In the darkness of night.
Deep in a secluded swamp forest far from Noricia City, no campfires burned. Only the faint wash of moonlight revealed the hidden scene.
Pairs of eerie green wolf eyes shifted like ghosts. At a glance, there were no fewer than a thousand!
Their owners were all tall, powerfully built, wolf-headed savages, covered in thick, primitive gray fur, their faces smeared with vivid war paint!
They bore a name that struck terror into anyone who heard it: the Wolf Bandits!
The gathered Wolf Bandits patrolled the forest in files of a dozen and squads of a hundred. Their movements seemed loose and casual, but closer scrutiny revealed an airtight formation without a single gap in their patrols.
At the heart of their gathering stood an enormous, makeshift gray canvas tent. Dim yellow light glowed within, and two Wolf Bandits guarded its entrance.
The furnishings inside were simple: two rows of hide-covered chairs, with a bronze throne at the head. Behind the throne hung an enormous beast-hide totem depicting something between a wolf and a dragon.
At that moment, twelve Blue Bandit werewolves, each around three meters tall, sat on either side. They looked remarkably deferential, not daring to make the slightest sound, as though afraid of disturbing some terrifying being's rest.
The sight was rather eerie.
These Blue Bandits possessed combat strength comparable to high-level Soul Emperors. Once they activated their innate Bloodthirsty Frenzy, their strength soared even further, leaving ordinary Soul Emperors with no fate but slaughter.
What sort of being could make Blue Bandits act so cautiously?
Awooo-
A low wolf growl, heavy with waking sleep, sounded from behind the empty bronze throne. Every Blue Bandit present shuddered and immediately snapped to full attention.
Then a powerfully built Wolf Bandit, four meters tall and