The Shelter Game: Me, Starting with a Tenfold Drop Rate

The werewolf leader did not pay much attention to Irving's words. In his view, the majority of his clan members had already been wiped out by the Night Blades. Even if he were to take control of Shadow City, there would be no way for his clan to achieve revival.

"It seems you don't have much of a plan for the revival of your clan. Are you really not willing to fight for your people as the werewolf leader?" Irving said, hoping to spark some fighting spirit in him.

Irving believed that if the werewolf leader lacked sufficient motivation, he would not be fully committed in the upcoming actions.

Upon hearing Irving's words, the werewolf leader scoffed. "As the leader of my clan, I naturally wish to see it revived. However, the vast majority of our members have already been killed. Even if I reclaim Shadow City, what difference would it make? I can't bring my clan members back to life!"

"You may not be able to bring them all back, but you still have a few followers left. Don't those werewolves who continue to stand by your side deserve your fight?" Irving said, looking sincerely at the werewolf leader.

At that moment, the werewolf leader found himself at a loss for words. Previously, he had viewed his remaining werewolf subordinates merely as tools that could be sacrificed at any time.

The werewolf leader had long since lost any confidence in the revival of his clan. Everything he had done before had been solely for the purpose of seeking vengeance against the Night Blades. However, after hearing Irving's words, something within him began to shift. He felt that perhaps he really did need to fight for the revival of his clan.

The expression on the werewolf leader's face changed repeatedly. After about a minute, his expression grew increasingly resolute. Finally, he looked at Irving and said, "I think you're right! I must fight for my clan!"

Irving extended his right hand. "I will fight for my companions as well! We need to fully cooperate in our upcoming actions!"

The werewolf leader grasped Irving's right hand, and together they made a firm resolution.

At the same time that Irving and the werewolf leader solidified their determination, Lawrence had finally arrived at the prepared location with Aron, Benjamin, and the others.

"This is our destination! You don't need to go any further; just find a suitable place around here to rest," Elder Lawrence said in a hoarse voice.

Everyone could tell that Elder Lawrence's voice had changed significantly from before. It had become much more raspy. The group even felt that Lawrence was no longer entirely human; he seemed to have transformed into a werewolf.

Benjamin scanned the surroundings and realized that he was in a location prepared for a ritual. Strange buildings and the skeletal remains of unknown creatures surrounded him. Among these monster bones, he could even spot some precious gemstones.

"Elder Lawrence seems to want to hold a ritual here! You all must have noticed the things around us, right?" Benjamin said in a lowered voice to the others.

Aron and Nick nodded gravely.

"Whatever kind of ritual Elder Lawrence intends to perform, we must stop him! He brought us here clearly intending to use us as part of the ritual consumables," Aron said, his mind sharply focused.

As the most senior member of the Angel Guild, Aron was well aware of what was happening. He had seen similar rituals in the Angel Guild's archives. However, these rituals were all related to werewolves. Why would Elder Lawrence want to conduct a werewolf-related ritual?

While Aron pondered this question, he suddenly recalled the change in Elder Lawrence's voice. "Elder Lawrence must intend to transform himself into a werewolf!" Aron voiced his suspicion outright.

The others looked at him with stunned expressions upon hearing this.

"Elder Lawrence is one of the elders of the Night Blades, isn't he? Why would he want to transform himself into a werewolf?" Nick asked incredulously.

Aron shook his head. "What I just said is merely my own speculation. As for why he wants to do this, I have no idea." While saying this, Aron kept his gaze fixed on Elder Lawrence, who was facing away from them, seemingly searching for something.

After carefully observing the surroundings, Benjamin leaned in closer to Aron and Nick and whispered, "Among the skeletons around us, there seems to be one that belongs to a werewolf. I think Aron's guess might be correct."

Both Benjamin and Aron felt that Elder Lawrence intended to transform himself into a werewolf.

"So what should we do now? Should we just run away? After all, you both said we might very well become sacrifices for the ritual," Nick said, his voice filled with anxiety.

Although Nick was not weaker than Benjamin or Aron, he had not experienced much and was facing such a bizarre situation for the first time.

"We can't act rashly. Since Elder Lawrence dared to bring us here, he must have already thought about how to deal with unexpected situations!" Aron's mind was clearer than before.

Benjamin nodded. "Exactly, we can't take any hasty actions. Even if we manage to escape with our own strength, Anna and Wendy won't be able to do the same. If we have to look after them, Lawrence will definitely catch up to us during the escape. The situation will only get worse then."

Faced with the objections from Aron and Benjamin, Nick became even more anxious. "This won't work, and that won't work either! What do you two want to do? Are we really just going to wait here to die?"

As soon as Benjamin finished speaking, Elder Lawrence slowly turned to face them. His gait had become very strange; his back was hunched, and his arms seemed heavy, nearly dragging on the ground. It looked as if he was crawling.

Lawrence's bizarre way of moving instilled fear in everyone.

"You won't have to wait much longer. The ritual is about to begin, and once it starts, you will no longer have to endure any pain," Lawrence said as he crawled to the center of the ritual circle.

He lifted his head to look in their direction as he spoke. During this moment, they could see that Lawrence's face was completely grotesque, falling apart. All they could make out were his blood-red eyes.

"You won't have to endure for much longer; liberation is coming soon," Lawrence kept repeating.

His actions only heightened the panic among Aron, Benjamin, and the others.

Aron and Benjamin exchanged anxious glances, silently communicating. They both understood that the situation was dire, and they needed to make a decision immediately. Once the ritual began, they might not even have a chance to escape.

In the end, Aron and Benjamin reached a consensus. They decided not to run away but rather to launch an attack on Elder Lawrence directly. As the strongest among them, Aron took the lead and charged at Lawrence.

Aron transformed into a beam of golden light, infused with powerful radiant energy, rapidly approaching Lawrence. At the same time, Benjamin coordinated his attack, drawing his weapon and launching a surprise assault toward Lawrence.

Initially, Nick was taken aback by Aron and Benjamin's sudden actions. However, as an assassin, his reflexes were quick enough to keep up. He took a step back, hiding in the shadows, and then swiftly maneuvered around to get behind Lawrence.

All three of them launched their attacks simultaneously, each believing that this time they would achieve some degree of success.

It seemed that Lawrence was oblivious to their movements. He stood at the center of the ritual circle, continuously repeating the same phrase.

As the first to strike, Aron was also the first to reach Lawrence's side. To his shock, he realized that his attack had no effect on Lawrence whatsoever. The radiant energy he wielded was absorbed by Lawrence's robe.

Benjamin's attack from a distance was similarly blocked by the robe.

Only Nick, attacking from behind Lawrence, managed to inflict some damage.

Nick drove his poisoned dagger into Elder Lawrence's back. However, the poison on the dagger had no effect on Lawrence whatsoever. Instead, it backfired on Nick himself.

Nick felt his consciousness beginning to fade, blurring more and more. Just before everything went dark, he vaguely saw the face of a werewolf. This werewolf face was what Lawrence would look like after the ritual began.

"You really overestimate yourselves, thinking you could succeed with a sneak attack!" Lawrence's raspy voice echoed in their ears.

Then, they heard Lawrence let out a terrifying laugh.

"What you've done has actually helped me tremendously. Your attacks won't harm me at all; instead, they've directly activated the ritual. I will convert your power into a part of myself. Your strength and souls will serve as the price for my greater power! No one can stop me now; this ritual is destined to succeed!"

At this point, Lawrence's voice had taken on an ethereal quality. After the ritual began, he had already gained a portion of the Werewolf God's power. His physical form was now a blend between that of a werewolf and a human.