The cold flooded the northernmost territory of Ulheim. This area, although on paper part of Ulheim's territory, didn't actually have any Fey settlements, and the authority of the Lord of Ulheim (let alone the Hegemony) barely applied here.
Called Ulstrost by the locals, it was the northernmost territory of the eastern continent, and the place where Ducanor would currently live for a while.
"I hope your house is nice, because I used to live in a damn mansion, huh?" Ducanor grumbled in annoyance as he walked behind the entourage, carrying some luggage.
Leading the procession were several Ferghana horses, some of the strongest and most resilient of their kind, pulling the wagons. Meanwhile, other servants and slaves walked in a long line, guiding the horses or carrying part of the provisions, while the rest kept watch over the surroundings.
"My home is the seat of the Kangqueror Clan, so obviously it's better than any village or house in some town. But we are very far from everything, so don't expect much," Tolrik replied with a confident and somewhat proud smile.
And after saying that, he rode past Ducanor on his horse to guide the retinue.
Ducanor had been released from his previous condition as a prisoner, but under the stipulation that he would become a servant of the Kangqueror Clan. Tolrik's master had notified him of that decision via a letter. Currently, after a couple of days and after Ducanor sent a letter to Masha and the rest to notify them of his situation, he set off.
To his initial surprise, many of the slaves and servants of the clan were survivors of the previous massacres carried out by the trio. The most harmless ones, like those whose bloodline transformation had been weak (especially those failing to open their Dantian), became female or male servants just like Ducanor. But others who exceeded the dexterity of an ordinary mortal were branded with a Slave Seal.
And among the crowd of slaves, there was a familiar figure that Ducanor couldn't help but recognize from afar.
"It seems misfortune has reached you too, woman. I suppose your gifts aren't useful with other women," Ducanor said with a pedantic smile as he looked with amusement at the figure standing near him.
She was no longer naked with a seductive bearing like before, but was dressed neatly and wearing a hood, trying to hide her lycan features as well as her blonde hair.
"Tsk, so you didn't die. The Ancestor is quite useless for not ending your life, though I suppose you make a point of surviving," the lycan woman grunted, while behind her walked a good number of female servants and slaves with similar lycan features.
"You're still quite venomous despite your situation," Ducanor said with a bit of surprise; after all, he expected her to be a bit more depressed over the fact that she had become a slave.
"What situation? My situation has improved rather than worsened," the woman grunted with disdain. "Did you expect me to enjoy the fact that I became a whore among beasts? If it weren't for my talent and skill, that old bastard would have killed me. And I have no attachment to those who died; they simply died as what they were: beasts. The fact that you transform into a lycan doesn't mean you must live like one. The kind-hearted are killed for their weakness, leaving only cruel beasts without scruples."
Ducanor remained silent and couldn't help but feel a certain agreement with the woman; death was probably better for them, but they were still alive.
"Even so, you are different," the lycan suddenly said; her gaze was sharp like a fox's. "You overcame your alter ego and pushed through; your will is strong."
"Did all the women survive?" Ducanor asked with a knot in his chest, remembering the face of that female.
The wolf woman, perceptive, narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Are you perhaps thinking of the little white one?"
"Blanca... Do you know her?" Even though the name was unknown to him, he subconsciously hoped she was referring to the same person he was thinking of.
"Of course I remember her, after all, she is my sister," the wolf woman said indifferently.
"Sister?" Ducanor asked doubtfully.
"Yes, curiously the little one is my sister. We are both, so to speak, a second generation of lycans; Mother was one of the first women of Intermezzo's group."
"Was..." he murmured unconsciously out loud. "Did she...?"
"No," she replied. "She survived, but the green-haired woman took her, along with others of my sisters and some mortal survivors. But there shouldn't be any danger to them."
An absurd relief flooded Ducanor's chest as he felt somewhat more relaxed. If he said he loved Blanca he would be lying, but he felt some relief seeing that she was fine, feeling his emotions settle and his mood return to normal.
"And your mother?" Ducanor asked, this time more out of curiosity.
The lycan's eyes shone with a golden gleam. Even though her Dantian was sealed by the Slave Seal, a strange sensation flooded Ducanor's mind as he felt drawn to her gaze.
"I don't know. She disappeared. Some say Intermezzo killed her, others that she managed to flee. I sincerely hope it's the latter; Mother was..."
