"Fifty-one, fifty-two... fifty-eight! It should be plenty enough"
A figure covered in dark fuzzy furs counted and stacked ats that are already skinned that surely belong to mutated animals once on a huge wooden plate, the figure's eyes sparkled after counting the stacked ats but there was a hint of exhaustion in her eyes.
Lifting the huge wooden plate above her head, she then walks out of the humble hut.
Coming out of the darkness of the hut she was in, her figure was finally exposed by the moonlight.
"It's a good night, tonight...", the figure mutters before closing her eyes.
"Dear Origin, your sinful servant is grateful for yet another beautiful blissful night. I offer you my deep gratitude for helping with the hunt, and for always keeping us safe", but then the figure's expression contorted into a frown, "But please bring brother Rusty back safely. Because he forgot to bring the necklace I made, and he might be in danger!"
Pausing for a mont to pray to the God watching from above, this figure that turns out to be a Werewolf opens her eyes to look at the clear night sky with the crescent moon shining brightly with its marvels once again.
Unlike the others that look primal and beastly, this Werewolf is smaller and less muscly.
Judging from the shape of this Werewolf's body indicates that she's a female Werewolf, the furs around her chest and bottom are also thinner compared to any other place on her body. Her eyes are dazzling light red with a glowing T-shaped red rune on the side of her abdon.
Boom!
But her marvel at the night sky was interrupted by a loud booming sound that shakes the place.
Glancing to the side the Werewolf saw another nacing Werewolf that is covered in wounds, the nacing Werewolf is standing mightily beside the bonfire. Her eyes then shifted left and right and find five other Werewolves are injured, so are lying on the ground and so are planted inside the valley walls.
Looking back at the nacing Werewolf near the bonfire, she instantly recognized the Werewolf.
"Uncle Dabigor!", the female Werewolf shouted with a puffy expression.
The Werewolf she called Dabigor glances to the side in panic upon hearing her voice, his devilish smile that he wore instantly turned soft. It beca a wry smile instead upon seeing the female Werewolf's pursed lips.
Without even asking, Dabigor knows that he's in trouble when the female Werewolf wore that look.
Even with the blood decorating the ground and the nacing aura that Dabigor emitted, the female Werewolf approached him brazenly before slapping his shoulder, "Uncle... I think you're going overboard again. Can't you see they barely regenerate because of you?!"
"Agatha, it's a tradition so they won't beco dull from less fighting. You can't possibly put th-"
Slap!
Another slap landed on Dabigor's shoulder forcing him to rub the spot that got slapped, "I don't care if it's a tradition trained by Brother Rusty, I don't like it! Now, help give food to the others!"
Dabigor didn't even put up a fight and carries the big wooden plate that Agatha brought.
Many of the Werewolves that watches from the edge of the place chuckled inwardly seeing Dabigor that just beat up the top five Betas got dominated by Agatha, but with a fierce glance from Dabigor they all averted their gazes away.
But this change in the other Werewolves sparks Agatha to look at Dabigor intensely.
"Did you do your typical warning stare again...?"
Upon hearing this Dabigor imdiately got flustered as he scrambled for words under Agatha's squinting eyes, "W-What do you an, I never did any of that sort. Why are you suspicious of your own uncle?"
"Hmm...", Agatha squinted her eyes even more forcing Dabigor to smile nervously.
Placing both of her hands on her waist, Agatha can only sigh helplessly before she turns around and heads to the Werewolf at the edge that is already holding a small wooden plate of its own, "Whatever, I'll trust you just this once", she mutters while waving her hands.
Finding that he managed to get out of that situation, Dabigor sighs in relief before following her.
Agatha started to take the skinned at of two mutated animals from the big wooden plate Dabigor is carrying before giving it to each of the Werewolf here, she did it with a bright smile on her face.
Upon seeing the bright smile she's wearing, Dabigor can't help but put on a guilty look.
While circling the place giving each of the Werewolf here skinned at, Dabigor suddenly mutters from the back ekly contrasting with his fierce appearance, "I'm sorry Agatha for doing this to you, we wouldn't ask help from you if it weren't very important. I know it's very hard for you but with the situation with King Baralt, we can't be seen b-"
"Don't worry uncle, I'm happy to help. It's just hunting food, I can do that", Agatha replied softly.
She grabbed another skinned at from the wooden plate and give it to a Werewolf that sent his thanks to her before she glanced back and added with the sa bright genuine smile, "At least here I'm not under surveillance all the ti, the air here is not choking. I may even thank you for bringing here"
Dabigor was stunned for a mont as she suddenly cuts his sentence off.
But he then noticed so scratches here and there on Agatha's body that aren't healed yet, it's clear that it was quite difficult to hunt food for the pack of high-rank Werewolves. Regular food doesn't make them full as they need more energy.
Only by eating high-rank mutated animals can Dabigor and the others be saturated.
Since most of them are in the sixth-rank realm while a quarter of them are in the seventh-rank realm, it's going to take them so much eating if they need to eat third-rank mutated animals. At least six tis more than if they eat a sixth-rank mutated animal from the get-go.
Agatha is a asly fourth-rank Werewolf, lower echelon Oga-level at best.
Hunting third-rank will not be a problem, she can hunt third-rank mutated animals easily. But knowing the power of the Werewolves here, Agatha knew that third-rank mutated animals are not going to be enough.
Forcing herself to hunt to the best of her abilities, she hunted mid-fourth-rank mutated animals.
