Chapter 772 b.l.o.o.d.y Night
When Jake and Lucia returned to the Myrtharian Nerds" campsite, he was in a much better mood. He still hadn"t gotten that heart-to-heart talk with Will, but at least he didn"t seem like a traitor.
In fact, whatever grudges Jake held for the businessman had long since lost their meaning. Experience had proven that Wyatt wasn"t a bad guy.
To be quite frank, this Vampire Progenitor was kind to a fault and his benevolence sometimes prevented him from committing a lesser evil for the greater good. His refusal to drink human blood was the most obvious example.
Back at their base, Lucia bid him farewell and decided to train her troops to prepare them for the battle to come. Hephais, who was a Shadow a.s.sa.s.sin, decided to gather intel in Laudarkvik under the radar, with the endors.e.m.e.nt of Aisling, Haynt and Kevin.
Speaking of his cousin Kevin, he had recently contacted them and told them that the Werelions, Werebears and Werebirds in the city would remain neutral. After much effort, he had managed to gain the trust of their princess Qewie. He was confident that with a few more days he would be able to win over the other camps on the fence.
Lysander, the Alpha Werelion was loyal to her, while his older brother Kenway, reputed to be as powerful as Haynt, was a lifelong loner. As long as his family was not threatened with extinction, he would not interfere.
Unfortunately, at this point neither Jake nor Kevin could predict that the Lost Divinities counterattack would come much sooner and in a much more unexpected way than antic.i.p.ated.
As night fell and Jake had begun the task of producing the metals required to obtain his own portable fortress, a group of hooded individuals stealthily appeared in the Werebeing District.
One of these figures stood about 4.5 meters tall and two long, slightly curved horns could be seen protruding from his hood, as could his large nose. Equally striking were the two black hooves as wide as a roundel ending its brown-black coated legs.
A Minotaur.
As he stepped into the shadows, the other figures followed him and for a fraction of a second a moonbeam illuminated their faces, revealing b.e.s.t.i.a.l and inhuman faces. One of them looked like a humanoid lion, another like an eagle, others like bears or wolves.
Others were Daemons and Werebeings.
If one looked at them carefully, one could have noticed that the animal species they were related to corresponded to those of the different Werebeing clans of Laudarkvik. Seeing all of these opposing creatures gather together hooded at dusk, only a fool would not suspect that something sinister was afoot.
Walking behind the Minotaur were two smaller figures with different expressions on their faces.
The first, about 10 feet tall, was the epitome of the ultimate barbarian, a mountain of s.h.a.ggy muscle, naked torso, bearded and tattooed with red stripes. In his eyes, crimson lightning snakes danced constantly, while his hard face was perpetually frowning in an expression that screamed loudly "Don"t f.u.c.k with me". The impression the man gave was that he was not happy to be here.
The second was the size of a normal human and significantly older. His skin was significantly darker and his hair and black goatee were meticulously trimmed. His slit-pupil orange eyes glowed in the darkness, boding ill for the unsuspecting Werebeings.
These two Players were of course Azeus and Shamash, two members of Lost Divinities. The former was on probation, while the latter was an officer known for his cruelty and efficiency in following orders.
"Do we really have to do this?" Azeus growled with disgust. "I thought Lost Divinities was an invincible faction. Isn"t that what you told me when you came to recruit me? If we"re the strongest why don"t we fight them fair and square?"
Shamash chuckled gently, ignoring his ranting.
"Lost Divinities is invincible because it knows how to put water in its wine. We may be G.o.ds, but we are minor deities. The Mirror Universe is vast. Only a fool would act openly believing himself invincible. You saw what happened when that Jake attacked us alone. He was strong, no doubt about it, but faced with our numbers he was forced to run away with his tail between his legs. Lost Divinities has many enemies, and the sooner we"re done here, the sooner we can move on to the next stage of the plan."
"Whatever you say..." The barbarian grumbled, completely giving up on convincing him.
