Translator: HunterW3
Editor: RED
I accepted the reward they were so adamant about giving me. It shone a bright purple. I didn’t turn them down a second time. I really wanted it.
“Item Check.”
==[Clan Badge – Werewolf (Rank 10)
This is the prized treasure of the Werewolf Clan; the single Werewolf Clan Badge in existence. Normally, this badge carries the same authority as Lod, the founder of the Werewolf Clan. On certain occasions, Lod and the Werewolf Clan may decide that Lod’s orders take priority. However, the holder of the Badge is not required to follow Lod’s orders. Furthermore, should the holder’s advice be ignored at least three times, the holder’s orders will take priority.
As long as the Clan Badge remains in the holder’s inventory, the holder will receive the following effects:
Grants ability to teleport to the Werewolves’ homeland without limit.
Attacks inflicted onto the holder by Werewolves are decreased by 50%. Attacks inflicted onto Werewolves by the holder are increased by 50%. (This effect comes from a passive effect Lod placed upon the Werewolf Clan. This does not affect Lod.)
AGI increased by 700 points
STR increased by 300 points
Grants Howl of the Wolf. (Howl of the Wolf: AGI increased by 20% for 1 hour. No skill points required. 24-hour cooldown.)
Using Howl of the Wolf grants Razor Fang. (Razor Fang: Successful attacks against enemies inflict 5% additional damage. Can only be used while Howl of the Wolf is in effect.)]==
To be honest, it wasn’t that great for a Rank 10 item. I already had three others that had better effects than this.
Then again, it was a non-equippable item, which made it valuable as there was a limit to the number of equips one can have at a time.
-But that’s not enough to make it a Rank 10, even with its effects.-
It was basically an item that gave me the same authority as Lod over the Clan. I couldn’t gauge its true value just by judging its effects alone. Its symbolism was probably worth more.
At that moment, Lod turned to me and spoke, “It’s the one item I received after becoming the Lord of this Clan. I do realize that its effects don’t match up to its rank.”
“It’s fine.” Still, it increased my total Stats by 1,000 and had a couple decent skills.
“Still, it is the most valuable item we can provide to our only friend.”
“I understand. Thank you very much.” I never really expected to receive such a reward. Sure, I was planning on sort of using the Werewolf Clan to get what I wanted, but I didn’t expect them to go to this extent.
-Ha…I’m really going to have to defeat the Duke, it looks like.-
After the meeting, Lod and his officers took me around the Faroe Islands to show me where we would be fighting the Duke.
“Wow! It’s really Lee Jiwon.”
“Lee Jiwon? Is he strong?”
“Duh, idiot! He got the Sunbin and Myth Guilds first and second place during the Time Attack quest!”
“He did that all by himself, too.”
“Is he really here to help us, too?”
“Yup.”
“Yay! Then that means we won’t become slaves, right? My big sis was always saying that the Duke was going to take us over and turn us into his slaves.”
“Yup. He’s going to kick the Duke’s butt!”
I could hear the younger, mortal kids chattering among themselves.
“What you did during the Time Attack quest caused such a stir that even our children know about you.”
“I see.” I had already considered this outcome when I did the Time Attack quest. Should a similar quest ever come out again, I was going to do it.
—
The next day…
A report came as I was having breakfast with Lod and the other officers.
“The Duke has just left the Shetland Islands!”
Their faces stiffened.
“The Duke must be getting anxious now,” I said, nonchalantly, as I calmly ate my steak. I had heard that the Duke had been anxiously waiting over a week for me to come and hadn’t attacked the Clan the entire time.
“It would seem so.”
“That pig has been holding back long enough.”
My nonchalant answer seemed to relieve the tension in the room.
“Are they travelling via a container ship as well?”
“Yes sir. He’s bringing along his four deity guards and exactly ten thousand deva soldiers.”
“Then they’ll reveal themselves in three hours’ time.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tell everyone to rest up for the next two hours. Then, get ready! This is it. We have nowhere to turn to now. This is the end!”
“Yes, sir!”
“We’ll have to end breakfast here, Mr. Lee.”
“Fair enough. I’ve had my fill. We’ll have a proper party tonight,” I said with an awkward smile but as confidently as possible.
“…”
“You’re right. We’ll have a huge party.”
“The biggest one yet. We’ll party all week long!”
We began our preparations after light jokes. I had many things to prepare as well.
-I should always assume the worst, in case Absolute Destruction doesn’t go off against the Duke.-
I gathered my thoughts as I rested in my prepared room. I had to win, no matter what. I came here to butcher the Duke, not become his fodder. It would have been better to not come here in the first place, if that ended up happening.
—
Torshavn, two and a half hours later…
Three thousand Werewolves and fifteen hundred devas of the eight hundred-year old van Agassi family were gathered facing the sea. I stood in the middle next to Lod.
“Once again, I must apologize. We ended up leaving a huge weight on your shoulders when you came here to help.”
“It’s fine. That just means this is that much more important.”
In the end, it came down to the Duke. If I couldn’t deal with him, this battle was lost. I had to be in the vanguard. I didn’t have time to sit back and test the waters; I had to kill the Duke the first chance I got.
-I’ll be fine. I’m strong!-
As I stood there, watching the sea, I saw something appear off into the distance.
“The Duke has arrived!”
I felt the entire Clan fall into despair in an instant when the report came. I completely understood; complete defeat loomed over the horizon.
At that moment, Lod chuckled before stepping forth. He laughed louder, attracting the attention of his men. He soon stopped laughing before turning around to address the soldiers. “I am afraid. I am afraid of the Duke who looms even closer now. I am afraid as this is our final battle. I laugh to hide my fear,” Lod spoke calmly, but his voice carried across the beach. “As the Lord of the Werewolves and as the head of the van Agassi’s, I apologize to you all. I have left you all with great pain.”
“No, sir!” the soldiers cried out in unison as Lod hung his head in front of them.
Lod raised his head again and looked over at each soldier before speaking again. “I may be afraid, but I know what I must do. I cannot, I will not concede our freedom, our future, our legacy to that fat, piece-of-shit pig! We must fight to protect and we must hold to save our families and our ancient legacy!” Lod’s powerful words echoed over the beach. “I will stand at the front as your leader! I will show all of you my back! Will you all follow?”
“Yes, sir!”
“We will follow you to Gates of Hell!”
“We ride for Valhalla!”
“Today, we will win! Today, we end this war on our terms!”
—
The container ship heading for the Faroe Islands…
The soldiers on the ship heard the war cries from the Faroe Islands as the ship cut through the water quickly with the aid of Wind and Water magic. The Duke heard them, too.
“Kekeke!” the Duke scoffed. “Those dogs are getting noisy, just because they have Lee Jiwon with them.”
“But Lee Jiwon did show the rest of the world the extent of his abilities through the Time Attack quest. There is a chance…” one of the deity guards said, but didn’t finish. That couldn’t happen, for their sake!
“Kekeke. Do you not believe in me?”
“No, sir. We believe in you!”
“Well, either way, I’ll show everyone how much I want Lee Jiwon!” The Duke had been waiting long enough for Lee Jiwon to join the war. He was confident that he could consume Lee Jiwon, no matter what!
—
Werewolves mostly dealt ATT damage as fighter classes. They were waiting on the beach and watching as the Duke’s army froze the waterfront and crossed the sea. They stopped, leaving three meters between the two armies.
The atmosphere was completely different than of the other battles. One side was confident that they could win easily, while the other side knew they would lose, but their eyes were on fire, as if they would not accept another defeat ever again.
At that moment, one man from each side walked forward to come face to face with each other; the Duke and Clan Lord Lod!
