Behind Fallon, behind the kobolds, and behind the rabbitmen, stood Kairo.
The young commander remained still, his sharp eyes fixed on the clash unfolding before them.
To his right, Renn rested his violin beneath his chin. His fingers lightly held the bow while his gaze carefully studied the movements of both armies.
On the other side stood Shiri, arms folded across his chest, watching the fight with narrowed eyes.
Ahead of them, the Shackled Hounds surged forward.
Chains scraped against broken stone as the beasts rushed straight into the trap Kairo had prepared.
"They're taking the bait," Kairo said quietly.
His voice carried easily to the two beside him.
"There are roughly two hundred of them. Our forces number around two hundred and fifty — one hundred from our territory, and fifty each from the other lords."
Shiri nodded slowly.
"So we outnumber them."
Kairo gave a faint shrug.
"Yes. But numbers alone don't guarantee victory."
His gaze moved across the battlefield before settling on the massive shape standing behind the pack.
The Alpha.
It still hadn't moved.
Renn followed his gaze.
"Because of the Alpha?" the bard asked.
Kairo nodded.
"It hasn't entered the fight. It's watching."
Shiri exhaled quietly.
"For a wild beast, it's surprisingly intelligent."
Renn tilted his head slightly.
"Perhaps that's because someone once controlled it from the shadows."
Kairo's expression remained unchanged.
"Maybe," he replied evenly.
"But that problem can wait."
He raised one hand.
"Rabbitmen! Fire!"
The rabbitmen soldiers immediately straightened, their long ears standing upright as they raised their short bows.
Renn lifted his bow hand and gave a small signal.
A moment later—
The arrows flew.
Dozens of shafts streaked across the sky before raining down upon the Shackled Hounds. The arrows didn't kill most of the beasts, but they injured them enough to slow their advance.
That was all the opportunity the frontline needed.
From both sides, the living armor, hobgoblins, and ghouls surged forward.
Spears stabbed into the wounded beasts, spreading chaos among the hounds as their howls echoed across the ruined battlefield.
At the center of the formation stood Fallon.
Behind her, the kobolds held their shield line.
And before them, Fallon's massive shield—the Weeping Maiden—rose like an unbreakable castle wall.
A moment later—
Beyond the main formation, the fighting was far more chaotic.
Theo moved quickly across the broken ground, fighting alongside the living armor and hobgoblins. Steel clashed and chains rattled as the monstrous hounds lunged wildly at anything in reach.
One of them suddenly rushed him.
Chains whipped behind the creature as its massive jaws snapped toward his head.
"Dash!"
Theo's body blurred forward, barely escaping the creature's bite.
Even so, he felt the pressure mounting.
The hounds were too strong.
Every strike he landed felt like it barely mattered.
Sweat ran down his face as he tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Rattle of the Deep!"
His blade flashed forward, stabbing into one of the creature's four eyes.
The eye burst instantly, dark blood spilling down the monster's face.
The hound shrieked—
But it didn't slow down.
It rushed forward again as if the wound meant nothing.
Theo felt a chill run through him.
They didn't care about pain.
Scary…
His eyes flickered across the battlefield, searching for an opening.
But for a split second—
His attention drifted.
A blank moment.
A mistake.
Another hound lunged from the side.
Theo barely noticed until the last second.
"Flint!"
The shout escaped him instinctively.
But no one appeared.
The hound's claws slammed into him.
Theo was thrown across the broken ground, rolling hard against the stone.
Pain shot through his side.
He pushed himself up quickly, breathing hard.
(Flint… isn't here.)
And suddenly he remembered.
Theo's mind briefly drifted back to the night before.
Kairo had summoned both him and Flint. The room had been quiet when Flint asked, "Boss, what is it?"
Kairo looked at them both before speaking. "Flint, you won't participate in tomorrow's fight."
Flint blinked in surprise. "What? Why? My job is to stay with Theo!"
"I know, I assigned you that duty myself." Kairo replied calmly. "But I have another task for you. One I trust you with."
Then he turned to Theo.
"You'll fight on your own tomorrow. Can you do that?"
Theo hesitated for a moment before smiling.
"Yeah. I can handle myself."
Flint nodded.
"Be safe."
Theo grinned. "Just watch. I'll fight just fine without you."
Theo clenched his teeth as another hound rushed him.
He activated his skill again.
"Dash!"
His body blurred forward, barely avoiding another snapping bite.
(If only Flint were here…)
He gripped his weapon tighter.
(No.)
(I can't keep thinking like that.)
(He won't always be around to save me.)
(I need to learn to fight on my own.)
Theo rushed forward again.
"Rattle of the Deep!"
His blade sliced across the beast's thick fur as he leapt over the creature's body, landing behind it.
If he could defeat even one of these monsters…
Then he could prove something to himself.
But suddenly—
Another hound rushed him from behind.
Theo reacted immediately.
"Dash!"
He twisted to dodge the attack.
But the wounded hound from earlier struck again.
Theo turned—
And saw its massive jaws rushing straight toward him.
He couldn't dodge this time.
Then—
A cleaver flew through the air.
The heavy blade slammed into the side of the hound's neck with brutal force.
The weapon sank deep into its flesh, staggering the beast.
Before Theo could react, a figure rushed forward.
A hobgoblin.
The warrior kicked the cleaver's handle violently, driving the blade even deeper into the monster's neck.
The hound choked and staggered.
Theo snapped back to action.
"Rattle of the Deep!"
His blade cut cleanly across the beast's throat.
The monster collapsed.
Theo stood there breathing heavily before turning toward the one who had helped him.
It was the same hobgoblin onyx had encountered earlier.
The one with the red cloth covering half his face.
The hobgoblin calmly pulled the cleaver free from the corpse before glancing at Theo.
For a moment, the two simply looked at each other.
Then the hobgoblin gave a faint smirk.
His eyes looked lazy.
But beneath that laziness was razor-sharp focus.
He was different. Just like him, and Flint, and Onyx's.
Theo felt something settle inside his chest.(Flint may not be here…)
(But that doesn't mean I'm alone.)
He had forgotten that before.
Many times.
But he understood it now.
(Others are fighting beside me.)
(I just need to trust them.)
Theo gave a silent smile.
(This time… I won't forget.)
Without saying a word, the two moved closer together, silently agreeing to fight side by side.
High above the battlefield, the Alpha continued watching.
The giant beast had not moved since the battle began.
But now the red stones hanging from its thick chain collar began to glow.
The light deepened slowly.
Far away from the battlefield, within that same crimson glow, another presence stirred.
Jeeves.
The rabbit butler stood calmly inside a dim chamber. His gloved hands rested neatly behind his back as he observed the battlefield through one of the Slave Observation Stones.
The clash of armies reflected within the crystal surface.
Jeeves adjusted his gloves.
"Oh my," he said softly.
"Those brats have formed quite an impressive formation, if I do say so myself."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose lightly.
Then a slow, unsettling smile spread across his face.
"But…"
His eyes gleamed coldly.
"That will not be nearly enough to stop me."
He raised one hand.
Through the glowing stone, his command reached the battlefield.
"Alpha."
Moments later—
The Alpha lifted its head.
And howled.
To be continued.....