Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 — Ravagers

Chapter 24 — Ravagers

Team Fifteen continued deeper into the cavern.

The lights from the perimeter had already disappeared behind them, replaced by the dim glow of their lamps and the occasional faintly glowing minerals embedded in the cavern walls.

Victor walked near the back of the group with Jacob.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke.

Then Victor noticed someone slowing down beside him.

It was Leo.

The white-haired leader had fallen back from the front of the group and was now walking alongside Victor.

Victor glanced at him.

He wasn’t expecting it.

Leo smiled.

"So, Victor. Tell me a little about yourself."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"About myself?"

"Yeah."

Victor thought for a moment.

"There’s really not much to say. I’m a slave in the Alchemist Tower. What else would you like to know?"

Leo chuckled.

"I’ve heard you’re a slave who’s pretty good at fighting."

Victor’s expression changed slightly.

He looked toward Leo.

"What do you mean by that?"

Leo’s smile widened.

For a moment, he simply looked at Victor.

Then he shrugged.

"Something a little birdie told me."

Victor stared at him.

Before he could ask anything else, Leo simply turned and walked back toward the rest of the group.

Victor watched him for a moment.

The conversation had been strange.

Very strange.

He didn’t know who Leo had heard it from or what exactly he had been told.

But whatever Leo was up to, Victor doubted it was anything good.

There was no point in overthinking it, though.

They were still slaves.

Whatever Leo wanted, Victor didn’t have much choice but to continue following the team.

Still, Victor kept his eyes open.

The group continued forward.

They were roughly halfway toward Region G when Jennifer, who was scouting ahead, suddenly stopped.

She raised a hand.

The rest of the team immediately slowed.

Jennifer remained still, staring into the darkness ahead.

Then she gave a short warning signal.

Leo’s expression changed.

"Ravagers."

Victor looked ahead.

A low growl echoed through the cavern.

"Slow down."

Three pairs of eyes appeared in the darkness.

A moment later, the creatures stepped into the dim light.

Victor’s eyes narrowed.

They were strange creatures.

Their bodies resembled massive wolves, but their heads and tusks looked more like wild boars. Thick muscles shifted beneath their coarse fur as they lowered their bodies, preparing to charge.

Leo immediately began giving orders.

"Kyle, take the lead."

The large man stepped forward and raised his shield.

"They’ll charge quickly. Hold them back when they come."

Kyle nodded.

Leo turned toward Jefferson.

"Once he blocks the first one, stab it in the neck."

Jefferson drew his sword.

"I’ll take the other two."

Leo looked toward Janet.

"When I stop the first one, shoot it."

Janet pulled an arrow from her quiver.

Everything was ready.

A Ravager suddenly lowered its head.

Leo’s eyes sharpened.

"Here they come."

The first Ravager exploded forward.

Its massive body tore across the stone floor.

Kyle planted his feet.

The beast slammed into his shield.

BOOM!

The impact echoed through the cavern.

Kyle’s boots slid backward, but he refused to give ground.

The Ravager snarled and pushed against the shield, its tusks scraping against the metal.

"Now!"

Jefferson moved.

He stepped around Kyle and drove his sword directly into the creature’s exposed neck.

Blood sprayed across the stone.

The Ravager screamed and thrashed violently.

Kyle shoved forward with his shield, forcing the dying creature backward.

It collapsed.

The second Ravager charged toward Leo.

Leo met it head-on.

The beast swung its head, trying to catch him with its tusks.

Leo stepped aside and slashed across its neck.

"Janet."

The bowstring snapped.

The arrow flew through the air and struck the exposed side of the Ravager’s head.

The creature collapsed.

Only one remained.

Leo turned toward it.

The final Ravager lowered its head.

Its hooves scraped against the stone.

Then it charged.

Leo moved toward it.

But instead of meeting the beast head-on, he suddenly shifted his body and made a quick feint.

At the last moment, he stepped aside.

