Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 610 The Wrath of the Wolf (Part 1)
“Listen, Wright, there’s the sound of wolves.” “Thunder” looked around in terror, frantically fiddling with something as if he had seen some kind of evil demon or monster.

Wright did hear the sound of wolves, but it was not much different from the sound of the forest wolves in the Green Forest of the Zhne Empire or the "ice wolves" roaming in the extreme cold region of Crusde. There was no reason to panic.

"Just wolves?" Wright asked calmly.

"It's normal for there to be some wolves in the Outer Nabua Mountains, right? Hoshino Shota told me that this is the boundary between the ice field and the plains in the Far Northeast region, with diverse species and a suitable climate. Even during sandstorms, there are some roaming wolves... Even if they are infected with the 'Heartless Virus,' they don't seem to pose much of a threat to us, do they?"

"No, that's not an ordinary wolf. I heard that sound five years ago. It doesn't belong to humans, nor to animals. Humans and animals each have their own voices. This is the voice of a mixture of gods and monsters." "Lei Ye" stood up in horror, but her high heels were out of sync and ended up getting tangled with her purple robe.

"Duang!"
She fell heavily beside the worn-out leather sofa, her head hitting the exposed wooden armrest. Instantly, hot, bright red blood mixed with "scalding liquid" flowed from "Lei Ye's" forehead.

Before Wright could react and help "Rayet" up, the heavy clatter of Shaneva's military boots, accompanied by the deep and authoritative voice of a leader, came from the openwork metal staircase slightly higher behind them.

“She’s right, they are indeed wolves, but they are the ‘Blood Wolves’ of the ‘Dedication Group.’ It seems they already know I’m coming.” Shaneva, Mikhail, and several fully armed guards [warriors] behind them quickly descended to the second basement level of the military fortress.

After briefly instructing Mikhail and making some battle plans, Shaneva calmly sat down on the sofa, crossed her legs, and looked disdainfully at "Rayet," who was awkwardly getting up. She said dismissively:
"As fellow losers, why are you afraid of him? Is it really true that the difference in the order of demonic origins can cause such a vast difference? Besides, we still have this dragon you raised with your own hands. Oh, his name is Seye, right? I remember, that's the name given to him by Melina, one of the leaders of the Church of Hope."

"You, me, her, we are all women, yet we have all been tainted by the Wasteland Era, and can no longer be considered women. 'Thunder Page,' I've said all this, and you're still afraid, aren't you?"

“Yes…Shaneva…Commander.” “Ray” suddenly began to tremble all over. Although she did not foam at the mouth, she was in the same state as a patient with Parkinson’s or a heart attack. She collapsed into Wright’s arms and could barely utter a complete sentence.

But for Wright, there was no fear, nor the disdain that Shaneva had; on the contrary, he was quite puzzled.

Logically speaking, an organization like the "Dedication Group," which is clearly weaker than the Federal Council, is at best a lost group like the "Order Society," the "Chaos Group," or the "Hope Church," which operates between humans and "heartless people" to seek their own interests.

But "Thunder Page" was abnormally fearful, while Shaneva was abnormally calm.

After looking at "Thunder Page" with a mocking expression for a while, Shaneva slowly opened her mouth and explained: "'Blood Wolf' is currently the sole leader of the 'Dedication Group'. His magic source order is Order 2: Abandonment. Based on the strength of the New Era before, none of us are his match, including Ivan XXII, and even the artificial god 'Daughter of the Machine Origin' is no match for him."

"Unfortunately, this is an era of technological decline and revival."

Shaneva slowly walked over to "Ray Page," who was terrified and limp on the ground. She looked at him as if he were a weak pet, her eyes filled with mockery and contempt. A few cold laughs, seemingly not of human origin, escaped her throat.

Then, she kicked "Lei Ye" several times, grabbed "Lei Ye's" chin with one hand, and slapped him repeatedly with the other until bright red human blood flowed from the corner of "Lei Ye's" mouth.

