The king's sudden order had a vastly different impact on the independent and vassal werewolf clans. In the past, their young warriors had to work under the ten great clans or enlist in the military to have even a slight chance of entering the Trial of Yggdrasil. Some wealthy independent clans resorted to buying slots for their most promising youths.
But this time, the king's directive changed everything.
He directly tasked the Arbiter Clan with organizing a grand competition to select the ten strongest warriors among all eligible werewolf youths. Following the command, the Arbiter Clan issued a worldwide announcement: all werewolves under the age of one hundred were invited to participate in the preliminary selection round, to be held in the coliseum at Lunergarde during the first ten days of the following month.
Entry required only a fee of 10,000 dollars.
