Gaia leaned against a cold section of the mountain wall, her spirit light barely a shimmer. Despite her exhaustion, a faint, maternal smile touched her lips as she watched the five civilians begin the work of creation.
Sirius and Dixon were already collaborating, their combined expertise turning crude forest materials into structure. They quickly mapped out the frame of a simple thatch hut, using thick vines and long branches. Dixon, the man from the Akkadian dawn, surprised the others by efficiently crafting sharp-edged stone tools from mountain pebbles he'd collected, providing the rough precision needed.
"See, Roman?" Dixon grunted, using a newly crafted stone ax to quickly score a piece of timber. "We didn't need your precious iron to build a roof over our heads. A good stone and an eye for the grain—that's all the technology you need."
Sirius wiped sweat from his brow, his Roman discipline battling his instinct to complain. "It's primitive, Dixon, but I'll grant you this, it's fast. With metal, we could have had a watchtower already. But for today, thatch is better than nothing."
Meanwhile, Kael, Old Lao, and Lia were pooling their knowledge to gather materials.
"Lia, be careful with that vine," Old Lao cautioned, his hands gently inspecting a bundle of thick reeds Kael had secured. "In my time, quick-growing vines were often bitter, draining the soil. We need to find something that can be grown without depleting the ground's fertility too quickly."
Lia, the Black Death medic, carefully placed a handful of moss into her basket. "I'm only interested in its properties, Lao. This moss is sterile; good for wrapping deep cuts. If we're going to survive the night, we need bandages before we need bread."
They worked with quiet urgency. In the distance, atop the hill, Cao Cao and Bai Qi stood like twin statues of iron-clad vigilance, surveying the hostile land.
A few moments later, Bai Qi turned from the watch post and walked with his characteristic silent speed toward Kael.
"Hunter," Bai Qi said in his low monotone. "The work here is loud. We scout the immediate perimeter for one kilometer and secure a meal. Come."
Kael immediately nodded, checking the stone knife at his belt. He paused only to give Lia a quick, reassuring look. "Be safe, Lia. I'll be quick." He followed the Marshal's imposing figure into the deep shadows of the forest. The basin was now without its two best immediate combatants
Cao Cao remained atop the hill until the low snuffling noise and the sharp snap of a branch signaled an imminent threat from the west. His mind cataloged the danger: Unidentified hostile entity, closing rapidly, vanguard exposed.
He bolted down the slope, sprinting toward the working group. "Gather! Everyone, gather now!" he roared. "Threat inbound!"
Sirius and Dixon dropped their materials. Cao Cao skidded to a stop, his posture one of lethal readiness.
"Dixon! Tools! Now!" Cao Cao barked.
Dixon instantly thrust a sharp stone ax into Sirius's hand, quickly retrieving a final weapon for himself. Lia and Old Lao hurried to shield the weakened Gaia. The Vanguard stood huddled together, facing the noise.
Cao Cao drew the ancestral sword at his hip, its metal catching the faint light. He spoke quickly, his voice sharp with absolute authority.
"We shall stand our ground. The three of us will fight as one. We will use the Man, Earth, Heaven formation!"
Sirius and Dixon instantly shifted their stances, their civilian fear overridden by the sheer command presence of the Chief Minister.
"I am Man!" Cao Cao declared, pointing his sword forward. "My sword stops the charge of the opponent, bearing the brunt of the impact. I will hold the enemy in place!"
He looked at Sirius, the former Legionnaire. "Sirius, you are Earth! You position yourself to prevent the opponent's counter-attack after I stop their rush, thereby protecting Man and creating an opening for Heaven!"
He locked eyes with Dixon, the ancient tanner. "Dixon, you are Heaven! Your stone ax will move to deal the killing blow into the open flank or head. We fight as one! Hold your ground!"
The snuffling grew into a frantic grunt. A shadow, massive and undefined, burst from the dense foliage just twenty yards away. They were alone, facing the dark of Pangea with only two stone axes and a single sword.
The snuffling grew into a frantic grunt. A shadow, massive and undefined, burst from the dense foliage just twenty yards away. The vanguard was alone, facing the dark of Pangea with only two stone axes and a single sword.
Then, from the bush, a pair of red-colored, slitted eyes emerged, fixing their gaze on the huddled humans. They were low to the ground, predatory, and burning with alien intelligence.
Lia instinctively gasped, pulling Old Lao tighter against the mountain wall. "Oh, by the Mother," she whispered, her veneer of professional calm dissolving. "That is not a creature of my world."
Old Lao's breath hitched. "Those eyes... they know we're meat."
Gaia, leaning against the cold stone, strained to project a sense of calm. Her voice was faint, yet firm. "Trust them, children. Trust the strength of your allies."
The trio holding the line was a study in contrasts.
Cao Cao stood in the center, drawing his ancestral sword into a ready stance. The metal edge caught the faint light, a beacon of defiance. He was a pillar of strategic focus, ready to fulfill his role as Man—the anchor of the defense.
To his right, Sirius gripped the stone ax, his knuckles white. "By Mars, Lord Cao Cao, you better know what you're doing," he muttered, his voice tight. "I built the things that killed the enemy, I didn't get this close to them!"
"Worry less about your metal and more about your feet, Roman," Dixon grunted from Cao Cao's left, a wide, predatory grin splitting his grim face. "That sight there, Roman? That's life. That's the wild. You've forgotten how good it feels to earn your next breath!"
"It feels terrifying, Tanner, now focus!" Sirius retorted.
Cao Cao let the exchange stand for a fraction of a second, then spoke, not to comfort, but to ignite their primal will.
"Listen to me!" Cao Cao's voice was a low, powerful command. "We are the Vanguard! They unmade our world because they deemed us weak! But we are the Vanguard of Man! We are the chosen few! Your ancestors survived the wild, survived the plague, survived the rise of empires! We have done the impossible already—we are alive!"
He pointed his sword at the slitted eyes. "That thing wants to see us flee! It wants easy meat! We will give it neither! We stand here, and we prove to Pangea that the greatest threat this world has ever seen is not the Dragons, but the unyielding will of Humanity! Do not break! Do not fail Gaia! Hold the line!"
The slitted eyes blinked. With a sudden, deafening snarl that shook the very air, the monster burst from the bush. Its body was streamlined and powerful, akin to a panther, with sleek, dark fur rippling with muscle. But its feet were blazing red, like burning flames, kicking up embers with each stride. A single, gleaming black horn, sharp as a spear, spiraled from its forehead.
It was a creature of primeval grace and terrifying ferocity. The Hellcat, as Dixon instinctively named it, started its charge.