Qianye closed the report and dispatched five thousand newly-trained werewolves to the allied army. Then, he summoned the great shaman and asked, “You say I’m the son of darkness, but why do the werewolves of the storm territory not submit to me? Why is their will to fight so firm?”

The great shaman did not panic. He said with a bow, “Sire, there can be many sons of darkness. In truth, the Storm Duke is the true son of darkness to the werewolves in his territory. The duke himself never commented on this rumor, but he did make the effort to spread this news.

“Does the son of darkness really exist?”

“Of course, you are one.”

Qianye was noncommittal. “You said there can be many sons of darkness.”

The great shaman said, “Legends about the son of darkness have been circulating for hundreds of years, and no one knows when it appeared. The mysterious thing about it is that most werewolves already have memories of it when they awaken to their intelligence. This planted the legend even deeper into our hearts and faith. That was probably why every werewolf duke...