At Albert's order, everyone went on alert.
Weapons lit up with bursts of mana as the knights took defensive positions, avoiding getting too close to the scorpion's stinger.
The creature, the size of a wagon, raised its sharp black tail. A deep screech reverberated through the entire forest clearing.
Albert was the first to act.
—"Containment formation! Avoid the poison!" —he ordered firmly.
The knights moved with discipline, surrounding the monster. The knights moved with discipline, closing the circle around the monster.
The scorpion did not move at first.
Three meters of pure instinct and restrained violence. Its dark shell absorbed the light, as if the forest itself had rotted into a single creature.
When the first one attacked, the sword collided with the scales.
Metal against rock.
Not a single cut.
Just a dull crack.
The scorpion responded immediately.
Its tail moved in three consecutive strikes, too fast to follow clearly. The air was split by poison.
Charles blocked the attack, or the soldier would have died.
The knights tried to reorganize, but every attack was useless. The swords bounced off, finding no opening, and magic was blocked by the monster's mana.
The scorpion slowly turned, as if it had already understood the rhythm of the fight.
And then it attacked again.
Lusian remained a few meters behind, mounted on Thunder, his imposing magical steed. The animal's silver mane bristled with electric flashes, small discharges crackling in the air like contained lightning.
Thunder was a lightning-affinity magical beast, one of the rarest of its kind. Its power lay in releasing area discharges capable of paralyzing enemies and reducing them to ashes.
But there was something strange about all of this.
Lusian did not suffer the effects of the lightning.
The bond between them protected him.
A synchronization elemental spell that Sofía had established between them. Thunder's mana recognized Lusian as part of itself.
Albert cast a fire spell, striking the scorpion directly.
The monster's body was instantly covered in a dark layer: its shadow defense.
Lusian recognized it immediately. He had seen that pattern countless times in the game.
Class B. Darkness affinity. Reactive defense after elemental impact… triple tail combo.
This is going to hurt.
The scorpion rose, releasing an expanding shockwave that forced the knights to retreat.
Lusian smiled slightly.
—"Your turn, Thunder."
With a thunderous neigh, Thunder charged at full speed.
The ground cracked beneath its hooves as its body became wrapped in a blue storm. Electric discharges bathed the terrain, scorching the air in its path. Even the leaves of nearby trees ignited into small flashes of blue fire.
Lusian and Thunder slid beneath the scorpion's tail.
A massive lightning strike hit directly on its abdomen.
The creature was paralyzed.
In that instant, the knights took advantage.
They attacked from the flanks.
Albert released another burst of fire, and mana-imbued swords cut off one of the monster's pincers.
The scorpion roared, raising its blackened stinger, but Thunder had already launched again. Another discharge of electricity violently shook it.
Albert advanced with a shout. His sword became wrapped in flames and cut the stinger in a single strike.
The other knights closed the circle. Physical and magical attacks combined until the creature fell with a heavy crash, its body still trembling from residual discharges.
Silence.
Dense.
Albert exhaled in relief while cleaning his sword.
—"Class B, Shadow Scorpion. Five hundred points," he said, while one of the knights sealed the corpse in a spatial storage device.
Lusian remained on Thunder, looking at the burning remains.
He could feel it.
The condensed mana of the monster.
In this world, magical creatures did not only have flesh and bone. Their entire body was saturated with mana. That was why they could become power for humans.
Consuming them was a way to grow stronger.
Thunder snorted softly.
—"Good job, buddy," Lusian murmured, stroking its neck.
The sparks still crackled over his skin, but they did not touch him. The bond kept them synchronized.
Albert approached and looked at him with approval.
—"A perfect execution, young master. Without your attack, several of us would have fallen."
Lusian nodded silently.
But his mind was elsewhere.
A Class B scorpion this close to the edge of the forest…
Something doesn't add up.