Chapter 17

[The 'Title: Wolf Slayer' buff effect is activated.]

Thud!

Suho's feet hit the ground.

Swoosh-

His new image emerged.

Broki's face was then stained with astonishment.

[What…!]

Something unbelievable happened.

Suho's strength and speed, along with momentum, bursted out of his whole body.

All of that changed in an instant.

His new stats were due to leveling up by +1.

Extra stat +5 from the quest reward.

Furthermore, a title that boosts all stats by a whopping +40% against beast-type monsters.

All of that synergy was concentrated on the sword of protection.

Twin Swords. Blade Storm.

['Skill: Blade Storm' has been used.]

Grumble-!

Suho really became a storm.

The two swords crossed and a strong wind blew.

['Skill: Twin Swords Lv.1' has been obtained.]

It was truly ruthless violence.

A one-sided slaughter.

Slash!

[Aaaaaaccckkkk! Bastard-!]

Broki tried to counterattack, but that too was nothing more than a desperate struggle.

Crash!

With that, the guard posts built by the Hyena Guild collapsed and were smashed.

[How dare y…!]

Even before Broki finished his words, a red light formed in a straight line from its wide open mouth.

Rakan's Sword was picked up by the Ruler's Power.

Suho's hand grabbed the sword.

And just like that.

Slash!

He took the beast down.

[You have defeated the Extreme Commander Broki.]

Blag!

Finally, the huge beast collapsed.

[Your level increased!]

[Your level increased!]

"Phew."

Suho was on the floor.

[You've done it! You killed it! Young Master-!]

Beru shouted as if he had been waiting for this moment.

-… Wow. Did it actually work? A human defeating Broki?

Beru laughed at that and replied.

[Didn't you know? The world is, after all, a weakling. The strong are devoured by the stronger. Young Master will become stronger in the future as well. Oh, and Young Master? Can I have some of this?]

Beru licked his lips and pointed at Broki's corpse.

Suho looked at it.

[Shadow release is possible on this target.]

Black smoke billowed above it.

Confusion appeared in Suho's eyes.

'Shadow release is also possible on this beast?'

'Then, it's too bad I can't give it all to Beru now.'

"Just one bite. Eat the rest after shadow release."

[Alright!]

Whoop!

As soon as permission was given, Beru jumped happily.

Broki's corpse was a good source of mana.

[Hehe. It's just one bite.]

Beru's mouth opened wickedly.

[If it's just one bite, which part would I have to eat to get the word that I ate it well?]

It was right there.

Brain.

[The weak meat. I really like it, too.]

Beru muttered and dug into Broki's head.

* * *

Suho released all the people who were tied up.

"I reported it to the Hunter Association, so a rescue team will come soon. Beasts are still roaming the mountain, so don't go anywhere else and stay here for a while."

"Heuk! Thank you! Thank you!"

They were covered in tears and snot while wailing loudly because of how long they had been tied up.

[Young Master, these are all debtors to the Hyena Guild. They couldn't pay their debt, so they signed a waiver and were arrested.]

"Beru, how do you know that?"

[My skill is Predation. I ate Broki's brain and stole some of his memories.]

"You do all sorts of things."

[Khm. I am a very useful species in many ways.]

Beru was so proud he stood up with both hands on his waist.

[Oh, by the way. When I looked at Broki's abilities, there was no such thing as the power to create werewolves by feeding them blood.]

"What? So how did those guys…"

Suho's gaze turned to the werewolves lying dead on the floor.

-It was the strangest thing for me from the beginning, too.

Rakan's Sword said.

-The hyena clan is just one of many tribes that followed the canine clan. Feeding blood to create minions is something only the canine clan can do.

"Then…"

-Somehow, it seems that there is a real one besides Broki.

Suho and Beru's eyes simultaneously looked at the gate where Broki came out.

"There's a real boss mob."

Suho fixed his sword with determined eyes.

Then Beru, from the side, shrugged and said.

[It wouldn't be a boss mob.]

"Really?"

Suho gives him a puzzled expression.

[Yes. If Broki's memory is correct, it seems that the battle will no longer take place.]

Beru's expression was a bit bitter.

[You'll find out when you get inside.]

* * *

Suho entered the gate.

He found a small and fragile creature.

"This…"

His expression stiffened.

There was a bloodstained wolf cub lying helplessly.

Scruffy gray hair.

Roughly wrapped bandages.

It was a very small wolf, only about a hand in size.

Syringes from which blood was drawn were rolling around randomly.

Seeing this, Rakan's Sword trembled with fury.

-Broki, how dare you! Crazy bastard!

-Could it be that the descendant of the clan was tied up and blood was drawn forcibly?

Flinch.

Did you hear his anger?

The wolf cub tied to the dog collar lifted its head helplessly.

The unfocused eyes stared blankly at the empty space where Suho was standing.

Then it sniffed with its little nose.

A human stranger.

There was a smell of blood on his clothes.

"Hnnggg…"

A weak cry.

After that, the wolf cub lowered his head again.

There was not even a speck of will to live or hope left in the small body that had lost its strength.

-Broki, you crazy hybrid-!

