Chapter 134: Chapter 126: The Challenge begins!

"Hail to you, sisters!" Alpha roared, standing at full height before the arena, "Sisters! Brothers! Honor those who were brave enough to join this year’s Challenge!"

The thundering roar had come in answer to Alpha. The wolfkins, seated all around the makeshift stone arena built in the center of a gigantic hall in the theater, had started slamming their feet into the floor, causing Larry to look around in surprise.

Every wolfkin in the city was here in one way or another. The Omega team was having the time of their lives on the balconies, exchanging banter with the members of the Valerye pack, who looked so calm and collected just a moment ago. The warlord herself sat at the balcony’s edge, dressed in a civilian outfit, safe for the helmet on her head. The woman's legs hung freely as she cheered on the wolfkins who were approaching the arena.

The other wolfkins were sitting all around the arena, uncaring about mixing with the other packs. Today was the New Year, a day when all grievances were forgotten for a while. Zero found a massive kimono in the theater and put it on, along with a black body suit. On her head was a porcelain mask in the shape of a fox. The mask covered her snout up to the scalp, while the bodysuit kept the rest of her body hidden from prying eyes. Waving a fan that was too small for her oversized paws, the warlord laughed, sitting amidst the wolfkins.

Rows of cameras were installed around the arena, allowing the sick and injured wolfkins to watch the challenge as well, if not in body then in spirit. Two more cameras were installed by Sly and Till Ingo, these two machines were connected to a small terminal behind them, projecting the events of this challenge on TVs back in the village. In other warzones and in the villages, the warlords were hosting similar challenges, and these ones were projected on a series of screens above the arena for all to see.

Aranea got a seat on a dais near Alpha. Ashbringer sat to her right, still covered with bandages and breathing heavily. From time to time, the warlord reached out for a tube, pouring cold water into her mouth. The woman’s body was trembling, her fur looked dry despite an obscene amount of water. Her amber eyes were betrayed by a web of bloodied vessels.

Larry asked to be allowed to record the Challenge, and, surprisingly, Annie vouched for him, allowing him and two other iternians to be present. Alpha herself made it clear to everyone that Talsi and Paride are under her protection, stopping any potential challenges dead on arrival.

Scorpio positioned himself behind them, resting between the walls in a suffocating position. The stone's edges were pushing against his scales, barely allowing him to breathe. Scorpio’s head leaned over Ofelia, who was sitting, glancing at the contestant with a smile that betrayed no discomfort. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the confined space he had pushed himself into.

Aranea spied Sly, Kate, Yuki, and Kaleb sitting together. Kate continued to use a walking stick to get around, enviously watching Kaleb devour a slice of pizza. Her stomach still wasn’t in the best condition, prompting doctors to forbid anything other than nutrient paste for her. When she moved a paw to steal food from her soulmate, the Geldi sitting behind her smacked the wolf hag on the head. Kate rolled her eyes at this, taking a glass of juice.

The contestants poured in. Virginia, Annie, and Olesya led the three groups behind them. Virginia wore a ragged strapless shirt, Annie put on her black gi, and Olesya simply walked around in all her steely glory, waving to everyone.

Virginia leaped onto the arena, landing with the force of a furious explosion. She left two footprints in a stone, threw her arms high, and smiled warmly, basking in the cheers of the Alpha and Omega teams. Annie jumped five meters up, making an elegant somersault in the air. She landed gently, like a feather, causing no damage to the arena, and she bowed to the cheering faces. Olesya simply walked in the arena, creating a clacking noise each time her steel legs touched the stone. The warlord threw one paw up, shouting thanks back to the audience.

Aranea failed to see how Blaze appeared next to Virginia. To her eyes, the woman appeared out of nowhere, concealing her presence excellently among the other contestants. Velka joined Olesya, cracking her knuckles and bowing to Alpha instead of the crowd. With thunderous footsteps, a gigantic wolf hag stepped onto the arena, dressed in a swimming suit that barely hid her impressive muscles. With full force, the woman clapped her paws together, creating a sound that overpowered even the crowd’s cheering. Pushing her muscles to the limit, the wolf hag tore her own suit, leaving herself naked before the crowd.

"Finally," Till raised a glass of wine, saluting the warlord, "Everyone will see the benefits of augmentation. After today, no wolfkin would ever have to die because of fear of an implant, no man or woman would refuse an artificial limb. Crush them all, Olesya."

"You seem pretty sure who will win, doctor." Talsi smiled pleasantly to him.

"Naturally," The man turned to her, "I myself created the masterpieces for Olesya. None here can be her equal."

"I don’t know, this one looks really hungry for a win," The woman pointed at wolf hag Bogumila. During the siege, she bit off the head of a mortally wounded soldier and met the mutant head-on. The woman looked massive, her muscles bulged, spreading her black fur with white stripes and creating a fake image of receding hair. An enormous scar ran from her jaw all the way to the woman’s left side, giving the already massive figure an even scarier image. "I saw her win in a contest of strength against the rust-colored one."

