Werewolf Hunting Rules.

Chapter 498 The Incomprehensible Guy

Opiros remained silent, leaving Hazel momentarily unsure of his attitude.

He was actually questioning that answer.

Delivering a message? The wolf had told him it was looking for someone, and Chief Blackclaw didn't believe Hazel would lie to him at this point, especially about something so trivial. So, his opinion of the wolf grew lower and lower.

It's clearly quite strong, but it's also a cunning creature.

Of course, cunning is also one of the werewolves' natures, but Opiros never liked this trait.

"Do you know that he's the one who robbed Warehouse 96?"

"What?" This time it was Hazel's turn to be surprised. Although he tried his best to suppress it, a hint of surprise still showed on his face.

“He belongs to the elders’ council of Sasha, so it’s not surprising that he’s taking action against us,” Opiros stated calmly. “I’m more curious why you’ve ignored him until now.”

A fine sheen of sweat appeared on Hazel's forehead.

“Controlling the Sentinels is not easy. Our men also have to be wary of the Winged Serpents behind Orlanster, so we have always been short-handed.”

He knew that Clayton Bello had killed Nigel—the high-ranking assassin sent to kill Nightingale. Sending Nigel to assassinate Nightingale was the idea of ​​the Friendship Society, but Basbee had put in a lot of effort and had not informed Conionne.

Bassbeth even authorized Nigel to do anything that was detrimental to Conionne.

Killing a werewolf of unknown origin and framing it for Nightingale's death, while the only werewolf clan nearby was Conionne, so the blame fell on Conionne—that's probably what this guy thought when he saw Clayton Bello, and then he boldly made his move, only to fall into the other's hands.

What happened next had nothing to do with Clayton Bello.

Once Julius falls into Hazel's hands, Clayton becomes irrelevant. On the contrary, if they were to hunt down Clayton for the sake of secrecy and fail, it would likely arouse more suspicion from Conionne.

This tendency to retreat persisted to the point that it became a huge flaw in Heiser's planning.

Until the attack on Warehouse 96, he chose to act cautiously because of the unclear relationship between the other party and Conionne. So much silver couldn't possibly have been taken by one person alone, and usually, organized robberies require trustworthy people; otherwise, how would the cooperation and distribution be handled? Clayton Bello was an outsider, unfamiliar with the area of ​​Weiod, and compared to him, Conionne was more suspicious.

So Hazel focused his attention on recovering the silver and preparing for Conionne's possible wrath.

Every time Clayton Bello causes trouble, it draws out another party that needs to be on high alert, leaving Hazel no time to bother him.

And the party that needs to be on high alert always happens to be Conionne.

He suspected that Clayton Bello might be one of Conriona's men.

Of course, since Opiros is now questioning their neglect of Clayton Bello, it suggests that Clayton is unlikely to be Conionai's man, which is a misconception.

Suddenly realizing that this was an element that truly exceeded the plan, Hazel couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Now that you have chosen the elders of Sasha as your opponents, you should know something about them. If they send someone like this to Weodi, what would his purpose and mission be?"

"To gather intelligence and to damage our interests as much as possible," Hazel instinctively replied.

"You captured a wizard from the Elders' Council, and your reply to me is so brief?" Opiros finally sneered, his lips curling up in a way that no human could possibly do, revealing his usually deeply hidden canine teeth: "Should I remind you of something else, wizard—?"

"The wizard said his main purpose was to find two missing henchmen, but finding people didn't require bringing Groene's son and the attack on Warehouse 96. I just thought it was an excuse, so I didn't mention it."

Opiros snorted, and the oppressive feeling he exerted on Hazel gradually diminished.

"It seems he's not entirely dishonest after all."

Hazel didn't know who he was talking about, but the answer might satisfy him, so the canine tooth was hidden again.

"But is that wizard Groene's son? And now they've also set their sights on Weaudi?"

“I don’t know, Mr. Opiros, but I’m here to strengthen our ties in preparation for the worst.” Hazel lowered his gaze, which fell on Opiros’s slightly stern lips.

The subtle fluctuations appeared to Hazel like undulating waves, as if eagerly trying to chew something.

"Given Conionne's feat on the riverbank, many promising young people in the Weaudi high society have had to declare bankruptcy and sell off their remaining assets. The valuation of these assets will be completed soon. We do not have enough money to acquire them at the moment, and if the elders of Sasha intervene at this time, the consequences will be extremely terrible."

“Aren’t bankrupt people members of the Brotherhood of Friendship? Can’t you help and guide them to continue to serve us?” Opiros turned back to the fireplace, his back to Hazel, his black silk cloak gleaming in the firelight, radiating a pearly luster.

The Stonegate wizard bowed his head between the two werewolf guards:
"Unfortunately, the moment they went bankrupt, the trust between us vanished. They automatically withdrew from the Friendship Association without any prompting or expulsion from anyone, and we tacitly accepted it. Even if we made a request, our words were no more important than those of anyone willing to lend them money in their time of need."