Extremely angry, Rakan's Sword cursed Broki, who was already dead and gone.

Beru muttered calmly as he read Broki's memories.

[Shortly after losing the war against the Shadow Army, Broki left the battlefield before anyone else. In fact, he was more like a deserter than a defeated soldier.]

Broki's next move was really low.

[He hid in the Sanctuary of the canine clan, which was considered the safest place, and found the clan's young wolf there.]

A wolf cub living there alone after all the adults went to war.

That little one in the memory waggled his tail in delight when Broki entered the sanctuary.

But…

[Seeing that, Broki came up with an idea.]

'Yes, this is it! With the blood of this canine clan, I can create any number of protectors!'

'I'll make them protect me!'

'My own army! I'm creating a new tribe here that only serves me!'

'You like it, too, right? Hahaha'

Broki smiled at the wolf cub wagging its tail at him.

[… After that, the sanctuary was torn into several pieces and wandered through the dimensional rift. One day, a hole connected to the earth appeared in front of Broki.]

He found a group of humans.

[Without hesitation, Broki drew the blood of this young wolf and fed it to those people.]

The next thing was something Suho knew very well.

The protectors that were created became Broki's army under the name of the Hyena Guild.

They hunted humans and sacrificed them to Broki.

For one whole year.

However, there was one problem.

That was the reason Rakan's Sword was furious.

-The power of the protectors is not eternal. Ten days at most. After that period, the power of blood engraved on the body of the protectors disappears and returns to its original state. That means…!

"Once every ten days, blood was drawn from this guy and fed to the guild members. For an entire year."

-Aaaahhh! Broki! Broki!

Suho picked up the limping wolf cub with one hand.

He was a little surprised at how light it was.

[Ehhh? You're going to take it?]

Beru's eyes widened.

This young wolf was a direct descendant, if not the direct descendant, of the canine monarch.

[If you keep him alive, he may grow up to be the second Fang Monarch and threaten Earth again.]

"You said we won anyway back then?"

[That's… right. Hmm.]

Beru looked intently at the wolf cub in Suho's hand.

Seeing how much blood had been drawn, he couldn't even breathe properly. Beru nodded.

[Haha. There is no need for us to antagonize each other in a situation where the monsters are attacking.]

Even though they were defeated in the war, the children who survived were innocent.

It was rather amazing how it survived so far with its small and light body.

However, Suho did not intend to take the wolf with such a dramatic reason.

'I think it will help me in some way later on. Also…'

"If you die here and now, your last memory will be very unhappy, right? You were caught by the man you trusted, and you had your blood sucked for a whole year."

Saying so, Suho took him into his arms.

"So, let's just eat some food first and think about it after."

* * *

Suho immediately returned home with the wolf cub.

As for the Hyena Guild and Gwanaksan Field, he reported it to the association and just put it behind.

Civilian survivors will give much more specific testimonies than Suho anyway.

More than that, the cub seemed like it would die right now.

"Beru, you said you're a healer. Can you heal something like this?"

[Healer's recovery magic can only heal wounds. I can't do anything about lack of blood or hunger.]

"Even recovery skills are not flexible. Alright then."

Suho turned on the electric stove and put it in front of the wolf cub.

"Hnngggg."

"why? Is it good because it's warm?"

The wolf cub looked quite perplexed.

Its tail was curled up and it was trembling, but its gaze was staring at the red light of the electric stove as if possessed.

"Well, you may be seeing fire for the first time in your life."

Suho left it alone and immediately cooked seaweed soup.

He let it cool and served it on a small plate.

"I know you are really enjoying yourself today. This is a recipe my mom used to make for me on my birthday."

Suho showed condescension and held out seaweed soup in front of its short snout.

"Eat it. They say that seaweed soup is good when you don't have enough blood."

Sniff sniff.

The wolf cub's tail twitched when it smelled the seaweed soup.

"It's alright. Try it."

When Suho forcibly smeared seaweed soup on its snout, its tongue flicked instinctively.

Huh?

…!

"Oh, I didn't know. Even wolves have astonished looks, like humans."

The wolf cub puts its nose into the plate and licks the seaweed soup.

Its hairless tail waggled helplessly.

Rakan's Sword watching silently muttered in low voice.

-…Thanks. For everything.

He had mixed feelings.

The reason they became like this in the first place was because they lost the war against the humans.

But even though the war was over, the children who survived were innocent.

They had to survive in the present and stand up to live in the future.

And maybe… This young wolf was the only survivor of the canine clan.

As Beru warned, he was a petty monarch who would one day grow up to inherit the lineage of the Fang Monarch.

To think that the heir of the Shadow Monarch would lend a helping hand to such a child.

What kind of irony is this?

"Do you like it?"

Suho smiles as he crouches down in front of the little wolf cub licking the warm soup.

Rakan's Sword, who's watching them, had no choice but to accept the fact that the war was over.

-…Okay. You won. I will entrust all of our recruits to you.

He sighed softly.

The will of the greatest beast, the Fang Monarch Rakan, dwelled in Suho.

Ring.

['Pet: Fang Wolf Lv.1' has been obtained.]