Empire of Blood
The ground here was still uneven, roots breaking through the soil in thick ridges that forced careful footing, but the trees were spaced wider, leaving enough room to move without being funneled into a single line of attack.
The Alpha noticed it too.
It adjusted.
Its body turned slightly as it stepped into the more open patch, its weight shifting as it tested the ground for a fraction of a second before committing again, its movement no longer restricted by the terrain that had previously forced it into narrow paths.
Jack saw that immediately.
“It’s faster here,” he said.
Sophie nodded, her stance lowering slightly as she adjusted her footing on a patch of more stable ground.
“Then we don’t let it build momentum,” she replied.
That was closer.
The Alpha charged again.
This time it wasn’t forced into a lane.
It chose its path.
The difference showed.
“Spread wider,” Jack said.
They moved, but the Alpha adjusted mid-charge, its path shifting slightly as it tracked movement instead of committing fully to a single direction.
Smarter.
Sophie stepped in first again, but this time she didn’t aim to strike immediately.
She moved.
Flow Step carried her across the uneven ground in a controlled glide, her body shifting around the Alpha’s line of movement instead of intercepting it directly.
She wasn’t trying to stop it.
She was guiding it.
“Left,” she called.
The others adjusted, their positions widening further, creating a gap that the Alpha moved into instead of through them.
Better.
Jack stepped forward.
“Blood Bolt.”
The projectile struck the Alpha along its shoulder as it turned, not stopping it, but disrupting the timing of its next movement just enough that it couldn’t chain its charge cleanly.
That was what mattered.
“Keep it turning,” he said.
The squad moved again.
This time, their strikes landed along the sides more consistently, avoiding the ridges, targeting the sections where the armor thinned just enough to matter.
Not deep.
But repeated.
Stacking.
The Alpha reacted with more aggression now, its movements faster as it tried to break the pattern, its body twisting as it attempted to catch one of them mid-transition.
One of the Sisters misjudged her step.
Her foot caught on a root.
The Alpha turned on her immediately.
Too fast.
Jack saw it.
Sophie moved first.
Flow Step activated without hesitation, her body slipping across the ground as she cut into the Alpha’s flank at an angle that didn’t stop it, but shifted its movement just enough to throw off its aim.
“Move,” she said.
The Sister recovered, barely clearing the path before the Alpha’s charge tore through where she had been.
Jack stepped in.
This time he didn’t hold back.
“Blood Scythe.”
The arc carved across the same section Sophie had weakened, the bleed stacking immediately, deeper this time, the Alpha’s movement slowing for the first time since the fight had begun.
That was the opening.
“Now,” Jack said.
The squad moved together.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
Strikes landed in sequence instead of overlap, each one building on the last instead of interfering, their coordination finally matching the pace of the fight instead of reacting to it.
The Alpha pushed back.
Of course it did.
It drove forward again, forcing space, its weight crashing through the uneven ground as it tried to break their positioning one last time.
Jack met it.
“Blood Bolt.”
The projectile hit mid-charge.
“Blood Scythe.”
The follow-up landed immediately after, the bleed effects stacking to a point where even its reinforced body couldn’t ignore them anymore.
The Alpha slowed.
Then staggered.
Then collapsed.
[You have defeated: Ridgeback Alpha Boar (Lv.14 Elite)]
The clearing settled.
The two remaining Ironhide Boars broke almost immediately after, their coordination gone the moment the Alpha fell, their movement losing direction as they attempted to retreat instead of fight.
Jack didn’t chase.
“Finish them,” he said.
The squad did.
[You have defeated: Ironhide Boar (Lv.12)]
[You have defeated: Ironhide Boar (Lv.13)]
Silence followed.
Not complete.
But enough.
Jack stepped toward the Alpha’s body, his attention already shifting from the fight to what came after it, because that was where the real value should have been.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the system responded.
[A Core has been generated]
The body began to break down, not into nothing, but into something more concentrated, the mass collapsing inward as a faint red glow formed at its center.
A moment later, it dropped.
A small, dense object.
Jack picked it up.
[Item Acquired: Beast Core (Elite)]
He turned it slightly in his hand, feeling the weight of it, the contained energy within it more noticeable than anything they had gained from the smaller fights before.
Sophie stepped closer.
“That’s new,” she said.
Jack nodded.
“Not entirely,” he replied. “Just the first time we’ve gotten something that matters.”
She glanced at the core, then at the fallen bodies around them.
“…So the rest of it doesn’t?” she asked.
Jack looked at the clearing.
The effort.
Then at the core in his hand.
“This does,” he said.
That was the difference.
Not the fight.
The return.
Chapter 64 – Where it Matters
The moment the fight shifted out of the narrow lanes between the trees, the difference became clear.
Not because the Ridgeback Alpha Boar grew weaker.
