A deathly silence hung over the boundary where the western bank of the Blackwater River met a sparse grove of trees, the air thick with killing intent. A slight chill rose from the water, mingled with the faint, earthy scent of river silt.
Leylo, leading his knights and elite guards, had long since vanished into the long shadows at the forest's edge. Using the night and the terrain to mask their presence, they watched the riverbank with wary eyes. This was the battlefield Leylo had hand-picked. The terrain was relatively open—perfect for observation—yet bordered by woods for easy concealment and retreat. More importantly, it was close to the usual haunts of the mother Iron-Armored Rhino, facilitating Ed's luring maneuver.
As time ticked away, the oppressive silence made the palms of the younger soldiers sweat; they tightened their grips on their weapons. Leylo remained as still as a statue, waiting with preternatural patience.
Finally, the rustle of footsteps and a heavy dragging sound broke the stillness. Under the hazy moonlight, a line of figures clad in crude leather armor and wielding scimitars or bone staves appeared on the bank. They moved stealthily, scanning their surroundings with suspicious eyes—the minions of the Magic Snake Cult.
Leading the group was a hunched figure in a black priestly robe, clutching a serpent-headed bone staff topped with a glowing green gem: their old adversary, Priest Slark. Behind Slark, a behemoth moved with slow, rhythmic thuds. It was an enormous crocodile, nearly six meters long, covered in thick, dark-green scales that looked like solidified mire. Bony ridges rose from its back like jagged mountain peaks. Its murky yellow eyes glinted with cruelty in the dark, and its massive jaws hung slightly open, revealing rows of terrifying, serrated teeth. Each movement made the ground tremble.
This was the Rank 3 magical beast: the Mire Giant Crocodile.
Just as the column advanced, a world-shaking roar suddenly erupted from upstream!
"MOOO—!!!"
The sound was filled with unparalleled fury and madness, so powerful that the earth itself seemed to vibrate in terror. Slark and his minions froze, turning toward the sound. Under the moonlight, a mountain-like silhouette was charging toward them with frantic speed!
The creature was encased in a thick, grayish-brown keratin shell. The massive horn atop its head shimmered with a metallic luster. Its limbs were thick and powerful, each step striking the ground with a dull, heavy boom. It was the Rank 3 mother Iron-Armored Rhino!
The mother's eyes were blood-red, her nostrils snorting hot white steam, and her entire being radiated a violent, uncontrollable aura. She had been pushed beyond the brink of sanity.
"An Iron-Armored Rhino! Dammit, why is one here?!" Slark's face paled. He knew well how troublesome these beasts were.
But the real horror was yet to come. A human knight on a swift horse, carrying a leather pouch, covered the distance in a few incredible bounds, darting past the flank of the Mire Giant Crocodile.
The crocodile, sensing the threat of the rhino, was warily turning its body. At that exact moment, Ed's arm snapped forward. The leather pouch traced an arc through the air and slammed squarely onto the crocodile's armored back!
Splat!
The pouch burst, instantly drenching the crocodile in the warm, pungent blood of a rhino calf. The thick scent of blood and the unique pheromones of a cub immediately saturated the air.
"Ku-chi?" The Mire Giant Crocodile seemed confused, lowering its head to sniff the liquid.
But to the mother rhino, already on the edge of a breakdown, this scent was fuel for a wildfire! That was the scent of her offspring! That was her baby's blood!
"MOOO—!!!"
An even more savage roar erupted. In the mother's simple, primal mind, the ugly reptile before her, reeking of her child's blood, was the murderer! All her grief and killing intent found a target.
Rumble!
The mother rhino's massive frame became a living cannonball. Carrying unstoppable momentum, she slammed into the crocodile before it could fully react!
THOOM—!!!
A deafening crash rang out, sounding like two mountains colliding. Despite its thick scales, the crocodile couldn't withstand such a brutal impact. It stumbled, its massive body sliding several meters sideways, and a visible crack appeared on its heavy armor.
"ROAR!"
Stung by the pain, the Mire Giant Crocodile was also driven into a frenzy. It lashed its thick, steel-whip tail, swinging it at the rhino. The rhino didn't flinch, lowering its head to drive its horn into the crocodile's soft underbelly. The two Rank 3 beasts began a primal, bloody slaughter on the riverbank.
The sounds of bone-jarring impacts, roars, shattering scales, and flying mud filled the air. Slark and his minions watched in a daze. They never expected the battle to unfold like this! The rhino had appeared out of nowhere to pick a fight with their crocodile!
"What... what is happening?" a snake-man stammered.
Slark's face was ashen. He sensed something was wrong—the timing was too perfect, and the rhino's focus was too deliberate. Was it a trap?
He snapped his head toward the forest. Sure enough, while the two behemoths were locked in combat, a thunderous war cry erupted from the trees!
"Kill!"
Leylo led the charge, his knights pouring out like a rising tide! Their target: the Magic Snake minions, currently disorganized and shaken by the beast war.
"Not good! It's a trap! Form up! Engage them!" Slark shrieked, waving his bone staff to release clouds of emerald poison and curses.
But Leylo's knights were well-drilled. The front row raised their shields, their combat qi glowing brightly to withstand the toxic mist, while the rear row took the opportunity to charge through! Behind the knights followed a hundred soldiers armed with wooden spears.
"For Blackstone Town!"
Longswords danced, leaving trails of cold light as they pierced the crude leather armor of the cultists. The infantry followed, using spears and axes to finish off any stragglers. The scene was pure chaos: on one side, two titans engaged in a tectonic struggle; on the other, a systematic slaughter of the snake-men.
Slark was both panicked and enraged. He tried to command the crocodile to disengage and deal with the knights, but the two beasts were "seeing red" and ignored all commands. The rhino's horn left deep gashes in the crocodile, while the crocodile's claws and tail left the rhino's hide tattered and bloodied.
Ed had already slipped back into the knight formation. He swung his greatsword, cleaving through minions like straw. His eyes darted toward the beast-fight, waiting for the perfect moment. According to Leylo's plan, once the monsters were locked in, their main objective was the head of the snake—the priest.
The minions were fanatical, but against high-morale knights, they were no match. They were quickly cut to pieces. Seeing the tide turn, Slark felt the first cold sting of the urge to flee.