Chapter 342

### Chapter 298: Pursuit

Tivyán, Coal Ash District.

In the afternoon, the loud noises erupting from Stike Mansion drew the attention of passersby on the outskirts of the Coal Ash District. The other Hunters, who were initially assigned to disperse the crowd, began evacuating the surrounding ordinary people. However, the noise was too great, attracting too many onlookers for them to manage. Some Black Tier wind mages at the scene decided to use their abilities to stir up sand and dust around the mansion, blocking the ordinary people’s line of sight once more.

While these Hunters were engaged in covert protection, they glanced toward the continuously shifting mansion, puzzled as to why the infiltration of the two captains had been exposed so quickly, considering they were both the “Shadows” of the White Chalk Tier.

Amidst the swirling dust, the disturbances within Stike Mansion grew increasingly violent. As the noise intensified, the originally closed windows and doors began to shatter one by one due to the forceful gusts. Glass shards and remnants of furniture were blown out of the windows, and among them were the occasional severed limbs or injured servants. At least three battles were raging within the mansion, causing severe destruction.

In the distance from Stike Mansion, atop a high building, Ed and Adele continued to observe the hazy silhouette of the mansion through the dust. Adele, her expression urgent, spoke up.

“Those guys are fighting inside! Now is our chance. Your Flesh Puppet is already in the mansion, right? Have you found any trace of my master?”

“No, my Flesh Puppet is currently searching the lower levels of the mansion and has discovered the dungeon, which is quite bloody and filled with many prisoners. There are lots of ritual tools and magical arrays, but I haven’t seen anyone like your master. The destructive power of those on the upper floors is too strong; it’s impossible to get up there.”

Calmly, Ed replied to Adele. She had told him about her master’s characteristics before, but Dorothy hadn’t found anyone resembling her. Hearing Ed’s words, Adele furrowed her brow slightly, muttering.

“Perhaps… my master is locked in some sort of secret room that ordinary methods can’t access?”

“That is a possibility, but in that case, we need to extract relevant information from Alex. He’s currently engaged in a fierce battle with those two Hunters, so we need to observe the situation further.”

Ed said indifferently. After considering his words, Adele nodded slightly.

“Alright… then let’s wait a bit longer.”

Dorothy and Adele chose to continue waiting, and at this moment, changes began to occur within the mansion amidst the dust. With the intensification of the battle inside and the increasing noise, the tremendous sounds shattered the remaining downstairs windows and doors, creating more seismic vibrations. Under these tremors, cracks began to appear in the mansion’s walls, and the roof even started to collapse.

“Boom!”

Finally, with a tremendous bang, a wall of the mansion exploded, and a corner of the building collapsed extensively. From the dust, a piteous howl erupted, and a large figure, towering two stories high, charged out from the debris. It had black fur, wolf-like claws and a head, and a long tail behind it. This was a massive beast—Alex transformed into a werewolf.

At this moment, the enormous black werewolf had numerous horrifying wounds, bl**d streaks covering its body. Its eye sockets were furious, one claw grasping a wrapped scepter and the other clutching a middle-aged man with a goatee—the captain dispatched by Edmond from headquarters.

“d*e! Black Dog!”

Howling, the werewolf Alex was about to crush the captain in his grip when suddenly, from the enormous breach in the mansion wall, a gale burst forth, and a figure charged rapidly toward Alex. As it passed by his arm, a thick bl**d mist erupted from the arm holding the goatee captain, severing the hefty limb cleanly. When the figure stopped, it revealed itself to be Edmond.

Amidst painful cries, Alex involuntarily released his grip. The freed captain immediately launched a counterattack, raising his scepter at close range to unleash an air blast at Alex. Already battered, the werewolf was sent flying by the air burst, landing awkwardly on the ground of the mansion’s courtyard. Edmond followed up with a wind blade, carving a deep gash down to the bone on Alex, but this still didn’t incapacitate the already grievously injured werewolf. The formidable life force possessed by the White Chalk Tier’s “Cup” was not so easily defeated.

Seeing this, Edmond and the captain with a goatee prepared to press the attack further, but Alex, staggering to his feet, opened his mouth wide and let out a sharp, loud howl—this was the werewolf’s frightful howl, capable of making all enemies within its range flee in terror.

Of course, knowing they were facing a werewolf, Edmond and the captain had made preparations. They had previously used sigils to grant themselves buffs against fear effects. Although Alex’s howl instilled a momentary hesitation, slightly sowing seeds of fear in their hearts, it didn’t completely deter their resolve to act.

However, Alex’s strategy was not so simple. Seeing that his fear-inducing howl had been resisted by Edmond and the captain, he swiftly activated the small scepter in his hand, sending out a faint glow. Instantly, any lingering fear and hesitance in Edmond and the captain were amplified, and a desire to flee arose within them. Under this emotional influence, they halted their advance, panic etched on their faces as they retreated, seeking to distance themselves from Alex.

This move gave Alex a chance to catch his breath, and he let out another howl. This one was different from the fearsome howl—deeper and longer, as if calling for something.

Alongside Alex’s second howl, the previously wounded servants who had been blown out of the mansion and were barely alive began to stir. They struggled in pain, their bodies’ muscles swelling grotesquely. Dark fur sprouted visibly on their bodies, their hands transforming into claws, and sharp teeth grew in their mouths.

The barely living servants of Alex, responding to his howl, rapidly transformed into feral beasts, pouncing on the retreating Edmond and the captain with a goatee.

“Did Alex use his howl to turn his servants into Beastmen?” Dorothy gasped in shock as she observed this scene using her Zombie Puppet. She then controlled Edmond to speak to Adele beside her. Unable to see the distant scene clearly, Adele pondered for a moment after hearing this.

“This… seems to be Alex’s ability as a werewolf, Wild Awakening. Those he summons are not Extraordinary Beastmen but Beastmen as extraordinary mutants.”

“Beastmen?”

“That’s right, Beastmen… Normally, anyone bitten by an Extraordinary Werewolf will be infected with Wolf Poison. Those with Wolf Poison may seem fine at first, but when a werewolf activates Wild Awakening, they are forced to transform into Beastmen. These Beastmen share similarities with Beastmen of the Black Earth Tier but are generally less capable than Beastmen and are on par with ordinary Apprentices’ Thirsters.”