Chapter 23: I Was Just Passing Through—How Did This Become a Lightning Invasion?
Nine o’clock.
The fire at Forgotten Shrine had just gone out when Cassian swallowed the last bite of Moonrice.
The Regional Exchange pinged twice at the edge of his vision.
Of the 126 pieces of Dark equipment he had listed the night before, thirty-eight had sold.
[Dark Equipment Sold: 38]
[Aether Crystal +9,600]
[Aether Crystal: 435,303]
Cassian glanced through the rest.
His purchase request for monster lures still had no match.
A few sellers had offered defense-building blueprints.
All Common.
He closed the panel.
Buying a blueprint just because it was a blueprint made no sense.
Sigrid and another Stormlance Valkyrie were already waiting outside the wall.
Both carried only their own short spears.
When Cassian stepped outside, Veyra was still sitting on the stone steps with a bowl of Moonrice in her hands.
"You’re not taking the Gloomhoof?"
"No."
"Blackfang?"
"Staying here."
"Twelve Epics, and you’re only taking two?"
Cassian fastened the cloak over his Wraithplate.
"Two are enough."
Veyra looked at him.
"You really won’t take more people than you have to."
"Not when fewer are better for the terrain."
Cassian looked toward the gray ridge.
"It’s a narrow valley. Gloomhoof are better in open ground—kiting, blocking routes. They’d only get in each other’s way in there."
"Blackfang stays here. So do the other ten Stormlance."
Veyra took another spoonful of Moonrice.
"So you’re taking two."
"Yes."
She studied him for a moment.
"Fine."
"I was starting to think the Gloomhoof were about to retire the moment twelve Epics showed up."
Cassian tightened the last strap on his cloak.
"They’re just wrong for this route."
He didn’t elaborate.
"Let’s go."
Eighteen kilometers.
Earlier Blackfang patrols had already covered part of the first half of the route.
The second half was the real gray zone.
Cassian didn’t waste Predator Step trying to sprint the entire distance.
It was a combat burst skill.
Using it to run eighteen kilometers would only leave him exhausted before the important part.
The three of them were still fast.
Cassian was Level 7.
Both Stormlance Valkyries were Epic Level 5.
Ordinary mountain paths weren’t enough to slow them down.
Detours were.
The first eight kilometers passed without trouble.
Then a gray stone ridge cut across the route.
Below it stood wooden barricades, bone flags, and more than a dozen squat huts packed together.
Dozens of Ash Goblins were dragging a dead deer into the camp.
Farther inside, a half-collapsed mine entrance opened into the slope.
Sigrid stopped.
"Go around?"
Cassian checked the map.
A detour would cost at least twelve minutes.
He looked down at the Ash Goblin camp again.
"Through it."
Sigrid didn’t ask twice.
Both short spears came up.
The other Valkyrie moved first.
BOOM!
Golden lightning crashed down the slope.
The nearest wooden barricade exploded before the Ash Goblins could even raise their alarm horn.
[Thunder Javelin]
WHOOSH!
The first spear punched through a watchtower.
The second crossed from the other side almost immediately.
Both wooden towers collapsed.
Cassian didn’t join the fight.
Not because he couldn’t.
Because he didn’t need to.
The Stormlance Valkyries had only just arrived.
Their night patrol had shown discipline inside the Domain.
This was a chance to see whether that discipline held outside it.
Sigrid entered from the left.
The second Valkyrie took the right.
They didn’t chase the same targets.
They didn’t collide.
One dismantled the ranged positions.
The other crushed the melee line.
Less than three minutes later, the last Ash Goblin hit the ground.
Only the crackle of burning timber remained.
A final battle summary appeared at the edge of Cassian’s vision.
[Ash Goblin Camp — Total Battle Essence Gained: 4,800]
He gave it one glance.
"Keep moving."
Sigrid recalled her spear.
"We’re leaving the bodies and the camp?"
"On the way back."
Right now, the most expensive thing here wasn’t a few dozen Ash Goblins.
It was time.
The three of them crossed the ridge and kept going.
More than ten minutes later, another group came down the northern slope.
The Lord at the front had only intended to avoid the Ash Goblin camp.
Then he saw what was left of it.
The entire group stopped.
The barricade had been blown open.
Both watchtowers had snapped through the middle.
Two nearly straight lightning scars cut across the ground.
At the deepest point, a short spear had gone clean through solid stone.
The Lord stared for several seconds.
Then took a picture.
The Regional Channel updated.
[Tobias Reed: Medium Ash Goblin camp on the north gray ridge has been wiped out.]
[Tobias Reed: Heavy lightning residue at the scene. Fight probably ended less than twenty minutes ago.]
[Tobias Reed: No sign of a Lord occupying the area. Anyone nearby, be careful. There may be a high-tier lightning warband moving through the region.]
The channel immediately grew noisy.
Someone asked whether it might be a remnant of last night’s Dark Monster Tide.
Rowan replied soon after.
[Rowan Ashford: The residue from last night’s Dark units doesn’t look like this. The damage in that photo was clearly caused by lightning.]
[Rowan Ashford: Don’t panic. Just stay away from that route.]
Cassian saw the messages on the southern side of the gray ridge.
He read them twice.
Then closed the panel.
Sigrid came up alongside him on the left.
"They’re talking about us?"
"Yes."
"Should we explain?"
Cassian looked at the road ahead.
"Explain what?"
"We aren’t a wild warband."
"They didn’t ask me."
Sigrid considered that.
"Fair."
Cassian kept walking.
"Besides."
"At least they got the element right."
The corner of Sigrid’s mouth twitched.
She managed not to laugh.
10:49.
For the first time since they left, Cassian raised a hand and stopped the group.
A faint smell of blood drifted from the canyon ahead.
Bloodsense reacted first.
Not one source.
Thirteen.
One was far heavier than the others.
The remaining twelve were much fainter.
Exactly what Elara’s recording had shown.
The three of them didn’t enter the canyon directly.
They circled to a higher ridge on the eastern side.
From there, the silver-black iron vein was clearly visible.
Exposed ore gleamed coldly under the sun.
And in front of the vein—
The familiar massive shadow lay across a flat rock.
Exactly like the screenshot.
Eight or nine meters long.
Black-gray fur.
Dark stripes across its shoulders and back that almost disappeared into the surrounding shadow.
[Unknown Epic Creature]
[Level: 10]
[Danger: Extreme]
Cassian didn’t move.
The thirteen signatures in his Bloodsense did not match what his eyes were showing him.
The wind moved.
Grass shifted between the rocks.
But one patch of shadow behind the creature’s left rear side never changed at all.
Cassian focused on it.
Three faint signatures were hidden there.
The other nine were spread across both sides of the canyon.
That wasn’t simple concealment.
It was a full encirclement.
Elara hadn’t seen the Wraithbound the first time.
She had found all twelve on the second attempt.
But she had still missed one more thing.
Cassian watched the huge beast.
A few seconds later, it seemed to sense his attention.
Its closed eyes opened.
Yellow-black vertical pupils.
From several hundred meters away, they locked directly onto the ridge where Cassian stood.
The target panel flickered.
[Veilskin Released]
The blurred information began to update.
[Nightstripe Huntlord]
[Type: Wild Hero]
[Quality: Epic]
[Level: 11]
Cassian went still for a moment.
Eleven.
Not ten.
Sigrid saw the updated panel too.
"So the information she got the second time was still false."
The corner of Cassian’s mouth lifted.
"Yes."
"Now that’s more like an Epic."
Below them, the Nightstripe Huntlord rose to its feet.
Twelve shadows began moving at the same time.