But because they finally had space to fight it properly.
The ground here was still uneven, roots breaking through the soil in thick ridges that forced careful footing, but the trees were spaced wider, leaving enough room to move without being funneled into a single line of attack.
That alone changed everything.
The Alpha noticed it too.
It adjusted.
Its body turned slightly as it stepped into the more open patch, its weight shifting as it tested the ground for a fraction of a second before committing again, its movement no longer restricted by the terrain that had previously forced it into narrow paths.
Jack saw that immediately.
“It’s faster here,” he said.
Sophie nodded, her stance lowering slightly as she adjusted her footing on a patch of more stable ground.
“Then we don’t let it build momentum,” she replied.
That was closer.
The Alpha charged again.
This time it wasn’t forced into a lane.
It chose its path.
The difference showed.
“Spread wider,” Jack said.
They moved, but the Alpha adjusted mid-charge, its path shifting slightly as it tracked movement instead of committing fully to a single direction.
Smarter.
Sophie stepped in first again, but this time she didn’t aim to strike immediately.
She moved.
Flow Step carried her across the uneven ground in a controlled glide, her body shifting around the Alpha’s line of movement instead of intercepting it directly.
She wasn’t trying to stop it.
She was guiding it.
“Left,” she called.
The others adjusted, their positions widening further, creating a gap that the Alpha moved into instead of through them.
Better.
Jack stepped forward.
“Blood Bolt.”
The projectile struck the Alpha along its shoulder as it turned, not stopping it, but disrupting the timing of its next movement just enough that it couldn’t chain its charge cleanly.
That was what mattered.
“Keep it turning,” he said.
The squad moved again.
This time, their strikes landed along the sides more consistently, avoiding the ridges, targeting the sections where the armor thinned just enough to matter.
Not deep.
But repeated.
Stacking.
The Alpha reacted with more aggression now, its movements faster as it tried to break the pattern, its body twisting as it attempted to catch one of them mid-transition.
One of the Sisters misjudged her step.
Her foot caught on a root.
The Alpha turned on her immediately.
Too fast.
Jack saw it.
Sophie moved first.
Flow Step activated without hesitation, her body slipping across the ground as she cut into the Alpha’s flank at an angle that didn’t stop it, but shifted its movement just enough to throw off its aim.
“Move,” she said.
The Sister recovered, barely clearing the path before the Alpha’s charge tore through where she had been.
Jack stepped in.
This time he didn’t hold back.
“Blood Scythe.”
The arc carved across the same section Sophie had weakened, the bleed stacking immediately, deeper this time, the Alpha’s movement slowing for the first time since the fight had begun.
That was the opening.
“Now,” Jack said.
The squad moved together.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
Strikes landed in sequence instead of overlap, each one building on the last instead of interfering, their coordination finally matching the pace of the fight instead of reacting to it.
The Alpha pushed back.
Of course it did.
It drove forward again, forcing space, its weight crashing through the uneven ground as it tried to break their positioning one last time.
Jack met it.
“Blood Bolt.”
The projectile hit mid-charge.
“Blood Scythe.”
The follow-up landed immediately after, the bleed effects stacking to a point where even its reinforced body couldn’t ignore them anymore.
The Alpha slowed.
Then staggered.
Then collapsed.
[You have defeated: Ridgeback Alpha Boar (Lv.14 Elite)]
[Experience Gained: 3,500 EXP]
The clearing settled.
The two remaining Ironhide Boars broke almost immediately after, their coordination gone the moment the Alpha fell, their movement losing direction as they attempted to retreat instead of fight.
Jack didn’t chase.
“Finish them,” he said.
The squad did.
[You have defeated: Ironhide Boar (Lv.12)]
[Experience Gained: 420 EXP]
[You have defeated: Ironhide Boar (Lv.13)]
[Experience Gained: 450 EXP]
Silence followed.
Not complete.
But enough.
Jack stepped toward the Alpha’s body, his attention already shifting from the fight to what came after it, because that was where the real value should have been.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the system responded.
[A Core has been generated]
The body began to break down, not into nothing, but into something more concentrated, the mass collapsing inward as a faint red glow formed at its center.
A moment later, it dropped.
A small, dense object.
Jack picked it up.
[Item Acquired: Beast Core (Elite)]
He turned it slightly in his hand, feeling the weight of it, the contained energy within it more noticeable than anything they had gained from the smaller fights before.
Sophie stepped closer.
“That’s new,” she said.
Jack nodded.
“Not entirely,” he replied. “Just the first time we’ve gotten something that matters.”
She glanced at the core, then at the fallen bodies around them.
“…So the rest of it doesn’t?” she asked.
Jack looked at the clearing.
The effort.
The coordination.
The time.
Then at the core in his hand.
“This does,” he said.
That was the difference.
Not the fight.
The return.
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