72: Wolf transformation

Chapter 72: Lycanthropy

Before dawn, Vladimir brought Xu Jingzhe to his residence.

Along the way, the two exchanged names, considering it a friendship forged through conflict.

Not far away, an ancient wooden church stood, an European-style building with more than half of the stickers on its blue windows peeled off, and several windows broken. The wind blew, making a mournful sound. At the top was a crucifix, weathered beyond recognition by time, teetering precariously.

"This is the residence of the noble Duke Vladimir!" Vladimir straightened his body, one hand in front and one behind, making a welcoming gesture. His politeness and aristocratic demeanor were self-evident.

It had to be said, his deep-set eyes, high nose bridge, rugged features, combined with an almost sickly pale face, indeed exuded an inherent sense of nobility.

"Your residence shouldn't be like those castles on the edge of a cliff. Why is it so dilapidated?" Xu Jingzhe scoffed.

Vladimir's body stiffened, recalling some things, and he stubbornly retorted, "Nobility is the purity of blood, not just any Vampire living in an ancient castle is a noble."

"Creak~"

As the wooden door slowly opened, a smell of decay and rot wafted out, and the turbid air was choking.

Inside the church, it was severely dilapidated. Large areas of decorative paintings on the walls had peeled off, their colors almost gone. A few candles lit on the wall sconces emitted a faint light.

The wind from opening the door made the small flames flicker, as if they could extinguish at any moment.

Below the candle holders were two rows of long wooden chairs, arranged at equal distances, covered with a thick layer of dust.

"Where is the item?" Xu Jingzhe asked.

"I'll get it for you," Vladimir said, walking over to a coffin.

The coffin had a peculiar shape, like a large box, covered with decorative paintings and silver rivet embellishments.

Xu Jingzhe leaned closer and looked inside. There were many golden bowls, golden rings, and golden daggers shimmering with alluring luster.

"Clatter..."

Vladimir took out the contents of the coffin, lifted the bottom wooden board, revealing a dark, gaping hole.

"The wolf king's bone is very important, buried by me beneath the church. Do you want to come down with me?"

Xu Jingzhe shook his head. He was only interested in the wolf king's bone; there was no need to put himself in danger.

Who knew what evil this Vampire was brewing!

Soon, Vladimir emerged from underground, opened the wolf king's bone wrapped in parchment, his face showing a pained expression.

The wolf king's bone!

It witnessed the glory of their Vladimir family, a testament to history.

On the parchment, a white bone wolf paw lay quietly, untouched by time.

Its surface was as white as jade, emitting a faint luster like jade. If viewed from different angles, faint purple light spots could be seen.

Xu Jingzhe crouched down, his eyes shining. In his eyes, this was not just any wolf king's bone.

Those were pollution cores, life-saving medicine.

He held it in his hand; the touch was warm and smooth. He weighed it and asked, "This is the wolf king's bone?"

"Of course."

"How do you prove it's the wolf king's bone?" Xu Jingzhe asked.

A hidden smile flickered in the depths of Vladimir's eyes. He answered evasively, "Whether it's the wolf king's bone or not, we'll know in a moment, won't we?"

Xu Jingzhe grew wary and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Hehehe..." Vladimir laughed elegantly. He pulled out a stemmed glass and a glass of red wine from somewhere.

A flick of his middle finger made the wine glass ring with a clear, echoing sound.

He poured a little red wine into the glass along its rim. The red wine was scarlet like blood, swirling slowly along the glass wall with the movement of his wrist.

He slightly lowered his head, his nose to the glass, taking a deep breath, a look of intoxication on his face.

"The wolf king's bone cannot be directly touched by skin."

"The moment you touched it, the tiny lycanthropic virus has already 'invaded' your cell shells and is rapidly replicating, shedding its own capsid."

"You... will soon undergo lycanthropy. The power of the lycanthropic bacteria and virus is something your body cannot withstand at all."

"You will... die a very tragic death!"

After Vladimir finished speaking, Xu Jingzhe's body began to mutate.

Accompanied by violent trembling and intense itching all over his body, this internal itching made him struggle painfully, his hands constantly scratching.

Blood marks appeared one after another on his skin, and droplets of blood emerged.

Immediately after, gray wolf fur began to grow on his body, starting from his chest and rapidly spreading to his limbs. At the same time, his hands and feet experienced bone growth, pushing out his original fingernails and toenails, replaced by hooked talons. The newly grown sharp and pointed claws were a full ten centimeters long!

Those sharp, curved hooks gleamed with a cold light, sending shivers down one's spine.

Vladimir leaned with one hand on the coffin, savoring his homemade red wine, enjoying the scene before him.

Lycanthropy, it had been a long time since he had seen it.

Watching the werewolf die painfully before him, his mood was indescribably pleasant.

Xu Jingzhe shattered a chair, then suddenly looked up, his eyes terrifying. His eyes had become elongated triangles; his irises and corneas began to expand, almost occupying his entire eyeball.

And!

A wolf tail grew from his coccyx, and his pelvis widened, allowing him to walk upright.

"Ah... roar..."

The roaring sound was already mixed with wolf howls, echoing far, far away.

"Death is not painful; what is painful is the fear faced before death. To be infected with lycanthropy by the wolf king's bone's bacteria and virus, you could say you are incredibly fortunate."

"I look forward to you fully becoming a werewolf, and then... killing yourself."

Vladimir, holding the stemmed glass, danced a lonely waltz alone... Hundreds of miles away in a deep mountain, as the sun rose, seven or eight people appeared in a mountain gorge.

There were men and women, all lightly dressed.

The men were strong and heroic, with bronzed skin and clearly defined eight-pack abs.

The women were alluring and sexy, with firm, muscular thighs, indicating regular exercise.

One of them perked up his ears and made a 'hush' gesture to the others.

"I heard the call of a werewolf," he said.

A werewolf's howl could typically travel dozens to a hundred miles, which was the maximum distance ordinary people could hear.

But werewolves, with their racial advantages, besides keen smell, also possessed extraordinary hearing. They were especially sensitive to wolf howls, capable of catching sounds from hundreds of miles away.

Then, he leaped onto a branch dozens of meters high, as agile as an ape. With a few more leaps, he reached the treetop.

His ears twitched, confirming he hadn't misheard.

Painful wailing!

Trouble!

"Awoo..."

He let out a howl in response.

He leaped down from the tree hundreds of meters high. As he descended, his body transformed, landing as a fierce wolf with captivating green pupils.

He was seven or eight meters long and two meters tall, like a large motorcycle!

Among the remaining people, three followed, leaping from the ground and pouncing forward, all transforming into hungry wolves.