Published at 8th of March 2026 8:03 am

Chapter 1766 Keeping Secrets

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Seeing how fearlessly Gary was on the move, throwing himself directly into the swarm of monsters, the rest of the Howlers certainly didn’t stand around doing nothing either. The time for caution had passed; the slaughter had begun.

One of the deranged Werewolves had bypassed Gary and leapt straight toward where Marie was standing, its jaws snapping wildly. Without a second of hesitation, she quickly transformed into her massive Titan Vanguard form. As the Werewolf collided with her, she didn't budge an inch. She grabbed the snarling Werewolf tightly by its broad shoulders, pivoted her weight, and violently flung the creature to the side.

It was an incredibly heavy throw. The Werewolf crashed down, significantly denting the solid concrete ground beneath it. But these creatures felt no normal pain. The beast quickly scrambled back up onto its feet, opening its mutated mouth as thick, foul-smelling saliva dripped in heavy globs onto the floor.

“Ugh, gross! Hey, I have a really quick question!” Marie shouted over the din of battle as the Werewolf charged back in.

It stretched out its elongated, clawed arm, swiping at her with terrifying speed. But Marie was a Titan Vanguard; she was significantly larger and denser than the Glutton Werewolf. She managed to perfectly catch the beast's arm mid-swing, locking it in a crushing grip.

Then, as the Werewolf snapped its jaws desperately trying to get close, she balled her free hand into a massive fist and pounded it directly down onto the top of its skull like a sledgehammer.

“We keep calling these things 'Zombie Werewolves',” Marie grunted as she struck the beast again, “but if they actually bite us, we won’t miraculously turn into one of them, right?!”

At that exact moment, just behind her, Austin had also completely transformed his body into his minotaur form. His muscles strained as he physically lifted a thrashing Werewolf high up into the air by its hind legs. With a feral roar, he slammed its body face-first into the concrete floor. A loud, sickening cracking sound echoed through the parking lot as the Werewolf's very spine was snapped in half.

Seeing the paralyzed creature still furiously whirling its arms and snapping its jaws about on the floor, Austin knew he needed to put it down for good. He lifted his heavy foot and stomped directly down on its head, crushing it completely.

It wasn’t just Gary that shared his deep, sickening feelings for what they had seen. The rest of the Howlers didn’t feel bad at all about getting rid of or violently killing these things. Even if they were technically Werewolves, they had lost their humanity and butchered innocent people. They were just rabid dogs that needed to be put down.

“That’s actually a really good point, Marie! Do we have to fight these guys and actively try not to get bit?!” Austin shouted back, wiping gore from his boot. “Because if this is infectious, that’s a whole other major issue we need to worry about!”

For now, lacking any concrete scientific answers, all of them safely assumed that it was best to absolutely not get bitten by these things. But avoiding their snapping jaws was easier said than done, as the monsters were terrifyingly quick and erratic with their teeth.

Nearby, Kai was fighting with clinical, deadly efficiency. He had spotted a thick, rusted iron rebar rod that was stuck inside a destroyed chunk of a concrete pillar. He quickly grabbed it and pulled, effortlessly snapping a sharp, jagged piece of it off.

When he smoothly sidestepped and got close to one of the lunging Werewolves, he used his bare hand to violently clasp the monster's jaw completely shut. Instantly, the chilling power of his Altered state activated, and the snout of the beast started to rapidly freeze over, locking its mouth in a shell of solid ice. Then, with his other hand gripping the rusted iron rod, he swung it upward from underneath the jawline and pierced it right through the frozen Werewolf's brain, dropping it instantly.

‘We did an incredible amount of grueling training while we were stuck in that other world... the past, or whatever that dimension was, It’s even helped me control some of my elemental powers to this point,’ Kai thought to himself, his breathing perfectly steady as he pulled the rod free. ‘And this nightmare is actually a very good time to see how all of that intense training is finally coming together.’

