Suddenly, the forest around them seemed to come alive. Pairs of glowing red eyes, like hot coals in the dim light, flickered into existence between the trees. Dozens of them.
Lean, dark shapes emerged silently from the undergrowth. Red-Eyed Jackals. Smaller than the Mastiff, but faster, and working as a pack. They had been watching, waiting, respecting the Beast General's hunt. Now, permission was granted. Their crimson eyes locked onto Lucian atop the tower, dripping with hunger. Low growls rumbled from their chests, mouths drooling as they bared sharp teeth, eager to tear him down.
"Come on then!" Lucian's voice was cold, calm. He gripped the T9's controls tighter. The cannon swiveled smoothly, ready for the next wave.
The Jackals didn't hesitate. A wave of them surged forward, dark blurs streaking across the ground!
Lucian's eyes scanned the pack. He saw one jackal lower its body slightly, muscles tensing just before it leaped. Target locked.
"BANG!"
He pulled the trigger. Before the jackal could even launch its leap, the heavy shell hit it dead center. The creature simply vanished in a spray of red mist and fur.
[Red-Eyed Jackal (Lv 8) Eliminated!] [+80 EXP | +10 Relic Gold Coins]
"Aaaaooouuuuu!" A collective howl rose from the pack, enraged by the instant death of one of their own. The smell of blood drove them into a frenzy. Three jackals broke from the main group, charging the tower from different angles with incredible speed!
Lucian reacted instantly. The assault tower spun like a top. "BANG!" "BANG!" "BANG!" Three quick shots, three direct hits. The charging jackals were blasted into pieces before they got within ten feet of the tower.
[Red-Eyed Jackal (Lv 20) Eliminated!] [+900 EXP | +12 Relic Gold Coins] x 3
[SS-Rank Skill: Blood Devour Activated!] → +1 Agility
Fight them off! Shred them! Tear them apart! Lucian became one with the machine, the heavy cannon an extension of his will. He picked off jackals the moment they emerged, anticipating their movements, leading his shots perfectly. Shells exploded, shredding bodies, splattering gore across the forest floor.
"If you're still breathing, get over here and help me reload!" Lucian's icy command cut through the roar of the cannon.
Rosella, jolted from her amazed stupor, scrambled to her feet, gritting her teeth against the lingering pain in her back. Daisy rushed to her side, quickly checking her wound, but her own eyes kept flicking back to Lucian, a mixture of fear and fascination on her face. He was so calm, so deadly efficient. There was a strange, dangerous charm about him in the midst of this chaos.
Rosella reached the ammo storage at the base of the tower. Heavy belts loaded with massive shells lay ready. With trembling hands, she started feeding a new belt into the cannon's loading mechanism, clicking it into place just as Lucian fired the last shell from the current one.
"BANG!"
Lucian fired one last shot, obliterating a jackal trying to sneak around the side, then stopped. The cannon fell silent.
Rosella looked up, panicked. "What is it? Why did you stop? Are we out of ammo again?"
Lucian turned, his face calm, wiping a speck of dirt from his cheek. "They're all dead." He gestured around them. "We split the loot. The Neapolitan Mastiff is mine."
Rosella slowly looked around. The roaring and growling had stopped. Lifeless jackal bodies lay scattered everywhere, torn apart, smoking slightly. The nightmare pack that had hunted them was gone. Annihilated.
"They're... all dead!" Rosella whispered, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Lucian ignored her shock. He leaped down from the tower, already moving towards the corpses. He knelt beside the nearest jackal, placing a hand on it. A faint energy flowed into him, invisible to the girls.
[SS-Rank Skill: Blood Devour Activated!] → +1 Physique
He moved quickly from jackal to jackal, absorbing the lingering life essence, feeling small bumps to his stats. Then he reached the massive, ruined body of the Neapolitan Mastiff. As his hand touched its cooling hide, he felt a much larger surge of energy flood into him!
Buzz!
The world seemed to tremble for a fraction of a second. He felt stronger, faster, tougher.
[Beast General Core Absorbed!]
[You have leveled up!]
[+3 to all stats!]
Lucian subtly suppressed the faint glow around him, keeping his newfound power hidden. He drew his dagger – a simple but sharp blade he'd kept – and began expertly carving into the Mastiff's corpse. He worked quickly, efficiently removing the usable pelt sections, the long canine teeth, and the sharp claws.
The most valuable part, the energy core that made it a Beast General, was deep in its chest, near the heart.
Squirt!
Dark blood welled up as he sliced through thick muscle. He pried apart the massive ribs, revealing the chest cavity. Nestled beside the still heart was a fist-sized, spherical red bead, pulsating with a faint, warm light. The source of the beast's enhanced strength and speed.
Lucian carefully removed the bead, cleaning it quickly before pocketing it. He then bundled the pelt, teeth, and claws, stuffing them into his surprisingly spacious backpack. Even just the materials from this one beast filled it almost completely.
Across the clearing, Rosella and Daisy watched, faces pale. When Rosella saw the blood and organs as Lucian dissected the beast, she turned green and looked away, swallowing hard.
"If it weren't for you, we'd be dead," Rosella managed, her voice shaky. "Thank you. Really. Please, just take all the jackal materials too! We couldn't have gotten them without you." She clearly didn't want anything to do with carving up more corpses.
Lucian glanced at her pale face. He had considered giving them the jackal loot to offset their losses, but if she insisted... "Sure," he replied simply, without hesitation. The jackal parts weren't worth much anyway, probably less than the cost of the T9 shells he'd used.
He moved efficiently through the jackal corpses, quickly harvesting their sharp claws and intact ears. Their fur was too badly damaged by the cannon shells to be worth taking. In a few minutes, he had collected all the usable materials, stuffing them into his already full backpack.
Finished, he stood up and looked back. Rosella and Daisy were huddled together near the T9 tower, looking exhausted, frightened, and lost.
The first rays of the sun were now piercing through the forest canopy, painting the clearing in streaks of gold. The danger of the night was fading.
Lucian quickly packed his basic sleeping bag. He glanced around, getting his bearings, then looked towards the two girls.
"Come on," he said, his tone neutral as he started walking in the direction of the settlement. "Let's head back."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Daisy exclaimed, helping the still-shaky Rosella to her feet. Genuine gratitude filled her voice. He hadn't just saved them; he had brought them through the nightmare and was leading them home.