Shamash sneered inwardly, feeling nothing but contempt for this rookie who lived only for combat, but that didn"t stop him from continuing the mission Deimos had given him. His face turning as cold as an iceberg he ordered grimly,
"Start the mission."
"Aye, sir." The hooded figures responded in unison by placing their fists over their hearts.
The next moment, these subordinates dispersed like blurred shadows into the district"s alleyways, each heading for their future target.
A few minutes later in a mansion belonging to the patriarch of the Weresheeps.
A hooded Werelion withdrew his b.l.o.o.d.y spear from the throat of a young woman still carrying her baby in her arms. The weapon had pierced both mother and child. The baby"s cries woke up the sleeping people in the mansion and seconds later several guards and an old man with fluffy white air still in his pajamas came into the murder room.
Seeing the murdered young woman and baby lying in their own blood, the old man fell to his knees, a river of tears running down his face.
"Eleonora! Lil" Judi..."
This old man was none other than the patriarch of the Weresheeps and their oldest Alpha. Just then another younger man who vaguely resembled him emerged in the bedroom and also saw the two corpses. An intolerable pain clutched his chest and he had to squeeze his heart with his hand to keep from fainting.
After the shock, the man, who was the current leader and Alpha of the Weresheeps, went into berserk mode and the next thing he knew a ball of wool several dozen meters in diameter suddenly expanded, exploding the mansion. Immediately after, it began to shrink, becoming barely wider than a tennis ball.
"DIE!"
The man threw the compressed ball of wool and the hooded Werelion sketched a mocking smile. Instead of dodging, he deflected it with his spear, but caused it to graze his hood to reveal his appearance. He put on an expression of regret and nervousness, as if terrified of being found out, then
BOOOM!
The ball of wool expanded again and he let himself be ejected into the distance, a victorious smile reappearing on his face.
Mission accomplished. Back to base."
In another even larger mansion, the Minotaur of Lost Divinities crushed all the descendants of the Wereboar clan with his fists and hooves. This clan had been totally neutral until then, but after this incident they were sure to change sides.
The Wereoxens and Werecows clan were a notorious ally and subordinate of the Werelions and with his appearance this Minotaur had easily managed to pa.s.s himself off as one of them. If Alpha Boar wasn"t too stupid, he would know what to do.
This kind of scene was repeated throughout the district. A Werebear slaughtered the wives and offspring of the most influential Weretigers. A Were-eagle slashed to death the eldest son of the Alpha Were-hippo, one of the neutral clans known to be the most vengeful and violent once their fury was provoked.
At the same time, similar tragedies occurred on the side of the clans that Kevin had convinced not to partic.i.p.ate in the war. A Werewolf who was supposed to be their ally beheaded Lysander"s wife, while another Werewolf murdered Kenway"s childhood friend, a woman long married to another whom he had never stopped loving.
In the Werebears" palace, the old patriarch collapsed, suffocating in his own blood, bitten several dozen times by a Werecobra. Despite his power and keen senses, he had not sensed the enemy approaching while he slept, and the guards had not been alerted either.
"Hmm?" Kevin who was meditating just below opened his eyes with a start.
With a bad feeling, he rushed into the old Alpha Werebear"s room and arrived just in time to see the Werecobra withdraw its fangs from the back of its victim"s neck. Seeing their hooded cloaks, Kevin knew immediately that they were victims of a plot, but it was too late.
The current leader of the clan and son of the Alpha Werebear burst into the room and also discovered the unforgettable face of the a.s.sa.s.sin.
"YOU b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I"M GOING TO TEAR YOU TO PIECES WITH MY OWN TEETH!"
The man, mad with rage, suddenly widened, giving way to a huge grizzly bear of more than 12 meters in height and without looking at the buildings around his huge paw fell heavily on the place where the Werecobra was standing. The Werecobra winked at them, then its body evaporated into smoke just before the giant paw reduced it to mush.