Slicing through the sky, the cargo plane carried troops from the monster-hunting unit.
Inside, the cabin was dim, lit only by red overhead lights. It was eerily quiet—just the soft rumble of the engines and the faint whispers of soldiers could be heard.
William sat between Cain and Lina, gripping his staff tightly with both hands. He tried to control his breathing.
Looking around, no one seemed in the mood to talk. Lina was double-checking the seals on her gear.
Aeris calmly polished her sniper rifle. Cain sat still as a statue, eyes staring forward.
Even the usually cranky Drakna was silent, arms crossed, eyes closed, leaning back in his seat.
As for Tonto, the squad's quiet and nearly invisible healer-mage, he was—as usual—silently absorbed in a book.
Seeing this serious side of his squad made everything feel more real to William.
'I'm… going to war now, huh?' William thought.
"First time~?"
Lina, the beast tamer sitting beside him, spoke in a teasing tone.
William gave a small nod.
"Haha." Lina laughed but said nothing more.
Just then, a voice crackled from the overhead speakers.
"Attention all squads. T-minus five minutes to drop zone. Brace for turbulence."
The red lights began flashing. The squad quickly adjusted their gear, tightened straps, and checked weapons.
The plane shook as it hit rough air. Tension filled the cabin.
"One minute to drop."
The ramp opened, flooding the cabin with bright morning light. A siren blared.
"Deploy now!"
Cain stood up and turned to the squad. "Let's move."
One by one, the team ran down the ramp, diving into the sky.
Not taking any chances, Cain grabbed William and yanked him out with him.
The wind howled past William as he fell. Cain still held onto him, guiding them toward the rest of the squad.
Cain tapped his helmet and spoke into the earpiece. "We'll land in the thick trees at 3 o'clock. Use the bushes for cover."
"Understood!" everyone replied—except William.
As they neared the ground, glowing runes appeared around their bodies, slowing their fall.
Aeris landed first, scanning the area to make sure it was safe. The rest followed soon after.
"How far are we from the battlefield?" Cain asked.
"About three miles. We should move," Aeris replied.
"Alright. Formation. Let's go."
Aeris scouted ahead.
Drakna led the group, and Cain covered the rear as they moved carefully through the foggy, swamp-like forest.
This wasn't a normal forest.
The trees were twisted and bent like hunched witches.
The plants looked more black than green, shrouded in a thin white mist that made the area feel even more unsettling.
Uneasy, William asked, "What is this place?"
"This is Thornmaw Forest," Lina replied. "It's full of poisonous plants and famous for its corrosive mist."
"Poison mist?!" William's eyes widened.
"It's fine. The mist only shows up deeper in the forest. We're safe for now."
"I… see."
Minutes passed as they moved through the dense woods. Suddenly, Aeris's voice came through the earpieces.
"13 meters ahead, there's movement underground heading toward the battlefield. Orders, Captain?"
"Lina, can you detect if any Toxcarvers are with them?"
"Yes!"
Lina knelt, gripping her staff. It glowed mossy green as she slammed it into the ground. The light spread toward the source of the underground movement.
Moments later, she opened her eyes. "Five Mountain-Eaters are burrowing underground, but no Toxcarvers among them."
"Then we ignore them," Cain commanded.
"Aeris, mark them with your magic so the other soldiers will be alerted when the group gets close. We'll keep tracking the Toxcarver."
"Roger." Aeris marked the soil as it shifted.
Cain turned to the team. "Alright. Let's move."
But before they could take another step, the ground beneath them shook violently.
Cain's eyes narrowed. "Screamer-type Mountain-Eater! Everyone move—now!"
They tried to run but only got a few steps before a massive, beetle-like monster burst from the ground and blocked their path.
"Drakna!" Cain shouted, loading his gun.
"On it!"
Drakna summoned his shield and slammed it into the monster, stunning it. Cain fired three shots into its exoskeleton, blasting holes through it.
The monster fell in seconds—but that was enough time for the other Mountain-Eaters to close in.
The squad stopped running and readied themselves as the ground churned beneath them.
"Don't panic," Cain said calmly. "We trained for this. Stick to the plan."
Everyone moved into formation. Their bodies began to glow with magical colors as they prepared spells.
Without warning, the Mountain-Eaters burst from the ground, trying to break their formation.
The squad stayed calm and moved just like they had during training.
As the monsters surfaced, thick roots burst from the ground, tangling them.
Before they could escape, Drakna's hammer smashed into their heads, and Cain followed up with precise shots to finish them off.
In under a minute, the enemies were dead.
But there was no time to relax. More rumbling came from the distance.
"At 9 o'clock—twenty more incoming!" Aeris warned.
"I also detect a Toxcarver among them," Lina added.
"Aeris, take out the Screecher. We'll deal with the rest," Cain ordered.
Aeris vanished into the treetops, leaving the rest to face the oncoming horde.
Cain spoke firmly, "Remember, one hit from a Toxcarver's poison and you're out. So don't get hit."
He looked at William for a while before turning back to the front.
As the monsters charged, the squad retreated in a zig-zag pattern. This helped separate the smaller, faster monsters from the slower, bulky Mountain-Eaters.
The quick bug-types broke off from the larger rhino-types, making both groups easier to handle.
This allows the squad to take them out one by one.
Noticing this, the bugs dove underground to follow, while the rhinos stayed above and continued the chase.
"Lina, where's the Toxcarver?" Cain asked.
"It's still on the surface, hiding among the rhinos!"
"Lina, handle the lizards underground. The rest of us—take down the big ones!"
Cain stopped running and charged straight toward the rhinos.
Drakna followed, his hammer glowing amber-white. He slammed it into a charging rhino, stopping it cold.
Cain fired explosive rounds into its head, exposing its crystal brain. Drakna crushed it with a final strike.
"Watch out!!" a warning came.
The Toxcarver revealed itself, spraying a stream of poison at Drakna.
But William was ready. He cast a barrier just in time, blocking the attack.
"The Toxcarver is on top of the rhino at the back left!" William shouted.
"Right. Tonto—now!"
Tonto's eyes and hand lit up with purple light. All the charging rhinos suddenly collapsed, as if they had tripped.
With a flash, he raised his hand again. Yellow sparks danced around it before he fired a beam of light at the Toxcarver, stunning it.
As the Toxcarver tumbled to the ground, Tonto spoke politely, "William, please bring it here."
"Yes!"
Using gravity magic, William pulled the stunned Toxcarver toward him, shield ready just in case.
Luckily, it stayed stunned and was quickly sealed inside a capsule.
Cain and Drakna finished off the last of the rhinos and went to help Lina deal with the bugs.
While Tonto reinforced the seal, Cain walked up to William and patted his shoulder.
"Good job."
William gave an awkward smile. "I didn't do much."
"No," Cain said, "you did well."
Aeris returned to the squad, her body covered in dirt.
"Sorry for the delay. I captured the Screamer instead of killing it. Maybe we can use it to set up an ambush," she said in a flat tone, tossing a sack on the ground. Inside was the outline of a worm.
Cain thought it over and replied, "It's not a bad idea, but it's a high-risk, high-reward strategy."
He looked around. "We should scout the area before trying to use the Screamer for an ambush."
"I can do jus—"
Before Aeris could finish her sentence, a sudden alert rang in their earpieces.
"Hunting Squad 3B34, report back to the army camp immediately!"
"Your team had been assigned a new mission."