Werewolf Hunting Rules.

Chapter 572 Land Boatmen
Anyone would be shocked by the intelligence brought back by the Sildin brothers, and Charlie was no exception.

For twenty years after he discovered he was seasick and had to abandon his dream of becoming a pirate, he had never heard of anything so bizarre. Now it seemed that the land was no less unpredictable and chaotic than the sea.

“Charlie, what should we do now?” asked Grand Sirindhorn.

Charlie, the notorious career criminal, struggled to compose himself: "Don't bother looking for him. You've spent too much time investigating. If he wanted to betray us, he's probably said everything he needed to say. If he just wants to leave, we don't need to stop him. Just consider it as him giving up this chance to make a fortune."

"Then who will take over his original job?" Siradin asked.

"I'll find someone else."

Charles did not expect Curles' men to handle the matter; the nobleman was irritable and sensitive and would not allow himself to get tainted.

“You still have a mission. We need to inform Sir Kules about this. The details don’t need to be too specific. Just tell him that someone has taken one of our men.”

The Siladin brothers shrugged in unison and retreated from their hiding place.

After he was left alone, Charlie drew his dagger and picked up an apple from the supplies piled up in the corner and began to peel it.

The loss of an important subordinate left him feeling uneasy, and he would always want to eat when he was nervous.

Charlie had previously served Sir Janeck, who had ordered him to retrieve the Book of Strange Things from Sir Penson. However, Charlie knew that Sir Janeck was not wealthy enough to pay a reasonable price for the book, so he naturally found himself a buyer who could afford it.

Caroline Curles made the wrong bet on the Holy Grail last year and lost a lot of money, but he still has a lot of capital on hand, so he is an excellent buyer.

This cannot be considered betrayal.

The Elders no longer employ Easter Island, and Sir Janeck cannot offer fair compensation. As free men, Charlie and his crew certainly have the right to dispose of what they have rightfully stolen.

It's just that most people probably don't think that way.

Charlie was well aware that the value of the goods was extraordinary, so he made some preparations before the transaction, lest Caroline Courles be an untrustworthy fellow.

As for whether the knight will discover it, Charlie bets he doesn't like reading.

"This is fucking interesting!" Clayton waved his cane on the street, attracting the attention of passersby. "These nobles spread their cheating intentions everywhere, but we just don't know who the one who actually does it is."

Last night, he and Julius received some information from Mrs. Kleber about horse racing cheating.

Her information was more specific than what Clayton had previously gathered; it was said that the order of the top three horses in the race had already been decided: Morning Star in first place, Lion King in second, and Skull Ground in third.

The source of this news is unknown, but it has already spread among the nobles, and many people have invested money. It is unclear whether the mastermind behind it deliberately spread the word or whether it is due to the nobles' innate tendency to leak secrets.

Clayton found nothing unusual about the three horses and their owner, and remained skeptical.

Julius wasn't as concerned about the race as he was: "We can't control the rumors, but we can control the horses and riders. Besides, it has its advantages; at least it gives us a decent job."

"But who knows if Charlie is still in Sasha City?"

Clayton didn't really have high hopes for this, although he did really want to kill something.

“Julius, if you really want to learn more about how to fight, we can look at other bounties, or you can join a knightly order, patrol outside the city, clear out bandits on the road, and protect the upcoming tournament.”

“That doesn’t make money,” Julius said. “And the druids are already doing it.”

"You need more money? You should focus on improving your combat skills first. You overthink things and want everything to be perfect, which is why you're suffering for no reason."

"Yeah, I can't just zone out like you."

“Honestly, try being a little reckless,” Clayton said. “Life isn’t a game of chess; you can make mistakes at any step, and there’s no such thing as a foolproof plan. People who can’t enjoy the imperfect present can’t enjoy the future.”

This time, Julius did not mock him; he simply agreed with him after a moment of silence.

"Maybe you're right, but I can't do it."

“I know a way, and that’s what we’re here for today, consider it a belated coming-of-age ceremony.”

What they need to do now is not to go outside the city to continue checking on the horses, nor to kill someone at Mrs. Kleber's request last night, but for Charlotte's sake.

There's been a result regarding the money she asked Clayton for a while, but Julius doesn't know the specifics; only Clayton has seen the full report.

When they arrived, fourteen strong men were gathered on a secluded street, holding long poles with ropes. Among them were many dark-haired Fremen. Charlotte was standing in front of them talking to them. When she saw Clayton Bello and Julius approaching, she stopped directing them and jogged over to them, her face beaming with joy.

“Mr. Bello, I’m sure the target will appear within half an hour; it passes by here once a day.”

Clayton nodded approvingly: "Where is our equipment?" Charlotte hurriedly had two more poles brought over. Clayton took them and handed one to Julius: "Kid, just do whatever we do."

