I Became A Zompirewolf

While going through the mansion, Ashton decided to check the defence mechanisms that had been installed in place by the locals. The first thing that caught his attention was several watch towers that stood erected in the courtyard. Each tower had at least 2 snipers on the lookout for potential trouble.

On top of that, the walls around the mansion had been reinforced using technology as well as magic. No one should be able to make it past the walls without making an absurd amount of noise.

Even if they managed to do so, hundreds of remotely activated traps were also spread across the courtyard along with various tips of sensors, including heat and motion sensors. All this security should be able to hold off a small group of assassins.

Sadly, Ashton knew most of these measures would prove useless against a full-frontal assault. The snipers, the reinforced walls and the traps might manage to slow them down. But judging from the ones he had to fight till now, these measures wouldn't hold for long against them.

Especially with all the escape paths, he had found earlier, stopping an army would be damn near impossible.

'Even after hearing what happened, the efforts are a bit too lax around here.'

Ashton knew one thing for sure, if he ever found himself in the need of security, he would never ask anyone from Eva for help. Having these idiots around would do more harm than good. While he was busy looking around and nit-picking at everything, he heard a voice.

"Oi, you! Can you tell me where the armoury is? I gotta store these weapons there before getting back to work." A hoarse voice echoed in the courtyard.

Ashton turned around and looked all over the place but couldn't see anyone. For a moment, he wondered whether he was going mad or something. It was only when he received a kick on his leg he realised the owner of the voice was standing in front all this time.

The man wasn't invisible or anything, he was just... a tad bit short. So short that Ashton couldn't even register his presence until the person hit him. With a bulky figure and hammer attached to his waist, a dwarf was staring at him through his bushy eyebrows.

The dwarf had very long, wavy, dyed red hair which happened to be shaved on the left side and mysterious blue eyes. His dirty clothes and soot-filled skin gave off the hint that the creature had been hard at work until recently.

"Uh... how can I help you?"

"Getting out of the way would be a good start." The dwarf growled.

'They are as feisty as I have heard. Short height but a big mouth that makes up for it.' Ashton thought while stepping aside.

[Now you know why quite a few species hate them.]

"Now tell me where is the armoury?" The Dwarf barked yet again.

When Ashton first arrived at the mansion, he did the same thing that he did with Eula's entourage back at Kernel Tower. He asked for a list of everyone working in the mansion and obviously, the Dwarf was mentioned there.

Apparently, the Dwarf who was known as Thori Smeltmaster had served the family for more than one and a half centuries. The forge was his home and everything. Thori never frequented the outside world.

According to what Ashton had been told, Thori would only come out of his forge once in three decades with a shit ton of weapons. armours and other equipment. Also, most of the relics possessed by the family had been created by him.

Ashton wasn't really sure about the so-called 'relic' the old man had made. If they were of any use, should Eula be carrying at least one of such items with her to help her survive against the terrorists? Either way, there was something about the dwarf that Ashton couldn't stomach.

"Since you have worked here for most of your life, shouldn't you know where the armoury is?"

It was strange. As someone working under Eula's family, the dwarf should have known everything about the place. Therefore, the Dwarf should not have asked such a thing from a stranger like Ashton.

That being said, someone like the dwarf would have been the perfect target for the phantom to turn into.  After all, Thori had the most influence over the family since he had pretty much seen them all grow and become the people they were now.

Without wasting any time Ashton used [Detection] at the old dwarf. What he saw made him rub his eyes over and over and he wasn't the only one surprised by it either.

[S rank... how come I have never heard about the name Thori Smeltmaster before?]

'That isn't his name... look carefully.'

Next to the Dwarf's name, there was a caution symbol. It had been a while since Ashton last saw this symbol as it denoted that the user did not have high enough authority to view that detail of the person or thing.

The Dwarf had his identity hidden. Which made Ashton even more suspicious about him. Neither he nor Astaroth had any idea how [Detection] would react after seeing the Phantom. But this discrepancy was enough for Ashton to strike.

The S rank was bothering him as well, but he couldn't let that hesitation get in his way. If the Dwarf was indeed the Phantom, then this was the golden opportunity Ashton had been waiting for.

Without any delay, Ashton drew Balmond and prepared to strike. But at the same moment, something strange happened.

The hammer Thori possessed became bigger and bigger. Until it was as big as Ashton himself. Despite the hammer's size, Thori wielded it as if it was as heavy as a bird's feather. Thori swung the hammer but Ashton dodged the strike.

However, he still ended up being blown away by the winds generated by the hammer. He wasn't the only one who got thrown away either. Most of the watchtowers were knocked down along with him.

'Damn it!'

Ashton cursed and tried to get back to his feet. Sadly Thori was already standing on top of him. Ashton swung Balmond at the dwarf, but Thori stopped the attack by simply placing his foot on his arm. No matter how much strength Ashton used, he could not free his arm.

"That blade... where did you find it?" Thori calmly asked while examining Balmond, "It's similar to the ones wielded by the Xyrans and yet... it's different. It's not a Mournblade... but something else."

"How do you know about Mournblades?" Ashton was shocked and so was Astaroth.

"Human child... a dwarf never forgets his creations. Now tell me... what is your blade?"