Werewolf Hunting Rules.

Chapter 471 Clan Decision

Wei Aodi North District, throat-cutting path.

Local criminals and residents were collectively driven out of this sinful homeland, leaving only Bodalabik militia moving in and out of these dilapidated buildings, with strict sentry posts set up at key locations along the roads.

In just one night, all the armed forces in the northern district were driven away.

Although Conionne and his clan servants were stationed at Cutthroat Pass, they had effectively taken over the entire northern region.

Opius was living in the best house on Cutthroat Drive. He was sitting by the fireplace reading the information that his spies had just sent him. He needed to know the reactions of all the forces in Weodia to the werewolves’ actions and to decide whether to continue applying pressure or back down.

The guards are retreating and gathering in the southern part of the western district.

The members of the Friendship Society in the East District were in a panic, and those who had just agreed to form an alliance were immediately dragged to the East District for security.

Even so, some members of the Muay Thai Society could no longer afford the existing losses. They began to transfer their assets and fled Weodia with their families and servants, only willing to return after hearing of the Society's victory.

Overall, events unfolded in accordance with his expectations, with one exception.

"I didn't expect you to lose."

He spoke as he looked at the documents, his tone calm, but everyone knew he was unhappy about it.

"I guess you gave up the advantage of attacking from the shadows and chose to walk up to him and challenge him to a duel."

Halcha knelt behind him.

"I was defeated head-on, there's nothing more to say."

“Yes, I know. You have done right by your enemies and by your own conscience, but you have failed the clan.” Opiros put down the document, raised his left hand and beckoned for Halcha behind him to stand in front of him.

"I remember you used to value honor, but you never forgot that victory is the foundation of the clan. Why did you lose your mind this time? Don't you know how important this battle is?"

Halcha lowered his head. He was actually thirty years older than Opiros, but he looked only slightly older than Opiros, and the two looked like they were the same age.

"I just suddenly felt like doing this."

The capricious answer drew a long silence.

Until Opiros took a breath: "It's its influence, isn't it?"

The young clan chief did not explain what "it" was, but they all knew what it was.

Dark Moon.

They were given extraordinary power, as well as the greatness of suffering and madness.

Faced with Opiros's questioning, Halcha whispered, "I don't know, Lord Opiros."

“Of course you don’t know, and you don’t want to know, because none of you care.” Opiros grabbed the documents from his lap with his ringed hand and threw them into the fireplace, sparks flying. “I should have expected this when I found out what happened to Lance. These werewolves, transformed by moonlight, are as sensitive to the dark moon as a rheumatist is to rain clouds.”

"He went mad, charging up to fight Edwards all by himself, and then it was you. You look the same, but you've gone mad too."

Opiros stood up. The scent of his own kind had always made him feel at ease, but not now.

Because werewolves don't change their scent when they go crazy.

He tightened his stiff collar, put on the black silk cloak on the table beside him, fastened it with a sapphire brooch, and then pushed open the door and went out, Halchai following closely behind.

It was daytime outside, and the sky was unusually clear, which was probably related to the attack the night before last that had interrupted factory production. The tall chimneys visible on the horizon were no longer emitting smoke, indicating that many workers were now in a state of idleness.

The militiamen in Bodarabik had plenty of work to do. In addition to patrolling, some were responsible for collecting nearby supplies, loading them onto carts, pushing them here, and piling them up at the street corner. Others used carts to pull sandbags to build barricades to prevent a large-scale attack by the armed employees of the Friendship Society.

When they see Conionnai's people appear, they will temporarily stop working, lower their heads, and wait for them to pass by.

“Halcha, do you know why I think now is a good time to make my appearance?” Opiros walked through them.

Because everyone here is one of his own, he doesn't need to hide his choice of words.

"Those alchemists and astronomers were still proclaiming the coming of the Dark Moon, but we knew it had already arrived. Signs began appearing last November. Some members were shot with muskets, but the injuries weren't as severe as expected; the lead bullets stopped at the surface of the flesh and didn't penetrate. They thought their bodies had become stronger through exercise and diet, so their muscles could withstand the bullets, but the reality was quite different." "At the time, I didn't think they were much stronger than when they were injured before. I believed there was another reason for this phenomenon, so I commissioned a medical expert friend to investigate."

"After research and private interviews, he confirmed my judgment."

