After several days of intense training, Kain and the others finally welcomed a relatively relaxed afternoon. They gathered around the campfire in the center of their camp—some were cleaning weapons, others fetching water to wash clothes.
"These past few days, Lorne's been training harder than ever. Are you really okay?" Tario raised an eyebrow, looking across at Lorne.
"If I don't push myself, how else can I catch up to you all?" Lorne smiled lightly. His tone was calm, but his gaze was firm.
"Her swordsmanship is steadier than mine now…" Rody scratched his head, embarrassed. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm the one without elemental powers."
"Hey, hey, don't steal my role!" Milena teased with a laugh, lying back on the grass and gazing at the blue sky. "I really want some meat… These wild berries are tasteless now."
"How about after we finish this mission, we head back to the training camp and have a barbecue feast?" Kain suggested.
"You said it, Kain!" Tario immediately raised his hand. "I'll hold you to it, no backing out!"
"I'll take care of the seasonings. Whoever catches a beast will be the one to grill it," Lorne said with a faint smile.
"I don't care, but the wind has to be comfortable, or I won't have an appetite," Milena joked.
"Then I'll handle the wind."
Their laughter filled the air, bringing a rare sense of ease. Even Rody, usually tense, showed a relaxed expression as he carved something into a rock.
However, the brief tranquility was shattered by the arrival of a familiar presence.
"You all still have the leisure to sit around like this? Should I call it progress, or naivety?"
A figure emerged from the shadows—it was Lua. Her expression was serious, her words as cold as the wind. "A squad of beastmen is heading this way. Their numbers aren't large, but they're well-equipped and moving stealthily."
Kain immediately stood up. "Who's leading them this time?"
"A gnoll—tall, scarred, and radiating a fierce battle aura. Clearly no ordinary foe," Lua replied gravely.
The group's expressions immediately grew tense, but there was no panic. Instead, they adopted a calm, battle-ready demeanor.
After hearing Lua's report, Rey did not intervene. He simply left them with a single sentence: "Make your own judgment. This is a test." Then he turned and walked away.
Kain's gaze hardened as he issued orders to the group. "Let's not engage them just yet. We'll observe their movements, equipment, and ultimate objective. We can't act rashly this time—intel is key."
They quickly packed up their camp, erasing all traces of their presence. Each of them used their elemental abilities or techniques to conceal their scent and aura. Lua monitored the enemy's movements from afar.
This time, they didn't just rely on stealth but actively applied the new techniques they had learned during training. Kain used light elements to refract and distort visibility, blending seamlessly into the background. Milena manipulated the wind to disrupt scent trails, making it difficult for the enemy to track them. Tario created a faint static field to disable detection devices, while Rody inscribed concealment runes on the ground to dampen the vibrations of their footsteps.
Before long, the beastman squad arrived at their former campsite. The gnoll leader stopped abruptly, sniffing the air, a flicker of doubt flashing in his eyes.
"Someone's been here," he muttered.
"Humans? Or elves?" one of the beastmen asked.
"The scent is faint. Looks like they've been gone for a while. Stay alert, though. Don't let your guard down," the gnoll replied coldly.
Despite their heightened vigilance, they failed to notice Kain and the others lurking in the shadows. The beastmen continued heading toward a valley in the northeast.
Kain and his team silently followed them. They moved along the edge of the forest, sometimes hiding in dense underbrush, other times using the terrain to their advantage. Along the way, they carefully observed the beastmen's equipment and considered strategies to counter them.
During their pursuit, they overheard snippets of the beastmen's conversation.
"That village last time wasn't bad. That elf girl's eyes… so delicious."
"Haha, and those humans' screams—what a melody."
"Once this mission's over, we'll grab a few more to feast on!"
Hearing these words, Rody's face turned red with anger. His fists clenched tightly, and he was on the verge of charging out.
"Stay calm!" Kain pressed a hand on his shoulder, whispering, "We don't know their destination yet. If we expose ourselves now, the whole plan is ruined."
Tario gritted his teeth. "If I hear one more word, I'm going to lose it…"
"Hold it together. Remember our objective," Lorne said quietly.
To keep himself in check, Rody crafted a makeshift pair of earplugs out of dirt, blocking out the beastmen's voices. His ridiculous appearance almost made the others laugh, but they dared not make a sound. Rody shot them a glare in return.
Eventually, the beastmen stopped by a riverside. The entrance to a cave was hidden within the sloping rock face. The beastmen began setting up defenses. Unlike the usual brutish methods, these beastmen carried equipment that combined mechanical and elemental technology. Some had infrared scanning lenses, wrist-mounted spike launchers, or explosive grappling hooks. Their armor was embedded with glowing purple energy modules. Though small in number, their well-coordinated gear made it clear this squad was no ordinary unit.