"Virginia will win," Ofelia, dressed in a pitch-black dress, let out a ringing laugh, desperately waving her hand to the contestants, "What good is overwhelming power if the person wielding it is too unoriginal?"

"A rude assessment," Ashbringer hissed, reaching out for the tube, "Not untrue, though. Bogumila should learn how to use her head."

"And this is exactly why warlord Annie will win," Paride nodded amiably, tossing a piece of meat into his mouth, "Look at her form! A perfect mix of fluidity, speed, and raw strength! A graciousness made flesh!"

"Feeling confident, are you?" Aranea smirked, "How about a wager? Fifty tokens on Olesya’s victory."

It felt a bit wrong to bet against her own pack. Sonya and Tiny had decided to join this Challenge and were currently entering the arena. Sonya was calm and collected, folding her arms on her chest. She stood amidst the other wolfkins with her eyes half-closed. Tiny, on the other paw, was full of energy, doing stretches and waving her paw at the spectacles.

Neither of them has even a sliver of a chance to win, but Aranea wished them both a good time, nonetheless. The Challenge was an ancient tradition installed by Ravager herself. It was a free-for-all brawl, where teams would form on the fly only to turn on each other in the next moment. Only one can be left standing in the end.

The first ten Challenges were won by Alpha. In the Eleventh Challenge, all warlords teamed up, trying to take down Alpha. She won regardless, leaving the cave’s walls covered with the blood of others and the shamans inspired to make new legends about her might.

Afterwards, Alpha and the other warlords stopped participating in the Challenges, allowing the lesser ranks to earn their glory. Annie’s and Olesya’s presence during the Challenge was unusual, to say the least. But the other wolfkins were eager to test their mettle against them. Both warlords were not as imposing or strong as their predecessors, giving birth to hungry stares in the eyes of lesser-ranked wolfkins. Aranea could easily guess what they thought: What sort of legends would the shamans tell about me if I won?

"I take your bet and place the same amount on lady Virginia." Keyl, dressed in a simple white shirt, raised a glass of red wine to salute her.

Aranea's permission was required for the ice fang to be present. She asked him beforehand not to judge them harshly, and the man simply looked at her with confusion. Keyl even asked if he could participate too, explaining that he showed himself to be rather good at the tournaments back at home.

It took Aranea a good portion of an hour to convince him to rethink. First, Keyl was a male, and no male has ever joined the Challenge. Alpha would sooner die than let him participate. Second, while claws and fangs were forbidden to use in Challenges in this day and age, there were still accidents aplenty. ripped limbs, ears, skin peeled away, busted internal organs, broken bones, popped eyes... The Challenge was not a place of honor or mercy, even if some tried to show them either. And the ice fangs were healing at a snail's pace when compared to their cousins.

"Fifty thousand tokens on Olesya’s victory." Till raised his glass.

"Five thousand credits at Annie’s victory." Paride took on his bet without blinking an eye, causing Aranea to hiccup.

Are they crazy? How are they throwing away this kind of money so easily!? Each iternian credit was equal to four reclaimers tokens. Risking such an obscene amount over a simple bout seemed inane to Aranea’s eyes.

"Four thousand credits on Bogumila’s victory." Talsi put the credits on her table.

"Twenty thousand tokens on Virginia’s victory!" Ofelia eagerly clapped her palms.

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"Now, now, let’s not be hasty. Annie appears to have a good chance of…" Scorpio murmured behind Ofelia’s back, causing Aranea to turn and look at the black wyrm.

And then his eyes flashed. Aranea followed his gaze, seeing Bel. The wolf hag told Virginia something. Out of curiosity, Aranea strained her hearing, trying to hear what the two were about, but the deafening shouts made it impossible to hear the exact words. The other wolf hag simply shrugged her shoulders, replying with:

"Feel free." Even through the shouts and cheering, Aranea heard these words.

"Still, a technique can carry someone only so far. My love, a little risk can be amusing, how about we bet thirty thousand on Virginia?" Scorpio smiled, causing unease in Aranea. He heard Bel’s words, she had no doubt about it. The wyrm’s hearing was far superior to hers.

What could Bel have said to sway Scorpio's opinion? The black wyrm was a risk-taker, the fact that he allowed Jekaterina to escape the first time and the whole debacle with Dragena’s death proved this. But he wasn’t stupid, nor was he generous with tokens. Think, Ari, think! The halfbreed bit her tongue, trying to come up with something. Bel wasn’t strong. Sure, she'd kick Aranea's butt if she tried to half-assed it and go easy on her, but aside from that, Bel wasn't exactly a combat master. She was competent, no doubt about it…

No matter how I look at this, there is no way she can be a threat to Oles. Maybe a team-up? It was not uncommon for entire packs to work together and then turn on each other in the end, when everyone else was downed. But this was boring, everyone knew this was boring. The last time it happened, Ygritte's pack got booed by the spectaculars. And Virginia was nothing if not a wild card. She will not play along with it.

"Oles, watch out for Bel!" Aranea shouted to her friend, and the cyborg wolfkin simply grinned at her, placing one paw on her heart.

