Night fell, the half-crescent blood moon hanging low, the clatter of wolf riders' hooves ringing in the air.

The Wolf King's horse neighed, pawing at the soft, leaf-covered ground. Will remembered clearly the last time he'd stepped into Bearwood, half a year ago. Back then, he'd been leading the tattered remnants of his black wolf pack, fleeing Wolf Fort in utter disarray—truly a humiliating sight.

But half a year later, he returned to Bearwood at the head of three hundred elite wolf riders. Comparing his past and present circumstances filled him with a bitter sigh.

Whether the Blood Moon Apostle's words were true or not, everything had gone smoothly so far.

The young white wolf had returned to Winter Snow Valley. Will found communicating with him no great hurdle; he'd "technically" agreed to the white wolves' terms, confident the naive, cute young wolf would carry his "sincerity" back to White Wolf King Watt.

Crossing the Great Wall was the shared dream of all werewolves, and cooperation was the only way to achieve it. For the young wolf's sake, old Watt would surely agree. As for whether he'd keep his promises—well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

A faint smirk tugged at Will's lips.

On the black wolf side, purchasing the wolf riders had drastically boosted his army's strength. He'd originally wanted to buy a few Dark Pacts from Beatrice to summon Wraith Riders, but the black market merchant's price had far exceeded his expectations.

Three hundred wolf riders cost six hundred obsidian; a single Wraith Rider cost six thousand! Beatrice sure knew how to do business—she'd even dared call that a "friendship price"! Why didn't she just rob him?

Profit was a black market merchant's nature, but there had to be limits! Besides him, the Wolf King, who else in the frozen tundra could afford a Dark Pact? Bear King? Horse King? Griffin King? Or Phantom Lynx King? Those so-called tundra kings had been wiped out by the human legion's repeated sweeps long ago! The only ones left who could stand against the humans were the werewolves! Did she think she could sell the pacts to the humans? Ridiculous!

Will couldn't help but snort.

"Hey, old friend, your army's looking mighty impressive—what's there to grumble about?" Ayu rode up beside him.

Will glanced at her sideways. "I was wondering if buying a cursed fox for two thousand four hundred obsidian was a good deal."

Ayu smiled. "My Lord Will's always been shrewd—you'd never make a losing bargain. On paper, you hired me as your warlock for two thousand four hundred obsidian, but your first order was to stock up on supplies…"

"An army marches on its stomach. Was that order wrong?"

"Stocking supplies is a warlock's job, but you didn't give me any money for it. So I had to dip into my own pocket: five hundred obsidian to buy hay from the Horse King, twelve hundred to purchase rations from Beatrice. After those two deals, your two thousand four hundred obsidian was down to seven hundred."

"Aren't there six hundred left?"

"That's for the wolf riders! And I had to pay Beatrice a kickback!"

"So…"

"So you hired me for just seven hundred obsidian!" The cursed fox protested loudly.

Will chuckled. "Ayu, think long-term. This isn't just a regular employer-employee relationship! Of all my subordinates, you're the one I trust the most." Because you can't possibly be a mole.

"Is emotional manipulation the first step every employer uses to exploit their wage slaves?" Ayu fanned herself lazily.

"Ayu, don't be impatient. Remember my promise? Once we take the Great Wall, you'll have more wealth than you can imagine!"

"Hmph, I know you're broke right now, and I'm not an impatient fox. But I am curious…"

"About what?"

Ayu fixed her gaze on Will. "If you were truly broke, I wouldn't be surprised. But the strange thing is, you have money. For a disgraced Wolf King who just returned to Wolf Fort, three thousand obsidian isn't something you can just pull out of thin air. How did you get it?"

You'd better know as little about this as possible. Will brushed it off. "Our werewolf clan has ruled the tundra for a thousand years—we have deep roots. A secret reserve is only natural, isn't it?"

"Who are you kidding? With your kind's habit of blowing up at the slightest trouble, you couldn't hide a single obsidian if you had it! Even a gargoyle wouldn't believe that!" Ayu rolled her eyes at him.

Crafty fox—I can't keep this from her… "Fine, I'll tell you the truth." Will leaned in, lowering his voice. "Actually, I borrowed the money from White Wolf King Watt. He's been resting in Winter Snow Valley for ten years without any wars, so he saved up a lot."

Ayu sighed. "Lord Will, you really don't see me as one of your own. You just met the White Wolf King—would old Watt put aside all his grudges and lend you that much money? Do you even believe that yourself?"

Will coughed and sat up straight. If I keep lying, she'll really get angry. "Okay, Ayu. I didn't mean to hide this from you—it's just too important, so I was cautious…"

"Cut the mysterious act. There's only one possibility: someone's investing in you!" Ayu snapped her fan shut, speaking loudly.

Damn! How did she figure that out? Will stared at the fox warlock in shock.

"What? Am I wrong?"

"It seems I can't hide it from you." Will burst into laughter: With a warlock like you, how can the Great Wall hold out against me?

"You're right. A black market merchant invested in me. I signed a treaty: he's sponsoring me five thousand obsidian for military expenses. If I can't take the Great Wall within half a year, he writes off the money. But if I succeed, I have to pay him back tenfold—fifty thousand obsidian."

"Whoa, that's a huge gamble! Which black market player is this?" Ayu gaped. "It can't be old Beatrice—she's too conservative for this."

"His name is Yefu. Do you know him?"

Ayu's brow furrowed, her eyes locking on the dark depths of Bearwood. "I've heard the name. Yefu's a rising star among the outer lands' black market merchants these days." She hesitated a moment, then added: "But I've been busy, so I never got around to meeting him."

"Were you busy, or couldn't you get an audience?" Will picked up on her hesitation, teasing.

"Fine! I wasn't high enough level to meet him! Happy now?" A flash of glint passed through her eyes, then vanished. "I ran a shop in the Curse Mausoleum just for fun—my real goal was to find a worthy lord to serve, not to climb the black market ladder. Look at you, so petty for a Wolf King! Have some perspective, will you?"

Will smiled. "If I hadn't hit a nerve, would you be throwing this big tantrum, little fox?"

"If you keep mocking me, I'll hide a critical piece of military intel from you—you'll be crying before you know it!" Ayu flicked her wrist, her purple fan snapping open as she fanned herself rapidly.

"Why are you getting mad again? I was just joking! Don't take it to heart, hahaha…" The Wolf King forced an awkward laugh, panic rising in his chest: I've been preparing for this war for so long—don't mess this up for me!

"Umm… so what's the critical intel?" Will asked cautiously.

"I just used the Eye of the Divine Spell to scan the entire Bearwood. I found human figures." Ayu rolled her eyes upward.

Damn!

Will's body jolted, his face draining of color. "Wolf! Someone's infiltrated Bearwood! Seal off the entire area! Find them and drag them out!" the Wolf King roared.