"Establish the defensive perimeter. No interruptions allowed here," the gnoll ordered.
The beastmen used heavy black steel shields and spiked iron stakes to form an outer barrier. They also set up invisible light nets for detection and high-frequency oscillation traps.
Watching the beastmen's actions, Kain realized there must be something hidden in the cave—something they didn't want anyone to discover. Observing their equipment and defensive setup, he began formulating a strategy.
They took turns scouting and observing before finalizing their plan.
"The patrols have a gap in their pattern. If we adjust the wind flow slightly, it could create a visual blind spot," Milena whispered after calculating air currents in her mind.
"I'll create some false trails," Lorne said as he circled to the other side, scattering fine grass powder and beastman fur to mislead the patrols.
Tario released intermittent bursts of electricity to disrupt the beastmen's detection devices, gradually weakening their vigilance.
Finally, they decided to eliminate the outer patrols first.
"We'll circle around the left hillside and take out the outer patrols before infiltrating in stages," Kain said quietly, his eyes glinting with determination.
They split into three groups. Tario and Milena moved through the forest, using wind and lightning to disrupt detection devices. Rody and Lorne hid in low-lying terrain, searching for cover and ambush points. Kain acted alone, blending into the environment with his light-element abilities.
The first patrol beastman fell silently to Kain's light blade, which sliced through its neck before it could make a sound. Tario electrocuted another with a lightning bolt, and Milena followed up with a wind blade that severed its throat. Rody and Lorne worked together, raising an earthen wall to isolate two beastmen before impaling them with stone spikes.
Within minutes, the patrol team was wiped out.
"Looks like the main camp hasn't noticed yet," Tario whispered.
"Wait… someone's moving over there," Milena said sharply, noticing increased activity near the cave entrance. A few beastmen were stepping out to check the perimeter.
The lack of response from the patrol team had put the remaining beastmen on high alert.
Kain's expression darkened as he quickly issued a command. "We go in now. Don't give them time to fortify!"
He charged forward, light bursting around him like a radiant aura. Whips of light shot out like meteors, striking the enemy. Tario unleashed a chain of lightning explosions, shaking the beastmen's temporary energy shields.
"I'll support the left flank!" Rody stomped the ground, raising a row of stone pillars to serve as natural barriers. He and Lorne used the opportunity to flank the enemy, smashing their formation with heavy blows.
"Wind field activated—go!" Milena, positioned at a higher vantage point, manipulated a wind vortex to kick up dust and disrupt the beastmen's vision. She sent wind blades slicing through their sides.
The beastmen, caught off guard, were quickly overwhelmed. Several fell, groaning in pain, while the rest snarled and fought back. A massive beastman wielding a heavy energy hammer swung it down, creating a shockwave that forced Tario back several steps.
"Damn, their weapons are insane!" Tario coughed up blood but quickly raised a lightning shield to block the next attack.
"Don't retreat—hit them harder!" Kain shouted. His light domain expanded, bathing the area in a radiant glow that seemed to amplify his teammates' abilities. As an enemy cannon blast was blocked by an earthen wall, Kain flashed forward, severing the opponent's weapon with two precise light blades.
"Watch out behind you!" Milena suddenly yelled. A beastman leapt from above, its long blade glowing with dark red energy. Lorne raised his shield just in time, his arm trembling from the impact but holding steady. He countered with a strike to the beastman's knee, forcing it to kneel.
"Our teamwork's getting better," Rody remarked mid-battle.
"But the enemies are getting fiercer…" Tario panted.
Finally, they cornered the last few beastmen at the cave entrance. Only two or three remained, desperately holding their ground. Just as Kain prepared to deliver the final blow, a deep, guttural roar echoed from within the cave.
The sound was heavy, low, and thunderous, like a war drum resonating from the depths of the earth. It shook their hearts and made their pulses race.
Everyone froze.
"...What is that?" Lorne's face paled.
"That roar… it's not like any beastman I've heard before…" Kain tightened his grip on his weapon, sweat forming on his brow.
From a distant mountaintop, Rey, who had been silently observing, also heard the roar.
His expression shifted, his gaze sharpening as if his very soul had been shaken by the sound.
"This roar…" he muttered to himself, a hazy memory surfacing in his mind—a battlefield engulfed in flames, a brutal clash, and a beastman soldier wielding a massive blade against him. The roar of defiance from that day was almost identical to what he was hearing now.
A faint smile appeared on his lips. "So… you're still alive?" Clearly, Rey had been the victor of that long-ago battle.