“Useless, utterly useless, ‘Lei Ye,’ Lei Ye, with your appearance, you dare call yourself a Lost One, dare call yourself the ‘Ruler’ of the ‘Order’? How laughable! A few wolf howls have made you almost abandon the dignity of being human? Crawling on the ground like a lapdog.” Shaneva seemed to have finished her tirade. She stood up, smoothed her now disheveled hair, twisted her head, mechanically shrugged, and then turned almost ninety degrees to look at Wright, a terrifying smile on her face, and asked:

"Do you think we can work with such cowards? Can we revive human civilization by being with such vermin?"

Wright didn't answer directly. Instead, he took off his military cotton coat and tossed it to "Ray." Seeing her slowly and hesitantly put the coat on, Wright finally responded:
"The revival of human civilization has little to do with one or two individuals. Besides, she still holds value for you, for the Federal Council, and even for Cruz."

“That dragon, it’s called Seye, right? I’ve seen it, right there in the Church of Hope’s fortress. Lady ‘Ray’ told me that you’ve read a lot of materials about the three major churches of the German Empire, and even a lot of handwritten documents. But all this time, you’ve ignored me, someone who experienced it firsthand.”

“Oh, a witness?” Shaneva glanced at Wright disdainfully, then turned and walked to the area under the skylight, laughing loudly:
"The Khitans often say that those at the center of an event feel confused, while those who stand by and watch it unfold have a clear view..."

"Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly?" Wright spoke the original words of the Flame Empire. "Commander Shaneva, as a [Prayer], you should have some knowledge of the Flame Empire language, a language associated with dragons and gods. But in reality, Dark is right. You Krusd administrators always try to flaunt your understanding of Eastern culture to demonstrate your erudition and broad knowledge."

"But in fact, the information you read about the East is just secondhand material translated by the Crusaders. You are not even willing to look up the Great Dictionary of the Crusaders-Khedrinis Language, let alone study the more profound Eastern classical Chinese that is often used as incantations."

"Are you trying to say that I'm arrogant?" Shaneva forcibly suppressed the anger rising from her heart to her throat. Without making a sound, she took out the "Dominion" pistol, one of the exclusive sidearms of the Federal Council's administrative head, which Vasily had once used. While stroking the silver-stamped ice bear pattern on the gun body, she loaded a silver bullet engraved with the Cruz double-headed eagle into the magazine.

Immediately afterwards, she pointed her pistol at the still trembling "Rayet," but turned to look at Wright and threatened:
"My arrogance may cause disaster, but not now. Your cleverness, however, will certainly cause disaster, and perhaps, it will happen right now."

“Then go ahead and shoot. I told you, I’m willing to cooperate with you on this mission not to obtain Crusad human identity, nor to use it to gain a position in the Federal Council, I just want to protect the people I should protect.” Wright walked calmly to Shaneva.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he actually grabbed Shaneva's gun-wielding hand, raised it slightly, and aimed it at "Ray Page's" head.

Then, he leaned forward slightly, got close to Shaneva's ear, and whispered: "Attacking the heart of the Lost One may not achieve the effect you expect. Our hearts are all blue semi-mechanical products. Once broken, the part that could suppress the overflow of scalding liquid will fail. She will instantly turn from a lamb into a monster that neither you nor I want to see."

“You could not threaten me, and now you can’t threaten me anymore. Adaloni and Dark have both escaped your control and joined your enemies. If ‘Ray Page’ also dies, I will leave you without hesitation. My identity as a human does not allow me to attack humans, but if you go mad, then in my eyes, you are no longer human.”

“Then what am I?” Shaneva asked, unaware that her voice, like her gun-wielding right hand, was trembling slightly under Wright’s threat.

“Monster.” Wright uttered the simple word in a deep, resonant voice. Yet, this voice, like a demon standing on the black, parched earth, sent chills down one’s spine simply by being seen or even thinking of it, despite its lack of physical movement.

