signs of ever stopping.