Chapter 24: Break the Twelve Shadows First—Then Kill the Epic Hero
[Nightstripe Huntlord]
[Type: Wild Hero]
[Race: Beastkin]
[Quality: Epic]
[Level: 11]
[Core Trait: Wraithbound Command]
[Skills: Veilskin / Heart-Rend / Veilstrike]
The last line of its profile finally appeared.
Cassian didn’t look at Level 11 first.
His eyes went to the Core Trait.
Wraithbound Command.
He watched it for two seconds, then looked away.
He didn’t need it.
He had barely begun to push Pack Dominion to its limits. Adding another control ability that only worked with Wraithbound would solve nothing.
What mattered was something else.
Elara had been right about one thing.
This was an Epic.
But not the same kind of Epic as the Dread Duke.
Cassian had just fought that monster head-on.
Its black-flame lance, Dread Mantle, and Dread Pulse had all made the space in front of it deadly. It could keep pressure on him even while taking damage.
Nightstripe was different.
Its real danger came from Veilskin, twelve Wraithbound, and Wraithbound Command turning a group of Elite units into a coordinated hunting net.
In a direct clash, it wasn’t nearly as oppressive as the Dread Duke.
But once it broke a formation apart, it could kill much faster.
Elara hadn’t lost because her tactics were bad.
She had lost because the target information had been incomplete from start to finish.
The first time, she hadn’t known about the twelve Wraithbound Thralls.
The second time, she knew it had troops—but the system still showed Level 10.
The real Nightstripe Huntlord was Level 11.
An Epic Hero.
And its Command trait turned twelve Elite Thralls into something far more dangerous than twelve extra monsters.
No wonder Elara had failed twice.
Sigrid stood on Cassian’s left.
"Someone’s coming from the west."
The other Valkyrie looked up as well.
Dust was already visible beyond the distant ridge.
Elara’s gathering point was roughly two kilometers to the west.
It was 11:03.
Twenty-seven minutes until the coalition assembled.
Fifty-seven minutes until the Hero Power Ranking settled.
Cassian looked down into the canyon.
"They’re earlier than I expected."
Sigrid asked, "Wait for them?"
"No."
"Why?"
Cassian lifted his chin toward the valley.
"If the Nightstripe runs into the mountains once everyone arrives, chasing it will take longer."
There was another reason he didn’t bother saying aloud.
More people meant more trouble.
Who landed which attacks.
Who got which drop.
Who blocked whose route.
Elara had said rewards were based on contribution.
Fine.
Cassian had arrived first.
And he wasn’t interested in letting dozens of Lords crowd around while the Stormlance Valkyries fought their first real Epic Hero.
This matchup suited them.
Nightstripe was at its best when it split apart a full formation.
Stormlance Valkyries were high-mobility assault units.
Two fighters didn’t need to hold a broad line.
They only needed to avoid being tied down by twelve Thralls.
If the two of them could handle it, there was no reason to wait for everyone else to make the fight more complicated.
The Nightstripe Huntlord walked into the center of the canyon.
Twelve Wraithbound shadows began closing in from both sides.
It had found them.
But it didn’t flee.
Instead, it positioned itself in front of the mine as though it were waiting for the three of them to come down.
Sigrid tightened her grip on her short spears.
"You want the two of us to take it?"
Cassian turned his head.
For the first time, he took a proper look at the Valkyrie beside her.
She had been on perimeter watch the night before.
She had crossed the Ash Goblin camp with them today.
She had never second-guessed Sigrid’s orders.
Not once had she fallen behind.
"You want in too?"
The Valkyrie nodded.
"Yes."
Direct.
Cassian looked back down at the canyon.
"Ten minutes."
"If it’s still alive after ten..."
"I take over."
Lightning brightened in Sigrid’s eyes.
"That’s enough."
Both Valkyries stepped forward.
[Storm Body]
BOOM!
Golden lightning burst across the ridge.
Two figures vanished almost at once.
The Nightstripe Huntlord finally moved.
"ROAR—!"
Its roar rolled through the canyon.
Twelve shadows surged upward.
The first Wraithbound looked human.
The second had an orc’s body and backward-bending legs.
The third—
Only half its original body remained.
They didn’t attack randomly.
Six went for Sigrid.
Six went for the other Valkyrie.
The Nightstripe Huntlord stayed in the center.
It was waiting.
Waiting for the twelve Thralls to separate them.
Elara had fallen into that pattern twice.
Sigrid wasn’t going to give it a third chance.
[Thunder Javelin]
Her first short spear left her hand.
It didn’t target the nearest Wraithbound.
It cut diagonally through the thinnest part of the flank.
THUNK!
The first Thrall’s chest burst open.
The second turned—
Too late.
The spear tore through its back.
The third raised its weapon to block.
BOOM!
Lightning blasted it and its weapon into the stone wall.
Only then did the spear stop.
Three with one throw.
The Wraithbound were dangerous because of concealment and coordination.
Their frontal durability wasn’t remotely comparable to the Stone Troll shield Sigrid had tested her spear against.
