On the dark gray stone wall, a mural was carved. Amidst a bed of bleeding flowers, a wolf pulled on a human skin. Its face and upper body were already fully human, but its lower half remained covered in shaggy wolf fur, and a thick tail dragged behind it.

Will stared at the mural, his mouth twitching into a grin then falling open in a faint gasp. Fragments of his past flashed through his mind.

The Frostwall!

A sinister light suddenly blazed in his blood-red wolf eyes.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Heavy footsteps echoed behind him. Will didn’t need to turn—he knew it was his most loyal guard.

“Wolf.”

The werewolf who stepped into the stone chamber was towering, his face crisscrossed with two prominent scars—marks of honor from countless battles.

“Master.”

“Did you see the Old White Wolf?”

Wolf shook his head. “He sent you this.”

Will saw Wolf holding a wooden box. He stepped forward and lifted the lid, revealing a human head inside.

Will’s eyebrows twitched in surprise, but a smile soon spread across his face.

“Hello there, wolf slayer.”

He recognized the head as one of his most formidable rivals: the Grand Magician, Peter.

Will knew every detail of his enemy’s life.

Peter was the greatest human magician in the past twenty years. He’d been born with unparalleled magical hands—at seven, he could pluck the only joker card from a hundred fluttering playing cards. At fourteen, he’d entered the Citadel of Magic, the human’s sacred temple of sorcery, to study magic systematically. Ten years later, he’d emerged and traveled the kingdom, helping villagers and slaying werewolves. For his deeds, the human queen had bestowed upon him the title of Grand Magician.

Two years ago, Peter had been summoned to the Frostwall by the queen. During the Wolf-War half a year ago, he’d unleashed his full power, his magical hands repeatedly redirecting wolf blades meant for Frostwall soldiers onto their werewolf companions.

The Legion had won a resounding victory that day. Peter’s fame had skyrocketed, and the queen had granted him the title of Holy Light Mage, his reputation nearly matching that of Orek, the Frostwall Commander.

Just thinking about that battle made Will’s fur stand on end. The magician was far too powerful…

But now, seeing Peter’s head in the box, Will’s joy surged back.

“With this thorn in my side gone, I can finally sleep soundly.” Will closed the lid. “I never thought the Old White Wolf could send an infiltrator deep into the Frostwall.”

“They said besides the magician, the Wall’s steward and a Dreamweaver were also killed by the spy. But due to limitations, their heads couldn’t be brought back across the Wastes.”

“Wait—the Wall’s steward? Kammon?”

“Most likely.”

“Oh… so he’s dead…” Will narrowed his eyes.

A memory surfaced in his mind.

Kammon…

Will paced the stone chamber for a long while. After revisiting his younger days, he brought his thoughts back to the present.

“The Old White Wolf wouldn’t see you, but sent this ‘gift.’ There’s no doubt what he’s trying to prove.”

“What is it?”

Will smiled. “Old Vard wants to show me he’s more worthy of the Wolf King’s throne than I am.”

Wolf growled, “The rift between the Black Wolf and White Wolf clans was entirely his doing. He has no right to be king.”

“Let the past be past. Who was right or wrong no longer matters.” Will cut him off, sighing softly. “The survival of our people depends on both clans working together. Cooperation is our only path to victory.”

“But they’re the ones refusing to cooperate…”

“The Old White Wolf wouldn’t see you, but he told us about the spy. That’s already a good start.” Will glanced at the mural of the wolf wearing human skin. “He’s done his part. Now it’s my turn.”

Will fastened his dark cloak and strode out of the chamber.

“The fate of our clan rests on my shoulders!”

Mounting the last stone step, Will entered the great hall of Wolfhold.

The dim hall reeked of damp cold. Moss-covered walls held a few flickering candles, casting faint shadows.

Two rows of wolf guards stood at attention, clad in black iron armor, holding wolf-headed blades. They stood as straight as iron walls, dividing the hall into three sections.

In the middle of the rows, a man knelt. His head hung low, his trembling hands clenched so tightly his nails dug nearly into his palms—proof of the unspeakable fear he felt.

Ding Rui…

Will remembered his name.

Two days ago, three human soldiers had walked into his ambush. The hunter and knight had frozen in terror, soiling themselves. But this Ding Rui had tried to pick up his fallen sword and fight, only to prove he was nothing more than a commoner.

The commoner’s courage had surprised Will, even earned a flicker of admiration. We are alike, in some ways…

Will walked straight to the front of the hall and sat on the cold stone throne.

A guard stepped forward to report: two of the three human captives had refused food, spoken no words, and stared blankly for two days—they’d gone mad. Only this commoner would eat, and sometimes even answered questions when spoken to.

The hunter and knight had lost their minds, but the commoner stayed sane. Interesting.

Will ran his fingers over the carved wolf head on the throne’s armrest, watching Ding Rui with keen amusement.

Ding Rui’s face was pale and twisted, but after staring for a moment, Will caught something in the occasional glance the human lifted: he was observing me. He hasn’t fully surrendered yet.

“Commoner—are you not afraid of me?” Will asked, his voice cold and calm.

Ding Rui’s body trembled violently, but he didn’t answer.

“Have you never seen a werewolf tear a human apart? Is that why you haven’t learned to fear?” Will leaned back against the throne, propping his feet on the armrests, adopting an arrogant posture to increase the human’s pressure.

“I…” Ding Rui’s upper body shook. After a long pause, he spoke cautiously, “You… you can’t kill me…”

“Oh? Why not?”

“I… I am an envoy of peace, sent with a message from Orek, the Frostwall Commander, to negotiate a truce with the Wolf King of the North… According to tradition, in war, envoys are not to be killed… Even wolves… should abide by this…”

What a lie!

Will saw through the deception instantly. The human was grasping at straws, trying to trick him—as if wolves were that easy to fool.

But he didn’t want to kill the commoner yet. Cats always play with mice before eating them—that’s the fun of it. Since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll spend some time playing with you.