Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 99: Endurance Is The Only Victory

Chapter 99: Endurance Is The Only Victory

The group had fallen into a strange, tense stalemate. Klaus and Morgan were firmly set on escaping, while Adrian and Seraphim stood their ground, insisting that their only solution was to fight.

What surprised Klaus most was that he actually found himself agreeing with a demoness, something he never would have imagined.

Given his relationship with Briar, they were almost always at each other’s throats, and the rare times they agreed, it was usually over trivial matters. But in this peculiar scenario, they seemed to be on the same page.

Staying behind to fight the Freshwither was pure suicide.

No matter how much a reasonable person thought about it, they would eventually reach the same conclusion.

Realistically, it was impossible under normal circumstances.

Let’s rewind a bit.

When a person was selected and infected by Chaos, they went through a transformation process and became a "Shrouded human." In this stage, the person awakened their dormant abilities and unique characteristics known as "Traits." However, these abilities were still in the early stages of development, so they remained relatively weak.

This explained why, despite being stronger than the average human, Striders could still be killed by bullets and other advanced human weaponry.

But this logic didn’t apply to Night Creatures. On average, monsters in the dormant stage were physically stronger than a Strider. Many researchers theorized that this difference existed because Night Creatures dwelled inside Chaos, whereas humans naturally belonged to the Living World. The concentration of miasma in the Living World was far lower compared to the Chaos Realm. Klaus couldn’t say the same for the Demon Realm, but the issue of low miasma concentration had always been a problem in the Living World.

Furthermore, it was due to the high miasma concentration that normal humans couldn’t enter the Chaos Realm. If they did, they would either die or mutate into abominations.

In any case, Night Creatures were physically stronger than Ascendants of the same rank, but this gap in might could be countered through the use of Mysticism Abilities and the intellectual advantages of humanity. This was the reason why, despite being at the Shrouded rank, the group of four had been able to slay the Nightmare Carapaces, which possessed Awakened cores and characteristics.

However, their capabilities barely extended to taking down one or two awakened ghouls at most.

What could they possibly do against a hundred? And that wasn’t the worst of it. A commander-class beast was among them, capable of summoning reinforcements. That meant they wouldn’t just be facing a hundred — the number could easily double or triple.

Even a hundred dormant monsters were enough to push seasoned Striders to the brink.

This wouldn’t be a battle. It would be a bloody manslaughter. One-sided and merciless.

Why couldn’t they see how absurd this suicidal plan really was?! And why was his only supporter a member of the demon race?!

’Damnit. We can’t stay here. But it’s not like I don’t get where they’re coming from. Moving out before morning is also suicidal.’ Klaus thought.

Truth be told, their chances of surviving a nighttime escape were far worse than facing the horde of Nightmare Carapaces and the commander-class Ghoul controlling them. It would be like wandering through a dense rainforest at night and hoping nothing tried to kill you.

Which was exactly why they always moved at first light. Morning offered some semblance of safety, unlike the blackness of night. Even in this sunless void, morning was still preferable to the uncanny dread that came with nightfall.

Could it be that their real chance at survival lay in fighting, not running?

After some careful thought, Klaus realized this really was the only option left to them. But the clarity didn’t ease the knot of dread twisting in his gut. Something about fighting that Awakened commander felt wrong — deeply wrong. A heavy sense of foreboding clung to him, warning that if they went through with this, something terrible was bound to happen.

He wanted to trust his instincts; every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn back. But there was nothing any of them could do now.

Even so...

’Briar’s definitely not going to like this,’ Klaus thought, glancing at the only inhuman among them, still cloaked in the guise of Morgan.

In the end, he could only turn to the group and say:

"Alright. Let’s go through with this suicidal plan of yours."

† †

Monsters did possess a degree of intelligence and cunning, but it paled in comparison to that of humans and demons. At their core, they were still predators driven largely by instinct. Their cunning was animalistic, formidable, but more importantly — predictable. That gave the four of them at least a sliver of hope, a chance to leverage that flaw to their advantage.

After some careful deliberation, the group finally devised a plan and moved quickly to carry it out.

They chose to reuse the strategy that had worked for them before. With the enemy’s numbers being overwhelming, a direct confrontation was out of the question. Even using someone as bait to stage a surprise attack was far too risky. The only viable option was to thin the horde gradually, striking in calculated bursts. More importantly, they had to do it before nightfall. Once the darkness settled in, they would lose their window of opportunity and the situation could spiral even further out of control.

Before anything else, they had one more task to complete.

Morgan drew a small knife across her palm, letting her blood drip onto the torn remains of several dead Scavengers. Naturally, they didn’t forget to harvest the spirit cores from the fallen monsters.

Soon after, the nearby Nightmare Carapaces caught the scent of her intoxicating blood. Lured away from the main pack, they rushed toward the bait and began devouring the corpses with greedy fervor. But then, one by one, they froze and twitched violently as if caught in the throes of a seizure.

The convulsions lasted only a short while before the creatures stilled. Their glowing eye slits gradually shifted to a faint pink hue — a clear sign they had succumbed to Morgan’s corruption.

