Although Raphael's plan was rather crazy, he remained extremely cautious to avoid walking into a trap. Instead of heading straight toward the stationary howling, he took a wide detour.
While circling around, he spotted the Machinery Hivemind's carriage.
Now Raphael felt completely reassured. Beyonders from other secret organizations might not necessarily attack this Devil, but official Beyonders were different. As long as he led the Devil right to them, they would never pretend they had seen nothing just to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Raphael continued cautiously approaching the source of the howling. Before long, he spotted the Machinery Hivemind members hiding behind boulders and large trees in the distance.
They had already killed two Werewolves and hidden their bodies.
The Machinery Hivemind had chosen an excellent ambush site. Several large trees and two huge boulders formed a simple sheltered position.
Beyond that cover lay a stretch without any particularly thick trees, providing a clear field of fire.
Just then, another Werewolf approached, howling as he came.
Pfft!
The Werewolf seemed to have suddenly stepped on a land mine, which blasted him two or three meters into the air.
Yet the powerful "land mine" made very little noise, no louder than a balloon popping.
Then a tall Machinery Hivemind member brought out a large submachine gun covered in mystical symbols and runes.
Pfft, pfft, pfft!
Beyonder bullets with purification powers poured out as though they cost nothing.
Raphael guessed that, to avoid alerting their prey, the Machinery Hivemind members had either used some Beyonder ability or fitted their firearms with something like silencers. Even the gunshots were very quiet!
The Werewolf had no chance to resist before he was riddled with bullets.
The Machinery Hivemind members worked in perfect coordination. Some dragged the Werewolf's corpse into hiding while others went to plant another Beyonder land mine.
Soon, one of the Machinery Hivemind members began howling again to lure in more Werewolves.
Raphael suspected there was more than one Beyonder land mine in the area.
He carefully took another wide detour to look for the Devil.
After traveling some distance, Raphael once again imagined setting a trap for the Devil, hoping that this malice would draw him over.
But even after he waited a while, the Devil did not come looking for him.
In fact, the Devil was feeling rather frustrated himself. He had never encountered a situation like this before. He could sense the deep malice directed at him by the Werewolf who had just escaped.
Yet something unusual about Raphael prevented the Devil from sensing the Werewolf's whereabouts.
As he pondered what made this Werewolf so unusual, he heard another howl.
The Devil gave a sinister smile and sprinted toward the sound.
Raphael had let out that howl to attract the Devil. By now, the howling in the forest was nowhere near as lively as when the full moon had first risen.
Soon, Raphael and the Devil spotted each other. The moment Raphael saw the Devil, he turned and ran.
The Devil immediately completed his transformation and gave chase.
In the Devil's eyes, Devils were much stronger than Werewolves, so it was perfectly normal for a Werewolf to flee at the sight of him.
The only slightly strange thing was that this Werewolf still retained some degree of reason. He had not foolishly charged at him and only thought to run after being injured.
But remembering that there might be something unusual about his quarry, the Devil guessed that the Werewolf was wearing some Mystical Item that made him different.
Besides, the Devil had briefly fought this Werewolf earlier and confirmed that his strength was about the same as an ordinary Werewolf's, so he did not pay much attention to what made him unusual.
A fierce chase ensued. To avoid losing his target again, the Devil summoned a greatsword formed from crimson magma and pale blue flames, effortlessly cutting down trees to close the distance.
Raphael, meanwhile, did not unleash the full power of Nine Wolf Shadow Steps. He kept neither too close nor too far from the Devil, always staying beyond the range of his fireballs and Words of Filth.
At the Machinery Hivemind's ambush site.
Wearing a pair of sunglasses, Ikanser closely watched the movements in the forest.
Those sunglasses were a Sealed Artifact that granted night vision.
"Get ready. Here comes another... huh..." Ikanser had just spotted another Werewolf running out of the woods when he saw a Devil following behind him. "Wait!"
Ikanser quickly adjusted their deployment. "Let the Werewolf through. Everyone else, wait for the Devil to enter... no, the Devil has detected us! Zed, Boruk, go after him!"
Ikanser felt somewhat helpless against the ability known as Devil Perception. The instant he prepared to deal with the Devil, the Devil sensed him.
He therefore had Zed take the initiative and attack, while preparing to deal with the Werewolf himself.
For Raphael, the plan had gone more smoothly than expected. Throughout the chase, the Devil had never once suspected a trap.
After all, Werewolves did not engage in overly complicated behavior on the night of a full moon.
But after they reached the Machinery Hivemind's ambush site, before they even reached the Beyonder land mines, the Devil detected the members' malice toward him.
Raphael had originally intended to make the Devil step on one of those Beyonder land mines.
When he saw the Machinery Hivemind members launch an attack, he immediately changed his original plan, made a sharp turn, and fled in another direction.
Ikanser froze for a full half second at Raphael's reaction. He had already drawn a Sealed Artifact shaped like a rapier and was preparing to fight the Werewolf at close quarters. Why was this Werewolf running away... no, more importantly, why did this Werewolf still know to run?
But the Machinery Hivemind captain quickly recovered and drew an old-fashioned flintlock.
Bang!
The instant the shot rang out, Raphael's spiritual intuition sensed danger. Even his back went cold. He hurriedly twisted aside, contorting himself into a strange posture to evade the lethal bullet.
Fortunately, he was quite far from Ikanser. This flintlock was a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact, and within a certain range, it was guaranteed to hit its target.
The bullet was also immensely powerful. It grazed Raphael's shoulder, tearing away a chunk of flesh before striking a tree as thick as a thigh. With a dull bang, the tree fell.
Blood streamed from Raphael's shoulder. He bared his teeth at Ikanser and roared.
But immediately afterward, he continued fleeing.
Ikanser had not expected the Werewolf to dodge the bullet, much less remain unprovoked by the attack. The Machinery Hivemind captain was just about to lead his men in pursuit when a whistle calling for help sounded from Zed's direction!
Beyonders from the Rose School had attacked the Senior Deacon!
Before you continue