My Werewolf System

Chapter 1774  Lupus's Will

Although Lupus did fully expect some type of violent problem to eventually occur while they were hiding out, he had to admit he never expected that Unzoku would personally come back to Ruin city to pay him a visit this quickly.

He especially didn't expect that the ancient monster would be standing up there in person, rather than just cowardly sending in a massive horde of his new, mutated Glutton Werewolves to do his dirty work.

At some point, Lupus had logically expected for the mastermind to try and come see him, which was exactly why he had worked so tirelessly in the blistering heat of the forge to create these masterwork pieces of armor and weapons before anything catastrophic might happen.

It was a necessary, heavy precaution. Not just against the looming threat of Unzoku, but also in case the Vampire Leaders were to somehow find out about his underground operations and decide to proactively target him.

“I guess there’s simply no choice but to welcome our guest,” Lupus sighed, his breath pluming slightly in the cool underground air.

He turned away from the dying embers of the forge and stepped over to the heavy workbench, picking up his newly crafted, massive shield by his side.

He was already fully wearing the new set of beast gear he had just completed. It was a terrifyingly imposing suit of pitch-black, heavy-plated armor. The thick, overlapping metallic scales were lined with the Howlers' signature golden trim, but unlike standard defensive gear, this armor was forged with sharp, jagged edges along the gauntlets and shoulders. It was designed to violently cut anyone foolish enough to try and grapple him.

It certainly was a masterpiece piece of armor that perfectly suited a fierce, frontline fighting Werewolf.

As for the shield he hoisted into his grip, it was staggeringly large in size. It was incredibly wide, easily broad enough to completely cover the entire width of his body. When Lupus held it up firmly with his thick arm, the heavy slab of crystal and steel perfectly covered his broad shoulders and shielded his entire torso down to his shins.

It was uniquely shaped for brutal, offensive combat as well. The bottom of the shield tapered down to a dangerously sharp point, almost like the heavy blade of a broadsword, allowing it to be slammed directly into the earth or driven into an enemy's foot. Meanwhile, the top edge fiercely curved upward at the two top corners, making the massive shield almost look like it possessed a pair of demonic, metallic horns.

“Lupus, what are you doing?” Galdark asked, his voice trembling slightly as he watched the ancient warrior strap the heavy shield to his forearm. “You can’t seriously be thinking of heading up there right now, can you? It's suicide!”

“What do you mean? Of course I am,” Lupus answered, “Right now, our most dangerous enemy has arrogantly stepped onto our territory. And it's not just that he's standing on our territory; he is casually walking on it without a single ounce of fear or respect.”

Lupus slammed the base of his spiked shield into the stone floor, the sound echoing through the cavern like a thunderclap.

“This is absolutely not the life that I worked so hard to live. I refuse to cower in the dark,” Lupus growled. “I will fight him to the bloody death just to prove that people can’t arbitrarily come here and attempt to do whatever they wish on our land!”

Galdark flinched, but he understood. He knew Lupus was exactly like this. In a lot of ways, it was precisely because he possessed this unshakeable, fierce pride that a lot of wandering people and lost wolves had historically chosen to follow him. It was exactly why he was the right, true leader for them in these dark times.

“But... how do we even know for sure that he is up there specifically because of us?” Galdark pleaded, desperately trying to find a logical solution. “He could just be looking for something else entirely. He shouldn’t possibly know that we built an underground forge down here!”

“Unzoku has many dark, ancient tricks, Galdark,” Lupus answered, shaking his head at the naive hope. “The terrifying fact that he is able to perfectly pinpoint exactly where I am shouldn’t come as a surprise to either of us.”

Lupus adjusted his heavy shoulder plates. “And you should use your head a bit more, Galdark. For Unzoku to personally come here, the very moment I return to this city... It’s hardly even been a single day since we arrived. It is blindingly clear exactly why he is here. And if I don’t go up there and do something to stop him, then he will ruthlessly destroy this entire underground base that we have just built up, and bury us all alive.”

Without waiting for another argument, Lupus continued to walk, heavily heading past Galdark toward the stone stairs that led to the surface.

As he moved, he could feel the intense, resonating power of his new gear. The heavy armor acted as a massive, overall physical enhancer and a perfect protector. As for the horned shield, although his Qi senses could vividly tell it housed powerful Active Skills, and he could theoretically activate them straight away...

He simply didn't have the time to safely test them down here. It was technically good that he had an immediate, live opponent now to violently test them on, but Lupus silently wished he could have drawn a slightly easier target for his first field test than an ancient, world-breaking monster.

“But Lupus... I know you're incredibly strong,” Galdark said, trailing behind him, his voice laced with genuine panic. “But you vividly remember what happened the last time you two fought, don’t you?! You remember what Unzoku did to you! You miraculously came out of it okay last time, but what if his mind control happens again this time?!”

Lupus stopped at the base of the stairs. He slowly turned his head, a dark, fearless smile crossing his scarred face.

“This time, I don’t have a vulnerable pack of my own standing behind me for him to leverage,” Lupus said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, gravelly whisper. “I am just one single person with nothing to lose. Him trying to mentally control me and use me against my own family... well, it’s entirely pointless now. Things are fundamentally different this time around, Galdark. They won’t go the same way.”

“Then at least let me contact the Howlers!” Galdark begged, pulling out his encrypted communicator. “We actually know exactly how to beat him now! You said it yourself, we can get Gary and the others to bring the medallion! We just need to hide and buy enough time for them to get here!”

Lupus firmly shook his head, looking up the dark stairwell toward the surface.

“I can clearly feel his oppressive aura pressing down on us. I can tell he’s waiting specifically for me to step out into the light,” Lupus said calmly. “This brutal fight will be entirely over, one way or another, long before anyone else ever arrives to help.”

Galdark desperately wanted to say more. He wanted to physically stand in front of the stairs and try to stop Lupus from walking to his potential death. But could he really? Was holding back a proud warrior actually the right thing to do? Even he was entirely unsure of what the right path was anymore.

“Hey,” Lupus said softly, his hand resting on the heavy iron door that led out of the underground bunker.

He looked back at his loyal friend one last time.

“Don’t act like this is a funeral. Let me tell you right now: I absolutely do not plan on dying today. I’m going up there to make that bastard pay in blood for everything he did to us.”

As Galdark watched Lupus stand tall in his gleaming black and gold armor, the heavy look of paralyzing worry on his face slowly melted away, shifting into a proud, fierce smile.

“Go get him, my Alpha.”