What if Mutated Beasts had a leader?
A commander to coordinate their attacks?
Damn, the danger just doubled—no, tripled!
The others' faces paled instantly.
"A leader means organized strikes. The threat level skyrockets," Elias said flatly.
His tone was as rigid as ever.
No emotion crossed his face—business as usual.
"So stay sharp. Humans, beasts—never let your guard down," Elara warned sharply.
The car came to a stop.
They piled out.
Elias and Jaxon checked the yard first.
Silas and Piper headed into the house.
Elara stood in the yard.
She stared at the messy, clear hoof prints.
Thoughts churned in her mind—something wasn't right.
Soon, the four gathered around her.
"Yard's clear—no hidden threats," Jaxon reported.
"House too—no blood, no stench of death," Piper added.
"Lucky owners, I guess—they got out in time," she said.
"Good. Jaxon, pull the car in and lock the gate tight," Elara ordered crisply.
"Piper, fix dinner. The rest, keep watch," she added.
She nimbly climbed the courtyard wall, then onto the roof.
With a flick of her finger, rice-grain-sized air bubbles drifted out.
Her sensing range expanded instantly.
From above, she saw empty yards everywhere.
Doors hanging open—no people, no livestock.
As if everyone, every beast, had vanished into thin air.
Calm. Too calm. Sinister to the core.
Elara sat cross-legged, closing her eyes.
A Beast Core in each hand—she needed to level up, fast.
When Piper called her for dinner, Elara had absorbed four Beast Cores.
She was about to climb down—then froze.
Her gaze snapped west.
Her bubbles transmitted a horrific scene.
In a two-story house's yard, a massive yellow-and-black Mutated snake was swallowing a Mutated cow whole!
Thick as a water tank, eyes glowing emerald green.
Nearly 13 meters long—monstrous.
And in front of it? A sea of Mutated Beasts.
Cows, sheep, pigs, dogs, chickens, ducks—packing the yard tight.
The worst part? They died silently.
No screams as the snake devoured them.
Elara's heart raced.
This snake was already Level 1.
It was eating its own kind to grow stronger—evolving faster than she'd anticipated!
"You eat first. I'm going out," Elara said.
She leaped off the roof in one fluid move, racing west.
"Huh? Elara's going alone?" Piper fretted.
She watched Elara vanish into the distance.
"Should we follow her?" she asked.
"I'll go with Elias. You two guard the car and supplies—don't move," Jaxon said.
He grabbed his Swiss Army knife.
He and Elias exchanged a look, then sprinted after her.
"Brother?" Piper tugged Silas's sleeve, voice worried.
"Shouldn't we go too? What if she needs help?"
"No. Guarding supplies is crucial—we can't lose what we've got," Silas said firmly.
He locked the gate, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
They sat in the yard, tense and waiting.
Elara reached the snake's yard quickly.
Mutated Beasts surrounded it—an impenetrable wall of flesh.
She touched her waist.
Good—she'd brought plenty of nails for moments like this.
She had to kill the snake before it leveled up again.
Grabbing a handful of nails in each hand, Elara perched on the neighboring wall.
She channeled her gold-element Superpower into the nails, sharpening their edges.
Then hurled them—like a deadly metal rainstorm.
Nails pierced through Mutated Beast bodies, one after another.
"Moo! Baa! Woof!"
Beasts fell in droves.
Even the wounded couldn't fight back.
Gold-element energy seared their wounds, rendering them helpless.
After a few volleys, half the surrounding Beasts were down.
Panic spread through the horde.
The giant snake finally noticed the commotion.
Elara summoned her sword and blade—weapons materializing out of thin air.
One in each hand, she leaped into the fray.
Swinging wildly, gold light flashed with every strike.
Beasts split in two, blood spraying across her face.
Her clothes were soaked red in seconds.
She cut a path straight into the yard.
Eyes cold as ice—no mercy.
"Hisssss!"
The snake fixed its emerald eyes on her.
Venom dripped from its fangs.
Its forked tongue flicked out—tasting her power, craving it.
"Come on," Elara said.
She gripped her blade so tight her knuckles whitened.
She activated her air Superpower.
Floating up to eye level with the snake's head.
"Is that… Elara?" Jaxon gaped.
His jaw dropped so far it might hit the ground.
"I see her too. Not a hallucination," Elias said.
He pushed up his glasses, his calm facade cracking for a split second.
He stared at the mountain of Beast corpses.
At the blood-soaked ground.