Even though it was in no way near enough despite gathering fifty-eight of mid-fourth-rank mutated animals and filleting them, she gives the hunt her best. It's not that hard at first, but starting from the thirtieth hunts it has beco arduous.
Werewolves have healing abilities, even newborn ones.
It takes a huge effort just to weaken a Werewolf's regenerative ability, and to think that Agatha's regenerative ability is exhausted to this state speaks of the difficulty she experienced during the hunt.
Although Dabigor noticed this, he refrains from saying anything.
ntioning the difficult hunt would just sour Agatha's mood further, the only thing he can do right now is to help the other Werewolves to get their portion of food before sitting down and eating the food gratefully.
About a mont later, Dabigor did exactly that.
Looking at the skinned at that is left on the wooden plate, Dabigor can't help but shake his head finding that there are three left. Since he was the strongest here, Agatha must've thought of giving him and the other seventh-rank Werewolves more food.
Dabigor glances at the wooden plate designated for Agatha and finds there's only half of the skinned at there.
Without thinking much Dabigor takes one of his skinned at before putting it on Agatha's plate, he's many tis older than her, more than twenty tis older so he felt undeserving to eat food that is hunted by a young one.
After doing that Dabigor takes a huge bite of the skinned at roughly before looking up.
Just like Agatha before, Dabigor is also greeted by the clear night sky with the shining crescent moon that beautifully decorates the night with calmness and ease. But the moonlight still doesn't calm the burning sensation inside of him.
"Ruston, where are you? We can't keep running from King Baralt like this"
anwhile, Agatha with two other female Werewolves is tending to the wounded Werewolves that are injured from the spar they did earlier with Dabigor. She looks at the claw wound on the abdon before pressing the edges lightly.
Responding to the pressing touch, the Werewolf groans weakly feeling the stinging pain.
Blood flowed out of the claw wound on his abdon just from the gentle press Agatha did, and this made her frown with a sigh, "Uncle always went overboard, it's going to take a day or two to heal. And it's going to be very painful if he forced himself to eat..."
"Michael also has a deep wound on his stomach, it's going to be hard for him to eat. Dabigor's claws are not normal after all"
"Hmm, I agree we need to tend them right now"
Hearing the conversation of the female Werewolves that are going to tend to their wounds, the wounded Werewolf in the middle called Michael positioned his sit higher with the valley wall behind him.
A painful groan escapes his muzzle before he slowly opens his eyes.
Out of the five wounded Werewolves, only he can move this much as the others are like statues, leaning on the wall without moving. Glancing at Dabigor, Michael then mutters weakly, "I don't know why, eukhh- but he's not supposed to be that strong"
"Dabigor is always the strongest just before the Alpha, what do you an?"
"I get it, but he beat us in less than ten minutes. Three of us are two small realms lower, and Conner is only one small realm lower than him, we're not supposed to lose this badly"
After saying that, Michael groans painfully once more from the wound on his stomach.
Upon seeing this one of the Female Werewolves looks at Agatha before she asks with a soft tone that hides a hint of pleading in it, "We need to ignite their regenerative ability, there's little to no useful mutated plants around but the Black Dewberry from the Black Embodint Tree should suffice. It's going to be painful for them to eat anything like this..."
Since they were under strict rule and can't leave the place, they can't go about freely.
Dabigor is the current substitute for the Alpha and he's watching the other Werewolves intently, none of them are allowed to leave the place. If anyone of them tried then they will get the spar as he did with the top five Betas earlier.
But unlike the top five Betas, the Werewolf that disobeyed will get little to no rcy.
Knowing full well how Dabigor operates and treat the others with a very harsh treatnt for the sake of alertness, Agatha nodded her head without a second thought, "Wait here for a mont, I'll go get the Black Dewberry for them"
"We're grateful Agatha, and we're sorry for burdening you like this"
"Don't be, we're like family after all..."
Agatha then stood up before she went in the other direction, she intends to head out but didn't forget to wave at Dabigor that just finished eating, "Uncle! I'm going out for a bit to get Black Dewberry!"
"Be careful! Be back in ten minutes or I'll go looking for you!", Dabigor shouted back.
With permission from Dabigor, Agatha then went to the cramp path on the side to head out of the valley she was in to collect so Black Dewberry as requested. It's shouldn't take long which is why Dabigor gave her ten minutes ti fra.
Upon her leaving, Dabigor stood from his spot before heading to the wounded Werewolves.
Arriving in front of them alongside the female Werewolves that are tending their wounds to the best of their abilities even though it's not much with nothing to work with, Dabigor scans them with his sharp eyes.
"Shaful for the Origin, how can all of you be this weak from a couple of scratches?"
Dabigor comnted harshly while scanning the five of them, his eyes then landed on Michael that is the only one that reacted to his voice. The others are too hurt to even raise their heads up.
"Be honest Dabigor, you gain sothing. It's not natural for you to be this strong"
"Or maybe, you're just getting weak from less fighting!"
Snorting inwardly Michael turns his face away knowing full well that Dabigor is hiding sothing, they've been in the sa pack for hundreds of years so he knew when Dabigor is hiding sothing. It's transparent in his eyes.
After saying that, Dabigor then glances at the two female Werewolves.
"Don't be too soft on them or their regenerative ability will weaken, I'll let you two help them heal just this once", Dabigor reprimanded forcing the two female Werewolves to look down at the ground submissively.
Unknown to them, there are two shadows moving on top of the valley leaving the place.
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