The roar of the Shackled Hounds' Alpha rolled across the battlefield like thunder.
The sound vibrated through the ruined stone streets and shattered walls.
Every Shackled Hound suddenly froze.
Their ears straightened sharply as their four glowing eyes turned toward the distant figure standing behind them.
The Alpha had moved.
Then, almost instantly, the beasts reacted.
The hounds began rushing backward.
Not toward their enemies.
Toward their Alpha.
They ran through the same path they had used to enter the funnel formation, ignoring the soldiers attacking them from the sides. Their bodies twisted and lunged wildly as they forced their way back, chains clattering loudly against the ground.
Their four eyes burned with a strange red glow.
"They're escaping!" Shiri shouted.
Renn's expression tightened as he watched the sudden shift.
"Sir Kairo, I recommend we block the funnel entirely."
Kairo's eyes scanned the battlefield ahead.
The ruins stretched before them like broken teeth rising from the earth.
(We chose this battlefield for a reason.)
The collapsed buildings and shattered stone walls had naturally formed a narrow path.
A funnel.
(We divided the Twin Spears to hold both ends.)
One side of the formation stood with Kairo and the defensive line, maintaining the trap.
The other end was outside the funnel, where Theo and the rest of the squads fought the remaining beasts.
(It's the perfect formation.)
Kairo's eyes hardened.
(We cannot let them escape.)
"Twin Spears!" he shouted.
His voice cut across the battlefield like a blade.
"Close off the entrance to the formation! Do not let them escape!"
Kairo's command answered the Alpha's howl.
Across the battlefield, Garth grinned wildly as he heard the order.
He was already mounted on his massive war boar, the creature snorting heavily beneath him as its hooves stomped against the broken ground.
"Oi! You heard the boss!" Garth roared.
"Move it! If even one of those mutts slips past you, I'll cut you down myself!"
The living armor and hobgoblins around him surged forward instantly.
Steel boots slammed against the ruined stone as the soldiers rushed toward the escaping hounds.
The beasts were fast.
But the troops matched them with desperate determination.
Spears lowered.
Shields raised.
The soldiers threw themselves forward, cutting off the exit of the funnel just as the first wave of hounds arrived.
Several of the creatures crashed directly into the wall of spears.
Their own momentum drove the weapons deep into their bodies.
The beasts howled as they were impaled, their chains rattling violently as they collapsed.
More hounds followed behind them, only to meet the same fate.
Spears pierced fur.
Blades sank into flesh.
The trapped beasts fell one after another.
Garth laughed loudly as he watched the carnage.
"Oh yeah!" he shouted.
"This is what it's about!"
He spread his arms wide for a moment as if embracing the chaos of battle.
Around him, the soldiers continued driving their weapons into the beasts that had been trapped inside the funnel.
But suddenly—
One of the hobgoblins ran toward him.
The warrior wore a strange pair of goggles strapped over his eyes, his voice slightly nervous.
"Ah… Captain…"
Garth glanced down from atop his boar.
"What?"
The hobgoblin hesitated.
"Some of them… managed to escape."
Garth blinked.
Then his eyes widened in disbelief.
"HHHAAAA?!"
He leaned forward slightly on the saddle.
"You punks can't even do something simple like that right?!"
The hobgoblin shrank back under the shout.
Garth clicked his tongue loudly.
"Tch."
Then he waved one hand dismissively.
"Forget it."
He grabbed his axe more firmly.
"I'll just go catch those runts myself."
The hobgoblin blinked in surprise.
"But—Captain—"
Garth didn't listen.
With a loud snort, the massive war boar beneath him lunged forward, its powerful legs crushing loose stone as it charged ahead.
Garth leaned forward eagerly, gripping his axe tightly as the wind rushed past him.
Ahead, several Shackled Hounds were already sprinting across the ruins, trying to regroup with the Alpha.
Garth's grin widened.
(Thought you could run, huh?)
He raised his axe slightly as his boar accelerated beneath him.
(Not a chance.)
"Alright, you ugly mutts!" he roared across the battlefield.
"Let's see how fast you really are!"
Meanwhile, near the entrance of the narrow path formed by the ruins, Theo continued fighting alongside the hobgoblin with the red cloth covering half his face.
The battle outside the funnel was far less organized.
Broken stone littered the ground, and the air was filled with the sounds of clashing weapons and the snarls of the Shackled Hounds.
Theo moved quickly, breathing steadily as another beast lunged toward him.
"Dash!"
His body blurred forward.
He reappeared above the creature's back and brought his weapon down.
"Rattle of the Deep!"
The blade struck cleanly, cutting through the beast's thick fur and driving it to the ground.
Theo landed lightly and stepped back, keeping his guard up.
(So far… this is going smoothly.)
His eyes briefly shifted toward the hobgoblin fighting beside him.
The warrior moved in an unusual way.
Not particularly strong.
Not particularly fast.
But his movements were precise.
Every time a hound attacked, he shifted just slightly before the strike came, avoiding the attack as if he had already known where it would land.
Theo frowned slightly.
(He isn't that strong… but the way he moves…)
Another hound leapt toward Theo.
He reacted instantly.
"Dash!"
Theo slipped past the creature's snapping jaws and appeared beside it.
"Rattle of the Deep!"
His blade carved across its side, dropping the beast to the ground.
(We just have to keep doing this.)
But as Theo glanced around the battlefield again, the thought faltered.
It wasn't going smoothly everywhere.
Several hobgoblins lay motionless among the rubble, their weapons scattered across the ground.
Pieces of damaged living armor were spread across the ruins, their hollow bodies broken apart.
Even the ghouls had fallen.
Their bodies lay still against the stone as they slowly returned to their endless rest.
Theo's grip tightened slightly.
(I will avenge all of you.)
(I promise.)
But before he could say anything more—
Something moved behind them.
Theo turned suddenly.
Several Shackled Hounds stumbled out of the narrow road behind them.
Their bodies were battered and covered in blood, their chains dragging heavily across the ground as they ran.
Theo's eyes widened.
"What…?"
(Did the formation fail?)
His thoughts raced instantly.
(Kairo…)
(Shiri…)
(Are they alright?!)
But just as the worry began to rise—
A loud crash echoed through the ruins.
Theo looked past the fleeing hounds.
And then he saw it.
A massive boar burst into view, charging forward like a living battering ram.
Atop it sat a familiar figure.
"Oi! Where do you think you're running?!" Garth roared loudly.
The huge warrior leaned forward as his boar accelerated, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
One of the fleeing hounds tried to turn away—
Too late.
The boar leapt forward.
Its heavy hooves came crashing down onto the beast's skull with a brutal impact.
The ground shook slightly as the creature collapsed instantly.
Theo froze for a moment.
His face twisted into a stunned expression, his eyes wide as he stared at the scene unfolding before him.
Garth, meanwhile, looked like he was having the time of his life.
He stood slightly on the boar's back as it ran, his tongue sticking out playfully from the corner of his mouth as he laughed loudly.
"HAHA! Come on! Run faster!"
The boar bounded across the broken stone, its powerful legs carrying it directly into the fleeing pack.
Theo slowly blinked.
Then his gaze lifted.
Right as Garth looked toward him.
For a brief moment, the two locked eyes across the battlefield.
Garth grinned wildly.
Theo could already tell what that grin meant.
The real fight was about to begin.
Because Garth had just entered the battlefield outside the formation.
The battlefield that led directly…
To the Alpha.
To be continued.....