Chapter 8: Clues

Argus considered himself no good man, nor did he want to be a hypocrite!
Helping others while being chased by a group of terrifyingly strong foes?
Argus wondered how he could have such a ridiculous idea!
What did those stupid brats’ lives matter to him?
He had warned them many times—they had chosen to seek their own deaths…
“Uuuu…” Another howl came from afar.
“Tch!” Argus slapped his forehead and stood up, glancing at the campfire. Without any movement from him, the flames went out in an instant.
“Consider it repayment for those few pieces of dry bread. Damn it!”
Muttering to himself, Argus wrapped his black coat tighter and headed in the direction the children had gone.
“Pray, kids! Pray those guys behind me don’t chase too closely…”
While Argus was muttering as he pursued the children, Jiang Zhe and the others arrived at the village called Asher and saw a dozen imperial guards driving away the wolves.
“Guards from the nearby outpost?” Allen murmured in slight surprise.
Perhaps hearing footsteps, the dozen guards turned alertly. At first glance, they looked stunned. One guard captain raised his hand and shouted, “Stop, kids! This area is already designated as…” As he spoke, he suddenly noticed the children’s attire and hesitated.
After all, guards were merely the empire’s lowest-ranking military force, while these kids were the future nobility. In this highly class-based dictatorship, commoners dared not offend magicians, let alone apprentice magicians.
“Hello, respected guard sir. Is this the village called Asher?” Scott, who had received excellent noble education since childhood, spoke like a true noble—his tone and gestures would likely satisfy even the most picky etiquette instructors.
In contrast, the guard captain in his thirties seemed uneasy. He hurriedly bowed and stammered, “Yes, m-mister!” Looking at this child who seemed about the same age as his own, the guard captain felt extremely awkward.
In the empire, even apprentice magicians held a status far above commoners!
“We heard some howls coming from here and thought something might have happened, so we came to check…”

“Oh,” the captain of the guards relaxed slightly, then shook his head in frustration. “I have no idea what’s gotten into those beasts. We were only ordered to guard this village, yet we were attacked by those damned beasts. Several young men were injured…” As he spoke, he instinctively glanced in the direction of the guards gathered over there. Following his gaze, Scott could clearly see a few guards bandaging the wounds of their injured comrades. “Are they werewolves?” Scott’s voice was low, as he knew that werewolves’ sharp teeth carried a deadly venom that ordinary people couldn’t withstand—enough to kill even the strongest man. “Werewolves?” The captain of the guards looked puzzled and asked hesitantly, “What are werewolves?” “Hm?” Scott was a bit confused. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “If you don’t mind, could you tell me what orders you received?” “Oh,” the captain nodded slowly. “It was around dawn. We were drinking mead at the outpost… ah, no, we were on night duty at an outpost not far from here when a magician came to us and asked us to bring some men to this village, saying that the villagers there had been attacked by beasts…” “It must be Professor Hodd!” Ravia frowned and nodded, studying the buildings in the village. “What just happened?” “Huh?” The captain was stunned and hurriedly explained, “Well, that magician said the villagers had been attacked by beasts. But when we arrived, we tried to see if there were any survivors. Strangely, there wasn’t a single person in the village, and not a single body could be found—only pools of blood. So I sent my men to search the woods over there, but before they could get close, they were attacked by a pack of damned wolves. We had no choice but to retreat…” “So,” Ravia nodded gently and turned to Scott, whispering, “It seems the professor didn’t make it…” “Hm!” Scott understood what she meant. If Professor Hodd had arrived, they wouldn’t have encountered those ‘werewolves’ in the woods a mile away. Everyone knew that humans bitten by werewolves turned into soulless puppets—Professor Hodd surely knew that too.

