Chapter 318: Orion
At the Orion’s directive, Joel’s face tightened. He looked about to protest, but with another glance at me, he slumped and nodded. He begrudgingly cleared his throat and met my eyes.
"Very well. In all our years patrolling this canyon, we’ve never once heard whispers of a sixth-level crawler. Even fifth-level crawlers require an entire battalion to face, so how is it possible you and this...Korra defeated such a monstrosity on your own? Please be accurate in your accounting. Even the smallest detail could prove useful."
I sat back on my hands and stared at the sky, recalling the moment the dreadful creature exploded out of the ground. After a moment to collect my thoughts, I turned and began to tell the story. It was much easier than sharing my experiences the night before had been, not only was it fresh in my mind but I had plenty of practice now. All of my hard work over the last few days was starting to pay off.
As I neared the end and detailed our strategy, the Orion raised his hand, stopping me. "Forgive the interruption, but how exactly did you pin the monster down? You claimed your wolf did this, but I have a hard time imagining something so small controlling such a massive monster."
I blinked and tilted my head, feigning confusion. "But he wasn’t small?"
I smiled faintly at their confusion and continued, allowing them to think what they wished. I had no obligation to share every secret, nor would I.
A second later, Joel frowned and leaned forward. "And how is it you managed to kill the monster? It’s bore several injuries, yet nothing grievous enough to be a mortal blow."
"Korra killed it. She broke its shell and–"
"Sorry...broke its shell?" he asked skeptically.
I nodded, and the look of inequality on both of their faces only deepened.
"My lady," the soldier said hesitantly, "Such a claim seems rather outlandish when you’ve fought as many crawlers as we have. Not even Bethiv can break its shell–and we’ve only fought fifth-level crawlers. To crack the carapace on a sixth-level crawler...you’d have to be at least seventh-level."