Chapter 160 up
The city of Valerith had always been known as a place of balance.
For centuries, it stood between the territories of the Alliance and the independent packs like a quiet promise that peace could exist in a divided world. Its markets bustled with merchants from every region. Wolves of different allegiances walked the same streets, trading goods, exchanging stories, and occasionally arguing over politics—but rarely over blood.
Valerith was neutral.
That neutrality was its strength.
And its vulnerability.
On the morning of the attack, the city woke as it always did.
Sunlight spilled across the stone rooftops. Market stalls opened along the wide central avenue. The scent of fresh bread drifted from bakeries near the harbor. Traders rolled carts loaded with fabrics, metals, and medicinal herbs into the plaza.
Nothing seemed unusual.
But beneath the calm surface, shadows had already entered the city.
They arrived before dawn.
Small groups of wolves wearing travel cloaks.
They carried no pack symbols.
No identifying marks.
They looked like ordinary merchants or travelers passing through the gates.
The guards barely noticed them.
Because Valerith welcomed everyone.
And the Eclipse Order understood that better than anyone.
At midday, the council chamber was in session.
Several representatives from neutral packs had gathered to discuss the rising tensions spreading across the world. News from the borders had grown more alarming in recent weeks.
Rumors of war.
Supply disruptions.
Pack movements near contested territories.
The council members spoke quietly around the long wooden table.
“We must maintain neutrality,” one elder insisted.
“If the Alliance and the independents begin fighting, Valerith cannot take sides.”
Another council member frowned.
“Neutrality will not protect us if armies start marching through our gates.”
“But choosing a side will make us a target,” another argued.
The discussion continued in cautious circles.
None of them realized that the decision had already been made for them.
Not by the council.
But by someone far more dangerous.
Across the city, several cloaked figures gathered inside an abandoned warehouse near the river.
Their leader stood at the center of the room, examining a small metal device.
One of the agents approached him.
“All positions are ready.”
The leader nodded.
“And the targets?”
“Markets.”
“Supply depots.”
“Communication towers.”
The leader’s eyes gleamed faintly.
“Good.”
Another agent spoke.
“The casualties will be… extensive.”
The leader did not hesitate.
“That is the point.”
He looked toward the cracked window overlooking the busy streets.
Valerith’s markets were packed with people.
Merchants.
Travelers.
Pack representatives.
Exactly the kind of gathering the Eclipse Order needed.
One devastating event here would echo across the entire werewolf world.
The agent beside him asked quietly,
“Will the wolves believe it?”
The leader smiled faintly.
“We will make sure they do.”
He opened a small case on the table.
Inside were two sets of insignias.
One bearing the crest of the Alliance.
The other carrying the crimson claw symbol associated with Kael’s faction.
False symbols.
Tools of chaos.
The leader closed the case again.
“Today,” he said calmly, “the city burns.”
The first explosion struck the central market.
It happened so suddenly that most people didn’t understand what they were hearing.
A thunderous crack split the air.
Then fire erupted from the center of the square.
Wooden stalls shattered.
Stone cracked.
Flames shot into the sky as terrified wolves stumbled backward, screaming.
For several seconds the entire market froze in shock.
Then panic erupted.
Merchants abandoned their goods.
Families grabbed their children and ran.
Smoke filled the air as another explosion tore through a nearby supply warehouse.
Across the city, alarms began ringing.
The Valerith guard rushed toward the chaos, shouting orders.
“What happened?”
“Where did it come from?”
But the attacks had only just begun.
More explosions erupted along the trade avenue.
A tower used for long-distance communication collapsed in a cloud of dust and fire.
And through the smoke—
Figures appeared.
Masked wolves moving quickly through the streets.
Some wore armor marked with the Alliance crest.
Others carried symbols of Kael’s faction.
They attacked guards.
They destroyed buildings.
They left bodies behind.
To any witness, the message was clear.
War had arrived in Valerith.
Inside the council chamber, the first explosion rattled the windows.
Council members leapt to their feet in alarm.
“What was that?”
Before anyone could answer, a second blast shook the building.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Outside, screams echoed through the streets.
A guard burst through the chamber doors.
“Councilors!”
“What is happening?” the elder demanded.
The guard’s face was pale.
“We’re under attack.”
“By who?”
The guard hesitated.
Then he answered the question that would soon spread across the entire world.
“Both sides.”
The council chamber fell silent.
“Alliance soldiers are fighting wolves carrying the crimson claw.”
“Independents are attacking civilians.”
“We don’t know who started it.”
But one thing was clear.
Valerith’s neutrality had just been shattered.
By the time the fires began spreading through the merchant district, the city had already descended into chaos.
Guards fought masked attackers in the streets.
Civilians fled toward the outer gates.
Smoke darkened the sky above the harbor.
And hidden among the destruction, agents of the Eclipse Order quietly disappeared.
Their mission complete.
They left behind carefully planted evidence.
Weapons bearing Alliance markings.
Armor fragments carrying Kael’s symbol.
Witnesses who believed they had seen soldiers from both factions fighting.
Everything necessary to ignite outrage.
Everything necessary to ensure blame would fall in the right places.
Hours later, the fires were still burning.
Valerith’s once vibrant market district had become a blackened ruin.
Collapsed buildings littered the streets.
The smell of smoke and blood filled the air.
Dozens of bodies lay beneath blankets near the central plaza.
Many more were still missing.
The surviving council members gathered in silence among the ruins.
One of them whispered the terrible truth.
“Hundreds…”
Another shook his head.
“No.”
“More than that.”
Nearby, a guard reported the latest information.
“Witnesses claim attackers carried both Alliance and independent symbols.”
The council elder closed his eyes.
“This will start a war.”
Across the world, news began spreading within hours.
Neutral city attacked.
Civilians killed.
Evidence pointing to both factions.
Anger erupted among packs already on edge.
Some demanded retaliation.
Others demanded explanations.
But the damage had already been done.
Valerith, the symbol of neutrality, had become a battlefield.
And far away, hidden within a quiet fortress far from the flames, an agent of the Eclipse Order received the report.
“The city burns.”
The leader nodded calmly.
“Good.”
He turned toward a large map of the werewolf world hanging on the wall.
Valerith was marked with a small black circle.
Now he drew a thin line outward from that circle toward Alliance territory.
Then another line toward Kael’s domain.
The wolves would blame each other.
They always did.
The leader smiled faintly.
“The first city has fallen.”
Outside the fortress, storm clouds gathered across the distant horizon.
Soon the entire world would feel the consequences.
Because the Eclipse Order understood something most wolves did not.
Sometimes the fastest way to destroy a civilization…
Was to burn the places that stood for peace.