"Because those lead bullets did not shatter after penetrating flesh, meaning that there was very little force between them and the flesh."

Lead is a relatively soft metal that is very easy to deform. If it were a strong, physical body, the current situation would never have occurred.

Following closely behind the cloaked figure, Halcha continued to listen to Opiros's story.

"This phenomenon is due to the weakening of the firearm's power. On the one hand, breech-loading guns are now popular. Although this increases the rate of fire, hot gases can easily escape from the structural gaps in the propellant loading area, resulting in insufficient propulsion. On the other hand, there is an invisible force disturbance on our body surface, which causes projectiles without subsequent support to lose some of their power. This was not originally there; it can only be the effect of the Dark Moon on the curse."

Opiros stopped in the street and took a rifle from a patrolling militiaman for inspection.

This gun is a breech-loading gun.

"With the return of the Darkmoon, the cursed power within the Darkin has begun to affect the outside world. The reduction in the effectiveness of projectile weapons against us is a good start."

"The power of lead bullets is reduced most significantly, but this is because they are lighter. The damage from crossbows and bows is not reduced much, but not many people use these weapons now."

"Knowing the truth about the reduced firearm power, I decided to take action, even if it meant turning a test into a decisive battle. We must establish our absolute advantage before others realize this change; Weiaudi will be the foundation for our future success in the world,"

Opiros returned the rifle to the militiaman, then sighed, "But I didn't expect the negative effects of the curse to be so strong, enough to cloud the mind of even a brilliant werewolf like you."

“I can’t even be sure if your decision to leave the clan was truly your own.”

Werewolves' instincts drive them to form settlements, but once the number of members in a settlement reaches a certain level, members will leave.

Resource scarcity is one reason, but a more important reason is that every werewolf desires to have their own exclusive territory, a desire ingrained in their blood.

Opiros watched the militiaman walk away, his gaze lingering on the man's retreating figure.

Although he was human, he was strong and loyal, and was also part of the foundation of Conionne's rule over the territory.

“I originally planned to use more time to create pressure through confrontation, forcing Friendship to back down, just as they did to us before, but that won’t work now. If it drags on too long, we may fall into decay due to our growing arrogance and madness.”

He turned to look at Halcha, who remained silent with his head down.

"These words may sound discouraging, but they are my honest opinion—Lind is staying in Bodarabik to complete the task agreed upon by the elders, which I have authorized. He is to persuade the original Conionne to return from the Fairy Realm, but I do not believe that even if this great werewolf returns from the Fairy Realm, he will not be able to make any creative changes to the future development of the clan."

"If we cannot overcome the madness in our blood, then even if victory is within reach, its ultimate outcome will be unpredictable."

"I have no intention of criticizing your decision regarding that wolf."

“In the past, I would have criticized your recklessness, because you didn’t know if he would keep his promise after receiving the benefits. But now, he is very likely also influenced by the Dark Moon, just like you. If so, we can indeed give him what he wants, or we can temporarily cease hostilities, as long as he doesn’t come straight at us.”

At this point, Opiroston paused and instructed, "Have your eldest son ride back to Elder Maxim and ask him for information about Ventra's past. Write it down on paper, and you will personally deliver it to him."

"This needs to be done quickly. We're launching another raid tonight, and you'll be involved. Tonight's target is Daur, the archery instructor of the Sarafafu Archery Association, and his students."

"Go quickly, Halcha, we must all hurry, this battle must be over before the next full moon."

Halcha bowed to Opiros with his hand on his chest, then turned and left.

Even now, on the day of the full moon, the Blackclaw Clan locks all members who cannot control their lunar madness in the dungeon at dusk so that they can safely spend the night and not eat their weaker relatives who are not closely related by blood in their madness, or escape from the castle to massacre the civilians of Bodarabik.

In this respect, they are no different from their nomadic kin, whom they call wolves.

The most powerful, yet also the most vulnerable, werewolf is out of control.

If the Coniones lose control in Weiardi, the Friendship Society will not let this opportunity pass.

It's worth noting that whether a werewolf goes out of control has absolutely nothing to do with how strong its body is; only a powerful mind and authority can defeat it.

Even Chief Opiros himself had to lock himself alone in the old, sturdy, musty dungeon on these nights, looking at the messy claw marks left by his predecessors on the stone walls, waiting in agony for the arrival and the past to come out of control.