Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

The Head Wolf froze only for a moment before reacting. He turned back, drew a saber from the head of the bed, and without thinking, slashed forward.

“ I am Earl Bazel’s. ”

However, before the saber could even fall, a golden crest was already pressed almost against his face. Beneath the golden iris flower was the emblem of a black wolf’s head. It was Earl Bazel’s crest.

The Head Wolf reacted quickly. A thought flashed through his mind, and in an instant he knew that the girl before him was one of Earl Bazel’s subordinates.

Thus——

He tightened his grip on the saber, putting even more force behind it. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes—he was already determined to fight to the death.

The saber came down. A head fell to the ground.

The Head Wolf’s eyes were wide open. Even in death, they never closed. He had seen clearly how the girl killed him: she reached out her hand and, with a simple and brutal twist, tore his head clean off.

Muscles were extremely elastic, and bones were far tougher than most could imagine. Breaking someone’s neck was not difficult, but to rip off the entire head…

  The Head Wolf’s severed head rolled onto the ground, tumbling a few times before stopping by a wooden chest. That chest had been filled with the heads of enemies collected after the Winter Wolves’ victories. The Head Wolf always felt there weren’t enough and wanted to gather more before turning them in for merit. Now, it seemed the number was sufficient.

Everything had happened too quickly. Lina hadn’t even finished her first sentence before the Head Wolf’s head was already torn off.

His headless body, as though unable to react, stood there blankly for a moment before slowly toppling over. Hardly any blood sprayed out—the girl’s rough method had twisted the wound shut like a braided rope, forcing the blood back into the torso.

Sliding the crest back into her pocket, the girl turned and left the room without hesitation. She did not spare even a glance at the corpse on the ground, as if she were a graceful Winter Wolf of the Northlands.

The living were people. The dead were meat. Nothing worth caring about.

She had come very early, before many in the camp were awake. Unhurriedly, she walked from one hut to another, her blood-red hair bouncing like burning fire through the camp.

By the time the soldiers awoke and lazily opened their doors, they were horrified to find that many corpses had been piled in the camp.

Corpses—well, they had seen plenty before. Every other day, a few mangled bodies would be dragged into town.

But these corpses… all of them were Winter Wolves. Not only that, but they were all from the upper ranks: from the strongest Head Wolf down to the Wolf Claws and Wolf Fangs, even a few Wolf Bloods—that is, the Captains.

All these corpses had their heads severed—or at least removed. In short, they were all headless bodies.

The bodies were stacked and arranged, like woven wicker chairs. The corpses of the Winter Wolves formed a small mound, and atop it rested a throne, built entirely from heads.

The heads were impaled on spear tips, pressed one against another. Once, strict in rank and hierarchy, the Winter Wolves were now huddled together with no distinction, supporting the girl seated above them.

The girl’s crimson hair flowed like fire. Her face bore neither excitement nor fear. Resting her cheek in one hand, she gazed down at the Winter Wolves expressionlessly.

The soldiers of the Winter Wolves froze where they stood. Some trembled so violently that water darkened their trousers—and that was considered brave. Most had minds gone utterly blank, filled only with overwhelming fear and the instinct to submit.

Thud.

A Captain fell to his knees. He seemed to want to speak, but his trembling voice cords only made guttural sounds. Soon, almost all were kneeling, save for a handful who stood stupefied in shock.

The girl slowly rose to her feet. Those few standing stiffened in terror—then their upper bodies slid clean off.

Lina swept her gaze around. None in the camp dared meet her eyes.

Nodding with satisfaction, the girl who had suddenly appeared in the Winter Wolves’ camp finally spoke for the first time:

“ Tell me, where is the Resistance Army? ”

  At that moment, Isaac and Gwen were near Grizzly Town, waiting with several squads of musketeers.

The news of Kaven Town’s fall had reached the town last night. At the Winter Wolves’ pace, they should be marching out today.

There was only one road leading north from Grizzly Town. The Resistance Army had long since dug traps along it. Whether the Winter Wolves were heading to Kaven Town or toward the Resistance’s forest camp, they would have to pass this road.

At that time, as the Winter Wolves fell into confusion, the Resistance could strike first. At the very least, they could fire two volleys—enough to drive the Winter Wolves back.

This would check the momentum of the Winter Wolves Guard, at least halting their slaughter of the commonfolk, buying the Resistance more time to grow.

They did not hope for annihilation—only to kill some. By all accounts, the risk was small. This had been the agreed strategy before the attack on Kaven Town.

To prevent surprises, Gwen had even brought along Lady Nora’s body. While not in combat, she remained very quiet—she wasn’t entirely impossible to communicate with.

But still, things went wrong.

This time, the Winter Wolves were strangely patient. Nearly noon had come, yet they showed no sign of departing.

This puzzled Gwen and Isaac.

Had the Winter Wolves abandoned Kaven Town?

Impossible. That was one of their crucial grain depots. The supplies stored there were so abundant they could not even haul it all back—much had been divided on the spot.

The Winter Wolves were already going hungry. How could they simply ignore that?

Gwen and Isaac exchanged a glance. Both felt something was wrong.

Suddenly, Isaac’s eyes narrowed. He stepped into an open space and raised his arm skyward. Soon, a falcon landed on it.

He whispered a few words to the falcon, fed it some food from his pocket, and the bird flew off.

Gwen looked on in surprise. “ You even understand bird speech? ”

“ Investigators know a little of everything. That’s normal. ” Isaac did not elaborate. His face turned grim. “ Bad news. I don’t think we’ll be able to intercept the Winter Wolves. ”

“ What do you mean? ”

“ A contact in the town just reported—the Winter Wolves’ camp is in chaos. The bird saw it too—many of them are dead. ”

“ Huh? ” Gwen was bewildered. “ Why would they die in their own camp? A mutiny? ”

“ Hard to say. With the Winter Wolves’ style, it could just be the usual… changing to a new Head Wolf. ”

“ Changing a Head Wolf would kill that many? ”

“ Quite possibly. ” Isaac looked toward the town, his eyes flickering. “ Earl Bazel granted the Winter Wolves Guard extreme autonomy. This allowed the Head Wolf to act flexibly in battle, making decisions on the spot. They could also raid territories for quick recovery of combat strength. But this brought a problem. ”

“ The Head Wolf’s control over the Winter Wolves was too strong. To replace a Head Wolf, one had to carry out a complete purge. ”