However, as the head of the Federation Council and the chief executive of the entire federation, Shaneva cannot, at least not outwardly, be threatened.

She quickly calmed down and asked Wright again:
"Aren't you afraid that the Federation warriors stationed here will take your life? You should know that in order to fight against the 'Dedication Group' and for the 'Fall of Atlas,' we prepared a lot of old imperial weapons that were transported to the east before the fall of Icefall City."

"Of course, these weapons include not only rocket launchers and grenade launchers made of various rare alloys, exoskeleton armor, electromagnetic weapons, and individual mechs like the 'Budd Mira'. A simple laser can easily penetrate the shield armor of the 'alien monster' that even artillery shells cannot break through."

"Are you feeling smug, Commander Shaneva?" Wright shook his head, released Shaneva's hand, walked up to her, and said helplessly:

"Then go ahead and shoot. As your bullet pierces 'Thunder Page's' brain, I will simultaneously unleash 'Touch of Darkness' to pierce your chest. You should know that a rule built on personal authority is quite fragile. After you die, the soldiers here will quickly scatter, and the officers you forcibly brought together will fight each other for their own interests. The half of the Federation that you managed to preserve will crumble and disappear in an instant."

"Like Ivan XXVI, like... David the loser."

"Hmph." Although Shaneva appeared displeased, she tossed the "Dominion" pistol onto the sofa, glanced at the Novayask guards at the edge of the large space, and commanded:
"Send 'Thunder Page' and that dragon to the third basement level of the military fortress. Let this lost soul be with the dragon. The dragon needs maternal love, and the lost soul needs to calm down."

"Yes, Commander Shaneva," the guard who ran over replied.

“Oh, and also, the residential area is very close to ‘Earthline 19,’ so remember to find a soundproof room. I don’t want this damned wolf howl to ruin our ‘Order’s’ ‘ruler’ again.” Shaneva snorted coldly. “Take him away.”

Immediately, "Lei Ye," who was slumped on the ground and still had not fully regained consciousness, was forcibly stuffed into a large lead-iron box by several strong guards, just like an object, and disappeared into the empty environment along with the still unconscious Seye.

"So now..." Before Shaneva could finish speaking, the solid metal ground of the military fortress began to shake violently.

Immediately afterwards, the entire old power facility seemed to have a connection problem, and all the lights, including the searchlights overhead, began to flicker violently.

boom!
Under the voltage, all the light bulbs began to explode one after another. At the same time, the dim, yellow sand world outside was shrouded in a layer of pitch-black shadows, as if belonging to the underworld.

Snapped!
A bright flash of lightning, followed a few seconds later by thunder, cast a terrifying silver glow over the gradually darkening interior of the military fortress.

A few seconds later, the metal ground not far in front of Shaneva began to heat up and turned red.

Sizzle, sizzle, bang!
After a crisp cracking sound, a floorboard suddenly rose into the air, then plummeted downwards, plunging straight into the floor behind Shaneva, just past her hair.

At the same time, a robust, over two-meter-tall man wearing a red wolf king mask appeared before the two.

Faced with the sudden appearance of the enemy, Shaneva forced herself to remain calm, took a half step back, and mustered her courage to ask:

"who are you?"

"Who are we?" The dejected man before him bared his sharp canines and sneered.

"Have you forgotten us so quickly, Commander Shaneva? We used to be friends. Although we are enemies now, I still want to give you some face. Otherwise, I could have just ripped your chest apart and taken out your heart, which is stained with filth and blood, with my bare hands."

"What, you still haven't remembered? Well, most of our communication was done by 'Xianyan'. You may not have seen my true face. Alright, let's consider today a reunion for these 'old friends'. I am the current leader of the 'Xianyan Group,' you can call me—'Blood Wolf.'"

(End of this chapter)