The porters finished their grim work, tucking hides and organs into their satchels. With the last scrap stowed away, Ishira gestured for them to move.
The squad pressed deeper into the jungle, the Raid Compass guiding them toward the glowing red mark. Hours seemed to dissolve as the trees thickened, the air heavy with damp soil and the faint tang of iron.
"We are close now," Ishira said, eyes fixed on the device..
Konnor scanned the canopy. "Something feels off."
Alice's mouth tightened. "It's too quiet. There should be more Hobgoblins the closer we get to the blood crystal. However, we seem to be having quite an easy trip. Moreover, there aren't bodies either. If Feridale Order passed this way, they should have left corpses behind."
Ishira slowed, frowning. "If Feridale cleared the field, they would not hold back from ceasing the blood crystal. Yet there are no signs of that."
"Lily," Ishira said quietly. "Listen."
She gave a small nod, closing her eyes. Her hands gripped her scythe as her breathing steadied.
Ten long seconds passed before her eyes snapped open, wide with alarm.
"I know why the Hobgoblins aren't here," she whispered.
Then she ran.
The others exchanged sharp glances and broke into a sprint behind her. Mason shouted for the porters to keep up, his voice cutting through the underbrush as branches whipped at their arms.
Conus' lungs burned as he kept pace, the slap of leaves against his skin forgotten when the trees finally opened up.
The ground fell away before them. Below, in a wide valley, chaos reigned.
Feridale Order was in pieces. Their proud formation lay scattered and broken. A dozen bodies littered the field, armor ripped and weapons abandoned. Only four still stood, including their captain, each fighting with the desperation of cornered prey.
The enemy swarmed them. Hobgoblins poured across the clearing in endless numbers, snarling and shrieking.
And watching it all, perched on a mound above the slaughter, was the true terror.
The Hobgoblin King.
It was huge, larger than anything Conus had seen. Black-green skin stretched tight over muscles thick as stone. A crooked crown of bone and hide clung to its skull. In one massive hand it held a club stained red with blood. Four towering guardians stood at its sides, their eyes glowing like embers.
Mason's voice was barely a whisper. "By the goddess…"
Conus swallowed hard and triggered his appraisal. Guardians: Level 32, 34, 36, 38. Hobgoblin King: Level 90. Higher than even his father. His mouth went dry.
But Ishira's face did not change.
"Alice, Konnor," he said sharply, "two guardians each. I will take the King. Alan, Christian, Lily, save what is left of Feridale."
Then his eyes fixed on Conus. "Stay here. Protect the porters."
Conus nodded, though the protest burned in his chest. He wanted to fight.
Ishira crouched and slammed a hand to the earth. The jungle rumbled. Cracks split the ground, racing down the cliffside like lightning. The soil erupted, swallowing dozens of Hobgoblins. Screams cut off as the earth snapped shut again.
Every head turned.
"Move!" Ishira commanded.
The Aurefila squad surged into the fray.
Alice went first, lightning arcing along her arms. Blue sparks crawled over her skin, building to a blinding glow as she launched herself high into the air. She landed with a burst of electricity, frying a cluster of Hobgoblins before facing two guardians head-on.
They swung, stone blades cutting the air. Alice disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared behind them. A sharp kick to the knee, a hand clamped on an arm, and a surge of volts made the first guardian scream before it collapsed.
"Too slow," she murmured, already spinning to meet the next.
Konnor was nothing subtle. A roar ripped from his throat as his body grew, muscles swelling until his frame doubled. The ground shook under his charge. One guardian's blade met his arm and stopped cold. Konnor laughed and slammed his fist forward. The strike landed like thunder, sending the creature flying into the trees.
The second lunged, but Konnor caught it by the throat. "No, you don't." He lifted and smashed it into the ground. The earth cratered beneath the impact.
Meanwhile, Ishira moved like a phantom. His sword met the Hobgoblin King's club with a sound like stone breaking. The King bellowed, swinging with brute force, but Ishira was faster. He shoved back, driving the beast off balance, and the ground split at his command. Spikes of earth shot up, pinning the King's legs.
Then Ishira struck. A blur of steel, each slash a perfect arc. The King howled, lashing out, but Ishira pressed forward without fear. To Conus it looked effortless, a level ninety monster forced to defend itself.
Below them, Lily, Christian, and Alan carved a path through the swarm. Alan lifted both arms and released a concussive wave that sent Hobgoblins sprawling. Christian followed in his wake, blade flickering with deadly precision.
And Lily was a thing of quiet horror. Small and pale, her scythe spun around her like a wheel of death. Each step was graceful, each swing final. Hobgoblins fell in pieces, their blood painting the earth.
They reached the survivors, the four members of Feridale who still stood, and shielded them without hesitation.
Above it all, Conus stood guard with the porters, fingers gripping the hilt of his sword. His heart hammered. The urge to leap into the fight rose, but he stayed where he was.
Alice's laughter cut through the din as she danced between blades. Lightning burst from her palms, frying the second guardian until smoke curled from its flesh. Konnor's booming laughter answered hers as he swung his opponent like a toy, slamming it into a tree so hard the trunk splintered.
But Ishira was the storm.
The King bellowed and struck. Ishira met it without fear, every move clean, unstoppable. One swing carved deep into the beast's side. Stone pillars rose at his command, pinning it long enough for him to leap forward. His sword gleamed.
The Hobgoblin King's head fell.
The valley went still.
Ishira crouched over the corpse and pried free the crown of bone. Embedded in its center was a jagged crimson crystal, glowing like a beating heart.
"This is it," Ishira said quietly.
The moment he tore it free, the sky cracked.
A sound like shattering glass rolled overhead. The blue of the realm split apart, broken lines glowing across its surface.
"The realm is destabilizing," Ishira called. "Porters, move! Harvest fast. We have twenty-four hours at best."
Mason and the porters hurried forward, tools flashing as they stripped crystals and hides.
But Conus was not watching them. His eyes were fixed on the sky.
The fractures widened, spreading like veins of light. And in those fractures, just for a moment, something watched back.
Eyes.
Hundreds of them. Bright, unblinking, inhuman.
Conus' chest tightened. He could not look away. Then they were gone, swallowed by the cracks as they dimmed.
He stood there, sweat prickling his skin, a cold unease curling deep in his gut.
No one else had seen them.
Only him.