When the survivors of the patriots were rescued by the army of the Kingdom, they told them everything, They admitted they were there to cause chaos, but before they could they were flanked and slathered unjustly by the Empire's hunters.
The Kingdom used that as an excuse to start the war again. The official war between soldiers would only be fought on the designated battlefield, and as per their agreement, only soldiers of Rank Six and lower were allowed to participate.
Both nations wanted to avoid an all-out war at all costs. However, there was still something that could be done to boost the morale of soldiers. They hired the Hunters for a proxy war.
Unlike the official one, the conflict among Hunters was lawless, brutal, and unforgiving. While the soldiers abided by rules, treaties, and conventions, their freelance allies only care if they would get paid, and how much.
The zone separating the two nations was cleared by the two armies. The reason they gave, was so the wildlife of the Tundra wouldn't interfere in the war. The two opposing armies even collaborated in this endeavor.
Once it was done, they left, and allowed the two groups of Hunters to clash, if they so choose. Considering, the bounty of an enemy Hunter was about fifty percent higher than a beast of the same rank; no one had a problem with getting their hands dirty.
The beasts didn't mind either. The humans were now too busy killing each other to bother them, and if they so chose they could go in and snatch themselves a snack from the chaotic piss contest that was the battle of the Hunters.
Ciaran and Diana had retreated to the opposite side of the conflict. Money was a very enticing reward for most, but not for them. They wanted to see how things would shape up before they made their move.
The problem was that they were three months into their mission, and both of them only had thirty kills each. It could be argued that since the boy started the war, his body count was theoretically in the thousands, but old man Silver would only accept the kills that they made with their own two hands.
Ciaran's plan was to use the disorganization of the Hunters when the war started and hunt down small groups, but that only worked for a very brief period. The army had stepped in and stopped the infighting. After that, the whole lot of the Hunters were organized into one huge group.
They still had no hierarchy, but now the army watches over them, and if anyone was to misbehave they would be subjected to capital punishment.
"Let's go, today's hunt should prove to be interesting," Diana said.
The duo decided to take things slow. People were dying left and right, but that wasn't their problem. They were preparing to hunt down a Rank Five moose. Diana had expressed her desire for revenge and Ciaran had thought of a plan.
Of course, it would be hard, and it would threaten their lives, but they weren't the same people that came to the Tundra all those months ago.
Diana was nearing Rank Five, and Ciaran could feel he was almost at Rank Two. The difference in power, once they ranked up, would be staggering. The boy would once again take on close combat, and not just rely on his magic to dispatch opponents of his level.
Diana on the other hand, would be one step closer to being a true powerhouse. She was strong now, but there were plenty of Rank Fours. Those in Rank Five and beyond, however, were few and far in between.
They gave themselves a month and a half to reach their next ranks. If they failed they would join the war regardless. They had to complete their mission, and for now, war was the only way to do that.
"So that's the big lump of meat that gave you trouble? I have to say, it does look impressive." Ciaran said, looking at the moose in front of him.
The thing was huge. The boy thought it looked about as big as one-third of the mountain he had been on when he became a Novice.
"Are you sure you can kill it? No offense but your warglaves would be a little more than twigs for it." Ciaran teased her.
She rolled her eyes and told him to be serious and to get into position. He would support her from the back, while she handled the frontal assault.
She charged, just like before she blinked her way to the animal. This time, however, it didn't have time to prepare itself, because the blink was untraceable.
Before it could even look at what it thought to be an annoying firefly, Diana spun her weapons and started cutting. She summoned all the Moonlight she could, to materialize and enlarge the form of her blades.
They became huge white blades made of light, each blade about five percent as big as one of the legs of the moose. It was still not enough to cause any critical injury, but it was enough to make it bleed.
Since she caught it off guard, she was able to slice at its neck. She made a fast slice, and it was almost surgical.
"Good, you hit it right in the carotid artery. Now book it, it's furious." The Wind carried Ciaran's voice straight in her ear.
She did as instructed and blinked, the next moment a giant hoove swung by where she used to be, and smashed into the ground, causing an earthquake.
Ciaran watched this from high in the sky and observed their prey in full. He was also preparing something special for the animal while continuing to give Diana instructions.
She continued to blink in and out of existence, as she made one small incision at a time. Finally, after ten hours of nonstop bullying, the moose had had enough and it unleashed its full power. It called upon the earth and slammed its hoves with its full weight behind them.
The ground shattered, and spikes erupted all the way into the sky for two hundred and fifty kilometers (150 miles) in circular diameter. Diana was hiding in an air bubble that hid her from all of its senses, courtesy of Ciaran when the moose went for the all-in attack.
"Come here, it's planning something." Just before the attack, she heard the boy say, and she blinked up.
On her first blink, the moose was preparing the slam the ground. On her second blink, spikes were chasing her down. And on the third blink, she was with her partner, needing his Wind to breathe, as they were way above the ground, at about 6000 meters (20000 feet).
They looked down, and at the epicenter of the calamity, a giant bleeding moose was panting. It thought that the annoying bug was finally crushed, along with everything else. It could barely move its body, but at least it was safe now, or so it thought.
The next moment a giant ball of water came crashing down on it. It was the result of ten hours of hard child labor, and Ciaran intended to make good use of it.
With its body now wet, the boy froze it. Now it was wounded exhausted, and frozen.
"It should be safe for you to finish it off." He said as he helped Diana to get back down.
The girl immediately started hacking at its neck when she got close. She had no desire to prolong its suffering, so she hit it again and again and again, and finally, it died.
The problem now lay that they couldn't transport it as it was, so they had to spend another three whole days chopping it up and stuffing the meat in their storage spaces.
"See, I told you we could fit it all in. You always worry about the silliest of things." Ciaran jested.
She smiled and hit him on the back of the neck.
" We completed my hunt, now it's time for yours and no magic. You have started relying on it too much. You need to move those muscles up if you want them to grow." She said.
She was right. Lately, Ciaran had neglected his martial training, but that could hardly be helped. He was in a danger zone, and his partner was in a whole different league. He needed to bring his A-game or he would be totally useless.
"Fine, but we are still eating this whole thing first before we switch to other meat. We can't sell it, and we would benefit from eating such high-quality meat." He said.
She rolled her eyes at him.
"You damn foodie; all you ever think about is food. You don't even care about ranks or hunts or anything but food do you?" She asked in mock anger.
"Guilty as charged Ma'am." He saluted her, military style.