Silas grinned as he glanced at his stats. 852,000 merits. The thought was a pleasant one, his grin widening slightly as he reflected on the spoils of the earlier battle with the King Wolf and its pack. His killing intent, still steadily released, pulsed outward with an unrelenting purpose: to ward off weak beasts that might disrupt their progress. So far, it had done its job, though from time to time, a more daring creature would emerge to challenge them.
These encounters had turned into a kind of game between him and Amelia. Each time a beast appeared, it became a race to see who could take it down first. Amelia was quick—really quick. Her cultivation seemed almost tailored to speed. Her movements were a blur of precision and lethal efficiency, slicing through opponents with an almost predatory grace. Silas couldn't deny that she was skilled, though his confidence in his own strength remained steadfast. His muscles, now refined to full completion, brimmed with energy, a sense of power surging through him with every step.
Silas had briefly considered cultivating as they jogged but dismissed the thought. The idea of trying to recreate the state he'd fallen into during the tortoise fight felt… unnatural. That had been something different, something instinctive. Trying to force it wouldn't work, and he wasn't about to trip over his own feet in the middle of a jog.
Lost in his thoughts, Silas barely noticed when Amelia darted ahead, her daggers flashing as she dispatched a mouse-like beast about the size of a house cat. He raised an eyebrow, watching her toss the creature's lifeless body aside with little fanfare.
"Not bad," he muttered, jogging to catch up.
The two moved forward without much concern, their pace steady as they neared the chasm entrance Amelia had mentioned. Silas allowed his thoughts to wander again, his focus drifting as the rhythmic cadence of their steps filled the quiet air.
And then another mouse beast appeared. Silas barely gave it a second thought until Amelia dispatched it with the same precision as the first.
"Hmm," she murmured, glancing at the corpse briefly before continuing.
But another appeared. Then another. And another.
Silas frowned, his jog slowing slightly as he took in the sight. The creatures didn't seem to care about the oppressive aura of his killing intent, their small, beady eyes gleaming with an unsettling focus. Their movements were erratic yet deliberate, their clawed feet scrabbling against the dirt as they emerged one after the other.
Amelia slowed as well, her gaze sharp as she scanned the growing number of beasts. "We're close to the chasm entrance," she said, her tone tight.
As the duo pressed closer to the chasm, mouse beasts began appearing in groups of three or four at a time. Each one was about the size of a housecat, with patchy gray fur that clung to their wiry frames and beady red eyes that gleamed like embers in the low light. Their sharp claws clicked against the ground as they scurried forward, their twitching noses and hissing breaths giving them an unnerving, predatory air.
Silas swung his bo staff in a fluid arc, catching a lunging beast squarely in the side. The impact sent it flying, its body crumpling mid-air. Without missing a beat, he twisted the staff in his hands and brought it down sharply on another beast that tried to dart under his guard. The precision of his strikes, coupled with the effortless way he moved, gave him the upper hand as more of the creatures emerged.
Amelia, daggers flashing, stayed close behind, efficiently dispatching any beasts that managed to slip past Silas's reach. Her movements were quick and calculated, but her attention kept flicking toward him. There was something about the way he fought that drew her notice.
He didn't just hit them—he dismantled them. Every strike of his staff carried not only strength but a sense of inevitability, as if the beasts were moving into his attacks rather than the other way around. His movements flowed seamlessly, deflecting a lunging claw and transitioning into a strike that crushed another beast's skull in the same motion. The rhythm was mesmerizing.
Amelia found herself thinking back to her time in military intelligence. She'd seen skilled fighters before, but none quite like this. Silas wasn't just powerful; he moved with a kind of innate understanding. The way he flowed, the way he turned each deflection into an immediate counterstrike—it was beyond instinct. It was as though he was following some invisible rhythm that the beasts couldn't keep up with.
"Who is this kid?" she wondered silently, watching as Silas sent another beast skidding lifelessly across the dirt with a flick of his staff. Whatever his past, it was clear he wasn't someone to take lightly.
Silas and Amelia stood at the edge of the shadow cast by the towering main pagoda. The structure loomed above them like a monolithic titan, its edges sharp and angular, radiating an almost oppressive presence. Silas couldn't help but pause, momentarily struck by the sheer scale of it. Awe prickled through him, though he quickly shook it off. There was no time to admire it—their path lay forward.
As they moved closer to the chasm, the mouse beasts became relentless. Before, there had been pauses between the skirmishes, brief moments to breathe, but now it was constant. Small groups of the creatures appeared from every direction, their beady eyes glinting with an unnatural intensity.
The mouse beasts themselves were grotesque. Each was about the size of a house cat, their wiry frames covered in patchy, matted fur. Their teeth jutted at odd angles, unnervingly sharp, and their claws clicked against the ground with each movement. Their tails, thin and whip-like, lashed behind them, their movements erratic but purposeful.
"What the hell is this?" Silas muttered, his staff spinning fluidly in his hands as he dispatched another pair of them with a precise strike. Amelia had mentioned they were close to the chasm entrance, but this constant barrage was wearing thin on his patience.
"Stay focused," Amelia said sharply, her voice cutting through the din. She was a blur of motion, her daggers flashing as she darted between the swarming beasts. Every movement was calculated, efficient. She danced through the chaos, each strike landing with deadly accuracy. Silas couldn't help but notice her efficiency—like a predator in her element.
Silas grinned despite himself. "I think we've found your neighbors," he quipped, spinning his staff and smashing another mouse beast into the dirt. It twitched once before going still.
Amelia didn't respond, her focus sharp as she sliced through another beast. But then the tide shifted.
A larger mouse emerged from the throng, its size dwarfing the others. This one was the size of a large pig, its fur darker and thicker, and its eyes burned with intelligence and malice. The moment Silas saw it, the faint glow of a title flickered above its head: King Beast.
Amelia didn't hesitate. She charged, her daggers gleaming as she zeroed in on the larger target. Silas smirked, stepping back to deal with the smaller beasts. It seemed she had claimed dibs on this one.
But the mouse horde wasn't slowing. More poured in from the shadows, their high-pitched screeches creating a dissonant cacophony. Silas kept moving, his staff a blur as he struck down beast after beast, their bodies piling at his feet. Still, their numbers were growing.
Another king mouse appeared, darting toward Amelia's back. Silas reacted instantly. He surged forward, intercepting the beast with a powerful upward strike. The blow caught the king mouse mid-lunge, sending it sprawling. Amelia didn't even falter; she leapt onto her target's back, her daggers plunging into its neck repeatedly until it stilled.
Silas refocused on his own task. Feinting to one side, he baited his king mouse into a lunge, then used his staff to launch himself upward. The flexibility of the weapon and the flow of his motion carried him into a graceful arc. As he descended, he channeled the momentum into an enhanced strike, bringing the full force of his staff down on the king mouse's back. The beast let out a strangled cry, its spine snapping audibly. Silas followed through with another strike to the head, ensuring it was finished.
Amelia and Silas shared a brief look of understanding, but neither spoke. More mice were still coming. They couldn't afford to pause.
And then they saw it.
Emerging from the shadows was something much larger. A hulking monstrosity, the Emperor Mouse stepped into the dim light, its form massive and imposing. It was the size of a large car, its fur bristling and its eyes glowing a malevolent red. Its claws, thick and jagged, tore at the ground as it moved forward, the earth trembling under its weight.
The smaller mice seemed to rally around it, their screeches rising in intensity as they swarmed a bit of a distance away.