Chapter 97 Welcome To Last Saint
"I'm sorry, but I can't honor the terms of your surrender." Ikaris stated adamantly. "Letting this envoy escape after faking the destruction of your village is out of the question. The danger is too great."
Liam blanched as he received his verdict, but he did not give up immediately. Gritting his teeth, he asked bleakly,
"Why? Is working together really impossible? I meant what I said when I promised you my allegiance and that of my pack."
The teenager stared at him coolly and said,
"I didn't say I wouldn't accept your surrender, nor did I say I wouldn't eventually let that envoy escape. But your initial plan must be amended. First we..."
He then explained his intentions while pointing at Malia and Liam finally understood what he meant. If they could brainwash the envoy with Kitsune and Vampire Spirit Magic, it was indeed possible to fool the Oxyxcrest Pride for a long time by making it look like the envoy had returned empty-handed.
Malia needed time to reprogram his personality, but Liam informed them that the envoy was not supposed to leave until after the next full moon, which was in four days. That was just about the right amount of time, but still within their grasp.
"My tribe was supposed to pay its annual tribute. It's been three years since we were exempt and that's the main reason why this envoy is so brazen." The Alpha Werewolf then reminded them after listening carefully to the whole thing. "We have granted all his requests, even the most immoral ones, for him to convince the King to exempt us a fourth time from the annual tribute, but even if he succeeds there will surely be a counter-inquiry to verify if the envoy's claims are true and that we are indeed unable to pay the tribute."
Ikaris did not like what he was implying.
"So if I understand correctly... You suggest paying the tribute your pack owes to Oxyxcrest Pride to numb their distrust and avoid the risk of a cross investigation. Is that right?" The boy elucidated, "What kind of tribute are we talking about?"
,m Last Saint Village was not exactly well-off at the moment. It would probably be several months before his territory's economy would get up and running.
"Our firstborn sons and daughters are required to serve at least ten years in Oxyxcrest Pride and are forcibly conscripted as soon as they come of age." Liam revealed sadly. "I have a boy who was conscripted six years ago. I haven't heard from him in three years and that's when I started refusing to pay the tribute. That part of the tribute is easy to meet because there have been no new births for a while and all of our eldest children have long since been drafted.
"Because there are many people loyal to Oxyxcrest Pride in my village, I do have to mention that many are making this sacrifice willingly, thinking they are providing a better life for their children by having them migrate to the Emerald Fields. When I speak of the Hellhound Pack, I am only including my family and the lycans I have personally turned or who are loyal to me. An Alpha Werewolf can form a mental bond with lycans other than those he has turned if they respect him and recognize his leadership. Anyone who has sucked up to the emissary by complying with all his whimsical demands, devoured or raped prisoners to satisfy their base urges is not one of them."
This was good news for Ikaris. Having failed to spot any male prisoners while visiting the Hellhound Pack's lair, he had wondered what happened to them. Now he had his answer. They were food for those deviant lycans with no morals.
So why was this good news? First of all, because according to the Last Saint Village status, the captured men were not dead yet and had to be kept somewhere, but more importantly, he didn't have to worry about how to coexist with such sick bastards.
The idea that the lycans loyal to Liam were morally decent and had not crossed the point of no return would make their future cohabitation much easier.
"The real catch to this tribute is that I'm also supposed to provide generous amounts of food and precious ore like gold or platinum, and not just any of it but Demonic Beast meat. Some Magical Herbs can also only be found here in the Tartarus Gate Forest. We have a quota to meet every year, but that forces us to approach the ruins to the north and we suffer losses every time."
Given the name of the forest, Ikaris inferred straight away that these ruins concealed the Tartarus Gate at the root of this island's infamous reputation and why it had been blacklisted by Tartarus Shade.
Only Tartarus Shade's Ruling Houses had a clear idea of what these gates actually were, but simply put they were the hatch that unleashed the Black Fog and all the monstrosities that roamed within each night.
Not many regions had the misfortune to have one, and when they did, the lifespan of the Lords and their respective kingdoms who chose to settle there rarely exceeded a few weeks or months. For the Lords scattered throughout the Warring Lands, the record was 9 months.
Yet it was different for the Ruling Houses. It was well known, for example, that Tartarus Shade was built right atop one of these Gates. And this city had stood the test of time for millions of years without ever exhibiting the slightest sign of decay.
After weighing the pros and cons, Ikaris offered,
"Would Rank 4 Magical Beast meat be suitable as tribute?"
Liam's red eyes widened dumbfoundedly as his jaws dropped. Seeing the boy's serene, nonchalant face, he was even more stunned as he found he was completely serious.
"I-if this isn't a joke, 50kg of Rank 4 meat should do the trick." He replied soulfully. His pack could only hunt some Rank 3 beasts and that was taking massive risks.
"Then it's settled." Ikaris clapped his hands together before whispering something to Malia.
The Vampire-Kitsune then sprinted back to the village to fetch a quill and a pot of ink from the crates of basic necessities as he had requested. The youngster, Ezrog and Horny kept an eye on Liam until she returned. The Alpha Werewolf was loaded with good intentions and he complied, waiting with them quietly.
Swish!
The bushes rustled and Malia reappeared before them slightly out of breath with what he had asked for in her hands.
"Thank you, Malia." Ikaris smiled as he picked up the quill and the ink pot.
He then drew up a contract specifying the terms of Liam's surrender and allegiance to guard against any risk of betrayal. This contract had no excessive clauses, merely asking for the honesty and loyalty expected from any ordinary citizen and clearly stating how far it could go.
If he ordered Liam to prostitute or kill his own daughters for the sake of Last Saint, he would naturally be able to decline. Liam apparently couldn't read either, which cheered Malia up immensely, and thus Ikaris had to read the contents of the contract aloud to him.
Liam had nothing to say about it, so the boy asked him to sign it with his own blood as Cleome had done before. Once this was done, he had the Alpha Werewolf recite the oath he had heard the elf of House Wynken pronounce a few days earlier.
"Revered Alishar, Saint of Contracts and Justice, I shed my blood to uphold a Contract in your name. I implore you in your boundless integrity and dispassion to bear witness to my oath and if I should renege on my word to smite me with the full might of your wrath."
The text written on the parchment began to glow with an eerie scarlet light and Ikaris again perceived the oppressive presence he had sensed during the signing of the previous Blood Contract. It went away as swiftly as it had come and Magnus confirmed that the contract was now effective.
"Welcome to Last Saint." Ikaris declared formally as he shook his hand.
Liam didn't seem to be used to this kind of etiquette but he still shook his hand gingerly, though he felt slightly awkward.
"All right, now let's go conquer this village and capture this envoy." Ikaris exclaimed as he drew his sword.
The clink of Malia and Ezrog unsheathing their weapons rang out almost immediately after.
"Liam, I'm counting on you to point out our targets." The teen reminded him. "I wouldn't want to kill innocent people."
The Alpha Werewolf nodded with a tense expression and they set off. On the way, they encountered a lone wolfman meandering through the galleries, and they hesitated for a second too long as the man's eyes popped out in stupor.
At that moment, Liam sprang at the enemy with superhuman speed and pressed his hand against its mouth to prevent it from howling. With a sharp and well-practiced wrist wrench, he twisted his neck.
"He was one of the Beastmen loyal to the Onyxcrest Pride and one of the envoy's most loyal minions." The Alpha Werewolf explained without remorse as he felt their inquisitive looks.
A few minutes later, shortly before noon, they sneaked into the lycan lair and the purge began.