Chapter 3

Mount Tarpova, Russia

The next afternoon, Silas gathered his troops, and Caleb asked when the attack would begin.

“Patience, Caleb, our actions must be tactical,” Silas said.

“Don’t let the Smirnov family live. Nikolai killed your child,” Caleb replied firmly.

“Of course, I won’t let his descendants go free,” Silas said.

“His grandfather killed your child, so his descendants will suffer the consequences,” Caleb answered.

“Ha...that’s for sure,” Silas said, laughing loudly.

They laughed together while enjoying human flesh during their breakfast. Suddenly, Silas fell silent, and Caleb was surprised by his leader’s behavior.

“Why are you silent, Silas?” Caleb asked.

“I have come up with an idea to enter the village of Virtov,” Silas answered.

“How?” Caleb asked curiously.

“I have a very loyal servant who is also a human,” Silas replied.

“And then?” Caleb inquired.

Silas explained that he would send Popescu to disguise himself as a traveling grocery trader, and when the villagers let their guard down, his servant would remove the Wolfbane plants.

“Wow, that’s a great plan,” Caleb said.

“That’s why I told you to be patient,” Silas replied.

“You were right,” Caleb said.

“Let’s go to Trasco Castle and meet my servant!” Silas invited.

“Alright,” Caleb replied.

Shortly after, the werewolf pack ran with incredible speed while howling in unison. They were thrilled because they were about to launch an attack on the village of Tirtov.

Finally, they arrived at Trasco Castle, and a servant opened the door for Silas, saluting him.

“You’ve finally arrived, sir,” Popescu said.

“Yes, I’m tired after roaming around searching for prey,” Silas replied.

Then Silas and the werewolf group entered the room, and Popescu served them well.

“Popescu! I am sending you to the village of Tirtov,” Silas said.

“For what purpose, my lord?” Popescu asked.

“You will disguise yourself as a traveling grocery trader,” Silas said.

“Then what should I do next, sir?” Popescu asked.

“Remove all the Wolfbane plants there,” Silas answered.

“Very well, I will do it,” Popescu said.

“You must be careful of the villagers there and make sure they don’t witness your actions!” Silas emphasized.

“Very well, I will carry out your orders. When can I perform the task?” Popescu asked.

“In two days, you can start going to the village,” Silas answered.

Popescu nodded and smiled, and all the werewolf members burst into laughter, imagining the entire population of the village of Tirtov soon turning into werewolves and becoming their members.

Then Silas commanded Popescu to prepare a small feast for their troops. With a bow, he returned to the kitchen and prepared raw meat and fresh blood for them.

Two days later, Popescu set off, riding a horse-drawn cart. He didn’t forget to bring his merchandise, which he had bought from the city of Latvia, to cover his disguise while there. He planned to gradually remove the plants so that his actions would go unnoticed by the villagers.

The journey would take him about two hours, passing through several neighboring villages around the village of Tirtov. Around 10:00 a.m., Popescu arrived there and saw that the village was bustling, making it a bit difficult for the servant to locate the whereabouts of the Wolfbane plants that had been planted by the villagers.

Now, he was in the marketplace within the village, and he immediately shouted to offer his goods.

“Come on, cheap goods! All household needs are here!” Popescu shouted.

“These are very good,” Mrs. Martha Voslov said.

“Yes, I’m very interested,” Mrs. Regina Orlov replied.

“Sir, I’ll take a set of these plates,” Mrs. Martha said.

“Alright, here are the plates,” Popescu replied.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Regina hadn’t bought anything from Popescu yet; she continued her conversation with Mrs. Martha about the events that occurred two days ago.

“Mrs. Martha, did you hear the wolf howling two days ago?” Mrs. Regina asked.

“Of course, I heard it, and I couldn’t sleep,” Mrs. Martha replied.

“I was also very frightened,” Mrs. Regina said with an anxious expression.

“We were fortunate to have the Wolfbane plant,” Mrs. Martha answered.

“Yes, we were saved because of that plant,” Mrs. Regina said.

Popescu listened to their conversation intently, pretending to have an innocent look as if he didn’t know about it.

“Are there really werewolves here?” Popescu asked.

“Yes, sir, this village was going to be attacked by werewolves. Luckily, we all survived,” Mrs. Regina answered.

“I’ve never heard of such an incident before,” Popescu said.

“Be careful, sir. Don’t come home too late, or you’ll be preyed upon by them,” Mrs. Martha warned.

“What’s the use of the Wolfbane plant?” Popescu asked.

“To repel the werewolves,” Mrs. Regina answered enthusiastically.

“Where are these plants located?” Popescu asked.

“Around this village,” Mrs. Martha replied.

“Do you want to fetch them?” Mrs. Martha asked.

“If I may, I’d like to take one plant to be planted in my home,” Popescu replied.

“Of course, you can; there are plenty of those plants growing abundantly here,” Mrs. Regina said.

Then Mrs. Regina pointed with her finger from a distance to show the locations of the plants, and Popescu paid attention to every direction indicated by the woman.

In his heart, he laughed gleefully at how easily he could deceive these two foolish women. He canceled his plan to remove all the protective plants this afternoon, but he would act later at night when all the villagers were fast asleep.

“Ha... what a pair of foolish women,” Popescu laughed inwardly.

He continued observing the conversation between the two women, and shortly after Mrs. Regina made her purchase, she ended the conversation with Mrs. Martha, and they both went back to their homes.

In the afternoon, Popescu continued his selling task, going around the village while keeping an eye on the locations of the plants. As the evening approached, he finally left the village of Tirtov. When night fell, Popescu, who had been hiding behind one of the dense trees not far from the village, came out.

He had previously hidden his cart in the Voya forest so that he could freely carry out his actions. Then he quietly entered the village. At that moment, it was already 11:00 p.m., and the sounds of nocturnal animals could be heard around the village. All the villagers were in their beds, fast asleep, unaware that an intruder had entered the village without anyone knowing that they were in danger.