CHAPTER 194: THE KING VISITED THE RAYNOR CLAN

The inter-clan competition of werewolves had nearly come to an end. Except for the Raynor Clan and the army under the Warlord, all others had already completed the selection of their strongest warriors.

The grand competition hosted by the Arbiter Clan was the most successful among all. Although it was the first time werewolves had participated in such an event, Clan Graventhal executed it without issue. Drawing experience from global human events like the Olympics and the World Cups, they implemented the rules impeccably. Apart from a few negligible clans, most were full of praise.

Many lesser clan heads requested Matthias Halden Graventhal, the head of Clan Graventhal, to arrange such a global competition periodically, similar to human global events. Even if they didn’t qualify for the Trial of Yggdrasil in future competitions, they were still eager to participate. The event proved invaluable in fostering inter-clan relationships, allowing them to connect with clans they had previously never interacted with.

Erevan Brontes Lychos, King of the Werewolves, travelled to Lunergarde to spectate the final match. All council members accompanied him.

After consulting with the King, the Arbiter declared that the grand competition would henceforth be held by the Arbiter Clan once every ten years. The lesser and subordinate clans accepted the news with cheers and great enthusiasm.

Ophelia returned from Lunergarde in triumph. She had been selected for the upcoming Trial of Yggdrasil, having secured third position among all participants from the lesser and subordinate clans.

Another member of Clan Blanc had also been selected for the Trial. He had ranked ninth among all participants and worked as a shadow guard under Fiona Raynor.

Clan Blanc was in a festive mood, celebrating both Raphael’s upcoming wedding and their success in the grand competition. Dominic Blanc decided to host both celebrations on the same day.

The final match of the Raynor Clan’s youth competition would soon take place. All prior matches had been held in Rayndell, the clan’s pocket dimension, but this final match was arranged at the Raynor Estate in Manchester.

Fiona hired an array master to construct a temporary stadium for the event. Although the array masters belonged to the vampire race... with whom the werewolves had a long-standing enmity. But they worked seamlessly under the Supernatural Act, which enforced collaboration among the races. If any dispute arose, the matter could be appealed to the dragons, who held responsibility for global peace.

Lady Seraphyne Nyx Caernavar, vampire council member from the Isle of Skye in Scotland, personally sent the array master after Fiona requested her assistance. The elder vampire array master used a clan artefact as the foundation of the temporary stadium. After the competition, he would retrieve it.

King Erevan Brontes Lychos travelled to Manchester to witness the final match. Accompanying him were Priest Sarika Somavati Harivamsa, Warlord Stellan Ragnar Fenroth, Matron Dalisay Mayari Cordillera, and Watcher Yara Arara Neblina.

Fiona personally received them at the airport and brought them to the estate by helicopter, avoiding immigration and traffic concerns. The Kingdom had been informed in advance, and special authorities were assisting to ensure the event concluded smoothly and on time.

Although most humans remained unaware of the existence of supernatural races, many countries maintained a specialised unit for dealing with supernatural matters. These were elite security teams created after the formation of the Supernatural Council and worked directly under the king or president of the respective country.

These teams included members of various supernatural races and even humans... specifically those who had returned from the Trial of Yggdrasil but chose not to ascend further to become high level core ascendants.

Humans were a unique case among ascendants. After becoming a core ascendant, one would return to Earth from Vanaheim. Those who failed the trial perished. But those who succeeded had no more than one month to travel to Molgrath to progress their cultivation from low to at least intermediate level.

This is where humans differed from other races. While other races could return to Earth after advancing their cultivation from low level to higher stages, humans could not. Once they advanced to the intermediate core ascendant level, their return was forbidden... just like with the other races when they become saints. But when other races degraded from saint to ascendant temporarily, humans instead degraded from ascendant to mortal and died shortly after. Hence, many human cultivators chose to remain as core ascendants.

