Alexia struck next—appearing beside the Champion and slicing across its shoulder. Her blade only cut shallow—its scales were like plated steel. The kobold turned and backhanded her with monstrous force. She flew, crashing into a crate with a grunt.
Yue tried to bind it with mana threads—but the Champion tore through them like cobwebs.
"It's resisting my magic!"
Aamon gritted his teeth. He rushed forward, blade glowing faintly as he whispered—
"Wind Blade!"
He slashed. The crescent of wind struck the kobold's arm, cutting a groove—but it didn't slow. The beast lunged, its blade sweeping low. Aamon dodged, rolled under it, and slashed at the exposed flank.
A lucky hit. Blood splattered. But it wasn't deep enough.
Too fast. Too strong.
He couldn't win alone.
"Yue! Get to higher ground! Focus your magic! Alexia—we flank it, one left, one right!"
Alexia wiped blood from her lip and nodded, vanishing into the smoke again.
The Champion roared and lunged again, blade crashing into the dirt where Aamon had stood seconds earlier.
Alexia reappeared, her blade stabbing into its back—but it spun, grabbing her arm mid-strike. With a snarl, it flung her aside like a doll.
"NOW!" Yue's voice echoed.
From the hilltop, she unleashed a bolt of pure spirit energy—Spirit Flare—a dense white beam that struck the kobold in the chest. It howled in agony, its body writhing as energy burned into its flesh.
It was stunned—just for a moment.
Aamon didn't hesitate.
He ran, every muscle screaming, sword raised.
"Wind Blade!" he roared, slashing mid-charge. The arc struck the kobold's knee, staggering it further. He leapt, drove his sword into the creature's collarbone—pinned it—and twisted.
The Champion howled and reached to grab him, but Alexia was there again.
With a final scream, she plunged her dagger into its throat from behind, cutting through scale and tendon.
The kobold reeled.
Aamon gripped his sword with both hands, using the last of his strength, and drove it deeper—until the blade burst through the Champion's back.
The beast gurgled. Its blade slipped from its hand. Then it collapsed—crushing the firepit beneath its weight.
Smoke rose. Blood soaked the earth.
Aamon stood trembling, knees nearly buckling. His sword stuck in the beast's corpse, hands blistered.
Yue descended beside them, eyes wide, chest heaving. "That was… almost too close."
Alexia coughed and smiled faintly. "We need to stop nearly dying every fight."
Aamon let out a low breath and turned to the remnants of the camp. Only smoldering tents and corpses remained. The rest had fled.
He opened his system interface with shaking hands:
[Mission Complete. Bonus Objective Achieved.]
[EP Gained: 200]
Aamon didn't smile.
He pulled his sword free and wiped the blood on the grass.
"Let this be a warning," he said quietly. "To whatever watches from the dark."
Aamon silently opened portal leading back to his territory, This battle had given him far too many things to use in a short time.
As soon as they entered, Aamon took some herbs and started chewing them.
As it was aldready night, the gentle moonlight was falling on them.
Aamon felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.
He started to look through his own gains.
355 Evolution Points.
That was the amount this battle had given him.
There was the the training experience too..
Aamon shook his head and closed to recover the lost energy.
After completely recovering in half an hour, He slowly made his way to a mossy stone.
Aamon sat down on a mossy stone and exhaled.
Yue landed softly beside him, her glow faint, like the last embers of a dying lantern. Alexia dragged herself to a fallen log and dropped onto it, stretching her bruised limbs with a grimace.
It looks like she had recovered faster than Aamon.
No one spoke for a while.
Then Yue broke the silence. "That was... reckless."
Alexia scoffed, wincing as she rolled her shoulder. "Says the one who fired a Spirit Flare big enough to light half the forest."
"I didn't hear you complain when it saved your life."
"I'm not complaining. I'm just saying—next time, warn us before you turn the sky into a holy beacon."
Aamon let their bickering flow around him, grounding him. It felt like breathing after drowning.
"...We weren't ready for that Champion," he said finally, his voice low. "I thought the warlord was the worst it'd get."
Yue nodded. "They must've been preparing the evolution for weeks. Maybe months. Feeding on First Order beasts. That Champion… he was too close to a full breakthrough."
Alexia leaned forward, rubbing her temple. "And if we hadn't interrupted, Dusk Town would've been next. Or worse."
Aamon closed his eyes for a moment. "We bought them time."
He looked down at his trembling hands. "But we got lucky. If Yue's spell had hit two seconds later…"
"I know," Yue said. "We're walking a razor's edge."
Alexia tilted her head, studying Aamon. "But you kept calm. Took control. You led us through that."
Aamon didn't answer right away.
"I was scared," he admitted. "I just didn't have time to be."
Yue smiled softly. "That's what leadership is sometimes."
Alexia added, "And for the record… I trust your instincts. Even if they're reckless."
Aamon chuckled—just a breath. "We're not strong enough yet. Not for what's coming."
"No," Yue agreed. "But we're stronger than we were yesterday."
Aamon looked up. The stars were clearer tonight.
"Tomorrow," he said, "we start again. Train. Hunt. Grow."
Alexia smirked. "No rest?"
"You can nap while we sharpen blades," Yue teased.
Aamon stood, steady now. "This was just one tribe. One battle. The system gave us a message. 'Many more to go.'"
Alexia's eyes gleamed red under the moon. "Then let's make sure we're ready when the next one finds us."
Yue raised her hand, and a small orb of spirit light floated into the air, casting a warm glow across their clearing.
Together, under that faint light, the three sat in silence for a while longer.
Not as survivors.
As warriors preparing for the next war.