Our Family Has Fallen

Warwolf looked at the now-peaceful battlefield, waiting indifferently for the casualty count to be completed.

Two people had died, but three were injured; luckily, none too seriously, all were capable of movement.

Three wolves also perished: one while on guard outside, killed after sounding a warning, and the other two fell during the recent battle.

This was why Lance never engaged these individuals in close combat; they were purely revolting.

His strategy was either direct confrontation with the Elite Squad or having ordinary soldiers set up long spears to prevent any chance of them getting close.

Once the enemy had been disabled by a barrage of spears and crippled by gunfire, his forces would move in to collect the heads, never allowing them an opportunity for close-quarters fighting.

As long as the Heretics weren’t injured, they couldn’t receive extra treatment. As long as none of them died, they couldn’t receive Strengthening. Consequently, their sustained combat capability in this land would be greatly diminished.

If the soldiers’ weapons were coated with Corpse Decomposition Spore, it would be a decisive blow.

This represented a gap in both equipment and intelligence, one for which Lance had paid a significant price in the early days, hence the later development of tactics specifically tailored against these Heretics.

Warwolf had sacrificed only a few men and wolves to experience the ”warm welcome” from the locals of Hamlet; it was already a bargain.

Growth always comes at a cost. Leaning against a tree trunk, Warwolf looked up at the night sky, obscured by the canopy. His mind was once again filled with stories his father, the Wolf King, had told him since youth: tales of the Empire’s blockade of the Mountains and the decline of the Fang Tribe after the great war. From these stories, I only gleaned anger towards the Empire, blaming my tribe’s decline on the loss of Sanctuary from Legendary experts. But I failed to realize the true reason the Wolf King told me these things was to warn me, to have me learn from those lessons and not repeat the same mistakes that dragged the tribe into a quagmire. I fantasized that stepping into the Legendary realm would make me the hero who could strengthen the Fang Tribe once more. I misunderstood my father’s painstaking efforts, instead believing his timidity had led to our current situation.

Now, I understand. The Wolf King—my father—who took over the crippled tribe and, for over ten years, pulled it from the mire of decline while under the scrutiny of the Empire and surrounding tribes, he was the true hero. Even after I defeated him and stripped him of the tribal leader’s position, he could still lower himself to become a mercenary, earning money for the tribe. In contrast, after I became chief, I waged wars. They seemed like victories, but in reality, I nearly squandered the legacy my father had left me. When I was young, I disparaged him. Older, I began to understand him. Now, I admire him.

The weak falter and slacken at the slightest setback, but the strong never complain about adversity; instead, they grow continuously in the face of hardship. What doesn’t kill them will only make them stronger.

Warwolf recomposed himself. The repressed anger on his face was replaced by calm as he began to contemplate the current situation.

What would Father do at a time like this?

While Warwolf contemplated, a long wolf howl echoed from afar.

He startled, looking towards the distance, an indescribable expression on his face.

”AWOOO!”

The Wolf King lying beside Warwolf stood up as if provoked, howling back in the same direction.

However, there was no immediate response this time, only silence.

Warwolf couldn’t help but frown, his emotions stirring. His face lost its earlier calm, revealing a sense of anxiety.

Then, the distant wolf howl came again, sounding even closer this time.

Warwolf grinned broadly, his smile as wild as a wolf’s—ecstatic!

I felt it! I felt it!!! That’s the Wolf God Bloodline I’ve been desperately searching for! I sought it in vain, and now it has come to me, presenting itself voluntarily! This dire situation has opened up in an instant! It’s like the dense mists of the Mountains have suddenly been torn apart, revealing the vast world before my eyes!

HAH! HAH!

「...」

Wolves are nocturnal creatures; they rest by day and begin hunting at dusk.

Wang Cai’s routine had once followed that of humans, but after entering the wilderness, he quickly awakened the instincts flowing through his bloodline.

It wasn’t just a change in routine but also the awakening of a male’s instinct to vie for territory.

Because of this, he constantly challenged the area’s original wolf packs. He either subdued them or scattered and exiled them. Now, he alone led this large pack, reigning supreme.

Moreover, the hunting instinct still drove him to fight, to rip and devour raw flesh. The dormant wildness within him began to reawaken, and the innocence disappeared from his eyes.

Although they had just hunted a den of wild boars, it hadn’t satisfied their appetite.

Tonight, Wang Cai was leading the wolf pack out to hunt, looking for any unfortunate creature nearby.

At that moment, the wind carried a message.

The scent of blood—faint, but it didn’t escape Wang Cai’s nose.

Prey! He seemed to have found it and immediately led the pack towards the scent.

Until that other howl came, Wang Cai reacted as if threatened, his fur bristling sharply.

If it had been the Wang Cai from his days by Lance’s side, his Spiritual Essence still intact, he might have hesitated, contemplated, showing the caution he had learned.

But the Wang Cai now, his wildness surging, had lost Lance’s influence; animal instinct was his primary drive.

I’ve conquered all the wolves in this area! Victory has made me blind to any threat! How strong I am! Why would any wolf dare to challenge me? A mighty blow is necessary!

Wang Cai moved forward, and the gray wolves followed swiftly.