Thunder Javelin had hit the weakest part of the formation and ripped it open.
The remaining three scattered immediately.
They refused to line up again.
Sigrid recalled her spear and charged through the gap.
On the other side, the second Valkyrie didn’t use Thunder Javelin.
She crashed straight into six Wraithbound.
Her shoulder plate knocked the first one off balance.
A short spear punched through its chest.
The second came in from her flank.
CLANG!
Its blade split a visible crack across her left shoulder plate.
Only then did she turn and drive a spear through it.
Strong.
Not untouchable.
The Nightstripe Huntlord finally saw its opening.
Its body blurred.
[Veilstrike]
The eight-meter beast melted into shadow.
A heartbeat later, it appeared behind the second Valkyrie.
One claw went straight for her back.
Cassian didn’t move.
Bloodsense already had it.
But Sigrid was faster.
"Eira!"
The second Valkyrie moved as if she had been waiting for the call.
She dropped without looking back.
Golden lightning exploded from her shoulders.
[Storm Body]
BANG!
Nightstripe’s claw swept over her head.
Eira twisted and drove a spear backward.
THUNK!
The spearhead ripped from Nightstripe’s jaw to its left shoulder.
For the first time, blood hit the ground.
Bloodsense sharpened instantly.
Eira.
Cassian remembered the name.
The Nightstripe Huntlord roared in fury.
[Heart-Rend]
Black light compressed around its right claw.
This time, it ignored Sigrid.
Its entire body drove straight at Eira.
An eight-meter Epic Hero hit her head-on.
Eira crossed both short spears and exploded Storm Body at the same time.
BOOM!
It still wasn’t enough.
Eira flew more than twenty meters.
Her back smashed into the cliff.
Stone fragments burst around her.
When she hit the ground, one knee dropped for a moment.
The right side of her breastplate had caved inward.
A thin line of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
Nightstripe hadn’t been knocked back at all.
Only a scorched mark showed across one foreclaw.
That was the frontal power of a Level 11 Epic Hero.
But Cassian could also see the difference now.
This still wasn’t the Dread Duke.
The Dread Duke could absorb pressure and keep advancing.
Nightstripe’s Heart-Rend was brutal, but once it committed to that strike, its flank opened.
Sigrid’s Thunder Javelin was already there.
BOOM!
Nightstripe was forced to turn away.
It lost the chance to follow Eira with a second strike.
That single breath was enough.
Eira got back to her feet.
Her breathing was heavier now.
She did not retreat.
Cassian checked the time.
Two minutes, forty seconds.
He stayed where he was.
Ten minutes was the line he had given them.
It was not a promise that he would rescue them before then.
Inside the canyon, Sigrid cut back toward the remaining Wraithbound.
Her second Thunder Javelin only took two this time.
The others had already learned to break their formation.
On Eira’s side, it took her more than another minute to finish the last three.
A little after the fifth minute—
All twelve Wraithbound were gone.
For the first time, the Nightstripe Huntlord had lost the hunting formation that made it dangerous.
That was when it finally understood the fight had changed.
It turned away from Eira.
Then ran toward the narrow passage behind the mine.
Cassian stepped forward.
He didn’t activate Predator Step.
He didn’t draw his sword.
He simply took position in the only exit from the canyon.
Nightstripe stopped.
Cassian looked at it.
"Not that way."
A low growl rolled from its throat.
Behind it—
Thunder was already closing in.
Sigrid arrived.
Two Stormlance Valkyries.
One in front.
One behind.
Nightstripe melted into shadow again.
[Veilstrike]
Eira had seen it now.
So had Sigrid.
The moment Nightstripe surfaced on Sigrid’s left, Eira’s spear was already there.
CLANG!
A claw knocked the point aside.
Sigrid came in from the opposite direction and drove a spear into its right shoulder.
Nightstripe twisted violently.
Its tail cracked through the air like an iron whip.
Sigrid was forced back two steps.
Eira pressed again.
This time, she stopped meeting it head-on.
Whenever the black light of Heart-Rend began gathering, she moved aside early.
Sigrid focused on the wounded right shoulder and foreclaw.
Sixth minute.
Nightstripe’s left shoulder was bleeding.
Seventh minute.
Thunder Javelin punched through its right foreclaw.
Eighth minute.
Veilskin spread again.
Both Valkyries lost sight of it.
Bloodsense did not lose the blood trail.
Cassian spoke.
"Right rear."
Two words.
Eira turned immediately and thrust into what looked like empty shadow.
THUNK!
A wound appeared out of nowhere across Nightstripe’s abdomen.
Veilskin shattered.
It retaliated in fury.
The second claw almost tore into Sigrid’s stomach.
Eira drove her spear shaft sideways and pushed the claw half a foot off line.
Black light scraped past Sigrid’s waist.
Three golden armor plates cracked apart.
Ninth minute.
Both Valkyries were breathing hard.
So was Nightstripe.
Its right foreclaw could no longer take full weight.
Blood ran continuously from its left shoulder.
But it was still alive.
Nine minutes, twenty seconds.