After the formation of the Supernatural Council, the dragons gathered these humans and encouraged them to serve in their respective national teams. Being human, they helped foster trust with political leaders.

Other team members came from various local races. While in service, they were bound by national law under the Supernatural Act. Their primary duty was to protect civilians, human and non-human alike, from rogue supernatural entities.

If a threat exceeded their capabilities, they were authorised to contact the dragons. As the most physically superior race among the ascendants, the dragons served as enforcers, minimising damage and punishing violators.

In the Kingdom, a special division within MI5 managed supernatural affairs. Although listed under MI5 on paper, their true operations remained unknown to the other members of MI5. It was rumoured that this team underwent specialised genetic therapy, granting abilities far beyond human limits. Only the chief of the department was aware of their complete activities.

This team was monitoring the Manchester situation, given the presence of several high-ranking werewolf dignitaries. The sooner these guests departed the Kingdom, the better.

Erevan stood before the stadium, frowning slightly. He hadn’t expected such a modest venue for the competition. From the outside, it resembled a miniature indoor stadium, neatly constructed within the courtyard of the Raynor Estate.

Fiona stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please... this is the gate to enter the stadium."

Although he had many questions, he still followed Fiona and entered through the gate. The others followed behind.

Upon entering, Erevan immediately understood the situation. The stadium was much larger on the inside. It resembled a football stadium, with several galleries of varying sizes. A large crowd had already gathered in the galleries.

Aside from members of the Raynor Clan, there were also spectators from Clan Blanc and various other clans across the kingdom who had come to witness the final match. Nearly a thousand werewolves had gathered... all in their human forms.

From a distance, Erevan could sense the presence of a few vampires seated in one of the far-off galleries. He observed them but didn’t comment. As ambassadors of the werewolf race, the Raynor Clan was expected to maintain relations with other races. It was perfectly natural for non-werewolf races to be invited to such a celebratory event.

In the centre, an arena had been prepared for the duel. A defensive array surrounded the duelling area, shielding the spectators from any stray attacks. The power of the array could be felt even from the galleries, giving the crowd a sense of security.

Sensing the curiosity in the king’s eyes, Fiona chose to explain a few things as they walked toward the VIP gallery.

"This stadium is a temporary venue for the final match. My clan doesn’t own a private stadium," she began. "I considered using the Etihad Stadium, but once I confirmed help from Lady Seraphyne Nyx Caernavar, I decided to showcase their clan’s array mastery. This stadium is actually an artefact of the Caernavar Clan. They constructed it to host various clan events. For our purposes, they activated multiple arrays to adapt it for the final match. Once the event is over, they’ll retrieve the artefact and return it to their clan. Its original form is small enough to be held in your hand."

Erevan was visibly impressed. He sighed and said, "It’s unfortunate that our race has never produced an array master. In peaceful times, arrays could truly make life easier."

Stellan added, "Not only for convenience. Defensive arrays are the greatest protection vampires have in their strongholds. Unless recognised by the arrays, no one can even step foot inside."

Sarika sighed. "Sometimes I envy them. Vampires and dragons are the only two races with array masters. We all know how powerful the arrays in our pocket dimensions are... they were set by the dragons. Every time I visit Kvernheim, I can’t help but admire the dragons... how they seamlessly blend magic and modern technology using arrays. It’s fascinating."

Erevan replied, "You don’t need to be disheartened. Dragons are indeed a blessed race on this Earth. But each race has its own strength. Werewolves have produced countless powerful warriors over the ages... so many that we’ve lost count. Meanwhile, vampires have a naturally low reproduction rate and their fighting prowess are lower than us. Except for their nobles, most of them wouldn’t even stand a chance in a fair fight against a regular member of our clans."

Fiona added, "Indeed, Your Majesty makes a good point. We should focus on our strengths. For one, we can walk under the sun... that alone gives us a huge financial advantage over other races."

Her comment drew laughter from the group. They all knew she was cheekily referring to herself as the wealthiest among all supernatural clans.