The black figure was kicked back and sent flying.
Taking this opportunity, Ethan scrambled to his feet. There was no time to reload.
Ethan drew the axe tied to his waist, gripped it with both hands, and swinging with all his might, slammed it hard into the head of the black figure!
*Squelch—!!!*
Blood sprayed out once again,
fountaining onto the dilapidated wooden walls of the shack. The head of the black figure before him was split wide open.
Brain matter flowed out from the massive gash, and a foul stench immediately filled the air.
Having suffered a heavy blow to the head, the black figure instantly lost all ability to resist. Its neck slumped as it collapsed to the ground, legs twitching uncontrollably while a hissing sound escaped its mouth.
"Is it dead...?"
Seeing the black figure lying motionless on the ground,
Ethan slowly lowered the axe. He stared at the monster with uncertainty and suspicion, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
His nerves were stretched to the limit.
This was the second supernatural incident he had encountered since leaving the Baker Farm,
so he wasn't able to adapt quite so quickly. However, seeing that the monster was dead, Ethan's tense heart relaxed slightly.
"Is this... a Lycan?"
At this moment,
Ethan finally got a clear look at the appearance of the black-figured monster on the ground. Its entire body was filthy, and it wore tattered clothes.
Its skin wasn't the normal yellow or white of a human, but a bluish-gray. It was covered in thick hair, and its head of hair looked like that of a vagrant.
Its pupils were rolled back to show white, and its teeth were as sharp as a wild beast's, as were its nails. These characteristics reminded Ethan of the legendary werewolves; it looked roughly like that.
Ethan never imagined that creatures like Lycans would exist in this village. However, compared to the zombies and the Molded he had encountered, a Lycan seemed almost normal.
After all, such monsters often appeared in 18th-century fantasy stories and novels, making them seem far more reasonable than zombies or Molded.
"Awoooo—!!!!!!!!!"
*Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss...*
However,
before Ethan's heart could fully settle,
a chorus of wolf howls immediately rang out across the entire village, followed by the continuous low growls of Lycans echoing from the surroundings.
This gave Ethan a fright.
He hadn't expected there to be other Lycans in the village. Thinking of this, Ethan hurried to pick up the double-barreled shotgun the old man had dropped earlier.
*Crash...!!!*
But,
before Ethan had a chance to pick up the shotgun, the window of the dilapidated shack was instantly smashed through.
The Lycans, having heard the gunshots and smelled the blood, quickly converged on Ethan's location.
An incredibly fast black figure crashed through the window and lunged into the tattered shack.
Upon discovering its dead companion on the floor and the living Ethan, it lunged toward him without the slightest hesitation.
"Damn it...!"
Ethan didn't have time to react this time.
Just as he tried to tighten his grip on the axe to counterattack, the Lycan's figure was already upon him.
The massive force of the collision caused Ethan to instantly lose control of his body, and his head slammed hard against the wooden wall behind him.
A dizzy sensation washed over him. Meanwhile, the Lycan had already opened its foul-smelling mouth and bitten down on Ethan's arm again.
*Squelch...!*
Another wound,
but surprisingly, as soon as this Lycan bit into Ethan's flesh, it immediately let go with a look of disgust.
It even spat out the blood that filled its mouth, clearly very dissatisfied with the flesh and blood of this human, Ethan.
Because Ethan's body was currently full of mold, he didn't taste like a normal living person at all, and his blood was very stale.
Even his scent was somewhat similar to these Lycans.
Thus, the Lycan felt as if it had bitten into the rotten flesh of one of its own kind. It immediately let go in disgust and then, without a word, grabbed Ethan's arm and began dragging him out of the shack.
*Scrape, scrape, scrape...*
Unable to resist, Ethan could only allow himself to be dragged along.
A short while later, Ethan was dragged outside. In the village now covered in white snow,
a large number of Lycans had gathered.
They were loyal soldiers dispatched by Mother Miranda. By the time Ethan fully regained his senses and opened his eyes, he found himself already in the midst of extreme danger.
*Heh, heh, heh, heh...*
*Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss—!!!!!!!!*
His ears were surrounded by rising and falling low hisses. Looking up, Ethan saw a dense pack of Lycans surrounding him.
There were about twenty of them, all in tattered rags, covered in thick fur with iron-gray skin. The fangs and claws in their mouths were exceptionally sharp.
Their white-rolled pupils stared intently at Ethan, and saliva flowed uncontrollably from their mouths, as if they were treating Ethan as some delicious food waiting to be distributed.
Furthermore, there were many types of Lycans among them.
Some walked upright, some held weapons, and some were crawling on the ground.
Some Lycans were even massive in size, nearly two meters tall, and there were even some Lycans riding on horses.
Yes... Lycans could even ride horses.
