Ana and Jacob led their team to the Entrance to the Howlers Pack’s hideout. Traversing through Drapers Garden, the first group rushed over to their destination.

Within Ana and Jacob’s group were all three captains’ followers. There are usually four followers per captain, which meant that twelve followers were being led by Ana and Jacob.

Despite being in such a big group, the HMDD members were as silent as the dead, none of them making a sound. As they continued moving, they got closer to their location. And as they got closer, the more Lycans started to appear.

Ana and Jacob soon arrived at the location where the entrance of the Howlers' hideout was. It was located outside of Drapers Garden and led down to a tunnel entrance.

At the tunnel entrance, around five Lycans could be seen patrolling the area. They were all in their human forms at the moment, but the group knew that they were Lycans.

Especially when one of the guards there, a bald white man with a sleeveless shirt, was bearing a Howlers tattoo on his arm. That tattoo is a clear sign that they belonged to the Howlers pack.

Hiding behind some trees that were part of Drapers Garden, the HMDD group watched over the Tunnel Entrance, possibly trying to figure out how to get inside.

“Five Lycans are guarding the entrance…” Ana stated, keeping her eyes locked on the tunnel entrance.

“There’s fourteen of us, so we should be able to take them down,” Jacob stated. “Didn’t Janus’s plan involve us causing a lot of noise?”

“Yeah, but we need to be inside when we start the noise. He was very specific about that part.”

The group was currently following Janus’s plan. And that plan was being the bait and causing a lot of noise to attract as many Lycans as they could so that Janus and his siblings could take down the Alpha while his pack was preoccupied.

And in order for that plan to start, Janus specifically told them to be inside the tunnel before they started causing chaos in the hideout. And they can’t just be at the entrance, they needed to be pretty deep in the tunnels so that the Lycans grow wary of the group and focus all their energy on them while the Alpha either ran away or stayed and waited.

Knowing what they needed to do, the group had to devise a plan to take down the gatekeepers at the Tunnel entrance while not attracting any attention at that moment.

“Using Aconitum is a bad idea due to a Lycan’s sense of smell,” Ana stated. “The Werewolves inside the tunnel will catch a whiff of the Wolf’s Bane and all hell will break loose too early.”

“Then we’ll have to attract their attention and draw them away from the tunnel,” Jacob suggested.

“Easier said than done. Our most powerful weapon against the Lycans is Wolf’s Bane. And since we can’t use it, attracting their attention would be considered too dangerous.”

“Yeah, but Janus said we needed to figure out what to do…”

“Yeah…”

Before the plan went into motion, Janus said that Ana was going to be leading the group along with Jacob. And that they were going to plan how they were going to do their part of the Raid.

While that gives them a lot of pressure, it will also give them more experience when dealing with Lycans on their own, since the group can’t rely on the Helsings forever.

And so, they needed to figure out a way to take down the Lycans guarding the entrance without alarming the Lycans inside.

“Attracting a couple and taking down a few at the gate might not be better,” Jacob noted. “if we kill them, the Lycans inside will likely smell their blood or something else that’ll alarm them.”

“Yeah…hmm…blood,” Ana then started pondering over something. After a few moments, a light bulb seemed to have lit as a look of inspiration came across her face. “I know what we should do.”

…

“…Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jacob asked hesitantly.

“You got anything better?” Ana retorted.

“…No, but this still doesn’t seem…all that safe.”

“I’m aware…I think Janus’s recklessness is rubbing off on me. And I don’t know how I should feel about that.”

While the group was conversing, they were currently holding down a monster just as dangerous and notorious as Lycans…a vampire.

The vampire was currently bounded by silver chains, weakening him, and his mouth was covered with a cloth rag. The vampire struggled to break free, but his efforts were fruitless as it wasn’t even able to loosen the chains binding it.

The group found the vampire somewhere nearby Drapers Garden and decided to use the monster as bait. The reason why was simple…Lycans and Vampires despise one another.

It is widely known that Lycans and Vampires have something of a feud or rivalry against one another. Both sides are very hostile to each other to the point where if either one sees the other, they’ll attack on-site.

Not only that…but if either side catches the other scent, they chase after them as well. And what Ana plans to do…is take advantage of that little trait of theirs.

“As stated before, Lycans have an acute sense of smell. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that we were camouflaging our scent to keep the Lycans from smelling us, those bastards would’ve already found us.”

The reason why Ana and Jacob’s group hasn’t been found out by the Lycans is that they are masking their scent from monsters. It’s a recently made item created by none other than the Genius Helsing, Sherley Van Helsing.

In fact, most of the equipment that the HMDD use nowadays was created by her. From the recently developed Black Light to the Scent masking spray that keeps Lycans from finding them, Sherley Van Helsing was behind all of it.

“While our scents are masked, this guy isn’t.” Ana then pulls out a dagger and points it at the vampire. The dagger was made of silver, the Vampire’s main weakness.

“So, you plan on attracting the Lycans' attention by using their mortal enemy aside from the HMDD,” Jacob concluded, amazed by her actions.

“Pretty much,” Ana shrugged before bringing the dagger to the Vampire’s neck.

The blood-sucker got nervous and started thrashing about once more, trying to break free from the bonds, but to no avail.

“Is everyone in position?” Ana asked.

“Yes, just as you’ve instructed,” Jacob confirmed.

“Good…let’s get started then.”

Without waiting for another second, Ana drove the dagger deep into the Vampire’s neck, causing the blood to rush out like a fountain. The vampire choked on its own blood before finally dying, turning into a pile of ash.

Even with the blood gone, Ana got what she wanted.

She looked over at where the Lycans were, and they all started sniffing the air like they caught the scent of something.

“Hey, do you smell that?” One Lycan said.

