"Lucas, why are you here?" Ninali asked, her eyes narrowing as her hand tightened over the shaft of her new staff.

The young Velmoryn didn't look at her. His crimson eyes moved across the mages, lips barely parting as he counted them under his breath.

"Vael Mirion ordered me to protect the backline," he said coldly.

"But we don't need protection." Ninali shook her head, gaze drifting back toward the frontlines where bursts of mana lit the cavern and the shrieks of monsters rolled like thunder.

"The Blue Tribe's mages carry strong protective artifacts," she added, as if pointing out the obvious. The barriers they had raised against the Mother's mana wave had held long after most others shattered. "Lucas, go help the frontline!"

Her words, however, slid off him without effect. Lucas didn't even glance her way, as though she were no longer there.

"Luc…" she snapped, anger rising, but the name never finished leaving her lips. He was already gone.

A shadow moved past her, fast and silent, rushing toward a monster that had slipped through the line and was charging straight toward the mages and archers.

In theory, the frontliners were supposed to hold the monsters at bay while the backline delivered the killing blows. In practice, it was impossible. The three entrances into the nest meant the extermination force had split, each squad no more than a hundred and twenty Velmoryn, facing swarms numbering over a thousand. Each squad fielded perhaps twenty, thirty, at best forty frontliners. As they pushed deeper, the swarm inevitably curved around, spilling through gaps, exposing the archers and casters from every side but the front.

And that was what happened here.

Lucas saw it before anyone else. A giant green spider mutant, its long legs carving furrows into the floor and effortlessly squashing the corpses of the fallen monsters, charged toward the backline.

"Can I even kill this thing? The creature Vael Mirion himself lost to?"

The memory surfaced, images of the same hulking monster leading a swarm against the tribe, its grotesque body burned into his mind like a wound that would never fade. His stomach clenched, but his steps did not falter.

The monster also noticed him, mandibles clicking, and spat. A stream of green slime hissed through the air, vapor curling off it as it closed the distance to him.

Lucas pivoted sharply, leaping aside and leaving only an afterimage in his wake as a thin crimson line shot forward, blurring toward the spider mutant.

Then Lucas appeared, twin blades humming with blood and mana, their edges glowing red.

Bloodwave.

The monster, grand in size and quick for its bulk, seemed sluggish against him. He danced between its legs, weaving in and out of the towering green columns that hammered down to crush him. Each strike carved new wounds into its flesh, slashing deep into tendon and joint. Crimson lines blurred around the monster, answered by sprays of hissing green blood that smoked where it touched the ground.

But still, the creature would not fall.

Its shriek echoed through the battlefield, mandibles clashing with a metallic crack like hammer on iron. Then its limbs bent inward and the massive body dropped, trying to crush Lucas beneath its weight. The ground trembled as it slammed down, dust and shards of stone bursting outward.

But Lucas had already vanished. He reappeared above it, twisting midair, blades a whirl of red arcs descending like a storm.

Then came the sound - metal on metal. His blades bounced off the carapace, vibrating in his hands. Pain shot through his wrists and into his shoulders. He gritted his teeth and kicked off the beast's back, retreating with a grimace.

"So this is why Vael Mirion lost. Its back… even my enchanted weapons can't break through."

He shifted stance, blades low, and charged again - straight at the legs as the beast pulled itself up.

But this time, it was ready. The limb swept wide, not clumsy but controlled, forcing Lucas back. The other slammed down where he would have stepped next, cutting off his retreat. For the first time, he felt the creature predicting him.

He twisted, forcing his body into a desperate roll between the two strikes. His footing slipped, and before he could recover, fresh movement surged at the edge of his vision. Two smaller monsters charged from the side, pale-green shells gleaming, mandibles already snapping as they rushed to flank him.

"If I stay like this, I'll be surrounded." The thought felt cold, and for a moment, retreat seemed the only choice.

But then…

Thrum.

Two blazing arrows streaked overhead. They struck with brutal accuracy, slamming into the skulls of the smaller mutants. Fire exploded across their heads, charring carapace and sending smoke curling upward. Both creatures thrashed violently, shrieking in maddened agony, yet their bodies didn't drop.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Lucas's head snapped back instinctively, searching for the one who had fired the arrows as memories surfaced in his mind.

"Just like when Roy covered my back."

His grip on the twin blades tightened, jaw clenched, until he found her. Nia stood on a boulder at the rear, her new bow gleaming faintly. She met his gaze, nodded once, and loosed again.

The arrow ignited midair, striking the smaller mutant in the same wounded spot. The skull cracked, fire spilling through the seams until the creature's body thrashed wildly, its head bleeding bubbling green blood before collapsing onto the ground.

Lucas also charged, his body blurring into a crimson streak again. In the next instant, he reappeared in front of the second spider mutant, close enough to smell the stench of its blood dripping from its wound on the head.

He leapt high, twisting his body to drive both blades down at the exposed joint between neck and thorax.

The creature didn't even notice, still stunned from pain.