The Lycan closest to Ethan held a giant hammer. He looked quite fierce, with a powerful build and fur as thick as a lion's mane. Rather than a wolf, he looked more like a lion.
This hammer-wielding brute was Urias, the village chief and a minion of Mother Miranda.
Because he was infected with the gift, he was under her control, and he served as the alpha or wolf king among the Lycan pack.
After all, even as Lycans,
they inherited the hierarchy and distribution mechanism of a wolf pack.
The pack would strike the village together to hunt, stealing all food and attacking villagers, committing all sorts of atrocities like burning, killing, and looting.
Villagers bitten by them would also be infected and turn into Lycans. The one directing them was the village chief before him, the Wolf King Urias...
*Roar, roar, roar, roar...!!!!*
Seeing Ethan's shoulder and arm oozing blood, the Wolf King Urias didn't hesitate at all.
He reached out with a large, rough palm to squeeze the blood from Ethan's shoulder and brought it to his mouth to taste. But as soon as the blood entered his mouth, even the Wolf King Urias couldn't help but frown deeply.
Clearly,
he hated the scent and blood on Ethan's body. The blood was foul and stale, and it carried the scent of their own Lycan kind.
It wasn't like eating a human; it was like gnawing on the flesh of his own kind. Realizing this, the Wolf King Urias began to think slightly.
As the alpha and Wolf King, he possessed higher intelligence than the other Lycans.
And following the orders of Mother Miranda, he planned to bring this strange human before her to see.
*Roar, roar, roar, roar...*
And so,
having made up his mind,
the Wolf King Urias didn't hesitate. He reached out with his rough, giant palm and suddenly gripped Ethan's neck.
His palm tightened slightly. Ethan immediately felt a wave of breathing difficulty and began to struggle frantically.
But he could not break free from the restraint.
That palm was as hard as iron pincers. Lacking oxygen and with his blood circulation constricted,
Ethan's face soon turned red and his neck swelled. His vision blurred, and he instantly lost consciousness.
*Roar, roar, roar, roar...*
Seeing Ethan faint,
the Wolf King Urias immediately threw Ethan onto the back of a Lycan riding a horse, treating Ethan like cargo strapped to the rear.
Then, with a roar,
he continued to drive the Lycan pack to harvest the other survivors in the village. Compared to the original plot where Ethan met up with other village survivors,
this time it was much faster and more concise.
Before Ethan could interact much with the other villagers,
he was captured by the Lycan pack, without even meeting Mother Miranda in her old hag disguise...
...
Castle Dimitrescu—
At this moment, Javier, who had just woken up in the castle,
was unaware that his good teammate Ethan had already arrived in the village territory and was currently being "carefully looked after" by the friendly Lycan pack.
Compared to Ethan's ordeal,
Javier was quite relaxed and comfortable. Waking up early in the morning, he saw Bela, the eldest of the three Vampire sisters, wearing a maid outfit again as she pushed a cart into Javier's room.
Only this time, there was no food on the cart.
Instead, there was hot water and a face towel.
This was simply too ridiculous. Lady Dimitrescu was truly treating him like a young master; she couldn't be more considerate.
"Mr. Javier, Mother has instructed me that after you finish washing up, you are required to go to the castle hall. Mother has something to discuss with you."
"Mother said Mother Miranda has just summoned the four noble lords for a meeting, and she needs you to go with her... Do you need my help with washing up?"
Placing the washbasin filled with hot water from the cart onto the stand, the Vampire maid Bela explained respectfully to Javier.
She then intended to use the towel to help Javier wipe his face. The blood Javier had gifted her yesterday had been brought before her mother.
Bela had also told Lady Dimitrescu the secret that Javier himself was the source of the viral blood.
This had immediately sent Lady Dimitrescu into a state of deep shock once again.
They hadn't expected that the source of this blood virus was Javier himself. To be honest... the moment she learned this secret,
Lady Dimitrescu even had the urge to completely imprison Javier and drain him dry.
But on second thought,
she seemingly hadn't confirmed the source of Javier's confidence and power, so she temporarily abandoned this dangerous move.
Because if she really dared to do that, the entire castle might be slaughtered clean by Javier.
Therefore, Dimitrescu planned to maintain their original relationship and test Javier's power first.
If he was weak... it wouldn't be too late to imprison him then.
But if Javier had a trump card, then they could only maintain the original subordinate-servant relationship.
After all, the Dimitrescu Family crest contract had already been given out; betrayal wouldn't be that easy.
To this, Lady Dimitrescu could only inwardly curse her own haste.
However, because of this secret, Dimitrescu also developed a deeper interest in Javier.
"No... that won't be necessary. You may leave."
"I'll do it myself. Go inform Lady Dimitrescu to wait a moment; I'll be down shortly!"
Faced with the Vampire maid Bela's attempts to please him, Javier decisively refused.