His pupils contracted—he'd underestimated her power.
"Gods! She's a warrior goddess!" Jaxon gushed.
Eyes glowing like a fanboy, he couldn't look away.
"She's just strong—scarily strong," Elias said dryly.
"Stay hidden. She doesn't want witnesses," he added.
Jaxon froze, then nodded quickly.
They ducked behind a corner, melting into the shadows.
"Hisssss!"
The snake lunged, jaws gaping wide.
Wide enough to swallow her whole.
Elara dodged nimbly.
Circling behind its massive head.
She brought her sword and blade down hard—aiming for its weak spot.
Boom!
The recoil sent her flying back several meters.
Elara frowned at the shallow wound on the snake's neck—barely a scratch.
Its defense was double that of ordinary Mutated Beasts!
The snake roared in anger.
Slamming its tail at her like a steel whip.
Elara dodged again.
Landing on the snake's back—slippery and warm.
She stabbed her weapons deep into its flesh.
Twisting to maximize damage.
"Hissssss!"
The snake thrashed violently.
Rolling wildly across the yard.
It twisted its head, snapping at her with venomous fangs.
The snake's back was too slippery to hold on.
Elara clung to her blade, steadying herself as the beast convulsed.
She pulled out her sword.
Slashing at the snake's head with all her strength.
The blade got stuck in its thick scales.
Halfway to the skull.
The snake shook its head frantically.
Trying to dislodge her.
Elara lost her balance—then acted fast.
Seizing the moment, she sheathed her blade.
Using the snake's momentum to leap onto its skull.
She pulled out the golden hairpin from her hair—her last resort.
Gripping it with both hands.
She drove it straight into the snake's brain through its eye socket.
Gold-element Superpower surged through the pin.
Slamming directly into the snake's Beast Core.
"Hisssssss!"
The snake let out a bloodcurdling death rattle.
Thrashing uncontrollably.
Surviving Mutated Beasts were crushed under its massive body.
Or sliced in half by its tail.
"Die already!" Elara snarled.
Covered in blood from head to toe.
Her eyes were cold—pure, unadulterated killing intent.
With a thought, her gold-element Superpower formed a sharp blade inside the snake's skull.
It dug out the Beast Core cleanly.
Elara caught it, slipping it into her waist pouch without hesitation.
The snake went limp.
Its upper body crashing to the ground with a thud.
Elara pulled out her hairpin.
Wiping the blood on her clothes, she stuck it back in her hair.
She flicked her finger, summoning a thin, sharp blade of golden energy.
She slit the snake's belly from head to tail.
Grabbing its tough tendons and yanking hard—useful for weapons later.
"Damn… that's brutal," Jaxon muttered.
Covering his eyes but peeking through his fingers.
"More like a goddess of war," he added.
"She knows we're here. No point hiding," Elias said.
Adjusting his glasses, he stepped out first.
Jaxon gasped, then scrambled to follow.
He winced at the mangled Beast corpses.
At the pools of blood—his stomach turning.
He forced a nervous grin at Elara.
She stood covered in red, looking like she'd walked out of a nightmare.
"We were worried! Honest! And we didn't see anything—promise!"
Elara's lips twitched slightly—amused despite herself.
Jaxon could be such an idiot sometimes.
"Cut the crap. Dig out the Beast Cores—all of them," she snapped.
"No cores, no dinner," she added, tossing them each a blade.
"Huh? Oh! Right away!" Jaxon scrambled to work.
No longer daring to slack off.
Elias was already kneeling.
Methodically prying out Beast Cores with clinical precision.
After seeing Elara take down that snake single-handedly?
Jaxon didn't want to piss her off.
Elara joined in, her movements quick and efficient.
Even with three people, it took an hour and a half to collect all the Beast Cores.
Every Beast here was killed by her.
The cores were hers by right.
She took them without hesitation, storing them away carefully.
"A dozen or so Beasts ran off during the chaos," Elias said as they walked back.
"They're still in the village, probably hiding," he added, tone neutral.
He didn't ask about her floating ability.
Or the weapons that appeared and vanished.
Jaxon stayed quiet too—smart enough to know some questions were better left unasked.
Elara wouldn't volunteer answers.
If they kept her secret—good.
If not? She'd make sure they couldn't talk. Permanently.
When they reached their yard, they froze in unison.
A man stood at the gate.
Confronting Piper and Silas.
Begging, more like.
His face covered in dirt and blood—desperate.
It was the survivor who'd betrayed his friends.