Steel met chitin with a jarring crack. The first blade bit deep, sliding between plates with a wet crunch. The second struck harder, splitting the seam wide as green blood burst outward, sizzling where it struck the ground.

The spider shrieked, legs convulsing. It reared back violently, and for a moment Lucas's arms strained as the creature's thrashing threatened to rip the blades from his grip. He tightened his hold, bracing his boots against the beast's shell, and wrenched with all the strength he had. The carapace gave way in a jagged tear, and he felt the satisfying snap of spine beneath.

The mutant collapsed in a spasm, legs hammering the dirt before dying. But the victory was short. The larger spider had already turned, its massive frame getting closer with unnerving speed.

Lucas exhaled once, adjusting his grip on the blood-slick hilts, and retreated.

"This one seems smarter than the one that attacked the tribe." He monitored the monster from the corner of his eye as he darted away from the backline, trying to pull it with him.

But the beast did not follow. It spun and barreled toward Nia, its huge frame shaking the earth. Her bowstring sang again and again, arrows hissing through the air, but none pierced the thick carapace.

Lucas cursed under his breath and turned around. He couldn't allow it to reach the backline.

"Should I use the skill the Lord granted me? If I let this creature reach them…"

The thought broke as a silvery blur streaked into view. Another warrior. Her speed rivaled his own, and the monster shrieked in frustration as two orbs of light danced around it - one silver, one red.

Metal rang against its armored shell, a harsh grind that nearly drowned its cries.

The spider changed tactics. Its abdomen reared back and spat, not one stream of toxin but a spread of webbing soaked in venom. Threads glistened green as they spread wide, a net designed to trap both at once.

Lucas twisted sharply, blades slashing through strands that hissed and smoked when cut. The webbing clung to his arms, burning his skin beneath the leather gauntlets, but before it closed fully another flash of silver cut past him. The woman spun in close, severing the thicker cords with speed, freeing him before the strands could harden.

They didn't speak. Each step fell into rhythm, their fighting styles far too similar to not be able to coordinate.

Lucas slipped past the monster's left side, driving his blades into the same weakened seam. This time the carapace gave way with a sharp crack, fragments snapping off under the pressure. The edge bit deeper, into flesh at last, and toxic green blood hissed from the wound as the spider lurched back in rage.

The beast reared, forelegs hammering down. Before Lucas could disengage, a silver blur slid beneath the limb. Metal rang sharp and clean, and the joint buckled. The limb jerked aside, giving Lucas his chance. He slashed again, widening the breach in its abdomen, then rolled clear as the monster staggered sideways.

Its insides bulged against the torn opening. The wound stretched wider, spilling strings of glistening entrails that slapped against the stone. The spider shrieked, mandibles clashing, and lunged for the silver warrior, dragging its own guts in a toxic trail.

Poison swelled in its throat. Lucas saw it - the spray was aimed at her. He leapt, driving both blades into the cluster of its eyes, twisting hard to wrench its head aside. The jet of slime hissed into the ground harmlessly, eating into stone where no one stood.

The monster ignored Lucas completely. It stumbled after the woman, green blood pouring from ruined sockets, its strikes wild, desperate, more like a suicide charge than a hunt.

Lucas clung to the thrashing head, ripping his blades free one after another and striking again and again until the skull gave way under the punishment. The silver warrior kept her distance, circling wide, forcing the beast to waste its last strength.

Its legs faltered. The abdomen sagged, the toxic trail thinning until nothing more spilled out. At last it collapsed, body shuddering once before going still.

Lucas exhaled, dropping back to the ground, shoulders heaving, slime streaking his cheek. He turned toward the silver warrior.

"Thank you, Vael Lyle," he said, lowering the blades and brushing his hand against a patch of stone not soaked in venom.

"Use this." Lyle offered a green vial without hesitation.

Lucas didn't question it. He uncorked it with his mouth and swallowed, grimacing as the liquid burned through his chest.

"It will protect you from poison. Unfortunately, we couldn't share it with everyone," Lyle said, wiping her blades on a blood-soaked cloth that barely helped. "I gave one to Vael Mirion. This was my last."

Lucas pressed his fist to his chest. "Thank you, Vael Lyle. But why are you here?"

Her eyes widened slightly. For a moment her mouth opened without words, then she gave a crooked smile.

"I almost forgot in the thrill of the fight…" she admitted. The smile faded quickly, her tone sharpening. "I was looking for you. You're the fastest warrior we have, erm… What's your name?"

"Lucas."

"Yes, warrior Lucas. I need you to carry word to the other squads." Her gaze hardened, all levity gone. "Mind magic can't be used here. All our means of communication are gone."

"What message?" he asked, sliding the swords back into their sheaths.

"The monsters are adapting," she said. "They're adjusting to our strategy. The pale ones are the commanders. They are easy to kill, almost defenseless, and they seem to be controlling the rest. And…" she straightened, eyes filled with resolve, "we're changing tactics. We will push forward immediately. Both flanks must converge with the Green and Silver Tribes in the center."

Lucas gave a curt nod and turned to leave.

"Warrior Lucas!"

He stopped, glancing back.

"Do not fail."

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