Winter was bitterly cold.
Before long, the 'blood lake' had already frozen.
At the lake's edge, Allen and Paul squatted side by side in a rather unflattering posture, staring at the monster tunnels left open in the snow.
"There's wind."
Allen held his hand over one of the holes for a moment, then looked gravely at Paul.
Paul scratched his head.
"Huh? There is?"
"There is. Very faint, but my Kanryuu (Sense the Flow) tells me there's wind."
Paul's mouth twitched.
"I still can't believe you managed to fuse your own secret technique with one of the five great secrets of Suijin-ryuu (Water God Style), and completely mastered it two months ago. At this rate, if you learn two more, don't even bother being a Suisei (Water Saint) — you'll qualify as a Suishin (Water God). Just go back to the main dojo and get crowned."
Allen glanced at Paul's half-lidded eyes, understanding he was just rambling to keep his exhausted mind awake.
"Since the moment I saw Retta use Kanryuu at the Water God Dojo at age four, I've been thinking and studying constantly. I must have watched it countless times before finally mastering and integrating it now. It's not as simple as you make it sound."
"By that logic, I also had an epiphany about the Silent Blade, but you don't see me using the Blade of Light yet, do you?"
Paul rubbed his dark circles, feeling Allen was being unreasonable.
"Hah? I don't even know it, where'd you learn it?"
Allen's eyes lit up. He bent down and reached into a dark hole at his feet, pulling out a sawtooth rabbit to Paul's surprise.
It was dead.
Its body was covered in wedge-shaped bite marks and fingertip-sized bloody pits.
Sylphy, Roruji, and Rudy all gathered around.
It was worth noting that since rejoining Allen, all three had clearly kept their own thoughts about "Roxy," but none of them brought it up again — which let Allen breathe a little easier.
Allen pointed at the rabbit's nearly devoured lower half and the densely-pitted head.
"The lower half was eaten by giant gnawing rats. The brain was sucked out by a forest snake. The two monsters fought over it for a while before I scared them off, leaving the carcass behind."
"The lower half's marks fit the rats — high tooth hardness, they gnaw right through bone. But…"
Allen pinched the rabbit's neck, squeezing out blood and icy sludge from the pits.
Rudy's eyes widened.
"This is…"
Sylphy finally moved her gaze from Allen's face to the corpse.
"Forest snake fangs are hollow and they prefer blood, but this body still has blood… that doesn't match their hunting habits."
Allen brushed his fingers through the rabbit's neck fur, scattering icy crumbs around him.
"The snake's mucus is here. It was fighting with the rats over the meal. Logically, the snake should've drained all the blood first. But it seems it preferred the flesh this time…"
Rudy tilted his head.
"'Rats'?"
Allen ignored him, squeezed the rabbit again, and seeing the blood was still thin, exchanged a glance with Paul.
"Body isn't dehydrated. That means there's a monster gathering site near a live water source."
Rudy blinked.
"That can't be right, can it? There's snow everywhere, plenty of water."
Allen stirred the blood on the ground and said to Rudy:
"Eating snow for water has to be done in small amounts many times. Eating a lot at once causes hypothermia and sudden death. Monsters aren't stupid. But this blood is thin — meaning it drank a large amount of live water a few hours ago, not snow."
Allen turned to Paul, whose face was grim as he stared into the forest.
"Well, uncle? Any clues?"
Paul, under Roruji's solemn gaze, pointed northeast into the deep woods, his voice hoarse.
"Twenty kilometers out, there's a valley. There's a geothermal lake there…"
Then he looked at Allen, hesitated, and finally asked:
"You really want to go?"
Allen squinted and smiled.
"It's the fastest way. One and done. Sitting here all winter isn't an option. If I end up worn out like you while the monster tide keeps coming, we're finished."
Hearing that, Rudy's face went pale.
Why did the monster tide keep coming? Because too many were bred last year. Allen's single attack earlier — did it solve anything?
Not at all.
The numbers slain were nowhere near enough. The monsters had simply mistaken Allen's attack for a natural disaster. They would come back.
So Allen's meaning was clear: rather than waiting passively in this harsh weather, better to strike now while he was at full strength —
Hit the densest nest, unleash several more Yukikuzure Ochi (Avalanche Crashes), and kill more than a month of sitting around would ever manage… But that technique's range isn't that wide, magic might kill even more… Wait, so why all the explanation…?
Rudy finally realized what Allen was getting at. He stiffly turned his head toward him.
Allen's eyes shone brightly.
The map of Yan Kingdom had been spread out by Allen too many times.
Rudy finally understood the meaning of Allen's expression and stammered a futile protest.
"I've never cleared monsters before… I'm not even seven yet…"
Allen beamed back at him.
"Perfect. Me neither."
Rudy was dumbfounded.
Afterward, Paul and Roruji discussed for a long time and concluded this really was the way to go. If they kept dragging it out or fell back further to conserve strength, next year's tide would be even worse.
They tentatively agreed with Allen's plan.
But they didn't feel comfortable letting a few 'kids' handle it alone, so Paul would go with them.
Which created a new problem — who would guard the forest edge and the net?
Normally, Paul and Zenith as an S-class team would split up, one to hold the line and one to heal. But Zenith had to look after the baby.
So they settled on this plan:
Wait for the next attack. Repel it. Then immediately dismantle the net and retreat to the forest outskirts where the villagers could manage.
Then —
While the monsters regrouped —
Hit their nest and slaughter them.
Team composition:
Senior Swordsman, Paul — vanguard.
Water Saint, Allen — flank guard and protection.
Hunter, Roruji — scout, logistics, pathfinder.
Senior Magician, Sylphy, and Water Saint-level Magician, Rudy — center, firepower.
Finally, three hours later, the monsters came again.
This time, with Rudy's magic, they fled even faster.
The net was dismantled. They fell back. The net was set up again.
Everything went according to plan.
By afternoon, the snowstorm calmed. The sun dyed the snowy forest golden.
The hunting party set out.
(End of Chapter)
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