erature plummeted within minutes, and the forest began to change its personality. The day-shift beasts retreat

couldn't stay

ned the dense canopy. A few yards away stood a massive Ironwood tree, its trunk wide enough

ced leg strength to launch himself upward. He caught a low hanging branc

wedged himself securely into a deep fork of the branches, night had fallen like a lead curtain. The forest

nded himself, echoing the survival lessons his gra

e of his sabre, he carefully sliced into the thick flanks of the Ironback Badger. Because his body was burning through calories at a

ed with the residual Qi in his system. A wave of localized heat spread

ll, Damian turned his atten

fur from the Phantom Lynxes, tying the pelts together with strong vines to create a rudimentary sleeping mat and a wind bre

pless village boy thrown in

ence of the canopy was broken by a

Thump

ground-shaking vibration that resonated straight up through the roots of the Ironwood tree.

unk. He held his breath, burying himself beneath the lynx

ite plates that caught the moonlight like polished ivory. A pair of curling, swept back horns crowned its massive skull. It

ered its massive snout, snorting deeply as it caught the li

locking directly onto the branches