The duchy's caravan moved along the old road.
Among the trees, the wind carried a strange smell.
A new smell.
The journey back to the duchy had begun several days earlier, but the atmosphere among the soldiers and adventurers was no longer the same as it had been at the beginning of the trip.
An entire month in Carter territory had changed many things.
Mixed patrols.
Shared night watches.
Improvised battles against monsters that appeared almost every day.
The duchy soldiers had learned to trust the adventurers' instincts when it came to detecting dangers before they became visible.
And the adventurers had learned to value something they had once considered unnecessary:
discipline.
Tight formations.
Coordination.
The destructive power of the Douglas units.
Now they marched together.
No longer as separate groups.
But as parts of the same machine.
That day, as the caravan passed along the edge of a strange forest, warped by an excess of mana, a scout came running out from among the trees.
—My lord!
The man reached Lusian, gasping for breath.
—On the right flank... there are too many monsters. They're gathering.
Lusian narrowed his eyes.
He didn't need to see them yet.
He could feel the vibrations beneath the ground.
The altered mana floating through the air.
Albert looked toward the forest.
—A pack?
Lirianne, who had spent the past few weeks working side by side with the duchy's scouts, immediately shook her head.
—No.
Her expression became serious.
—It's a spiral hunt.
—The smaller monsters are fleeing toward the center. The ones on the outer edges are slowly closing the perimeter.
She pointed toward the forest.
—We're not passing through a pack. They're herding us toward them.
Several soldiers exchanged glances.
Lirianne pointed toward the forest again.
—They're pushing their prey toward a specific point.
She paused.
—And that point is us.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Lusian looked at her.
—What do you suggest?
Lirianne took a deep breath.
She no longer had the insecurity she had shown during the first few weeks.
She had learned how to speak in front of soldiers who, at first, hadn't even considered her opinions.
—A mixed unit.
She pointed toward the forest.
—Fast adventurers and lightly equipped scouts. If we find the Alpha and bring it down, the spiral should collapse.
—And if we don't?
Lirianne held Lusian's gaze.
—Then they'll all charge us at once.
The duchy's captain remained silent for several seconds.
A month ago, he probably would have argued with her proposal.
Now he simply nodded.
—It makes sense.
He looked at his men.
—They know these tactics better than we do.
Lusian smiled slightly.
—Then, Lirianne Velmont.
The adventurer straightened.
—Yes, my lord?
—You'll lead the unit.
Lirianne bowed her head.
—At your service.
Thirty combatants set out.
Fifteen lightly equipped soldiers, trained over the past few weeks to fight in forested terrain.
And fifteen adventurers, including the five members of Blue Current.
To anyone who had seen them a month ago, such a formation would have seemed impossible.
But now...
The soldiers advanced in silence, covering angles and securing retreat routes.
The adventurers moved between the trees like shadows, reading tracks, calculating distances, and monitoring their mana expenditure.
Two different ways of fighting.
A single unit.
Then they heard it.
A deep bellow tore through the forest.
It carried such violence that the branches trembled.
Lirianne raised a hand.
Everyone stopped.
The Alpha emerged between the trees.
It was a mutated deer of monstrous proportions.
Its antlers weren't simply bone. Small crystalline formations grew between the branches, pulsing with every breath.
Mana gathered around its body like a bluish mist.
Its muscles stood out beneath its taut black hide.
And its eyes...
Its eyes didn't look like those of an animal.
They gleamed with a savage, unnatural intelligence.
Lirianne slowly lowered her hand.
—Mixed Delta formation.
The soldiers spread out.
—Adventurers to the flanks! Scouts, provide cover!
The Alpha lowered its head.
Its antlers pointed toward them.
—Cut the joints! —Lirianne shouted—. Don't try to pierce its torso!
The monster charged.
Kaela jumped from a branch just as the antlers swept beneath her.
Her blue mana-infused knife sliced through one of its front legs.
The Alpha roared and spun violently.
Two duchy scouts took advantage of the opening and blocked its escape route.
The monster charged again.
This time, soldiers and adventurers reacted together.
A shield blocked the impact.
A spear struck a joint.
An adventurer attacked from the side.
The Alpha lost its balance.
For an instant, everyone thought it had fallen.
Then the monster spun around.
One of its antlers grazed a soldier's chest.
The man fell backward.
—Don't break formation! —Lirianne shouted.
Two shields immediately closed the gap.
The adventurer who had been isolated slipped back behind them.
The line held.
And then Lusian saw his opportunity.
Lusian raised a hand.
—Move aside.
The combatants immediately obeyed.
Thunder shot toward the monster, accelerating between the trees.
CRACK!
A surge of electricity raced through the beast's body, stunning it for an instant.
It was enough.
Umber lunged at it from the side and sank his fangs directly into its neck.
The monster struggled, but its legs gave out.
Its massive body crashed heavily into the leaves.
For several seconds, the forest fell silent.
Then the cheers erupted.
The adventurers bumped fists with the soldiers.
The soldiers congratulated the members of Blue Current.
Some laughed.
Others simply took deep breaths, trying to recover.
It hadn't been a spectacular victory.
But it had been an important one.
Because none of them had fought the way they would have a month ago.
Lirianne approached Lusian, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
—Well done, my lord.
Lusian nodded.
—Good tracking.
Lirianne smiled.
They both returned to the rest of the group.
Behind them, the soldiers began dragging away the Alpha's corpse.
The caravan resumed its journey shortly afterward.
Neither of them thought much about what had happened.
To them, the battle hadn't been anything special.
They had encountered a threat.
Combined their abilities.
And won.
Without realizing that, little by little, they were building something that had never existed before.
An army where the experience of adventurers and the discipline of soldiers could function as a single force.