The arrival of the Master’s Chosen one in the Smugglers’ Forest has truly brightened this area. The military leaders of the Bloodclaw Clan had already made preparations to welco their powerful brethren from the Dark Mountain Range for a "work inspection".
The barbarian soldiers rescued by them, too ashad to show their faces, waited at the forest’s entrance to welco the arrival of their Grand Marshal. Huggesen did not overly criticize them, offering only a few casual words of encouragent before turning his attention to the clan’s territory before him.
According to Nash, the Smugglers’ Forest has now beco the main base for the local werewolves in Transylvania, especially after the grand werewolf hunt in Transylvania concluded a few months ago, eliminating large werewolf bandit groups.
As political power steadied and Crimson Castle’s authority spread throughout the territory, the scattered werewolves that escaped felt the impending danger. They either fled to Kavkhoka or complied with the Bloodclaw Clan’s invitation to the Polluted Swamp.
The clan now numbers over ten thousand, far too many for the Smugglers’ Forest alone to accommodate. Thus, under Nash’s planning, three werewolf gathering points have been established in the deeper regions of the swamp, and two more at the border in the Kato direction.
In the society of Dark Mountain Jackals, this size only amounts to a small clan, not worth attention in terms of numbers or strength. Furthermore, the Transylvanian werewolves are small in stature. Even Martel Dumber, the "first Batoru of Bloodclaw," appears tiny compared to the actual Dark Mountain Jackals. It’s like a northern cockroach jumping energetically, yet still lacking in stature against its large southern brethren.
However, Huggesen found the Bloodclaw Clan to be quite different from other clans he had seen in the past.
For "strategic deception," Nash had already dealt with all things related to "civilization" in the big beast den of the Smugglers’ Forest. Yet, habits ford under long-term order couldn’t be hidden so quickly, especially the orderly behavior seen in the Blood Claw Jackal Wolf n in the den.
With great interest, Huggesen, led by a trembling Nash, toured the big beast den.
He found that the Bloodclaw Clan’s werewolves had developed a habit where everyone knew their duties. Even without much supervision, the local werewolves assigned to tasks would diligently complete them. Even the young ones just reaching adulthood would eagerly follow adult werewolves to learn basic crafting skills.
They even lacked the very common internal fighting scenes seen in other werewolf clans. At most, conflicts resulted in so verbal sparring and harsh words. Especially when nest guards patrolled, both quarreling parties would imdiately pretend nothing happened.
This indicates that the Bloodclaw Clan already has a basic reward and punishnt system that the mbers acknowledge. Although the Bloodclaw Clan’s werewolves undergo combat training, fighting evidently constitutes only part of their current lifestyle and isn’t even mainstream.
"Did you assign different jobs to your clan mbers? You differentiate them by skills and occupation rather than strength and lineage?"
After observing a cave used for weaving, Huggesen suddenly asked:
"I saw those little pups using stone tablets to record weaving techniques. So, they are literate?"
"Uh, the previous Chieftain taught us to say that only dogs differentiate by lineage. As werewolves, we should have basic dignity. As for literacy, the young pups can read and write, though they don’t recognize much."
Nash cautiously replied:
"The previous Chieftain intended to personally teach these pups, but he... uh, passed away too suddenly. I took over the subsequent work. However, my own education level isn’t very high, so..."
"There’s no need to be so cautious."
Huggesen remarked casually:
"I’ve seen Lord Hog in the Dark Mountain Range!
I also know what that little guy is up to now. In fact, from the first glance, I could tell you were a follower of his. Only a maverick like the Wise Wolf could conceive such an unconventional educational thod that clashes with werewolf tradition.
Tell about Hog.
All I know is that he was the werewolf chosen by the King of Bone Biting. I’m not very familiar with his origins and growth experiences. Where did he learn these things?"
Hearing Huggesen say this, Nash sowhat relaxed.
He had just been pressured by Huggesen to send a ssage to the command center, but he wasn’t sure if Sir Morphy would co. All he could do now was to delay this inherently dangerous guy as much as possible.
If this guy really went berserk, he could single-handedly massacre the Smugglers’ Forest from end to end.
But as he narrated Chieftain Hog’s life, Nash discovered so traits of this Chosen One.
He was utterly different from the legendarily wild Dark Mountain Jackals. Especially when listening, the calm and contemplative deanor of this large werewolf mirrored that of Lord Hog in his mory.
If this was the pure blood descendant of the King of Bone Biting, Nash could perhaps understand why the werewolves a century ago could be so effortlessly united under King Felix.
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