Chapter 179: Crippled Lycan Emperor

Not long after, Axe returned with Oshan and Marina.

Marina was wearing a big cloak that reached the ground, and her hood was so large that she looked like a mini witch.

Moon’s eyes softened upon seeing her.

"Is it troublesome to wear this?" he asked, sitting up.

"No. It’s amazing!" Marina said cheerfully.

From her tone, Moon knew she was telling the truth. After all, she was just a kid and enjoyed such adventures of hiding.

"I will soon refine a pill for you, and you won’t have to keep changing your attire," Moon said as he stood up and patted her head.

"Hmm. Brother, take your time," Marina replied.

Moon smiled faintly at her excitement before following the others out.

Soon, the group met up again where Levi’s carriage was waiting for them.

Levi was inside, busy with his merchandise audit.

Several ledgers lay open on the small table before him, and he was comparing the numbers by the light of a dim oil lamp. When the group entered, he glanced up briefly before returning to his work.

Moon settled into his seat while Axe helped Marina arrange her oversized cloak.

Oshan, however, went to meet his previous group. He didn’t like mingling with wolves, especially the aristocratic ones.

By the time the caravan left the city, the sky had darkened, and faint moonlight filtered through the leaves.

Moon leaned toward the window, watching the streets gradually disappear behind them. The city lights grew smaller and smaller as they traveled farther away.

The road ahead stretched beneath the night sky.

Moon hadn’t traveled to many places before, only his own city and his estate.

He had always been like a trapped bird until he was pushed out to face the beast tide.

That was the first time he had left Verdant Vale City, only to get lost in the Forbidden Zone.

Still, he had seen Verdant Vale City.

It was magnificent, with its grand gatherings and festivals.

Mages would occasionally hold auctions, and his father would invite fellow Daoists to discuss various matters.

Their attire and way of life were vastly different from those here.

Take the Last Hole, for example.

There had been many people drinking and grappling with one another wildly.

In his world, no one would behave like that in public. He had thought Monalis might be similar to the Vaelis Pack he had seen, or perhaps Malong City.

But this little city had surprised him more than he had expected.

Monalis was nothing like the Last Hole he had first lived in.

It wasn’t filled with people displaying wolf ears and fangs everywhere.

In fact, Monalis was far more advanced than he had imagined.

To enter the city, everyone had to pay ten siki per person, show the proper insignia, and present their pack marks.

Levi had even needed to dispatch a large group of guards to settle the caravan and his merchandise.

There was something different about the atmosphere here. The people lived alongside their wolf instincts, and even ordinary things seemed to carry traces of that wild nature.

Moon’s gaze involuntarily darted toward the guards surrounding the caravan.

Their sharp eyes and broad shoulders gave him an uneasy feeling. Their leather armor was worn from use, and the scars on their faces and bodies were intimidating.

’Don’t they want to get rid of those scars?’ Moon wondered.

If they lived in his Heavenly Saqua Realm, people would already have spent hundreds of spirit stones on rejuvenation pills or any pills that remove scars.

Speaking of pills, Moon suddenly remembered that he had quite a large stock of them. Looking at the guards with their scarred faces, he thought this might be a great opportunity to make some money.

However, exposing his pills might be too dangerous. The witch community would definitely come after him.

"What are you thinking?" Axe asked from the front seat. "You seem very immersed in looking outside."

Moon turned and saw that everyone was looking at him. He felt a little awkward.

"I have some pills I want to sell. We need siki to register," he said.

"We have some," Nox grumbled from the side.

"How much?" Moon asked curiously.

"About twenty thousand," Nox said in a low voice.

Moon was surprised. "Wow, when did you get so much siki?"

Levi raised his chin and smirked. "Only twenty thousand? Nox, you really are so poor."

His words immediately dampened Moon’s enthusiasm.

Moon might not know this, but even though five thousand siki was a lot for someone like Evan Vasper, it was still a very small amount for Nox and the others.

The Vaelis Pack was a medium- to high-ranking pack in Monalis.

Even a neglected alpha heir would receive at least ten thousand siki each month, and that was only the basic allowance.

Having only twenty thousand in his possession was rather embarrassing for a former prince like Nox.

"Shut up," Nox snapped. "You’re not running and hiding from your alpha. How would you know how hard it is for us?"

"Tch! I’m making my own money. Even if my alpha chased me away, I would still have at least millions, if not billions." Levi shrugged and leaned back against the seat.

Moon’s surprise was now replaced with curiosity.

"Oh! So much! Young Master Levi sure is rich."

"What’s so good about him? If I start earning, I’ll have more than him," Nox snorted.

"I have fifty thousand here," Ugo said. "Registration shouldn’t cost more than five thousand each."

"Ten thousand," Levi corrected.

"The council spends a lot to arrange these trials. They naturally won’t pay for everything out of their own pockets." He chuckled.

"The Lycan Empire has been declining day by day," Axe remarked with a shrug.

"Before, the emperor wouldn’t charge so much. But he seems to have reached a bottleneck and is demanding more from the packs. I can see unrest coming soon."

"Hisss... Don’t talk about the emperor in my caravan. I’m a merchant. I don’t want to get involved in politics," Levi hissed.

However, his tone didn’t sound as though he genuinely wanted to avoid trouble. It was more as if he planned to stir up chaos and sit back to enjoy the show.

Moon was confused and curious.

He understood the basics, but not everything. Raising a hand, he asked, "Wait... So you have an emperor here? And he’s called the Lycan Emperor?"

Suddenly, all eyes fell on him again.

Marina burst into laughter. "Brother Moon is so funny! He doesn’t even know about the Lycan Emperor."

Levi’s eyes narrowed with amusement.

Heat crept across Moon’s forehead. Beads of sweat started to form. He seemed to have said something he shouldn’t have, letting his tongue slip.

’God in heaven! I should have just stayed silent!’

[It’s fine. They already know you’re an alien,] the Goddess replied.

’But Levi...’

Moon shifted his gaze back toward the window, avoiding Levi’s eyes.

[He should have already suspected you, but be cautious about what you ask. Why don’t you read the academy files Margarita sent you again? There should be details about Monalis’s powers. Almost all the powerhouses and packs gather here every year.]

’Hmm, I was just busy. I’ll read them again,’ Moon replied.

He searched through his spatial storage with his divine sense while pretending to watch the scenery outside.