Although it’s a bit unfair to those poor civilians, it’s the only way to free them, just as Jiang Zhe did.
“That makes sense—those wolves don’t want anyone to approach that forest…” Scott turned to look at the forest the guard captain mentioned, frowning and asking, “What’s behind the forest? Like a village or something?”
“Well,” the guard captain thought for a while before saying uncertainly, “There’s no village behind the forest… but there is an abandoned mine… Yes! I remember now—about a mile and a half past that forest, there’s an abandoned mine from years ago! But it’s not in use anymore…”
“A mine?” Scott turned to look at Ravia and smiled, “What do you think?”
“Hmph!” Ravia snorted lightly and said indifferently, “It might have turned into a wolf den by now!” Her expression seemed distracted.
While the two were asking the guard captain, Allen turned his head to observe the buildings in the village. He noticed that although the village resembled the one where the professor lived, it was much larger, with numerous wooden houses. Judging by the number of villagers, there must be four or five hundred of them.
The thought that there could be four or five hundred of those disgusting creatures filled Allen with dread, even though those werewolf puppets could hardly hurt him.
Ultimately, it was Allen himself who couldn’t accept that the wild werewolves in his imagination actually behaved like that.
“Surely not all the villagers have turned into those… things…” With fear in her eyes, Lisa carefully glanced at the wooden houses around her, afraid that one might suddenly appear.
“Unfortunately, I’m afraid so…” Shrugging, Allen suddenly saw Jiang Zhe and Dia standing next to a wooden house, talking. Curious, he walked over and asked, “What are you talking about, guys?”
Shaking his head, Jiang Zhe pointed at the torn wooden door and said, “Nothing. I’m just looking at this door… A board about an inch thick seems like no trouble at all for them…”
“What’s the big deal?” Allen said nonchalantly. “I can do that too!”
“Look closely at the claw marks on the door!” Jiang Zhe said irritably.
Only then did Allen notice that the door hadn’t been smashed but torn by those creatures’ sharp claws. After comparing his own robe to the door, he gave a strange expression, causing Dia beside Jiang Zhe to laugh lightly.
“Be careful, Allen!”

“Ah!” Allen bent down in a knightly salute and said softly, “Beautiful lady, your kindness has made me feel the beauty of this world once again. I will become your sharp sword and sturdy shield. I will…” Before he could finish, he got a bump on the head—from Scott.

“When will you know when not to act like this? And I’m curious where you learned those nonsense sentences from!” Scott said irritably, frowning at Allen, who was pouting. “Remember, you’re an apprentice magician, not a bard. As your companion, I feel extremely embarrassed!”

“Hey,” Allen said unhappily, scratching his head, “There’s no need to be so serious, buddy…”

Scott shook his head in exasperation, then turned to Jiang Zhe and said, “Thors, I asked the guards here about the situation. Beyond this forest, to the northwest of this village, there’s an abandoned mine. I suspect that’s where the werewolves are hiding!”

“Werewolves? Those guys?” Jiang Zhe looked puzzled.

“Hmm,” Scott pushed up his glasses and said quietly, “I understand what you mean. The werewolves that attacked this village and turned its villagers into soulless puppets—I suspect he’s there. The question now is whether we should go to that mine. There’s at least one real werewolf there, along with about four or five hundred werewolf puppets made from villagers of this village…”

“Four or five hundred…” Jiang Zhe hesitated for a moment before saying thoughtfully, “If that mine really is where the werewolves are hiding, then the professor must have gone there too. What do you think, Scott, Allen?”

“I don’t care,” Allen said, shrugging. “I’m a bit interested in that real werewolf. Those soulless puppets really disappoint me!”

“I…” Scott showed an unusually awkward expression for once, pushing up his glasses and stammering, “I’m also very interested in that werewolf. The libraries of Riox don’t have any records of this forbidden magic, so…”

Obviously, Jiang Zhe noticed Scott’s embarrassment. He stroked his chin and smiled, saying, “Not even Riox’s libraries? That’s great! If we donate it to the academy, maybe they’ll give each of us a scholarship. Thanks to the professor, I still haven’t even managed to gather enough money for tuition!”

“…Hah!” Scott smiled after a moment of hesitation, his eyes warm as he nodded seriously and said, “That’s true…” Then he glanced at Dia and asked, “So what do you think, Senior Dia?”
Facing the questioning looks from the three boys beside her, Dia chuckled lightly and said, “Don’t underestimate me. I certainly don’t want to regret not having the courage to go with you in fifty years! But I suggest we look for Professor Hode then. If that place is really a gathering place for wolves, the professor will surely be there too. Let’s treat it as an adventure!”
Meanwhile, to the northwest of Asher Village, Argus had his eyes closed, arms crossed, leaning against a tree. Dozens of mountain wolves surrounded him but didn’t dare approach.
After a long while, Argus slowly opened his eyes and stared intently at the ground beneath his feet.
“It seems like it might not be such a bad idea after all…”
With that, he stood up straight, ignoring the pack of wolves in front of him, and walked straight through them.
From start to finish, the mountain wolves didn’t dare move a muscle…