Chapter 251: Dependence

In the darkness, Wu Qingsong had no idea how many of the Silver Moon Wolf Clan escaped. But judging from the number of campfires, he guessed there were no more than five thousand left.

However, things were far from over. Even though he had already made up his mind to bring them to Esola, the soldiers who had entered the mountains to hunt down the Silver Moon wolfkin hadn’t been fully dealt with yet. They were a significant threat. And more importantly, the elves would never just let this go.

What if they followed the trail all the way to Orgrimmar? What would they do then?

Should they take Harold’s advice from long ago, the one he gave Nina and Ram—to abandon everything and flee to the northern wastelands?

That path would be anything but easy. Besides, the elves would never let them escape that easily.

They found a spot behind a large boulder and sat down. A group had already lit a fire, warming some rations and roasting meat over it. There was even fresh water prepared. After Wu and Nina sat down, the wolfpeople quickly left the area, giving them some space.

Curled up in Wu Qingsong’s arms, Liuli turned over, caught a whiff of the food in her sleep, and smacked her lips in response.

Wu gently placed her down on the grass near the fire. He carefully positioned her tail so it wouldn’t get too close to the flames, and then finally sat down himself.

“Thank you, Wu,” Nina said earnestly.

Although she didn’t know the full details, from what she had seen, Nina could easily piece together what had happened.

If it weren’t for Wu Qingsong stepping in when he did, perhaps in just two or three more days, the Silver Moon Wolf Clan would have been nothing but history.

“Big sister…” Daryl glanced uneasily at Wu Qingsong. “This whole thing, it’s all because of me…”

This time, Wu Qingsong didn’t stop him. Instead, he sat quietly to the side, listening as Daryl rambled on, pouring out his thoughts. It was clear that he still couldn’t accept Wu’s explanation. Daryl continued blaming himself, thinking that everything started from his moment of impulsiveness when he stood up against the mastiff soldiers’ cruelty. As he spoke, tears started rolling down his face.

“If only I hadn’t…”

“Daryl.” 

Wu Qingsong couldn’t help but interject, but he was surprised when Nina called Daryl’s name at the same time.

Both of them stopped, and eventually, Nina spoke first.

“Do you really think you were wrong?” she asked softly. Her voice carried a deep sense of exhaustion, and Wu could feel a sudden, inexplicable ache in his heart.

“Sister?” Daryl was clearly confused. 

She wasn’t scolding him, but she wasn’t exactly letting him off the hook either.

“If you were in that situation again, would you still stand up for what you believe is right?”

Daryl hesitated. He looked at Nina, then at Wu Qingsong, before finally biting his lip and saying, “I would still stand up… but maybe I’d think things through and handle it better next time.”

“Then that’s enough,” Nina said.

“Sister?”

“You think that because of your impulsiveness, it led to Sentalus attacking the Silver Moon Wolf Clan. But I don’t see it that way,” Nina said, gripping his hand. “Daryl, you need to understand something. We didn’t become enemies because of this one incident, and they didn’t start hating us just because of what happened. Never forget, they were the ones who invaded our land! They were the ones who killed our ancestors! They were the ones who destroyed our home! We’ve had a blood feud with them for a long time now. This is a fight to the death. My name has been on Sentalus’ bounty list for ages. The Silver Moon Wolf Clan has always been a thorn in the sides of Noguti, Elyar, and Sirisio. They’ve been waiting for a chance to get rid of us. The war didn’t start because of what you did. It’s been going on for a long time, and it’s never really ended. Sure, what you did might have triggered their actions this time, but without our constant resistance, they wouldn’t have taken such extreme measures.”

“Sister…”

“As long as we keep flying the flag of the Silver Moon Wolf Clan, as long as we refuse to bow to them, things like this will keep happening. It’s just a matter of time,” Nina continued. “But we can’t fall just because we’ve taken a heavy blow! Daryl, what is our clan’s motto?”

“Sister?”

“What is it?!”

“The Silver Moon Wolf Clan never bows down.”

“Say it louder!”

“The Silver Moon Wolf Clan never bows down!” Daryl shouted through his tears.

“Never forget those words.” Nina pulled him into her arms and whispered softly, “Never let fear make you timid. Never let the fear of sacrifice make you forget your mission, forget why we fight, and lose our pride. The Silver Moon Wolf Clan never bows down. As long as even one of us is still alive, the resistance will never stop. The Silver Moon Wolf Clan will never cling to a miserable existence. As long as you believe in this, take on the responsibilities you should, and keep fighting, the light of the Silver Moon will always shine on us until we achieve ultimate victory.”

“Sister…” Daryl finally let go of the burden in his heart and cried his heart out in Nina’s embrace.

After a while, exhausted both physically and mentally, he fell asleep.

Nina carefully laid him down, covering him with a blanket. Then, she got up and walked out into the darkness.

Wu Qingsong glanced at Ling, hesitated for a moment, but eventually stood up and quietly followed behind her.

Nina walked to the other side of the huge rock, standing alone for a long time, staring into the vast darkness. Wu Qingsong, unable to hold back, cautiously approached her, only to realize that at some point, her face had already been covered in tears.

“I’m sorry.” 

Wu Qingsong felt a deep pain in his heart. From start to finish, Nina had never once blamed him for anything. But because of that, it made him feel even more guilty.

Nina’s words might have convinced Daryl, but he knew things weren’t that simple.

Maybe Nina wasn’t wrong. If you just look at the actions themselves, her previous attacks on the garrison, wiping out the mercenary groups, and even burning down Rem City—each of those was far more serious than what Daryl had done. But she had never truly angered the people of Sentalus, nor had she ever crossed their bottom line.

Attacking the Elyar garrison wasn’t a big deal by itself. If they hadn’t later killed members of the Sentalus family, leading to internal strife and even the death of Daan Sentalus, the Grand Duchy of Sentalus might never have mobilized such a powerful force to deal with their small rebellion.

Even if Nina didn’t blame them, could the deaths of all those werewolves really just be brushed aside like that? 

Could their sacrifices really be dismissed with just a few words?

Nina silently shook her head.

Wu Qingsong didn’t know what to say, or what he should even do. After a long silence, he finally said to Nina, “I swear I’ll get the rest of your people safely to Esola. I’ll keep my word. Nina, we will avenge them. We’ll defeat the elves, and the Silver Moon Kingdom will rise again, stronger than before. That’s my promise. Please, believe me. This isn’t some wild fantasy or empty words. It will become reality soon!”

Nina didn’t respond. Instead, she silently shook her head.

“Nina?” Wu Qingsong panicked. “You don’t believe me?”

“Don’t say things like that, at least not right now, okay?” Nina said quietly. “I’m too tired. I don’t want to think about any of this anymore. Wu, can I borrow your shoulder for a bit?”

“Nina?” Wu Qingsong could hardly believe what he was hearing.

But Nina just walked over, gently resting her head on his shoulder.

She was much taller than Wu Qingsong, so the gesture looked a little awkward, but Wu Qingsong couldn’t laugh. His body stiffened, but after a moment, he mustered the courage to lightly put his arms around her, letting her lean her full weight against him.

His shoulder gradually became wet, and he didn’t know how to comfort her. 

All he could do was whisper softly, “It’s okay, Nina. Everything’s going to be okay. Trust me, it’ll all be okay.”