"Loyalty, combat strength, and numbers—those three could never be obtained at the same time. Count Bazel gave up the Winter Wolf Guard's loyalty. Anyone who knew even a little about the Winter Wolf Guard's system would understand that the best choice for an alpha wolf was to rebel with his men."
"So Bazel needed to replace the old alpha wolves at regular intervals, purge all the men loyal to the old wolves, give this army a new head, and wait for the next cycle."
"Now that the Winter Wolf Guard had killed so many of their own subjects to pass them off as battle achievements, they had already committed treason. Once Count Bazel found out, he would definitely replace them."
"Th-that can't be possible, can it?" Gwen was deeply shocked. "By the time an old alpha wolf needs replacing, he'll surely have basically gained complete control over the Winter Wolves. Wouldn't it be impossible to replace him then?"
"Could it be... that he sends even more soldiers to surround the Winter Wolves? Wouldn't that directly force the old alpha wolf into rebellion?"
Isaac gave a low chuckle. He casually picked up a pebble, clenched it hard in his hand, held his arm level, and slowly opened his fingers.
The stone had been crushed straight into powder.
"The fact that he can enforce this system means he has enough powerful fighters under his command. Perhaps an elite force with extremely high combat strength—but more likely, he has Transcendents."
Gwen was stunned by the deduction. She stammered, "T-Transcendents?"
"Yes, and they have to be Transcendents skilled in combat. Ones like [Night Watchers] won't do. After all, this Transcendent needs to enter the military camp, behead the old alpha wolf, and subdue everyone else. Being capable of assassination alone isn't enough, and—"
"And