Cassian’s right hand finally settled on the hilt of his Refined Blacksteel Sword.
When ten minutes arrived—
He would take over.
Not one second later.
Sigrid saw his hand.
Eira saw it too.
Nightstripe suddenly lunged at Sigrid.
Heart-Rend compressed around its right claw again.
Sigrid didn’t retreat.
She swept one short spear outward and deliberately opened her right side.
Nightstripe’s weight followed.
Everything it had drove toward her.
Eira was already there.
She didn’t try to collide with it again.
The instant Nightstripe committed all of its weight toward Sigrid, Eira released one spear.
Her right fist slammed into the end of the shaft.
BOOM!
The spear drove through the wound beneath Nightstripe’s ribs.
Lightning detonated under its black-gray fur.
The Nightstripe Huntlord froze.
Its yellow-black pupils contracted sharply.
It tried to raise one final claw.
The claw never moved.
THUD.
The eight-meter body crashed down in front of the mine.
Cassian checked the time.
Nine minutes, forty-seven seconds.
His hand left his sword hilt.
The system message appeared.
[Your Stormlance Valkyrie Eira killed Nightstripe Huntlord.]
[Target: Epic Wild Hero / Level 11]
[Nightstripe Huntlord: Battle Essence +36,000]
[Wraithbound Thrall ×12: Battle Essence +12,600]
[Total Battle Essence Gained From This Battle: 48,600]
The next message appeared.
Cassian’s expression had been calm.
His gaze fixed on the next notification.
[Epic Hero Sigil ×1]
Not a Troop Sigil.
Hero.
A dark-gold, six-sided sigil formed above Nightstripe’s corpse.
A single vertical silver-white mark ran down its face.
[Epic Hero Sigil]
[Use to open one Epic Hero recruitment contract.]
Nothing else materialized beside the corpse.
The Sigil was the only physical drop from the entire fight.
Cassian held out a hand.
It fell into his palm.
He didn’t use it.
He didn’t even open the next confirmation screen.
The Hero Power Ranking would settle in less than an hour.
Veyra’s result still hadn’t landed.
The mine and his agreement with Elara still needed to be resolved.
And the Stormlance Valkyries had only just finished their first real high-value fight.
There was no reason to release another new Epic Hero right now.
"Store it."
Cassian put the Sigil into his Lord inventory.
Until those things were settled, he had no intention of opening it.
The familiar black-gold DEVOUR prompt never appeared.
Cassian wasn’t surprised.
The final blow wasn’t his.
He had chosen that.
Nightstripe’s revealed Core Trait was Wraithbound Command.
He hadn’t wanted it in the first place.
If that Core Trait had filled a real gap in his current abilities, Sigrid and Eira would not have been the only two fighters in the canyon.
But not every Epic was worth claiming the final kill himself.
Cassian looked at Eira.
The right side of her breastplate was still caved in.
Her shoulder armor was cracked.
Her breathing remained heavy.
But she was standing straight.
"Eira."
She blinked.
"Yes."
Cassian nodded.
"I’ll remember."
Her grip tightened visibly around her spear.
Beside her, the corner of Sigrid’s mouth lifted.
She said nothing.
Cassian checked the time.
11:12.
"Move."
"Don’t wait for anyone to arrive."
The three of them climbed back to the eastern ridge.
They didn’t stop.
Soon, they had left the canyon behind.
11:28.
Another group arrived from the north.
A silver-white cloak snapped in the mountain wind.
Seraphine stopped at the canyon entrance.
Dame Maelin only needed one look inside before her expression changed.
The Nightstripe Huntlord’s corpse still lay in front of the mine.
But the battlefield around it was more revealing.
Twelve ash marks where the Wraithbound had dispersed.
Scorched ground from repeated lightning strikes.
Two clear combat routes cutting from the outer canyon all the way to the mine.
Seraphine said nothing.
Maelin crouched and touched one of the scorched marks on the stone.
"Not an army."
"How many?"
"Two main fighters."
Maelin looked up.
"Both lightning."
Seraphine’s eyes shifted slightly.
Twelve Epic Stormlance Valkyries.
She knew nothing about them.
Neither did anyone else in the region.
She was about to ask another question when the sound of many footsteps came from the west.
Elara had arrived.
Behind her, dozens of Lords entered the canyon with their Heroes and troops.
The people at the front saw the empty entrance to the mine.
Then they saw Seraphine and Maelin standing inside the battlefield.
They stopped at the same time.
Two seconds of silence passed.
Tobias Reed—the same Lord who had posted the gray-ridge picture earlier—spoke first.
"Lady Valcrest."
"Impressive."
Seraphine: "..."
Tobias looked across the battlefield again.
This time, the admiration in his voice was real.
"All of us came here for that Epic Hero."
"And you still got here first and finished it."
Seraphine didn’t answer.
Maelin slowly stood.
She looked at her own Lady.
Then at the two obvious lightning routes that had nothing to do with them.
Thirty-two minutes remained until the Hero Power Ranking settled.
For the first time, Seraphine had the uncomfortable feeling that she had arrived too early.