Julius was at a loss with the pole in his hand until Clayton pulled him along, and he realized he should walk to the side of the street and squat down behind an empty trailer without any animals harnessed.

Not only them, but all the men here were hiding in various corners and piles of debris on the street, and Charlotte was no exception.

Although they stopped speaking from this stage onward, the animated expressions on their faces when they looked at each other suggested that what was about to happen would be very interesting and exciting.

Julius doesn't believe that what interests them will also attract him.

He was actually a little curious, but as his muscles went numb from maintaining a squatting position for a long time, his curiosity and patience gradually faded away.

Tarata. Tarata.
The rhythmic sound of horses' hooves approached from one end of the street, drawing his attention back.

The rhythmic sound of hooves seemed no different from any other horse, but it was more muffled, as if the horse was carrying something extremely heavy, or...
Julius instantly realized what they were waiting for.

That living fossil horse that made the newspaper at the beginning of the month!
Just as the sound of hooves drew close enough, Clayton shouted and was the first to leap out from behind cover, hurling his pole. The wooden pole, about twelve feet long, swung its noose at the end and snagged the head of the pale horse.

The startled stone horse tried to lift its front hooves, but he pulled it down with his arms. Then a second noose was put around its neck, and a third noose was put around and around again.

Without a chance to think, Julius's long pole lasso also caught the stone horse, and he, like the others, exerted all his strength, trying to subdue this cursed creature.

The lasso around the horse's neck came from all directions, but the force was generally downwards; they were trying to pull the stone horse down, or at least make it kneel.

If they had lassoed a natural, fleshy creature, its neck would probably have been snapped by the ropes. Yet this stone horse struggled fiercely, and even fifteen adult men and a humanoid werewolf couldn't hold it down for a while.

The marble sculpture weighs at least four thousand pounds, more than all of them combined.

The giant horse's stone muscles possess both softness and hardness. As it swells and contracts with force, the changes in its belly and buttocks are incredibly lifelike. It swings its head back and forth, roaring and trying to tear apart the people around it. Its four hooves, each the size of a human head, kick the ground alternately, smashing everything in their path. Perhaps only Clayton Bello's werewolf form could subdue it, but it is daytime now.

Fortunately, the lassoes the men carried were long enough that the horse could not be touched no matter what kind of attack it tried.

Even so, its strength was still astonishing. The force of its struggle made those who tried to restrain it sway back and forth. In this collective struggle, Julius felt that he could only drift with the tide, unable to stand steadily. No matter how hard he gripped the lasso, he could only affect the current situation.

But if this horse were to break free, this cursed creature, filled with hatred, would surely retaliate fiercely. The Soul Reaper's sorcery, which targets flesh and blood, would certainly be ineffective against it, and Clayton might not be able to stop it either.

The thought sent chills down Julius’s spine. His hands, already aching from the friction, gripped the long pole tightly, refusing to let go.

The stone horse resisted wave after wave. Sixteen men used their thirty-two strong arms to pull on its neck, but it still dragged all its burdens forward and charged more than thirty meters, leaving all the men surrounding it behind. From above, the tightly packed long poles formed a fan shape, as if they were draping a cloak around the horse.

The catchers shouted in unison, gripped the lasso, leaned back, and lowered their bodies, putting all their strength and weight into it, doing their utmost to restrain the horse from running.

Julius had never participated in such strenuous labor before. He had only recently picked up the habit of exercising. This all-out struggle lasted until the fourth minute when he was exhausted and could only hold on to the long pole, contributing his own weight.

It was only then that he had time to observe the others.

To the wizard's surprise, although their faces were contorted and sweating from excessive exertion, they all wore a hearty smile.

Even ordinary people enjoyed the process of fighting with this stone horse.

This discovery deeply shocked Julius.

Somehow, a surge of strength welled up within him, allowing him to persevere.

By the seventh minute, his strength and blood vessels seemed to have dried up, and he lost feeling in both arms, as if they had become part of the rope in this tug-of-war.

The stone horse tossed them around like a giant whale towing several small whaling boats.

To deal with it, the men mustered all their strength, and Julius no longer thought about how much force he could muster; he only knew that he was going to exhaust all his strength.

All the blood in his body rushed to his arms and legs, and even his vision became blurred.

After an unknown amount of time, this extraordinary horse, born of a curse, finally gave up. It lowered its head wearily, its four legs bent and knelt down under the force of the lasso, and its body slumped to one side on the ground, no longer trying to struggle.

Clayton put down the lasso and, with the horse tack Charlotte had prepared, stepped forward and forcibly put it on the horse.

Julius released his grip at the opportune moment, plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, feeling a surge of energy and a strange sense of happiness welling up from the bulging veins on his forehead and neck.

"Haa...haa, I have to admit, this is kind of fun."

Upon hearing his words, Clayton, sitting on the stone horse's back, laughed heartily, then hugged the horse's neck and kissed its head several times.