Moon hit the ground and moved.
He was already inside the first Cragbrute’s charge. Weaponmaster was alive in his sword work, his sword coming around in a rising diagonal cut that opened the beast’s chest from hip to shoulder.
Purple lightning discharged along the wound and the Cragbrute’s body seized mid-stride, its front legs collapsing beneath it. Moon pivoted off the falling corpse and drove into the second beast before its charge had fully committed.
The second cut took a Cragbrute’s leg at the knee.
The third opened another’s throat.
The fourth severed a curled horn from its base, then continued through the skull beneath.
Limbs fell across the packed dirt. Bodies crumpled. Blood pooled outward from the wounds Moon’s sword produced. His blade moved through the beasts’ hide as if the muscle and bone had been softened before the fight.
Rowan watched from the branch above with stars in his eyes.
Moon was moving like a true swordsman. Tempest Symphony’s rapid combinations made the result something no mage class could ever replicate no matter how many decades they spent trying.
And this was his boss.
Rowan felt his chest tighten with a warmth he rarely felt. Watching Moon cripple the beasts enough for him to finish them, watching Moon carve openings that let Rowan land his own killing shots for the Lives gains, made his heart ache with gratitude he couldn’t put into words.
He didn’t deserve this opportunity.
Most subordinates never got to hunt beside their leaders like this. Most subordinates never received personal grooming from someone this far above their own rank.
Most subordinates never had their commanders slow their own combat pace to make sure the subordinate’s growth curve was accelerated by every kill.
He was lucky.
Very lucky.
The battle continued.
Moon’s sword found targets faster than the Cragbrutes could rally against him. His footwork made him a slippery opponent that the Cragbrutes could not get a hold of.
When a Cragbrute tried to gore him, he slipped past the horns and cut the beast’s spine. When another tried to trample him, he leapt over the charge and drove his blade through the base of its skull mid-air.
Rowan’s arrows landed constantly from above. Every crippled Cragbrute Moon left half-dead got finished by a well-placed shot to injured areas.
Rowan’s shots were stronger and sharper than ever.
He had absorbed enough spiritual essence from the dozen of kills to push him meaningfully forward.
Moon caught the improvements out of the corner of his eye and smiled internally.
By the end of the outer engagement, roughly forty Cragbrute corpses littered the ground. The entire outer population of the colony had been eliminated.
Through the Curse connection, Moon received an update from his subordinate Cragbrute.
Impressions came through in fragments.
’Ordered to hold. Ambush prepared.’
Moon read the intent behind the images.
The strongest of the colony had been smart enough to recognize that its outer members were dying without hitting the intruders.
It had ordered the survivors to stop rushing outward and instead consolidate inside the deep chamber. It was preparing to ambush Moon and Rowan the moment they entered the caves, using terrain the beasts knew intimately and the intruders had never seen.
It was a sound tactical decision.
Under normal circumstances, it might have worked.
Unfortunately for them, Moon had already infiltrated the colony from within.
His subordinate Cragbrute alongside the others received a fresh order from the boss, telling them to gather in the main chamber like everyone else.
Moon sent his own instruction through the Curse thread.
’Follow the order. Don’t stand out. Wait for my signal.’
The subordinate Cragbrute internally acknowledged and moved with the other survivors toward the main chamber.
Rowan dropped down from the last remaining tree once the last engagement ended.
He began the slow work of collecting the Cragbrute corpses, storing each one carefully in his personal storage ring.
Nearly forty bodies littered the ground across the outer territory. Each one represented cores, hides, horn material, and secondary components worth a significant sum.
Combined with the Lives and experience he had gained during the fight, his personal profits from this single hunt would rival months of his previous work.
Moon watched him work.
Once Rowan finished collecting the corpses, Moon spoke.
"Take ten minutes to rest. When you’re ready, we go into the caves. There will be no trees for us to climb this time, so you need to be prepared for the worst."
Rowan nodded before sitting on a stone near the edge of the outer territory. He opened a water bottle and drank slowly.
The ten minutes passed.
Moon nudged him gently.
"Let’s go."
Rowan rose, his bow coming back into his hands as he prepared himself for the toughest battle of his life.
The two of them approached the largest cave opening at the center of the mountain’s base. The interior was dark, and cool. Carrying the scent of a dense mammalian population.
They stepped through the entrance and the darkness swallowed them.
No Cragbrutes stood in their paths, following the orders of their boss.
Moon’s mind stayed connected to his subordinate Cragbrute, tracking its position deep in the main chamber ahead.
The connection was steady. Then, without warning, the connection died.
Moon’s face darkened immediately.
He stopped walking.
Rowan’s head turned toward him, catching the change in his expression.
"Boss?"
Moon didn’t answer.
He was still trying to understand why the connection snapped. The last feeling that his Cragbrute felt before the connection died was fear. Primal fear.
Something had killed his subordinate.
Something inside the main chamber had detected the Curse or felt something was off.
Moon couldn’t guess.
Whatever it was, it had completely changed how he was going to handle the upcoming battle.
Moon’s grip tightened on his sword.
"Rowan. We’re not walking into what we thought we were walking into... Stay close."
Rowan’s face tightened.
The two of them moved deeper into the caves with the underground bat beside them.
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