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C1488

Time appeared to stand still as Emery waited for the person who would pass on judgment to arrive. He silently looked at the door as it revealed a figure who soon approached the corpse-filled arena, but it was not the grand magus he was expecting to see.

Instead, the approaching figure was one of the palace magus aides. Emery complied without a word when the man briefly invited Emery to follow him, and none of them said any unnecessary words while they walked through the magnificent halls of the palace.

After a short while, they finally arrived at a certain room. There, Emery was instructed to wash himself and don new, more proper attire to replace his torn-apart bloodied clothes. Emery was then sent to return to the lobby where the old grand magus was already waiting for him.

The moment he stepped into the lobby, the grand magus's eyes immediately scanned his entire figure.

"Are you ready to tell me your identity now?" the old wolf asked. His eyes were fixed on the young acolyte's every move, seemingly awaiting any sort of response.

Emery was silent for a second. The strength test and the accommodating yet respectful treatment he was given after made him believe that the old wolf no longer had any plans of harming him. Yet despite that, Emery still could not bring himself to trust the old wolf.

He calmly shook his head and respectfully said, "My apologies Elder, but I'm afraid I can't do so. As I've said, I am also still trying to figure things out."

Emery looked up and met the grand magus's gaze. He somewhat expected the old wolf to scrutinize him with disbelief and continuously question him, but to his surprise, the old wolf did not do any of those. Instead, his eyes were filled with tolerance and understanding.

"I believe you. I found out that your soul has been harmed recently, and to quite a severe degree at that. As for your intention… I probed enough to conclude that you neither are a spy from our enemies nor came to harm Silvermane. At the very least, you did not come to harm our king."

Emery chose to stay silent and let the old wolf continue.

"You are here because of the [Ancient Wolf Blood], are you not?"

This time, Emery affirmed the grand magus's words with a nod. Emery was hoping that the old wolf would be willing to provide some more information on how to obtain it, so he didn't bother to hide this intention of his.

"The king is always appreciative of new talents. However, while your bloodline gene indeed makes you a notable candidate to receive the Ancient Wolf Blood, we value family before strength. Unless you can prove your loyalty, we will never allow you to obtain it."

The old wolf sounded like he was completely on his side, but in the end, it was yet another attempt to make him reveal his identity. Again, Emery decided to stay silent.

For a moment, both sides did not say a word. Seeing that the young wolf showed no signs of speaking, the old wolf ultimately heaved a sigh. "Come find me if you changed your mind. For now, you can go."

Emery imperceptibly breathed out in relief. After giving the grand magus a respectful bow, he unhurriedly headed toward the door and left the place.

Moments after his departure, one of the Corvin brothers entered the room and approached the old grand magus.

"You released him."

"I did."

"Why? Isn't his identity suspicious?"

"Lord Lucius," the old wolf said with a benign smile. "If we lock up every suspicious figure who enters this place, I fear that Silvermane will cease to have any more allies."

A chuckle resounded in the room before the old grand magus once again spoke.

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Warwick, have you found out about his gene type? I am interested to know."

The old man paused for a very short moment before responding, "A Silver Obstagoon wolf. Quite uncommon, but nothing worth taking note of."

"Really?" The Corvin's brows furrowed. It was clear that type was not at all what he had expected. After receiving affirmation from the old wolf, he finally left with a little disappointment.

Watching the man's leaving figure, the old wolf's lips formed a faint smile, an expression he rarely showed.

"It seems that my guess is right."

******

When Emery stepped out of the palace, Annara was already waiting for him with her killer gaze.

"Did you tell them anything about your identity?"

"I didn't."

"Then how are you here? Why did he let us go?"

"Beats me." Emery shrugged.

"Huh!! You're definitely a hero of some kind of story, aren't you!? If I could have even a tenth of your luck, I would have become a famous queen of a distinguished faction!"

Emery looked into her eyes and casually responded, "Is that what you want? To be a queen of a faction?"

"Well, maybe… No, wait, that's not the point!!"

Emery walked in front of her with relaxed steps. "Don't worry, everything worked out for the best. We also got the information we need."

"We did?"

Emery nodded with a light smile. He couldn't wait to check the new blood vial he received. However, for now, he was more interested in finding out about the Royal Hunt that the king previously mentioned—his path to getting his hands on the Ancient Wolf Blood.

Now that his identity had been proven capable of passing such a thorough investigation, Emery was much more confident; he was more relaxed to walk around Silvermane City and ask for information regarding the Royal Hunt.

The two were soon led into one of the largest buildings in the city; a hall made of stone located at the center of Silvermane City, the Silvermane Wolves' Guild.

Despite its grand scale, the hall was crowded from the thousands of different wolf clan members. It was a community center, a guild that provided information, issued out tasks, and supplied wolf-related goods and services.

After looking around the interior of the hall for only a short period, Emery quickly went to the central desk and enquired about the Royal Hunt.

The individual assisting him was a girl with a pair of tall furry ears. She had a professional smile on her face as she listened to Emery, but as soon as he mentioned his intention of participating in the Royal Hunt, a light chuckle escaped her lips.

"You must be a new 'visitor' wolf. Unfortunately, you can't participate in the hunt."

To be continued