The Blackwind Direwolves were incredibly fast, attempting to use their agility to weave through the gaps in the knights' shield wall. However, Ed and his knights were seasoned veterans; their coordination was flawless. The shields held firm against the impacts while spears and knightly swords lunged with surgical precision. Utilizing the restricted terrain, they cut down every wolf that tried to close in.
The Hyenas were craftier, keeping their bodies low to the ground and gnawing at the knights' legs. But here, the militia played a pivotal role. Their arrows prioritized these thin-skinned, low-health scavengers, effectively shielding the flanks and rear of the knightly line.
The greatest trouble, however, remained the Spine-Back Barren Bulls. Their momentum was simply too overwhelming! Several bulls bellowed, charging like living battering rams into the shield wall.
Thump! Thump!
Heavy impacts echoed through the pass. Several knights were forced back step by step, cracks appearing on their shields as their arms went numb. Had they not held the high ground and pooled their strength, they would have been sent flying instantly.
Just as the ground battle entered a grueling stalemate, aerial support arrived. Pegasus knights either dove with spears leveled or provided archery support, striking the beasts from behind.
Leylo, mounted on the Storm Griffin, circled high above the battlefield. He saw that the Barren Bulls were the primary threat to his men. These Tier 2 beasts were so resilient that their rampaging charges made the defensive formation precarious. If not for Ed's frequent interventions—having already slain the two leading bulls—the line might have collapsed.
"Storm! Down!" Leylo patted the Griffin's neck.
The Storm Griffin let out a sky-piercing shriek, tucked its wings, and dove vertically like a falling meteor! Its target was a bull attempting a final breakthrough. Sensing the lethal threat from above, the bull pawed the earth uneasily and looked up, but the Griffin was too fast. A massive shadow enveloped it instantly.
Puchi!
The Griffin's invincible talons tore deep into the bull's relatively soft neck. Arteries ruptured, spraying blood as the beast let out a pained low. Its massive body shuddered once and crashed to the ground, twitching into silence.
Leylo didn't stop, immediately pulling up for altitude to find the next target. The Pegasus knights followed suit, using their height to pick off isolated beasts or those trying to flank the infantry. While their attacks couldn't always kill a bull in one hit, they were devastatingly efficient against the wolves and hyenas, significantly easing the pressure on the ground troops. One particularly daring knight skimmed the head of a charging bull, precisely driving a spear through its eye. The blinded beast lost its sense of direction, trampling several hyenas in its agony and causing a small wave of internal chaos.
With the aerial support, the tide of battle shifted decisively. The beast numbers dwindled rapidly. Between the traps, the arrows, the precision air strikes, and the valiant defense of the ground troops, victory was at hand.
The remaining beasts finally felt the chill of terror. Hyenas began to whimper and retreat, seeking escape routes. Several Direwolves lost their will to fight and bolted. Even the surviving bulls began to hesitate.
"Don't let them escape!" Ed roared. "Hem them in!"
Morale soared. The knights and militia launched a final mop-up. The jagged terrain of the Rocky Slope, which had hindered the humans initially, now worked against the fleeing beasts, trapping them in pockets where they were systematically eliminated.
A few lucky ones escaped—a couple of hyenas slipped through narrow crevices, and the strongest Barren Bull managed to gore its way through a militia line and vanish into the far woods, bristling with arrows. But the outcome was settled. When Ed decapitated the last resisting Direwolf, silence finally fell over the Rocky Slope.
The setting sun cast a long, crimson glow over the blood-stained rocks and carcasses. The air was thick with the scent of iron and sulfur. Leylo landed the Griffin slowly, followed by the Pegasus squads. He dismounted and walked toward Ed, who was already directing the aftermath.
"Casualties?" Leylo's voice was raspy.
"Two militia lost. They couldn't dodge the Barren Bull's charge," Ed said, his voice low with regret. "Five knights and thirteen militia are heavily wounded; they've received first aid and should survive. Minor injuries are too many to count." He paused, looking at the mountain of beast corpses. "Compared to what we achieved, the cost... is remarkably small."
Eliminating nearly a hundred magical beasts with such a small loss was indeed a victory worth noting. Leylo nodded, feeling a sense of somber relief. Sacrifice was always painful, but in a conflict of this scale, keeping it to this level was a testament to their preparation.
"Tend to the wounded. Get the critical cases back to camp immediately. The rest, clear the battlefield."
Several days passed. The battle at the Rocky Slope became a memory as the camp returned to its routine. Leylo remained busy with administration, and life seemed to settle back into its rhythm.
However, a faint sense of unease began to nag at him. It was Moonlight.
The little fellow had been far too quiet lately. Usually, Moonlight was like a shadow—either batting at Leylo's documents, purring by his chair, or sunning itself on the windowsill. It never stayed away for long. But for several days, Leylo had barely seen it.
He closed his eyes, attempting to sense Moonlight through their contract. He felt the connection, but the sensation was entirely new. It wasn't the usual gentle, playful magic. Instead, it was deep, surging, and rhythmic—like the pulsing of a powerful tide.
The source was a nearly abandoned backyard near the mountain wall behind the town. It was a place usually reserved for junk, rarely visited by anyone.
Leylo checked the date in his mind. Seven days.
It was exactly the day Moonlight was predicted to enter its Growth Phase.