“You want me to buy up their remaining assets and help them exit more gracefully?” Opiros asked in a low voice, gazing at the flames. “The price is very low right now,” Hazel said. “If you have a strong desire to acquire them, I can also secretly contact several banks to provide low-interest loans.”

Members of the Friendship Association often carry some debt, and once the funding chain breaks, it's like the deck of cards is overturned.

Conionai has no habit of borrowing or lending. Werewolves like to store things, and based on their physiological instincts, they only trust wealth that they can see, touch, and smell.

This isn't typical of a businessman, but it does have its advantages.

For example, right now, while others can't afford to spend money, Conionne still has savings.

However, Opiros rejected him: "After we clean up the government with a second election, it will only take four months at most for us to take them back to the government at a lower price, or to resell them at a lower price to people who are more willing to cooperate with us."

The Black Claw chieftain had calculated things very clearly. The reason they could act without restraint now was because they didn't own any property in the city. Once they did, it would be the Friendship Society's turn to attack them. It was safer for their assets to remain untouched.

Hazel urged again, "You won the first round, but the second round won't be much easier. How many more sacrifices can you accept? Sacrifice twenty or thirty Conionai to gain a ghost town with its main industries shut down? At least swallow the meat you see first. Since Grone's son has appeared in the city, there may be more spies following behind. The situation could change at any time, and there may not be such a good opportunity in the future."

Opius did not change his attitude despite his persuasion; he merely glanced back and then turned back.
“No, Conionne’s enemies are only Groene and Des Jonard, not the Elders, and even they, what they seek does not conflict with what I seek. Hazel, you are trying to drag us into a quagmire that belongs only to you.”

“Let me give you some advice—you should be more worried about Gregory and his men from the Druids. Although they can’t handle money, they won’t hesitate to sell you.”

"These people are now standing with the Friendship Society simply because they are competing with the Urban Integration Faction for followers. You may think that signing a contract with them will put you at ease, but that is not the safest approach, because none of the people who signed the contract are nobles."

"There's still a lack of nobles," Hazel sighed inwardly.

The sacredness of the nobility lies in the fact that their surnames are linked to the land, not only in a social sense, but also in a mystical way.

Loyal nobles share the glory and shame of their land, witnessed by the earth itself, making the contracts they sign even more difficult to violate or break.

Opiros finally lost his patience: "Alright, Hazel, you told me there would be compensation, but you've been making endless demands. I really don't know who's compensating whom. If you want to please me, first provide the complete plan for releasing monsters into the North District. I need to know every single detail."

The werewolves' fangs will be driven into the necks of the witchers; they are the next batch of sacrifices needed for Conionne to return to her rightful place.

Heiser had to abandon other ideas and prioritize satisfying Opiros's needs.

However, he could not provide a satisfactory answer when he mentioned how the plan failed.

The wizard Serbergan, who was in charge of the fire-fighting plan, was a replacement provided by the Hutton family. He didn't know much about this person, only that he was a self-taught wizard with some skills and was suspected of being killed by Clayton Bello.

Hazel had never seen Clayton in person; he only knew from Julius's descriptions of his appearance, that he was a werewolf, a member of the elders' council of Sasha, and that he was a fierce fighter—that was all.

What he did before was like slapping the Friendship Association and Conionnay in the face, which was infuriating but at least understandable.

Only last night, his behavior of fighting the monsters released by the Friendship Association in the North District was completely illogical.

Julius was rescued by the other party through a trick, and the silver in Warehouse 96 was also magically taken away by the other party. Before robbing the silver, he also used the warehouse guards to fight back against Conionne, who was chasing him.

This is undoubtedly a cautious and cunning fellow.

Why would someone like that stay in the North District and fight the monsters?

Lydia's relationship with Clayton came after this, and it was entirely accidental. This gesture didn't seem like a gesture of goodwill towards Conionne.

So, did he do this to cater to the werewolf's warlike nature?

Opiros disagreed.

He is also a werewolf, and has the right to define what a werewolf is. Even the fiercest werewolf knows that a battle cannot last forever; killing is for food, to alleviate their thirst for blood. This thirst can never be fully satisfied, but it can be temporarily satisfied.

A werewolf's bestiality is not the same as madness.

When facing a powerful enemy, werewolves may fight to the death for honor and pride, but they will also choose to run away when the situation is unfavorable, and will not persist in fighting multiple powerful enemies to the end.

The traces at the scene indicate that the battle last night was extremely intense. The monsters that the Friendship Association deployed in the North District to harass Conionai were not weaklings; each possessed formidable strength. Clayton was not fighting weaklings, but rather engaging in a death struggle with powerful opponents of similar strength.
But Conionne is also his enemy. Isn't it a good thing to let danger spread in Conionne's camp?

Hazel and Opiros could not understand Clayton's actions.

“Perhaps it was a personal grudge, but after he dealt with the monster, he chased it to the West End and killed Serbergam as well,” Hazel said. This was the only explanation.

Opius remained noncommittal, but his lips moved slightly again.