Chapter 301: Days Without Wu Qingsong

Things were far more complicated than Ram made it seem. After they fell into the trap and suddenly vanished, the trials faced by Orgrimmar and the Silvermoon Wolf Clan were beyond what words could describe.

The Silvermoon Wolf Clan bore the brunt of the disaster.

Once the trap was triggered, the wolf soldiers who had accompanied Wu Qingsong and Nina were immediately alarmed. They didn’t expect their assailants to be their own clan members. Caught off guard, the soldiers were ambushed and killed to the last.

Following this, the possessed patrol members returned to the valley and began another phase of their operation.

These infiltrators, sent by the Crimson Demon Lord, numbered fewer than forty. Yet, before the truth could be uncovered, they managed to control nearly all the leadership within the clan. They then spread rumors, sowed chaos, and directed the wolf clan’s ire toward Orgrimmar.

“That Tagraedi murdered Princess Nina!”

“She resisted his insult and he killed her!”

“They plan to kill us all!”

“Avenge Her Highness!”

Such rumors quickly took root among the Silvermoon Wolf Clan. The strange disappearances of refugees and wolf soldiers were ignored, as the ones spreading these rumors were high-ranking leaders. Those already discontent with Orgrimmar were easily incited, picking up weapons and marching under these leaders toward Orgrimmar.

A few suspected foul play in the chaos, but their voices held no sway against the elders and leaders. Some were even branded as Orgrimmar’s lapdogs, beaten, or imprisoned.

Fortunately, the valley where the wolves had hidden was far from Orgrimmar. The distance tempered some of their impulsiveness, and Orgrimmar’s patrols discovered the advancing wolfkind army in time to evacuate the scattered villagers back into the city.

Ram and Daryl couldn’t understand what was happening. They couldn’t understand why their people had suddenly turned irrational, nor could they believe that Wu Qingsong would kill Nina over something as baseless as insulting her.

Thanks to their fervent pleas, the wolf army finally stalled outside Orgrimmar. It was then that Harold noticed something odd about the elders and leaders.

Risking their safety, Ram and Daryl returned to the wolfpeople, hoping to persuade them to retreat and uncover the truth.

The infiltrators seized the opportunity to try and possess them. However, Harold had warned Daryl beforehand, so he activated a magical artifact in time, killing two infiltrators. The grotesque brain-controlling parasites were exposed for all to see.

The wolves were terrified. No one knew if their companions might secretly be such monsters. Ram and Harold deployed the houndfolk to separate and restrain the wolves, focusing on detaining the elders and leaders.

A catastrophe was averted before it could escalate. Ram immediately sent people to search for Wu Qingsong and Nina, only to find a mutilated magic array and the slain wolf soldiers.

The houndfolk were furious. If not for Harold and Angus forcibly restraining them, and Molin pacifying them in the name of the God of Xuanyuan, another chaos might have erupted. Despite their efforts to suppress the news, Wu Qingsong’s disappearance became a secret too heavy to contain. The wolfpeople turned their full attention to identifying the infiltrators.

Clues quickly pointed to the unknown wolf refugees, followed by the mysteriously slain wolf soldiers. These findings plunged the wolfkin into fear and paranoia. Though Ram and Harold estimated the infiltrators numbered no more than thirty-seven, it was enough to spread distrust and division among the wolves.

The wolfkin grew suspicious of one another, afraid to make contact. Accidental injuries became common. The infiltrators lurking among them continued to switch hosts, spreading death and fear.

A month later, Molin finally devised a method to identify the infiltrators using the suspect elders and leaders as test subjects.

The brain-controlling parasites were weak, relying on the wolves’ strong bodies. Molin used a mildly toxic plant as a reagent. Wolfpoeple who ingested it would fall into a coma but could be saved with an antidote. The parasites, with their frail physicality, couldn’t endure the toxin and would die first.

Using this method, Ram and Harold spent an entire month identifying the thirty-seven infiltrators. Cornered and desperate, the infiltrators made a final stand, revealing that Wu Qingsong and Nina had been transported to the Crimson Demon Lord, becoming its prey.

Ram personally killed the cackling infiltrator, dragging the parasite from its host and tearing it to pieces before collapsing.

They faced a grim choice.

Wu Qingsong wouldn’t die or be injured easily, but both Ling and Liuli had faced the Crimson Demon Lord before. Its power was overwhelming. A single crystal summoning its strength from the Abyss had been enough to imprison them. If not for Marquis Ossaga arriving in time to shatter the crystal, their fate would have been dire.

Nina’s death seemed inevitable. Wu Qingsong was likely to be imprisoned forever. 

Such an outcome was unbearable for those who knew the truth, especially the three women who had just married Wu Qingsong and had yet to begin their happy lives.

They had no clues, no idea how to rescue him.

“He’ll return,” Ram said to comfort them, to numb herself, as she tried to shoulder her responsibilities as a wife.

She, Harold, and Daryl spent countless days and nights discussing their options. The news of Wu Qingsong’s disappearance couldn’t stay hidden. By imperial law, beastfolk were ineligible to inherit or protect what Wu Qingsong left behind.

Orgrimmar’s prosperity was renowned in Esola and even in Riniconia. Once the news broke, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the pillagers, let alone survive themselves.

In the end, Daryl led the devastated Silvermoon Wolf Clan northward to seek survival in the Northern Wastelands. Ram went to find their only trustworthy ally, the half-elf Xeila, hoping she would take responsibility for the Thirteenth Mercenary Corps.

Harold began secretly relocating people and resources, but their movements were slow to avoid detection. When Marquis Ossaga’s envoy uncovered the truth, only talented beastfolk girls and experienced craftsmen were evacuated.

Riniconians swarmed in, sealing Orgrimmar with ruthless efficiency. If not for Marquis Ossaga intervening, even the houndfolk and their families might not have escaped, let alone their wealth.

“All the deerfolk, ratfolk, and rabbitfolk were forcibly kept. They claimed our emancipation of slaves was illegal, that they remained Orgrimmar’s property. We paid a hefty ransom and had Xiela threaten them with letters left at their bedsides to rescue the soldiers’ families.”

Wu Qingsong clenched his fists, suppressing his anger. He knew Ram and the others had done their utmost. Within the elven empire’s system, their hands were tied.

“You’ve done well,” he said, forcing a smile at Ram, Ling, Xiela, Harold, and Angus. “Those who took from us will repay tenfold, a hundredfold, or with their lives.”

Over the past eight and a half months, he had killed tens of thousands of insectoids and forced a powerful Abyssal Demon Lord to yield.

The opportunists who preyed on them would pay the price.