“Yeah…it’s blood. Vampire blood.” Another Lycan growled after stating this.

“Did one of those bloodsuckers just walk into our turf?” Another Lycan snarled, continuing to sniff the air.

“Looks like it. And that bastard seems to be over there.” One Lycan then pointed at where Ana and Jacob were.

The other Lycans looked over at where their brethren were pointing, and they all started to growl like wolves.

“That fucker made a big mistake coming here…”

“Agreed.”

“Let’s kill him!”

After all the Lycans agreed to go after the vampire, they all started transforming into their werewolf forms. They started growing bigger, fur started growing on their bodies, and their heads changed into the shape of a wolf.

It didn’t take long before all of them were fully transformed, ready to gang up on the vampire that they were smelling. They got on all fours and rushed towards the spot where they were smelling the blood-sucker, not knowing that they were about to get caught in a trap.

The Lycans got to where the vampire was and soon noticed Ana and Jacob.

“Humans…?” One Lycan said in a hoarse voice.

“What about the vampire…?!”

The Lycans then turned and noticed the dead vampire’s ashes, getting blown away by the wind. As they saw this, the Lycans came to a realization.

“A trap!”

“We need to run…!”

Just when the Lycans were about to flee, multiple arrows could be earn being fired and zooming towards the Monsters. They got shot in the legs, arms, chest, and head.

After a few moments, the Lycans before the group were more like porcupines now, what with the arrows sticking out their bodies like needles. The Lycans stood their ground for a moment until they all collapsed at the same time.

The reason why was that the arrows were laced with a small amount of Aconitum. The group didn’t use it when they were at the gate because the Lycans inside would smell it. But now, with them a little far from the entrance, they could risk it.

Just as they fell, they all started to revert back to their human forms. Some of the arrows fell off their body from the change in size, but the majority stayed on.

With the Lycans dead, Jacob and Ana sighed with relief.

“Well, that happened,” Jacob sighed. “I still think that was pretty reckless.”

“Yeah, but at least it worked…” Ana said before groaning. “God, now I’m starting to sound like Janus.”

“I feel sorry for you…” Jacob muttered.

“A-anyway, we should focus on the task at hand.”

“Yeah…”

The two then looked at the entrance of the tunnel where the Howlers pack was residing. There was one thing left to do.

“Let’s cause some noise…” Ana declared.

…

Deep inside the Tunnel where the Howlers pack resided, two Lycans were patrolling a part of their tunnel. The tunnel was lined with brittle, aged bricks, most of them filled with cracks while others were filled with moss.

Even the stone floors were pretty aged, what with the cracks engulfing the whole place. There were some makeshift torches placed on the walls, illuminating the tunnel.

Even without the torches, the Lycans have night vision, so they can easily see in the dark. Of course, having light makes things easier for them, so they keep the place well-lit.

The two Lycans kept patrolling their section of the tunnel, walking around and keeping a close eye on anything suspicious.

“You think the others got more breeders for the Leader?” One Lycan asked.

“If they did, we would already know. Not unless they took in the breeders before our shift started.”

“Well, we been patrolling this tunnel for a couple of hours, so I guess that’s not the case, huh.”

“There you go.”

There were two entrances to the Howlers' hideout. The front entrance and the back entrance. The front entrance is used mostly for entry and such. It is known as the main entrance.

As for the back entrance, that one is a secret entrance that acts as an exit or an escape door for the Alpha. If the base was ever invaded by anything from other monsters like vampires or the HMDD, they would most likely go for the main door and invade them there.

While the main door was getting invaded, the back door was still safe and usable for the Alpha to use and escape.

“We should probably check up on the guys at the entrance, make sure they aren’t slacking off.”

“What, you think those guys are going to go chase after some squirrels or something?” The other Lycan joked.

“We can’t be sure. Besides, it’s part of our job anyway, since we go near the entrance.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Let’s get moving then.”

As the two Lycans agreed to go meet up with the gatekeepers of the Entrance, they started sniffing the air, catching something.

“Huh? What the hell is that smell?”

“I…don’t know.”

The Lycans kept sniffing the air, trying to make out what it is. Then…

The sound of something metal hitting the ground and rolling across it. The Lycans then saw it.

It was a metal ball of sorts…and it reeked of Aconitum.

“S-shit…!”

“R-run now!”

Before the Lycans could escape, the Aconitum bomb exploded, engulfing the pair in its purple gas. The Lycans wheezed and coughed as they fell to the ground, convulsing and foaming out the mouth.

Their bodies were covered in purple veins, a clear sign of the Aconitum coursing through their body now.

“Hey, what was that noise?”

“I think I heard it from here!”

As soon as the Aconitum bomb exploded, the other Lycans soon heard and smelled it. A few of them came rushing over to where the two Lycans collapsed.

“Shit! Bore and Eli are down!”

“Don’t go near the gas! Inform the others! We are under attack! We are und-ack!?”

Just then, bullets can be heard being fired from the distance, hitting the Lycans in rapid succession. Blood spurted around, coating the floor and walls in the wet crimson.

“S-shit…the bullets… they're laced with Aconitum!” One Lycan yelled.

“D-dammit!”

Knowing that their base was getting ambushed and they were getting attacked by the HMDD, a few Lycans ran away deep into the tunnel to inform the rest of the pack of what just happened.

Meanwhile, the remaining Lycans that stayed faced off against the HMDD members attacking them. Then, Ana, Jacob, and the rest of their group appeared before the Lycans.

Their guns were trained on the monsters, ready to fire. Then…

“Fire!” Jacob ordered, signaling the others to pull the trigger.

More gunshots can be heard in the distance as the Lycans that ran off. Thanks to their heightened hearing, they could clearly hear the shots even from this distance as if they were at the scene.

And thus…the first part of the Lycan raid has commenced.