"I'm sorry, for bringing up unpleasant memories," Ducanor said after a long silence. Looking at the rest of the slaves and servants, he couldn't help but feel pity; he hoped the life these brats now gave them would be better than before.
"Don't worry," she continued, looking away with an abnormal tremor in her voice. "Thank you for listening to me. It's easy to open up to you."
Ducanor smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words. Just in case, what is your name? I never knew it."
To which the lycan woman replied with a smile: "Julia. My name is Julia."
.....
Ulheim was gigantic. And even though there was a Lord sitting in Viddar Castle, he himself was a weak old man who had been in power for over five hundred years. But beneath the lords were Mormaers, or Great Earls as they were also called.
Ulstrost, even though it wasn't an earldom, was a territory whose title fell upon the Lord of Ulheim himself. He was the sovereign of those lands, but had no one beneath him overseeing them.
Therefore, it was a no man's land—or rather, the land of the Giant Clans.
Thousands of giant clans lived in the hundreds of thousands of kilometers of the mountain range's extension. Many were small in size and their numbers weren't too high, although occasionally bandits from the clans would descend from the north to raid the southern territories.
"My lady, a notification has arrived from your lord father," one of the maids suddenly said to Ulrika.
She sighed as she nodded and received a pearl. This wasn't an ordinary pearl; it was a Spiritual Pearl, specifically a Voice Transmission Pearl.
And a familiar voice echoed through the stone, the voice of her father.
"Ulrika, my daughter, the situation in Otranto is bad. The clans have descended with a force I haven't seen even in the most turbulent times; they are pillaging land that belongs to our ancestors," the voice of her father said with a tone full of pain and exhaustion.
As Head of the Kangqueror Clan, he was one of the Toisech, a lord of a delegation within the Earldom of Otranto.
"I beg you to use the Wardens to cleanse this threat. Soon they will reach the gates of Apulia and if we do nothing, they will steal our lands. As your father and lord, I implore you to act as dictated by your blood and honor."
Ulrika remained silent upon hearing those last words as she subconsciously remembered the last meeting she had had with her master.
....
The air turned solemn. Once Tolrik had left the room and his smile disappeared, Ulrika and her master also seemed serious by the time the latter began to speak.
"Your mission now will be different from any you have had before as Wardens," she said in a stern tone as she pointed at the air, where a holographic image materialized out of nowhere from a spiritual energy projection instrument.
"We have discovered the main branch of the Lycan Cult we were dealing with. It seems to be a major cult of the Blood Race, called the Temple of the Beast."
"It has begun to move because the selection of the chosen ones will begin, and that will mean unnecessary bloodshed. I will need you to infiltrate the place as sacrifices and slaves. Your identity won't be a problem; furthermore, we have enslaved one of their members using the Poison of the Deep Malignant. We have extorted him by simply providing a buffer for the poison, so he is completely at our service," she said with a coldness to which neither of the two reacted much.
"Also, I want the boy we captured earlier to go as a safeguard."
"What?" both said, dumbfounded for the first time since their master had begun to speak.
"It is necessary. He doesn't have a slave mark and shows no signs of contamination, but that doesn't change the fact that he became a lycan. That probably makes him compatible to become a member of the Blood Race. I have placed a Blood Devouring Worm in his heart, which will activate if he gets out of control, but for now, he will be your insurance."
This time the duo did not protest, as they understood that their master had decided on this tactic.
After all, they were Wardens; cruel and even evil tactics were a matter of indifference. Cultivators were not existences who defended good or evil; they were existences who sought to follow their own heart and duty without falling into the need to go against it.
Once a cultivator went against what could be called their convictions, their future path in cultivation could be considered obliterated.
"Yes, Master, we accept your will," both she and Benia said in unison, with total conviction and a lack of doubts or even a complaint in their hearts.
They were Wardens, and to safeguard the Hegemony they would do whatever it took. That was their Dao.
"This is your last chance to refuse. I will not be disappointed or angry if you do; this is no ordinary mission. Death perhaps might not be the worst fate you could face."
But despite her words, the two remained silent as they knelt in unison, placing their minds and bodies at Ernzu's service.
And then a proud and satisfied expression appeared on Ernzu's face as she observed the duo and muttered with a smile: "I hope you don't disappoint me, girls."