He had consciously encased the makeshift iron weapon with a dense coating of Qi. That invisible, sharpened aura was what allowed the blunt rod to so easily pierce right through the notoriously tough hide and bone of the Werewolf. He was rather quick and graceful as he moved seamlessly from one target to the other, a deadly dancer in the dark.

As the fight raged on, it was abundantly clear to the whole group that there were far more than ten of them down there in the shadows. The horde just kept coming.

Yet, the Vampire Leaders standing near the entrance weren't having too much trouble at all. The corrupted Werewolves were certainly much more resilient than they had initially expected, taking lethal blows and continuing to move, but the three ancient beings had hardly moved a single step from their original spots.

A large, desperate strike came from the blind side of a leaping Werewolf aimed at Rowa. Rowa simply lifted his pale hand. Thick, crimson blood swirled out of thin air, condensing instantly into something like a hardened shield, perfectly blocking the heavy hit without Rowa even flinching. Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, he threw out a sharp blood slash that carved into the beast's chest, sending it skidding violently backward across the asphalt.

“It’s taking us quite a few direct hits to permanently take these guys down, huh?” Jin said, calmly sidestepping a snapping jaw. “I told you back at the manor that they are quite resilient to normal damage.”

The sheer numbers weren't overwhelming enough to threaten the Vampires, which definitely made things easier for them. But there was another, highly calculated reason why it was taking the ancient lords slightly longer to kill their targets.

They were intentionally using their mid-range blood powers to keep the frenzied beasts at a safe distance, while also deliberately not showing everything they possessed. They were being incredibly cautious about revealing their true combat arts while the Howlers were standing right there. This restrained style allowed them to effortlessly defend themselves while keeping a very close, analytical eye on how the Werewolves fought.

‘Gary and the blonde-haired one... Kai. Neither of them have actually transformed into their beast states,’ Haylock noticed, his ancient eyes tracking their fluid movements. ‘Yet, they are having absolutely no trouble at all dispatching these monsters. It appears that they have gotten remarkably stronger since our last intelligence reports. And, more importantly, they are being smart and cautious about showing everything they have to us as well.’

Haylock smiled slightly. ‘The young Alpha has learned the games of the Underworld quite well.’

One of the Werewolves that had just been hit by Rowa's blood slash finally stopped skidding back. Shaking off the deep wound, it quickly crouched, preparing to charge in at the vampire once again.

But before the beast could even launch itself from its spot, a heavy hand axe came spinning violently out of the shadows. The blade struck the Werewolf right between the eyes, cutting deep through its thick skull and killing it on the spot. The heavy body slumped to the floor, dead before it even landed.

When Rowa turned his head in annoyance, he could see the young human man, Innu, standing nearby in a perfect throwing position, a cocky grin on his face.

“Sorry about that! Did I accidentally steal your kill?” Innu taunted, wiping some sweat from his brow. “It was just that you guys were being a little bit too slow for my liking.”

Innu was actually finding this chaotic brawl a lot easier to manage, since most of these mindless Werewolves were highly distracted by the heavier hitters, unlike the last time he had to go up against one of these terrifying things entirely on his own.

“I think that’s finally the last of them,” Luzen said, his keen eyes scanning the dark corners of the car park before smoothly placing his large bow back over his shoulder. “Well... apart from the specific one you asked to be kept alive, anyway.”

Haylock had gracefully done exactly as Rowa had requested at the start of the skirmish. He had kept one of the snarling Glutton Werewolves securely tied up and pinned to one of the thick underground parking lot pillars using his razor-sharp blood strings.

He had intentionally injured the beast quite a bit, severing tendons in its legs to prevent it from leaping, and was now completely restricting its frantic movements. It thrashed and gnashed its teeth at the bloody binds, to no avail.

As the Howlers gathered around, catching their breath, they looked at the captive beast and then at the pale lords. They couldn't help but wonder what exactly the Vampires planned to do with it, and why they needed a live specimen.

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