Chapter Sixty-Seven: Heartless

“Werewolf! It’s a werewolf!” Wolf’s transformation threw the villagers into utter chaos. Though their numbers exceeded five hundred, they were nothing more than farmers who worked the fields. Even well-trained soldiers would cower before a warrior of the werewolf tribe, for their overwhelming strength, lightning speed, terrifying regenerative powers, and savage nature were enough to make anyone tremble.

Even though Alex had stirred their patriotism, in the face of a true werewolf—not just a creature of legend—they instantly reverted to helpless lambs. Many dropped their weapons and fled without a second thought.

People are herd animals. Once someone takes the lead in running, the rest follow suit without needing any command.

Such is the nature of a rabble! If these were Imperial soldiers, perhaps they would fight to the death. But this militia, formed from honest, docile peasants who had never received any training, had self-preservation as their foremost thought—unless a powerful leader was present to force their hand.

Wolf did not give chase, for these were all residents of Tina’s village. Tina had just married his master, becoming the mistress of the household. She would not want harm to come to her people, nor bear witness to their deaths. Unless Jiazhengjin gave the order, Wolf would not raise his hand against them. His task was to cover Perine’s retreat, and by now, it was clear he had succeeded.

Alex no longer cared about the fleeing militia, nor did he have the time to use their families as leverage to force them into a desperate fight.

For the woman he loved was now attacking him mercilessly, wielding her weapon with no sign of hesitation or pity!

Perine was one of the elite members of the town guard.

Her combat prowess ranked among the very best, second only to the captain and two others.

From the very first day Alex had joined the guard, with Perine as his guide into the camp, a seed had taken root in his heart.

Perine rarely appeared in the camp, often being sent out on missions. She was quite young, and yet all the town guards held her in awe.

As one of the few female members of the guard, many entertained special feelings toward her. Quite a few had even confessed to her, but all were driven away by the unchanging, expressionless look in her eyes.

Perine admired strength and had no interest in the weak. The handful of strong men in the guard who could best her, however, showed no particular interest in her.

The captain of the guard secretly loved the daughter of a wealthy merchant in town, Felice, and was even willing to give up his honored position for her—a fact known by almost everyone.

Zach loved his wife Annie dearly—a good man in every sense.

Alex was confident in himself, for he possessed the greatest talent for mastering combat skills. Though he had not been in the guard long, and had yet to progress beyond basic training, he was already on the verge of grasping true techniques.

Everyone knew that Alex was the captain Brent’s chosen successor, for even Brent, the strongest among them, had only managed to master the guard’s signature technique, “Sweep,” after three years of basic training. Alex, in his very first year, was already close to learning it—a feat full of promise.

Give Alex just one more year and he believed he would surpass Captain Brent and become the strongest of them all. Then, he would be able to rightfully defeat Perine and win the woman he loved so deeply.

Alex’s love for Perine was genuine, even though her face was forever without expression, earning her the nickname “the faceless beauty” among the guard.

When she had shielded him from the horned apes, and later was thought to have been taken as food by kobolds, he had fallen into the depths of despair—regretting his escape and wishing he had stayed to die at her side.

So when he saw Perine alive before him again, his joy was boundless. He wanted to shout with happiness.

Yet he could never have imagined that the woman he had chosen as his lifelong companion, the one who had listened to his confession among the horned apes and, moved, had risked her life to cover his escape (or so he thought), the one who had agreed to date him if he became captain (again, in his own imagination), would now attack him with the sharp blade in her hand, as mercilessly as she would any enemy.

“Perine!” Alex’s eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to raise his sword and block her weapon. “What’s happened? Why are you doing this to me? Has that foreigner bewitched you, or forced you with some vile trick? Tell me, and I will help you!”

“No,” Perine replied, delivering a spinning kick to Alex’s abdomen, sending him flying five or six meters. She walked toward him, expressionless. “I have simply become the master’s follower.”

“We are comrades in the town guard!” Alex shouted, clutching his stomach as he stood.

He knew he was no match for Perine and could not win a fight against her. His only hope was to awaken her. He convinced himself she must be under some enchantment, or had been forced to ingest some mind-controlling drug, which was why she now acted this way.

“I know,” Perine said, stopping in front of Alex and raising her sword. “Surrender. You are not my equal.”

“Perine, do you remember my confession?” Alex panted, trying to recover his strength.

“I remember,” Perine’s eyes showed no emotion.

“Then do you remember our promise?” Alex pressed on.

“What promise?” Perine pointed her sword at him.

“After my confession, I told you I would become the captain of the town guard, and then ask you to be with me! Do you remember?” Alex called out.

“Yes,” Perine replied coldly, with no further reaction.

“Then why are you doing this? Perine, wake up! Come back to the guard camp with me!” Alex reached out, pleading loudly.

“Sorry,” Perine raised her sword high, taking an attack stance. “I never agreed.”

“What do you mean?” Alex was stunned.

“Until you truly defeat me, I will not agree to any of your requests.” With a single stride, Perine closed in and brought her sword down with all her might.

With a crash, Alex barely dodged aside as a large tree behind him was cleaved in two by Perine’s blade.

Missing her strike, Perine turned to face Alex. “I am no longer an honored town guard! Show me your full strength, or surrender your weapon!”

“No! Why is this happening? Why?!” Alex cried out in anguish, his expression twisted with pain.