Wolfman Jin

Adam entered the slums in the guise of a mysterious renegade monk. No matter how much he loathed the stench here, he still let his sense of smell roam free.

Though Adam had gone out several times at night without incident, the truth was that if he were discovered even once, the consequences would be severe.

Carefully stepping over the muddy patches in the street, Adam halted and looked into an alley beside him.

A tall figure emerged from the alley's shadows. Its body stood around two meters and thirty centimeters tall, like a little giant. Brown-black fur covered it, and scarlet pupils fixed upon Adam.

He stood at the mouth of the alley, one hand braced against the wall. There was something probing beneath the ferocity of that savage wolf's head.

"You are Nesser Riges?"

Adam's pupils contracted slightly, but instead of retreating, he stepped forward. In a calm tone, he said, "Wolfman Jin?"

"Hahaha!" The shadows behind the wolfman seemed to boil as great swathes of black smoke flowed through them. He laughed with obvious delight. "Roa actually has someone as interesting as you."

"So?" Adam remained calm—or pretended to be calm. Since arriving in Roa, he had only used the name Nesser Riges before Adel's group.

Among those Adel had invited, one person had refused the invitation. That person was named Jin, and he was most likely the man before him.

For now, it seemed Adam had guessed correctly. But the black smoke behind this man looked familiar no matter how he looked at it.

"Is he the wolfman I encountered at Mansla's?" Adam forcibly suppressed the agitation and fear in his bloodline, standing calmly where he was as he watched the other man.

He knew perfectly well that, in terms of strength alone, he was no match for the wolfman before him. Since that was the case, he might as well keep up the act to the bitter end. Only then would the other party have more reason to be wary of him.

"I clearly changed my route. How did he still manage to block me?" Adam was somewhat baffled. He had been extremely careful, changing the route he had previously taken to Adel's house and even clearing away his own scent.

"And this is still some distance from Adel's house. I'm nowhere near the area that needs guarding." Adam's original plan had been to take a different route to Adel's house, then observe for a while after entering the guarded area around the unavoidable passage before deciding whether to proceed.

Yet he had not expected to be intercepted here.

"I heard you have a ritual that can perfectly conceal the abnormalities of the different species?" Jin smiled. His body visibly shrank, and he grabbed the ties of his clothes and tugged hard. The formerly loose garments immediately clung tightly to his body.

He scratched his cheek and approached Adam. Even after releasing his transformation, he still stood a head taller than Adam.

"Can you give it to me?"

"That depends on how much you're willing to give me in return." Adam did not yield an inch in bearing. Then he turned and headed toward Adel's house. "If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."

"There will be an opportunity later. Hehehehe, hahaha." Jin nodded and laughed happily again. He watched Adam's departing back without following. As his smile faded, his eyes became incomparably deep.

"You shouldn't have changed routes. That would have made your disguise more convincing. Your lack of understanding of extraordinary powers and your insufficient personal strength—those are all your weaknesses." Jin silently thought as he turned into the alley, opened the door, and lay down in his familiar reclining chair.

"And you think too much."

"He didn't follow?" Adam did not hurry to get away, continuing at an unhurried pace.

"Did he truly fail to see through me and remain wary, or has he already seen through my disguise and merely refrained from acting for other reasons?" Adam frowned, his mood already foul to the extreme.

"I have to develop my own strength as quickly as possible and improve my understanding of extraordinary powers. Otherwise, I'll only become more and more passive." Adam did not abandon his plan to visit Adel's house tonight.

Precisely because he had encountered something like this, he needed even more to get a grip on that group.

"Though they're all different species, anyone who can survive in Roa cannot be underestimated." Adam approached these different species from the position of a superior, holding the absolute initiative in every sense.

But he still would not underestimate them. Roa was a city of the Holy Sound Kingdom, filled with church monks and stationed troops. None of the different species who could survive here were simple.

"Once a group of different species centered around the identity of Nesser Riges takes shape, perhaps I can approach that group as Adam—or fabricate another identity—and learn from them as an ordinary member."

"From them, I can quickly make up for some of my shortcomings." Adam carefully calculated, then buried these thoughts and began to assume the proper emotions.

At Adel's house, Adel had Shabu tied up. Wearing an outer coat, he brought up the oil lamp that his family kept in the cellar and usually could not bear to use, extravagantly lighting it at night.

The already small wooden house now contained quite a few people of all sorts.

This afternoon, Adel had awakened shortly after Adam left. Though he had suffered slight burns, the effects of that mud had healed them considerably, and they would not even leave scars afterward.

He did not dare delay. He hurriedly discussed matters with the other four different species, sending them out to invite more of their kind.

Such a large gathering of different species had almost never occurred among Roa City's different species. Even if someone invited them, most would not dare attend.

It was simply too dangerous. If even one different species was careless and attracted church monks, they would all be wiped out in one fell swoop.

Yet now, some of them had no choice but to come.

The witch doctor Hoda had been captured and was ashes by now. Without the potions he made, they lacked a way to conceal their abnormalities. In another day or two, once the church sent monks to inspect them, they would all be exposed.

So now, after hearing that there was a new method here to conceal their abnormalities, they had no choice but to come.

The same unhurried footsteps made Adel and the others instantly tense.

The moment Adam pushed open the door, they rose together, bowed respectfully to him, and said, "Mr. Riges!"

The expressions of the other different species around them changed at once as well. They could not help withdrawing their somewhat unrestrained gazes and lowering their heads slightly.

"Mhm." Adam nodded faintly, walking into the room with complete composure and taking a seat.

"Coming early today was the right move." Adam curled his lips. The success here reassured him somewhat.

People had a herd mentality. Had things gone according to the original plan, with Adel alone holding the fort, the other different species present might not have been especially convinced by Adam.

But now that the number had become five, the momentum was immediately different.

"These people are all cautious. With five people submitting to me, none of them will want to be the first to stick their neck out." Adam sat in his chair and swept his gaze around the room.

The witch doctor's earlier capture had already filtered out a group of different species, eliminating those who were insufficiently cautious and comparatively reckless.

As Adam's gaze swept over them, the different species all grew nervous and tried their best to make their postures more proper.

"Since you have come here, I assume you have all heard about the Tears of God Ritual." Adam spoke in a hoarse voice. "As long as you do some things for me, you will all have the chance to obtain this ritual."

"If you have any questions, you may ask them." Adam openly examined the people in the room. "Rest assured, the things I ask you to do will not be too difficult."

There were eleven people in total, each with their own characteristics. Five had concealed themselves, hiding their true appearances, and judging by their clothing, they did not seem to be from the slums.

On the other hand, the two who had not disguised themselves were like Adel's group of five, bearing obvious traits of the slums.

That was good. Differences in status would make it easier for Adam to divide them, and simpler to control them as well.

"May I ask what Mr. Riges's goal is?" one of the different species with a concealed appearance asked. He hurriedly added, "Just a general direction will do. If we are to work for you, it would also put our minds at ease."

Naturally, Adam could not say, My purpose is to use the nobles' smuggling channels to escape to the Loken Kingdom.

So Adam kept his hoarse voice, though his tone shifted slightly, as if an obsession that could not be dissolved lingered in his words. "I want to use the border between the two kingdoms to verify something."

"Something concerning faith."

Thanks to Chasing Night Horses, Nine Dream Immortal, Ghost Depth, Sunset's Lights, Morning Star Nianjie, Book Friend 20181108224021810, Stars 5142, Weapon Glow Stick, and Black Rabbit Rua for their donations. Thank you all for your support.