The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

He was overwhelmingly powerful. Three people were sent flying in a flash with a swing of his arm. Though it was unclear if they survived, they did not budge an inch on the ground where they lay. That single attack broke the spirit of all the mercenaries who had come running to the rescue.

He did not possess any extraordinary skills. It was simply the pure physical strength of a beast.

Every single move of his was so swift that no human could keep up with him. It was no more than a display of the abilities of a beast in human skin possessing human intelligence.

One of the mercenaries recklessly unsheathed his sword and yelled out as he rushed towards the werewolf. The sword came in contact with the werewolf’s torso covered in brown fur, however, it was easily deflected. His arm was carelessly shaken off and the force of it sent him flying a few feet as if he were a ball.

It was the weapon. A sword was no good. Ordinary weapons do little to no damage to a werewolf.

A mercenary raised his voice as he stood in front of the children, shielding them. He was a large man and yet he looked more like a child before the werewolf.

“D-Does anyone have weapons made of silver?!”

“Oh right! I do have a knife…”

A female hunter, who was moderately equipped, pulled out a puny knife. It looked like a charm that she carried around for protection.

Silver is a metal that is more malleable than iron. It is expensive and generally unsuitable to smelt into weapons. Its use largely lied in its ability to be wielded against beings of darkness, so other than professionals like the Keeper, no normal person would carry any silver weapons on their person. Holy swords like Senri’s are of more practical use, but it is almost next to impossible to get one’s hands on holy silver.

Oliver squinted at the knife and laughed out loud.

“Are you fools… what do you think you can do with that toothpick?!”

Arrows unleashed by the mercenaries were repelled by his fur. Not paying any heed to the sword that came at him from every direction, he devoted his attention to the prey in front of him.

Though there was a mage and a person carrying a silver knife, his first target was the mercenary who stood in front of everyone. A huge paw cut through his body along with the sword. The man had not even the luxury to cry out before he collapsed to the ground lifeless. The children screamed in terror.

“To think you would imagine you could take me on, Oliver Arbor III, when the full moon is almost upon us!”

He did not need to prioritize his targets. Fire magic was deflected by a flick of his arm and he turned around to crush the hunter who came at his blind spot with the silver knife in hand, prepared to die. The beast wreaked absolute mayhem.

He was not as big as Albertus after her transformation. But he was probably superior to her in terms of sheer combat abilities. However, his blows had that strength that someone only in a human form could deliver.

Oliver never howled. Most probably because Senri and the rest of the group might hear him. Even if the children’s screams could not carry very far, Oliver’s howls would probably reach Senri’s ears.

One of the merchants, the man who had been Oliver’s master; his legs gave out and he shrunk back as he yelled at Oliver.

“Oliver, y-you bastard, what are you after?! Is it the supplies? If so…”

“Everything. Human. I’ll kill everyone here. And then… take all the supplies.”

Our numbers dwindled with every passing second. Out of the thirty people who were left behind to guard the group, less than half were alive.

Fear got the best of one of the mercenaries and he took off on his heels. Oliver did not look the least perturbed as he deftly picked up a fallen sword with his clawed hand and aimed it at the fleeing man.

The sword pierced his head and he slumped to the ground. No one can escape. No human can escape from a beast’s claws.

“The supplies, the horses, the carriages, the humans, I shall help myself to anything and everything. All you will be allowed is to get on your knees and beg for mercy.”

Such arrogance. Such power. Werewolves are supposed to have been brought to life by vampires, but Oliver… might be stronger than me.

I weighed the pros and cons of the situation in an instant and made up my mind.

I have no choice but to fight. I might be able to escape here in the dog form, but this group is certain to perish.

These people did take care of me. I am not completely heartless.

Although it does not warrant putting my life on the line, if I were to survive by abandoning them right now, I might end up losing Senri later.

Senri would never forgive me for abandoning them. Although her mind would be able to see why, her heart would still not agree.

Then, my only choice is to fight. You need to take a risk in order to gain something. Well, this is nothing I cannot handle. My odds of winning are not zero. I managed to evade even Epée and even defeated Albertus somehow.

I wagged my tail at Katerina, ran towards Oliver and growled fiercely.

I owe them for the food they shared with me. I shall use this opportunity to help them out.

I will end up exposing my identity if I transform here, but… oh well. Albertus already knows what I look like.

I growled as the power welled up in me.

“kyankyan!”

“Baron?!”

I could hear Katerina scream out my name. Oliver looked at me growling at his ankles and stared in wonder.

“Kekek… what do we have here… such a brave little doggie. Much more courageous than the so-called mercenary who turned tail. Come to think of it, it was you who sniffed out Monica… too. Well, I’m sure fate brought you to us, so I shall let you live. You will serve as a good present for Lord Rainel.”

Whoa?! Really?! Is not what you will hear me say.

The curse I possess right now is something I got from Albertus. It is the source of her absurdly ridiculous strength.

I nimbly kicked off the ground and bit into Oliver’s brawny arm. My small fangs dug into his skin and my talons clawed at his thick skin.

Oliver was unfazed. He simply looked down at me, a being much smaller than him and smiled puzzled.His expression looked human in some respects.

“It… hurts? Impossible. It’s not… just an ordinary dog? Well, I guess you’re not an ex-Death Knight’s dog for nothing?… Such a pain in the ass!”

Oliver shook me off, slamming me against the ground. The strong impact made my muscles tear and bones break, sending pain shooting across my body. I yelped in spite of myself, as if I really were a small dog.

Werewolves are known for their cruel nature and this one was no exception. He showed me no mercy. He trampled on my small body. The weight pressing down on me made me yelp reflexively.

Albertus mentioned that she got the curse after she was bit by a vampire. However, she had not lost her mind to it. She had enough sense to stay on the human side of the world and make the decision to hunt down vampires. However, Oliver does not seem to be rational. The man before me was in the form of a werewolf and looked to be complete control of himself, when in fact, his soul had completely descended into darkness.

I made a mistake. I thought I could get him to let his guard down in my dog form.

I only need three seconds to transform. If I grab hold of him and revert to human, I could gouge out his heart before he realizes what even took place. Maybe I would even be able to end this without everyone seeing my human form.

However, I cannot move an inch now.

The only reason I had not been squashed to a pulp was because Oliver was holding back on his strength. I could tell my bones were breaking but my regenerative power seemed to be doing its job.

He still did not hold back enough. I would have certainly died, had I been an ordinary dog.

With his foot still over me, he surveyed the mercenaries, who stood rooted to the spot. Everyone felt threatened by his sharp gaze.

“Do not oppose those stronger than you. I was right. Humans are… such weak creatures. There was no particular need to infiltrate this group… but that Death Knight is certainly a handful. Oh well.”

At this point, there was only one way to win against him. I need to steal his curse. I would rather die than do this, but if I revert back and drink his blood… I should be able to absorb his curse.

Timing was the issue. If I were to do it now, I would very likely end up dead before I manage to drink his blood. I needed a chance.

I racked my brain in an effort to find one.

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