The Ravager rushed past him.

Straight toward Victor and Jacob.

Victor’s eyes widened.

For a fraction of a second, everything seemed to slow.

The Ravager was coming directly at them.

Jacob was beside him.

Victor could dodge.

But if he moved away, Jacob would be directly in its path.

Damn it.

There wasn’t time to think.

Victor’s hand moved to his sword.

His body reacted before his mind could fully process the situation.

The Ravager reached them.

Victor drew his sword but immediately realized it wouldn’t be enough.

He needed to stop it.

The beast’s tusks came toward him.

Victor threw his sword aside and reached out.

His hands clamped around both tusks.

The impact nearly tore his arms from their sockets.

His feet scraped backward across the stone.

One step.

Then another.

The Ravager pushed forward with everything it had.

Victor gritted his teeth.

His muscles tightened.

Something deep inside him stirred.

The power sleeping within his bloodline surged through his body almost on instinct.

His strength exploded.

The Ravager suddenly stopped.

Victor’s feet dug into the stone.

His arms trembled.

Then he pulled.

The creature’s massive body shifted.

Victor twisted his waist and used the beast’s own momentum against it.

With a roar, he flipped the Ravager sideways.

BOOM!

Its body slammed into the ground.

Before it could recover, Victor dropped down beside it.

His hand grabbed his dagger.

He drove the blade into the side of its head.

The Ravager released a deafening squeal.

Its legs kicked against the stone.

Then they stopped.

Silence filled the cavern.

Victor remained crouched there for a moment, breathing heavily.

He slowly stood.

Jacob stared at him.

His face was pale.

He had just watched his life flash before his eyes.

If that creature had reached him, there would have been nothing he could do.

Yet Victor had stopped it.

With his bare hands.

Jacob looked at the dead Ravager.

Then at Victor.

How strong is this kid?

The rest of Team Fifteen was equally silent.

Even Leo looked surprised.

Only for a moment.

Then something else appeared in his eyes.

Interest.

He had deliberately redirected the Ravager.

He had wanted to see what Victor would do.

And Victor had exceeded his expectations.

Leo’s smile slowly returned.

Interesting.

Victor looked around.

Then his eyes stopped on Leo.

He stared at him.

A realization settled in his mind.

He did that on purpose.

Victor remembered everything.

The strange questions.

The way Leo already knew his name.

The way he seemed interested in Victor’s ability to fight.

And now this.

Leo hadn’t simply failed to stop the Ravager.

He had deliberately allowed it to charge them.

He hadn’t cared whether Victor or Jacob survived.

Victor’s expression remained calm, but his eyes hardened.

Leo met his gaze.

For a moment, neither said anything.

Then Leo smiled.

"Okay, Victor."

He gestured toward the dead beasts.

"Good job."

He pointed toward the bodies.

"Go ahead and get to work."

Victor didn’t move immediately.

Leo continued.

"Take the ears. We need the pelts and the cores."

He paused.

"And take some of the meat too. We’re going to be hungry later."

Victor finally nodded.

"Understood."

He and Jacob moved toward the bodies.

Victor knelt beside the nearest Ravager and began working.

But his eyes occasionally drifted toward Leo.

He didn’t trust him.

Leo wiped the blood from his sword before examining the bodies.

"Two Rank Eights."

He moved to the third.

"And one Rank Nine."

Victor’s expression changed slightly.

Those creatures were much stronger than the monsters he had encountered on the upper levels.

Then Leo suddenly frowned.

"Wait."

He crouched beside one of the Ravagers and examined it more closely.

"These are pups."

Kyle looked over.

"Pups?"

Leo nodded.

"Yeah. If the pups are already this strong..."

His expression became slightly more serious.

"...the mother is going to be a nasty beast."

Leo glanced deeper into the darkness.

"And she definitely won’t be happy to find her pups dead."

They quickly finished up and continued towards their destination.

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