"Is this how you greet your sisters?" Alpha’s voice echoed from the walls, causing the glass to tremble in Till’s hand, "Let out a proper howl!"

"YES!" Aranea shouted in unison with everyone.

They howled. All of them at once. Leila immediately turned off the sound on her camera. Scorpio pushed two fingers into his ears, frowning in pain. Talsi quickly put headphones on Larry’s ears before the journalist could hurt himself, and Yuki pulled Geldi to her, pressing her paws against the woman’s ears. Svetlana cleared her throat before joining in with her own howl.

Their howl made the walls tremble. Everything went into it: their frustration, their grief over the losses of others, their happiness at being alive, and their thanks for seeing their comrades and friends alive.

In the previous Challenges Aranea always faked her howl. She joined the chorus of others, but never put her soul into this. No longer.

Aranea put the grief of losing her family into it, her frustrations about seeing her mother in this horrible state. She wept for that lone, nameless infant cub she had seen dead. She howled for Kostya and all the soldiers who died under her command. She howled about Janine and Scarred One's deaths, unleashing her rage on the world—the world that had denied her vengeance against Tilden.

At the same time, Aranea howled to show her gratitude. Her thanks that Kate had overcome her problems. Her thanks that Yuki came back alive. Her thanks that Kaleb and Sly had found their happiness. Her thanks for every life that had been saved in the war, her thanks for putting an end to Blaguna's madness. Her thanks about meeting Keyl again. Her thanks that she had met so many wonderful people and friends.

Her howl was soon joined by his roar. She half expected him to consider this tradition too barbarian and look at everything in shock. But here he was, mostly roaring instead of howling at the tops of his lungs, with a smile on his lips. The ice fangs could never howl like their cousins. It was a weird thing, even normies could mimic the Wolf Tribe’s howl. But by the spirits, the knight captain gave it his all while having a good time.

The howl kept going, joined by Alpha’s own howl. Some glasses popped at the tables. Aranea felt her throat go sore when Alpha finally stopped her howling, indicating that the preparations were over. The warlord walked toward the dais, sitting herself down on the largest throne in the middle.

"All of you are fools," Alpha smiled, extending her paw and receiving a bronze coin from Hekanta. "The victory belongs to the Alpha team by right. Five hundred tokens on Virginia. Five hundred tokens on Bel."

"Bel?" Aranea raised her brows, "But she isn’t this strong."

"Idiot. You and that buffoon over here," Alpha nodded to Keyl, "Know more about the potential in your paws than anyone else. Yet you throttle it, unwilling to let it out, and he is too weak to wield it properly. Prepare to feast your eyes on someone who wields it right."

"Hm," Ashbringer coughed, drinking more water and waving Mia and Estefania away from herself. "That fancy trick won’t do her much good against an overwhelming power. Five hundred tokens on Bogumila’s victory."

"I have faced enough speedsters in my life to know that physical strength matters little, Ferret," Alpha responded off-handedly, looking at the arena and throwing the coin up and down in her paw. On the screens above, the other packs had also finished their howling and were preparing to start a brawl. "Have you ever been hit at the speed of light? I was, and trust me, seeing my insides spread across half a kilometer wasn’t pretty."

"You had a fight with Lightbringer, lady?" Talsi asked politely.

"Lightbringer tried to kill me, yes."

"You must be mistaken," Paride frowned, "Lightbringer is an Elite, and they do not..."

"It was a misunderstanding. The boy assumed I feasted on some kids instead of saving them," Alpha smiled, "He can be so much crueler. If only he stopped fighting his true nature…" She looked at the screens and saw that the other warlords had also lifted bronze coins, "BEGIN!" She roared, throwing the coin at the arena with enough force to bury it in stone.

Virginia smiled like a girl, spearing the belly of Blaze, standing behind her, with an elbow. Not stopping for a second, she wrapped her paws around Blaze’s neck and threw the omega over herself.

"Victory is mine, auntie!" Virginia laughed happily, stomping at Blaze’s neck with her right leg. Again. And again. And again, leaving a crack in the stone with Blaze’s head. Blaze dodged the fourth stomp and grabbed Virginia by the ankle, twisting it and sending the wolf hag face down into the floor with his first stomp.

A scout from the Alpha’s team charged at Annie, trying to land a kick in the warlord's face. Before Annie could catch her foot, the scout jerked the leg back, kicking at the warlord anew with double the speed. The kick had missed its mark, only kissing the ear when Annie dodged it. Her left arm wrapped around the exposed knee, while her right paw grabbed the woman's neck and slammed her into the stone.

Olesya dodged a hit from a wolf hag from the Ashbringer pack. The woman quickly turned her punch into an elbow strike, aiming for Olesya’s ear. The hit never connected, the wolf hag desperately gasped for air, feeling how Olesya’s steel paw ended up being buried in her solar plexus. The warlord pulled her punches, delivering just enough damage to stop the woman in her tracks rather than cripple her. Grabbing the foe by the nape of her neck, Olesya threw her off the arena.

The first was out. Dozens remained.

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