With that done, Morgan gave a simple command and the corrupted creatures could no longer resist.

She ordered them to kill themselves.

One by one, they obeyed without hesitation. And so, the cycle continued, over and over again.

Surprisingly, the Nightmare Carapaces didn’t seem to notice their brethren being eliminated. Of course, a few inevitably sensed something was wrong and moved to investigate. The group had no choice but to intercept and eliminate those unfortunate scouts.

Fortunately, the Stalker was with them, tipping the balance in their favor. Each encounter ended swiftly, with the battles lasting only a few seconds at most.

They couldn’t afford to let the enemy discover their presence. If that happened, their carefully constructed plan would fall apart completely.

To their fortune, they managed to reduce the enemy’s numbers by more than half.

Fifty Nightmare Carapaces had been slain, ten remained permanently under Morgan’s control, and only forty were left.

It was no small achievement. But they couldn’t risk killing any more. Too much time had already been spent, and the sky had grown noticeably darker. Any further action would almost certainly alert the rest of the swarm.

Given the circumstances, it was a miracle the beast commander hadn’t sensed that something was wrong.

Either way, it was time to move on to the final phase of their plan.

While Ruinous Flame was making her preparations, Klaus took a moment to collect her share of spirit cores from the fallen Nightmare Carapaces. He had already absorbed his portion. Since fifty of them had been slain, each member of the group received ten cores.

Adrian and Seraphim had already absorbed their shares, while Morgan had handed her extra ten to the Stalker, keeping her own portion untouched.

With that in mind, Klaus casually approached the disguised succubus. As he neared, Ruinous Flame turned her head and narrowed her eyes. For some reason, she wore a faint frown, as if something about his presence displeased her.

He blinked, taken aback.

"What is it? Why are you glaring at me like that?"

Her frown deepened.

"Don’t you dare act like you know why."

Of course. She was still upset about that. Not surprising. The only reason she’d agreed to this suicidal plan was because Klaus had agreed first. He was her Master, after all and that bond didn’t erase resentment. If anything, it probably made it worse.

He offered an awkward smile and said:

"C’mon, I’m sure you already know the reason why we had to do this."

Still frowning, she muttered. "It’s a stupid plan."

"I know, I know. Even so, it’s better than creeping around in the dark, waiting to get hunted by who-knows-what. And hiding out around here is not exactly a winning strategy either."

Her left eyebrow twitched.

Noticing her lingering doubt, Klaus pressed on.

"Look, you’re not the only one who thinks this is insane. I still do. But I’m trying to be optimistic. If you really think about it, this was the only path left to us. You’re the kind of person who likes control, right? So why hand it over to the enemy? This — crazy as it sounds — is our best shot at a future we can actually shape."

Then, with a slight grunt, he pushed the bundle of spirit cores toward her.

"So, how about you absorb these already? My arms are getting tired and these things are really heavy y’know."

Morgan didn’t respond right away. She held his gaze for a long moment before letting out a weary sigh.

"I never said I didn’t understand. Oh, and by the way, that speech of yours was sassy as hell, idiot~"

With that, she stuck out her tongue at him and stepped back, moving to a comfortable distance after accepting the spirit cores. For a split second, Klaus could’ve sworn he saw a wide smile flicker across her face, but that could have been his imagination. Perhaps, it was.

He watched absentmindedly as the petite demoness pressed the cores to her chest, crushing them one by one in her fist. Each shard dissolved in a flash of essence, pulled into her soul core.

This would no doubt elevate her power to a new level. Absorbing ten awakened monster cores was no small feat. it was the equivalent of slaying twenty shrouded beasts. That meant a two-hundred spirit shard increase in her Soul Collection. And not just for her, but for Klaus and everyone in the party as well.

If any Strider caught wind of this, they’d either be green with envy... or terrified out of their wits end.

"...Hah..."

After a few minutes, when the changes caused by the absorption were over, Morgan opened her eyes and slowly inhaled. Very soon, she looked at him and asked:

"Well... Are you ready?"

Klaus replied in a simple manner, maintaining his smile:

"Of course."

They exchanged a nod and rejoined the others.

There was nothing left to discuss, no comfort to offer, no hope to share. The time for strategy had long since passed, and empty words would only echo in the hollow that fear had carved inside them. Whatever waited ahead, facing it was better than waiting, knowing you were powerless to change a thing.

In a way, Klaus felt lucky. At least he wasn’t facing this alone.

Who knew what would have happened if he did? Perhaps he would have made a far different choice.

Moments later, he stood atop the ridge, poised to leap into the coming bloodshed. The rest of the group had taken their positions, surrounding the enemy from multiple angles. Their plan was solid, with a good chance of success.

Still, he couldn’t shake the heavy sense of foreboding churning painfully inside his stomach.

"Okay... let’s do this."

He crouched low, steadying his breath and nerves, eyes fixed on the battlefield below, waiting for the signal to strike.

Then, without warning, chaos erupted.

Not from above. Not from the ridge. But from the monsters themselves.

The Nightmare Carapaces turned on each other.

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