The mixed-blood wolf king

"Marshal, the Tuwu People's methods are vicious. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Not only have they colluded with necromancers, they have also allied themselves with an evil god of the abyss.

Dragon Spine Pass fell so quickly because the enemy summoned an Abyssal Demonic Dragon to break through it!"

Lieutenant General Griffin hurriedly picked up the thread.

He was now in the same position as Duke Alvin: both were disgraced officials who had suffered defeat, awaiting the empire's judgment.

If corruption also came to light, the matter would become even more serious.

There was no getting around it. The series of corrupt dealings involving the city's defenses could never have gone ahead without his cooperation as the commanding officer.

If he had put even a little effort into his duties, the problems would have come to light long before the war.

There was no point explaining himself. He was among those who had benefited.

The problem was that so many commanders before him had done the same. He had merely chosen to go along with everyone else. Who could have known the Tuwu People would actually attack?

Now that Dragon Spine Pass had fallen, all the old messes had come crashing down on his head.

The empire did not kill nobles lightly. Whether it was defeat in battle or corruption, he had a way to save his life from either charge alone, but not both together.

"Lieutenant General Griffin, don't try to change the subject!"

"Marshal Sebastian, whether you're willing to accept it or not, corruption among the bureaucrats has become the greatest cancer afflicting the empire.

If we don't deal with it soon, we'll be in real trouble by the time the army reaches the front!"

Duke Alvin's additional remarks made everyone present frown inwardly.

Were they supposed to be hearing this?

If word got out, people would think they were planning a great purge to root out corruption in the empire.

Although many of them had considered doing just that deep down, few actually dared to go through with it.

It wasn't that fighting corruption was particularly difficult. Quite the opposite: it was too easy.

As long as someone wanted to investigate, there were problems everywhere. Many bureaucrats didn't even bother to hide them.

The main reason those efforts ultimately came to nothing was that an investigation would turn up their own people everywhere, leaving them unable to take harsh action.

As a result, every anti-corruption campaign ended with plenty of thunder but little rain.

Not only did they fail to deter corrupt bureaucrats, they emboldened them instead.

If someone was caught, the worst they faced was a slap on the wrist. Once the uproar died down, they could move to another post and carry on.

The corrupt officials went unpunished, while the officials fighting corruption were the ones dragged down first.

After going through this a few times, the empire's upper ranks simply gave up on the issue.

Only the younger nobles still harbored hopes of reforming the bureaucracy.

"Your grace, thank you for the reminder.

The empire's bureaucratic corruption is not something we can resolve, but the Northern Expedition Corps must not be affected by it.

Duke Alvin, I now formally invite you to serve as chief of military affairs for the Northern Expedition Corps, in charge of logistics for the entire army.

Any corruption discovered will be punished without exception!"

Sebastian extended the invitation at once.

They couldn't solve the empire's problems, but the problem before them had to be addressed.

If anything went wrong with logistics, it would be too late for regrets once the army reached the front.

"I'd be happy to serve!"

Duke Alvin readily agreed.

A political deal had been struck without a ripple, and only then did the slow-to-catch-on Lieutenant General Griffin realize something was wrong.

Rooting out corruption? It was all a fucking slogan meant to fool people.

Duke Alvin's real goal was to secure a chance to atone for his crimes through meritorious service.

As it happened, Duke Sebastian also needed a chief of military affairs of sufficiently high rank and standing to play the villain and keep an eye on the bureaucrats in the logistics department, ensuring that nothing went wrong with military supplies.

Both men had been making lofty pronouncements, and he was the only fool who had actually believed them.

Duke Alvin's poor military abilities didn't mean he was a political novice too.

If he had no ability at all, he could never have become commander of the Northern Frontier Corps at such a young age.

"What a treasure of a place!"

"What a pity it's so far from the empire. Otherwise, a fortified pass built at the cave entrance would make it a natural..."

Looking at the valley below, Victor couldn't help marveling.

The valley covered an even larger area than he had estimated.

Including the surrounding slopes, once it was developed, it would probably span more than a hundred square kilometers.

The plants in the valley were tall, with thick leaves-a clear sign of fertile soil.

Managed well, it could support tens of thousands of people.

"Commander, the wolf pack has its eyes on us!"

Seeing the wolves approach, Howard spoke up to warn him.

The wolves in the valley had been prepared for the Tuwu People. He had no wish to fight the pack ahead of time.

"A Moon-Howling Heavenly Wolf. What a pity it's mixed-blood!"

Victor made his assessment with great interest.

Although he had never raised a magical beast, he was familiar with the illustrated guide to them!

Back at the academy, he had earned top marks in all those courses.

Among the many magical beasts, the Moon-Howling Heavenly Wolf was a particularly outstanding high-tier beast, named for its fondness for gazing at the moon.

An adult Moon-Howling Heavenly Wolf was a ninth-tier magical beast. A few exceptional ones could grow to the tenth tier or even higher.

Mixed-bloods were harder to judge. The limit of their growth depended mainly on the purity of their bloodline, with only a very small number of mutated individuals proving exceptions.

"Commander, how about we retreat first?"

"If a fight breaks out, the Tuwu People will be the ones to benefit!"

Howard hurriedly tried to persuade him.

Seeing how eager Victor was to try, he knew his commander had set his sights on the wolf king before them.

There were few soldiers who didn't like magical beast mounts.

As it happened, the Moon-Howling Heavenly Wolf was one of the magical beasts best suited to serve as a mount.

If possible, he wanted to capture one too.

Unfortunately, magical beasts were all bad-tempered. Unless raised from a young age, they were difficult to tame once grown.

Mages on the continent had made contract scrolls that could forcibly bind magical beasts, but those things cost a fortune.

The worst part was that even with a scroll, the chance of the contract failing remained high.

Without enough wealth behind them, people simply couldn't afford to play such an extravagant game.

This was especially true of high-tier magical beasts. Unless one could earn their sincere submission, forming a contract was impossible.

"No matter."

"There are plenty of wild wolves on the grasslands. Once we capture the wolf king, we won't lack wolves later."

"You're responsible for keeping the pack occupied. I'll go meet this mixed-blood wolf king!"

As he spoke, Victor had already raised his spear and charged out.

After training for so long, he had long wanted to test his skills.

He had chosen not to charge into battle because, amid tens of thousands of soldiers, an individual's strength was far too insignificant.

Knights were flesh and blood too. An arrow strike or a spear thrust could kill them.

By comparison, picking on lower-tier magical beasts was much safer.

His spear flashed, and two wild wolves that had pounced at him were sent flying more than five meters away.

Seeing their commander join the fight, the accompanying officers and soldiers rushed at the pack.

For a time, blades clashed and spears flew as the battle raged.

Everyone was excited, except for Howard, whose face was the picture of misery.

Having such a headstrong commander was truly hard on him.

With no time to pay attention to his subordinate's distress, Victor focused all his energy on his fight with the wolf king.

His spear swept across, and the wolf king, having retreated more than three meters away, spat a burst of flame at him.