The Laws of Werewolf Hunting

Chapter 594 Pressure Relief Valve
“How could Sanders have such a bunch of relatives?!” Under the shade of a tree, Clayton leaned against the trunk, his voice a mixture of disgust and exhaustion as he complained.

The rest time was extremely short, and the second group of matches was about to begin, but he no longer had the same expectations as before.

He made a fool of himself in the first round of the competition, and I really don't know what he can do to salvage the situation afterward.

“Otherwise, why would he have been forced out to fend for himself?” Julius paced back and forth on the sunlit lawn. He knew little about Sanders, only that the dwarf worked for Bruno, Clayton’s deceased friend, but this unfamiliarity didn’t stop him from discriminating against other local dwarves. “Or perhaps he’s a terrible dwarf too, just hasn’t had a chance to show his true colors in front of you yet.”

“Let’s leave the dead with some dignity.” The werewolf sighed, then asked Julius, “Why didn’t Gloria come?”

The wizard stopped and turned around like a wary owl: "Why are you so concerned about her?"

"If she were there, she would have removed those cursed horseshoes long ago."

The wizard remained silent for about half a minute. Before he spoke, Clayton thought he was going to object to something again, but he wasn't.

"Do you remember when we talked about how the magic for detecting mineral veins has stopped working?"

Clayton remembers.

"Higher purity artificial mineral artifacts were scattered across the wilderness by the train, contaminating the direction of the magic."

"Yes, even if they are processed and their shape is changed, their roots still belong to the earth."

Julius paused for a moment: "That cursed horseshoe has raised my questions—why would the wizard who made it bury it underground? Didn't he find that troublesome? A wizard who has overcome the iron could control the curse remotely. He could stand on a nearby hill, holding his cursed horseshoe, observing this place from afar with a telescope, and could intervene on the field at any time. He could do this without being detected by a perceptive fellow like you."

“Now I understand. This was not a superfluous action, but rather the only way he could complete the curse by burying the cursed horseshoe in the ground.”

"This is actually a ritual; by burying it underground, it ceases to be an artifact and becomes part of the mineral deposit. This is certainly done to reduce the difficulty of casting spells, but it's strange. Generally speaking, resisting iron is much simpler than controlling the earth. This wizard seems to think the opposite is true. Does that remind you of anything?"

“The dwarves possess the remaining half of the Book of the Earth,” Clayton said calmly. The whereabouts of the half-book that the drunkard Charlie had tried to use to save his life had been discovered unintentionally, but he wasn't surprised at all.

“Interested in snatching it and selling it to my mother?” Julius rubbed his wand in his palm. “The half that Cures has will definitely fool the others who are investigating the Book of Earth. As for the dwarves, drunken Charlie isn’t crazy enough to tell them what it is. They probably still think it’s a secondhand spellbook.”

The werewolf's tone changed slightly: "Sold to your mother?"

"Well, it's not very useful to her, but other druids will like it. You don't need to worry about anyone using it to cause trouble either. There are no real wizards among the druids in Sasha City, only half-baked ones who can only use ritual magic, and they can't unleash its full power."

“No, I mean, I thought you would want to buy it from me and then give it to your mother.”

The wizard, his face grim, put down his wand: "Where am I supposed to get so much money?!"

Seeing his attitude, the werewolf pondered: "Interesting. I roughly know how much it's worth now. By the way, is the only reason you're not doing this because you don't have the money?"

Julius looked at him in disbelief.

Clayton waved his hand: "Alright, I won't laugh at you because of your family background, so answer me, why didn't she come today? I thought a landowner like her would be like an aristocrat who enjoys cultivating her reputation."

“She might have made appearances before, but her focus is no longer on the local area, but on Huchini. If you remember—the national park.”

"Who maintains the balance between the druids and the elders?"

“Qian Ning,” the wizard said.

“I remember he was also a wizard from Strath.”

"Don't underestimate him just because Hazel also comes from Stellaris. Channing has already surpassed the bronze ring, raised the lead cup, and is only two steps away from drinking the divine wine, albeit two rather large steps."

Julius didn't want to waste too much time on this topic.

"That's enough small talk. Now it's time for you to tell me your decision."

“I’ll get it.” Clayton straightened up from the tree trunk and waved to the distance, signaling the next group of riders to get ready.

In fact, even without Julius's reminder, he was prepared to snatch back the half of the Book of Geomancer.

I'll go today.

Initially, he only wanted to use Franklin to deal with the Earth Mother Cult, but the book's power was far beyond his imagination. Now he had no choice but to get involved and take back the Book of Earth.

If Franklin had gotten his hands on it first, Des Joanrard would have known that the copy in Curles's possession was not complete.

Once the two Books of the Earth are combined using the superior Blade Secret Technique, the rest is self-evident.

