The treacherous path down the Avalon Mountain Range made their descent harder. More so because they were rushing, they had to take a more challenging trail.
As dusk began to settle, casting an azure hue across the sky, Zahir realized they could go no further. He halted their progress and set up camp halfway down the mountain, knowing night would soon envelop them.
"It seems we'll be stopping over here," Eliya commented as she gazed outside the window. She then turned to look at the still and calm boy who was currently meditating.
Ardiel has taken the whole day practicing mana breathing and using Light step despite just sitting the whole time. It amazed her how the boy was surprisingly more diligent than she initially thought.
Soon, a knock was heard and a silhouette appeared from the window.
"What is it?" Eliya asked as she opened the carriage's door, then he saw his younger brother.
"Reporting to Vice Captain Eliya, the parameter is clear of any significant threats aside from a horde of Fenrox and Strigers." Lance said, brushing off the fact that Fenrox and Strigers can be dangerous.
Lance's carefree demeanor was understandable, given the sight just outside the carriage—a massive 25-foot-tall Wyvern, was standing upright, enjoying the attention from the people of Caravan. This was Eliya's mount, which she had lent to Lance for patrolling the area.
As a Vice Captain of Cloudmist, Eliya specialized in reconnaissance and used a Wyvern for her scouting missions. Lance, who had been a scout before transferring to Stormwing—a division tasked with securing the flanks and rears—was familiar with riding Wyverns.
The Wyvern was a lesser-dragon with impure blood compared to the more dragon-like Drakes, was a natural predator. Its presence was enough to keep other creatures at bay.
"How many?" Eliya asked, unlike Lance who was less vigilant of the situation, she was different.
"About 30 Fenrox to the southeast, and 12 Strigers scattered from the west to northwest," Lance reported.
"So we're basically surrounded. Are you kidding me? Do you think Leera will be enough to keep those creatures on guard?" Eliya questioned, referring to her Wyvern, Leera.
"Remember, nothing stops a hungry wolf from hunting. Inform Zahir and get everything ready in case things go awry," she instructed before stepping out of the carriage, leaving Ardiel to continue his meditation inside.
Eliya walked towards Leera and hopped onto the Wyvern's back. Leera growled in enjoyment as her master settled in.
"Let's go!" they soared into the sky, flying in a slow circle as Eliya observed the perimeter. As a Rank 5 knight of the recon team, she had trained to heighten her senses multiple folds ever since she was deployed to the recon. This allowed her to see even the smallest details from a kilometer away.
Meanwhile, Zahir was informed of the circumstances and was instantly alarmed.
He knew Fenrox were among the top predators in the Avalon Mountain Range, moving with cunning precision in their hordes. These creatures, with their mottled gray fur, dark brown tails and razor-sharp teeth, could grow up to four feet tall.
Strigers, on the other hand, were even larger, with adults reaching around six feet tall. Their sleek, black fur and piercing red eyes made them formidable night hunters. They often moved in packs when hunting, but they are solitary beings as adults. This behavior made them unpredictable; just encountering one in the wild would be threatening for a Rank 3, much less if they moved in packs of four or five.
The air around the camp grew tense, shadows lengthening as the last light of day faded. Zahir notified all the mercenaries and rankers in the party and informed them of the details. Fenroxes may have been common, but they might be clueless about Strigers, who are normally native to the Dark Forest in the southwest edge of the empire. Their migration here added another layer of threat.
"Let's use the Five Talons Formation," Lance suggested, organizing the rankers into position.
The Five Talons Formation required five Aurors to form a star shape at the forefront, with Magisters positioned at the center for long-range attacks.
Grade 1 and 2 rankers set up camp, while the Grade 3 rankers patrolled the clearing. Zahir took charge of the Magisters, and Lance led the Grade 3 Aurors. Eliya, however, dismounted from Leera and headed straight towards the northwest, where the Strigers were waiting for the right moment to strike.
If the Strigers wouldn't make the first move, she would.
Her Cyan mana core spun with deadly speed as she enveloped herself in black-hued mana. Her movements became eerily silent, and the two long daggers she wielded transformed into extensions of her will, acting as the claw of a predator. The Strigers thrived in darkness, but Eliya, with her mastery of stealth, was their perfect counter.
She darted through the trees with ghostly silence, blending seamlessly with the encroaching night. Her bloodshot eyes locked onto the nearest Striger, a hulking beast lounging near the stream, unaware of the looming danger.
In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind the 5-foot-tall Striger and, without hesitation, spun and slashed, beheading the creature before it even realized its fate.
The night seemed to grow darker as the echoes of the Striger's fall faded into silence. Eliya prepared for her next strike, the chilling calm of her surroundings a testament to her successful execution.
She then located her next victim and swiftly moved in its direction. Despite her young age, her striking momentum was that of a veteran.
Back at the camp, the party was busy scouting the area while remaining fully alert. With their years of experience traveling around the empire, this had become an expected scenario for them—being ambushed by bandits or surrounded by beasts had happened countless times already.
Zahir spread his golden sand in the air and let it scatter around, using it as a medium to observe any significant movements within the area it encircled like a barrier.
"The Fenroxes are starting to move at six o'clock," he yelled. A small pack of six Fenroxes appeared in their field of sight, hurrying to pounce on the Aurors stationed at the outer part of the formation, their mission was to act as meat shields and pave a way for the other packs.
Meanwhile, Ardiel remained engrossed in his meditation. He had fallen into a trance long ago and was in the process of forming his mana core. After forming his mana circle, he now had a better grasp of controlling the flow of his mana.
He was starting to condense his mana in his lower dantian, following the principle of a snowball gradually increasing in size as it rolled down the mountain.
The point-like ball of mana spun continuously. Each rotation was harder, but his mana attribute made the process easier. His core was like a planet forming, developing a weak gravitational pull that drew his own mana towards it.
If forming a mana ring depended on the number of revolutions—the more revolutions, the stronger it got—then for the mana core, it was the opposite. It started as a large core, and as the Auror progressed, the smaller and more denser it became.
The core's size would continue to decrease until Rank 5, the color of cyan. From there, the core would only become denser and firmer.
His almost transparent mana core started to have a reddish hue, signifying that he was now at a crucial point. The natural attraction to the center of the developing core was getting weaker. Any further and it would become unstable. He needed a stable core, but one big enough to hold its shape.
At a certain point, he stopped the mana from condensing on his core as it was getting harder to maintain its size, like a red supergiant star on the verge of collapsing. His vibrant red core rotated clockwise faster, using centripetal force to secure its stability, while also eliminating a few layers of mana to reach its optimal size.
Just as he finished forming his core, the carriage he was staying in shook violently, like something had crashed into it from the outside, causing him to stumble from his position and slam towards the wall inside.
"WHAT THE-"