Dugu stopped at the village Thrax had marked on the map. As he walked through the village, he saw the charred remains of many homes. Some of the villagers were busy building new ones.

One of the them looked in Dugu’s direction.

He put down his tools and walked up to Dugu. "Was your village attacked by werewolves too?"

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"No arm." The man pointed to Dugu's empty sleeve.

Dugu was silent for a moment, before replying. "I'm from Ferdania."

"Sorry, I was insensitive."

"It's fine. I'm just happy to be alive."

The man extended his hand. "I'm Erwin, the village chief."

Dugu shook Erwin’s thick and tanned hand. "Dugu."

"What brings you all the way here? Did you come to settle down?"

"Actually, I'm looking for two people. A man in black armor and a woman with blonde hair."

Erwin narrowed his eyes. "What business do you have with them?"

"I need their help."

"With what?"

"My wife had been taken prisoner by the werewolves. I need their help to get her back."

Erwin stared at Dugu for a while before replying. "Consider this scenario: two people save a village from a werewolf attack. Not long after, a stranger from werewolf territory comes to the village asking for their help. What do you think it sounds like?"

"It sounds like a trap."

"Exactly. Why then, should I believe anything you say? I, and all of the villagers here, would never do anything that would inconvenience our saviors."

"Whether or not they choose to help me is up to them. That decision is not yours or any of the villagers to make. From what I hear, they are the last people in the world who need protection. What do you think they are, children?”

Erwin sighed. "It’s as you say. I was thinking too highly of myself when I thought I could protect them."

He paused before continuing. "They went to the capital for the Combat Tournament a few days ago. If you go now, you may be able to find them in the coliseum."

***

Thrax stood in silence. He stared at the double doors at the opposite end of the great hall. He could hear marching. The footsteps became louder and louder.

The doors swung open.

A large group of werewolves flooded through the doorway.

At the head of the group was Kreed, the strongest werewolf alive. No, he couldn’t be considered a werewolf anymore. With horns on his head and glowing red eyes, he looked more like a demon. The red-plate armor covering his large frame made him seem even more demonic. It was impossible to tell how much of his strength was his own and how much of it had been given to him by to the Demon Lord.

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Deo, dressed in a red robe, followed closely behind Kreed. In his hands, he carried a black orb, which radiated a sinister red aura.

Thrax had never seen the vessel that held the Demon Lord before. However, the black orb in Deo's hands was similar to how he imagined it would look - an unimaginably evil and powerful artifact.

Walking next to Deo was Koga, the leader of the Doomfist Clan. A long blade protruded from each of his forearm guards.

Kreed stopped a few feet away from Thrax. They stared at each other as werewolves filled the room.

Thrax soon found himself surrounded by hundreds of werewolves. He tightened his grip around his staff with his clammy hands. His heartbeat raced inside his chest. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.

The Great Hall was the largest room in Thrax's manor. But it seemed far too small for the crowd of werewolves gathered inside.

Thrax forced a smile. “Greetings, my Lord. I see you’ve brought along a lot of friends.”

Kreed narrowed his eyes. "Your city is surprisingly empty. I didn’t see a single werewolf on my way here."

Thrax faked a surprised expression. "Oh, really? I didn’t mean to offend you. If you’d told me you were coming, I would've prepared an honor guard at the gates to greet you."

"There's no need for that. I don’t intend to stay long."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?”

"I've got some bad news and some good news. The good news is that Lord Belial has agreed to help us. With his help, we can defeat the two enemies who destroyed the pre-invasion force."

"What kind of help did he offer?"

"He intends to bring his demon general into this world."

Thrax’s mouth fell open. According to legends, demon generals were among the strongest of demons. Each one supposedly possessed enough power to conquer an entire country. He was determined to stop Kreed from releasing the demon general into the world. Otherwise, it would bring unimaginable death to the inhabitants of this world.

"How does he plan to do that?"

"Unfortunately, that is where the bad news comes in. The spell that Lord Belial intends to use comes at an extraordinary cost." Kreed paused. “It requires the sacrifice of an entire city of humans."

That couldn’t be all. Otherwise, Kreed wouldn’t have used the world ‘extraordinary’ to describe the cost. Losing an entire city of humans wouldn’t mean that much to him. In the eyes of most werewolves, humans were expendable livestock.

"Is that all? I'll gladly give up the humans of this city, if it benefits our race."

"If only that were all that was required..."

I knew it.

"What are the spell's other requirements?"

"There’s one more - the body of a clan leader."

A few seconds of silence passed.

Thrax snickered. "Now that the cat is out of the bag, there’s no sense in beating around the bush. Why don't you say what you've come here to say?”

"Give up your body to bring the demon general into this world.”

“Have you gone mad, Kreed? You’re sacrificing your own kind just because Belial told you to?”

“Lord Belial will lead the werewolf race to glory. He has promised to make werewolves the leaders of this world.”

“That’s utter nonsense!” Thrax slammed his staff against the floor. “Do you actually think a being as powerful as Belial sees us as equals? We’re merely his pawns. By partnering with him, you’re putting our race on a path of enslavement!”

“You’re the one who’s spouting nonsense. We’re more prosperous than ever, thanks to Lord Belial’s guidance. Sacrificing yourself for the sake of our race would be a great honor."

"If it's such a great honor, then why don't you take Koga's body instead? Better yet, why don't you give up your own body?"

"This is not a request.”

Thrax took a slow, deep breath. In his mind, he pictured the faces of his clan members. He didn’t mind dying, if it meant that they could continue living. This old werewolf had lived long enough.

"What about my clan? What will happen to them once I'm gone?"

Kreed averted his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

Deo stepped forward. "They’ll join you in the afterlife."

Thrax's eyes widened "What?"

"In order to eliminate any threat of revenge, the entire Firesong Clan must be destroyed. We also need to make an example of your clan. Other clans will fall in line once they see what happens to those who oppose Kreed.

“Its destruction will show to the other clans what will happen to those who oppose either Kreed or Belial.”

A big grin spread on Koga's face. "Do you have last words? If you do, make it quick. I've been itching to fight you for a long time."

"As a matter of fact, I do. Triple Magic Shield!” Three transparent shields materialized in front of Thrax. “Activate Trap!"

A dozen magic circles, spread throughout the room, lit up the floor. They exploded at the same time. A blast of intensely hot air shattered all three barriers in front of Thrax, knocking him backwards into the wall.