Clayton believes it's better to stay safer near home.

Although Old Man Lin and Jonard are friends, their friendship is more about mutual non-aggression. Giving the book to the Druid might be a good choice.

But nothing in this world is foolproof.

One act of dishonesty led to such disastrous consequences. Clayton Bello deeply reflected on his actions and vowed never again to deceive or exploit others just to save effort. However, his repentance was not proof of his sincere desire to do good, because while he repented for his mistake, he also suspected that the vengeful spirit of Chout Osmar was behind the events, and his remorse was not entirely genuine.

To make up for the unexpected incident in the first round of the competition during the opening ceremony, host Mr. Campbell decided to hold a rematch, scheduled after the second round. The planned "parade" to enhance the atmosphere was canceled, so as not to take up other competition time or reschedule the rematch for April.

Major Doron has been conscripted by Sir Franklin to blockade the Moriel community in St. Alvin, so it won't be easy for him to get here to participate in the event.

The track just needs to be readjusted to reduce audience distrust.

Clayton Bello finished his refereeing duties at 4:30 p.m.

People's first impression of him was actually quite good. Only a few people believed Kules's slander, and no one bothered him because of it, which was a comfort to the werewolf.

The butler Harrington hired a carriage to pick them up, but Clayton only asked the driver to take them to St. Alvin, and on the way he bought many sandwiches and a shotgun—he had a gun license, so buying the gun was legal, and it was originally intended for the duel with Curles, so using it was unexpected.

When Clayton and Julius stood in front of a sewage tower in St. Alvin, Julius finally knew which way to go.

"You don't mean to..."

The wizard's face was grim, with a barely perceptible hint of panic; his last trip to the sewers was still fresh in his memory.

“Let’s go this way, we need to operate covertly,” Clayton said.

A tall man carrying a hunting rifle and a green-haired man covered in pockets—no one who saw them could easily forget them.

"And as you can see, there are soldiers blocking the streets again. Those are Duolong's men. I beat him up last time, and today it indirectly caused his chance to shine at the military parade to be canceled. I really feel bad about meeting him."

Why don't you ask your new friends to say a few words to him?

“You mean Sir Franklin? It’s best not to see him either, or I’ll feel guilty and embarrassed.” Clayton no longer needed the pliers; he grabbed the rusty lock on the sewage tower and ripped it open, then gestured for Julius to go in first.

Julius took out the materials he had and mixed a vial of potion that emitted a faint blue glow in the dark. He held the vial, backlit, and observed it, quite satisfied with the effect.

They spent half an hour making final preparations before descending the spiral staircase of the sewage tower into the sewer system.

Franklin was a man of action and was very persistent in this case. If they had to find the Book of Territory before him, they wouldn't have much time to prepare.

"Have you figured out how to get the remaining half of the Book of the Land from the dwarves?"

Julius's voice echoed loudly in the gray-white pipes, and the eerie blue light illuminated the various stains on the pipe walls, making one feel nauseous.

"If we can persuade them, that would be best," Clayton said, spouting nonsense he himself didn't believe, hoping to resolve the matter with less violence.

He certainly longed for a thrilling battle, but the dwarves probably couldn't give him that experience.

"Historical experience tells me that torture cannot subdue dwarves; what often makes them rebel is bribery. I happen to have some money, so finding a dwarf who knows the location of the Book of the Lands will be half the battle won."

Julius frowned and nodded as he smelled the increasingly foul odor in the air.

St. Alvin's sewer system is unfamiliar territory, but the werewolf can rely on his sense of the moon to determine direction and orientation, navigating this mission. The extensive network of pipes presents no choice.

As they drew ever closer underground to the Morielian community, the stench began to dissipate.

However, the wizard's enjoyment was short-lived, as the stench returned once more.

They appear and disappear intermittently, following a pattern as regular as the tides.

Clayton stopped, pressing the head of his long-handled warhammer, disguised as a cane, against the inner wall of the pipe. After a few seconds, he withdrew the warhammer.

"Prepare for battle."

A few seconds later, many pairs of glowing eyes, somewhere between yellow and green, lit up simultaneously in front of and behind the pipe.

“I never imagined robbing dwarves could be so dangerous.” Julius flexed his wrist, the one not used to carry the lantern. No matter how he turned his wrist, the tip of his wand remained fixed on his chosen target like a venomous snake.

As those eyes drew closer, they saw the enemy's appearance clearly.

His hunched figure resembled that of an old man, his mouth was full of haphazardly growing sharp teeth, and his red flesh was covered with loose, gray skin that was almost falling off.

Clayton sighed heavily.

"I hope their appearance was just an accident, and not that the dwarves are actually raising ghouls."

"ah!"

The ghouls responded with piercing screams.