In one night, spanning thousands of kilometers and attacking nearly a hundred werewolf camps, William accomplished what no private force could. Even the United States couldn't have executed such a large-scale operation without leaving a trace.
This display of power left all knowledgeable parties stunned and terrified. Rumors swirled about how William had pulled it off—had he secretly built an army of thousands or colluded with various national agencies to carry out the attacks?
No one expected his retaliation to be so swift, decisive, and ruthless. The carnage wasn't mere retribution; it was a calculated, one-sided massacre meant to send a message. The body count exceeded four thousand, signaling not just revenge but a planned show of military dominance.
However, since the victims were werewolves and there was no concrete evidence to incriminate William, official responses were mixed. Many governments were outraged by the illegal incursions but privately relieved. The werewolf threat, left unchecked, would have inevitably caused major problems in the future.
As a result, several high-ranking officials not only turned a blind eye to the rising number of bounty hunters but quietly began offering logistical support. Hunters who harbored grudges against supernatural beings or had religious motivations to eliminate "dark creatures" were suddenly emboldened by the lucrative bounties: $100,000 for each werewolf head.
The reward created a frenzy among Europe's monster hunters. Typically solitary, many of them began forming teams and alliances. Seeing this, Sunday identified that many long-established hunter families preferred gold over cash for its portability and value retention.
In response, William instructed the X-17 planetary base to begin minting Devonshire Gold Coins, each weighing 100 grams. One werewolf bounty would now equal fifty gold coins.
When the first batch of 10,000 coins was delivered to the bounty offices, the werewolf-hunting frenzy reached new heights.
The coins quickly circulated among hunters and even other supernatural beings. Some vampires, who already had conflicts with werewolves, tried claiming the bounty by presenting werewolf fangs. To their surprise, the bounty office didn't care about their identity. They verified the authenticity of the fangs and promptly handed over fifty gold coins.
Word spread fast. Vampires who successfully claimed their rewards returned to their territories, rummaging through old werewolf battle trophies in search of leftover fangs. Some even revisited past battle sites, hoping to find usable remains.
Shockingly, the bounty office accepted these older fangs without issue, paying out the full reward. This caused a sensation in the underworld: anyone who brought werewolf fangs to the bounty office could receive fifty Devonshire gold coins, which could then be exchanged at major banks for $2,000 per coin.
To ensure authenticity and stabilize the coin's value, William had each coin embedded with 2% of a rare, light-reactive metal found on X-17. When exposed to light, the coins emitted a faint, golden glow visible to the naked eye.
This unique characteristic distinguished the Devonshire coin from any other gold currency on Earth. The advanced minting process also gave the coins intrinsic value beyond their gold content. Even when the price of gold dipped below $2,000 for 100 grams, people still valued the coins at that rate. Should gold prices rise above that threshold, the coin's market value would increase accordingly. Within days, 60% of bounty hunters began demanding payment exclusively in gold coins.
However, with so much money at stake, tensions escalated. Conflicts broke out between human bounty hunters and other supernatural beings over overlapping targets.
Given William's reputation for exterminating werewolves across Europe in a single night, most supernatural factions were hesitant to provoke him. They feared that harming bounty hunters might attract his wrath. If William suspected them of aiding the werewolves, he might launch a similar campaign against them.
To avoid this, some supernatural factions turned to their human allies to pressure authorities. They framed the surge in violence as a public safety issue, urging governments to intervene and remind hunters not to overstep by targeting non-werewolf beings.
Unbeknownst to these factions, William couldn't care less about their internal feuds. His arrangement with the bounty hunters was purely transactional: Kill werewolves, and I'll pay you.
At the Yellowstone Base in the U.S., William arrived through a portal and immediately went to see the imprisoned werewolf leader, Marius.
"William Devonshire?"
Marius, shackled by heavy iron chains around his neck and limbs, struggled to his feet in disbelief. "How are you here?"
Realization dawned on him as he widened his eyes in panic. "It makes sense now. Those robots that attacked us—they were transported by your ships. You've already built additional spacecraft! You pretended to be stranded on Mars to lure your enemies into the open, didn't you? Over the past month, you've been identifying the people behind the sabotage before launching your counterattack to send a message. Am I right?"
William smirked but didn't respond. Instead, he snapped his fingers. A virtual hologram projected into the cage, displaying the faces of over a dozen individuals.
"Tell me," William said coldly, "aside from these people, who else conspired with you to sabotage my ship?"
Marius sneered defiantly. "Go ahead. Use whatever torture methods you want. I know I'll have to suffer the same agony you inflicted on my kin. But if I endure it, maybe—just maybe—I'll leave behind enough people to constantly watch you and plot your death. One day, someone might succeed. Maybe they'll even take down someone you care about."
"Fit him with the control device," William ordered.
Two combat robots entered the cage, carrying metallic wrist and ankle bands. They secured the restraints around Marius's limbs and fastened a collar around his neck. One robot pried open his mouth, forcing three spider-like devices down his throat.
Marius convulsed in agony as the devices burrowed through his body, eventually reaching his heart. After several minutes of excruciating pain, he collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.
A sudden jolt of electricity surged from the devices implanted in his heart and limbs. His body seized violently as he involuntarily began transforming into his werewolf form.
(End of Chapter)
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