Quinnas's breakthrough to the Divine Knight realm was a shocking event for all of Primordia. People were surprised because she was a completely unknown figure before her breakthrough.
Normally, those who reach the Divine level are already well-known. Her rise to prominence was silent, and people only knew about her after she started wreaking havoc in the Abyss.
Her rise was unheard of, because there are no more than a thousand Divine-level powerhouses for every realm cycle, roughly 100,000 years. The fact that she was the chief of a small village, as Dred explained, was even more shocking to everyone.
"When Chief Quinnas wasn't at the Divine-level yet, she once returned from her hunt on the mountain bloodied and gravely injured." Dred continued the story.
"She said, 'Don't go to the cave on the top of Aldoras Mountain. There is a Beast King powerhouse in it.' After that, we never had the guts to go near the cave."
They were all shocked to hear about a Beast King on Aldoras Mountain. A Beast King is a beast on the same level as an Archmage or Heavenly Knight. Above a Beast King is a Beast Emperor.
"Weirdly enough, despite being injured by the wolf king, the chief went there multiple times after that incident."
Vena then asked, "So Hunter Quinnas challenged the wolf king multiple times?" Dred shook his head.
"I don't know," he said.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Bork asked, annoyed.
"Well, we don't know what happened, as the chief never said anything. We only know that after she went there multiple times, she told us not to set our foot near the wolf king's lair."
The crowd fell silent. They were curious about what happened after the incident but their rational minds reminded them that a Beast King was a powerhouse and their meager strength was nothing to it.
In fact, some of them were now scared because they were in its vicinity and had been killing its subordinates.
Cassandra couldn't help but ask, "Then if there's a wolf king on Aldoras Mountain, aren't we provoking the Beast King since we're killing its subordinates?"
"According to the chief, the wolf king doesn't mind even if we cleanse the entire population of the wolf as long as we don't set foot near its lair," Dred explained.
"Then we should be fine, right?" Bork asked worriedly despite Dred's explanation. All the soldiers also looked worried, including Luceran. Only Dred looked fine despite wreaking havoc around the vicinity of such a powerful being.
"We will fasten our pace." Luceran ordered. They cleaned the environment and then move on to continue their journey.
The journey up Aldoras Mountain was slow and grueling. The path twisted and turned around sharp, rocky edges, and the air was thin and cold. The whole group moved with a nervous, rigid precision. Dred's story about the Wolf King was fresh in everyone's mind. They were climbing a mountain inhabited by a Beast King, a creature on the level of an Archmage or a Heavenly Knight. That fact alone made their skin crawl.
Even though Dred said the Wolf King didn't mind them killing its subordinates as long as they stayed away from its lair, a Beast King was still a Beast King. Who knows if a small mistake, a wrong step, or a loud noise could annoy the powerful creature enough to wipe them out? Every loose rock, every sudden gust of wind, and every echo across the canyons made the soldiers flinch. They weren't just watching out for wolves or eagles; they were watching out for the White Wolf's shadow. Luceran himself looked up at the highest peaks, his eyes sharp, but he never let the tension show, maintaining a firm, composed posture.
The quiet didn't last.
A piercing screeches erupted from the sky, a sound that drilled into their ears. Down came a flight of Silver-Wing Eagles, their metallic-gray feathers gleaming like polished steel as they dove towards the formation.
Luceran immediately raised a hand, stopping his horse. He didn't draw his sword. "Borrin, there will be no intervention from me!"
Borrin, already moving, barked orders. "Shield wall up! Mages, focus on the dive bombers!"
The eagles were fast and powerful, much stronger than the common forest raptors. They weren't fighting some hungry hawk; these were fierce mountain beasts. One eagle slammed into a soldier's shield, and the force sent the man stumbling back several feet. Another managed to rip a piece of leather armor from a soldier's shoulder with its huge talons, drawing blood.
Vena cursed, aiming a crackling bolt of Fire at a descending eagle. It exploded against the bird's chest, sending it tumbling down in a puff of black smoke. Cassandra was weaving spells rapidly, using wind magic to create chaotic pockets of air that threw the eagles off their trajectory, making them easier targets for the foot soldiers.
"They're too fast!" Lieutenant Bork shouted, swinging his axe wildly at an eagle that missed his head by inches. He was sweating, his wide swings too slow to catch the agile beasts. The soldiers were struggling. They were used to fighting on flat ground against human-level threats. Fighting an enemy that could drop from the clouds at blinding speed was a different kind of terror.
Just as the soldiers seemed to be gaining a desperate rhythm, a shadow bigger than any of the others descended. The screech this time was deafening, a roar of raw power.
The Alpha Silver-Wing Eagle plunged from the sky. It was easily twice the size of its subordinates, its silver feathers massive and perfectly arrayed. It moved with the intelligence of a predator, ignoring the common soldiers to strike at the center of the formation where Borrin stood.
The Alpha's talons shot out, aiming for the Commander's head. Borrin barely had time to raise his shield.
CRASH!
The impact was tremendous. Borrin's shield, forged for war, bent slightly, and the Commander dropped to one knee, a groan escaping his lips. Even Luceran, watching, gritted his teeth at the brute force.
Just as the Eagle prepared to finish the job, a blue flash intercepted it. Luceran was suddenly there. He hadn't moved his feet, but his sword, coated in a bluish hue, blocked the Alpha's secondary talon. The sound was like metal on metal. The Alpha was pushed back a few meters, its eyes narrowing at the Prince. It screeched back with a piercing sound to him.
Ian and Liz, who were huddled nearby, looked terrified. Luceran, though, remained composed. He held his defensive posture, sword resting on the Alpha's talon, his expression flat.
"That's enough, Prince!" Borrin spat out blood, pushing himself up. "We need to finish this. Mages! Plan!"
Luceran retracted his sword quickly, the faint blue light fading. He remained a statue, blocking the merchants, but otherwise leaving the field to his men. The message was clear: I will protect you from death, but you must earn the victory.
The Alpha, enraged by the unexpected block, circled high, screeching orders to its subordinates, which were quickly finishing off the remaining standard eagles. The battlefield was cleared, leaving the soldiers, mages, and the Alpha in a tense standoff.
"Borrin, you okay?" Dred yelled, raising his shield.
"Yeah! Just a bruised ego! This thing is smarter than the trolls!" Borrin yelled back, wiping his mouth. He looked at the circling Alpha. "Its feathers are too tough! Vena, Cassandra, you need to hit it when it's still! Dred, Pelz, move close to the cliff! We'll bait it into the rocks!"
The plan was crude but necessary. Borrin, Dred, and Pelz rushed toward a rocky outcrop. The Alpha saw the opening and took the bait, diving straight down for a killing strike.
"NOW, CASSANDRA!" Borrin roared.
Cassandra was already chanting, pushing her wind mana to the limit. She unleashed two concentrated blasts of wind that didn't push the eagle away but clamped down on its wings mid-dive, momentarily slowing it and disrupting its balance.
Shkk!
The Alpha recovered almost instantly, but the second of delay was enough. Borrin raised his shield, a heavy, solid block of metal, and smashed it against the Eagle's breastbone as it passed. It was a glancing blow, but the impact, coupled with Borrin's Bone Tempering strength, made the Eagle shriek in pain and confusion.
It fluttered, trying to regain altitude, but its flight path was wobbly.
"PRAR! ITS EYES! NOW!" Borrin suddenly commanded, his voice sharp and clear, cutting through the battle noise.
Prar, channeling his force magic, launched two sharp, shimmering lances of invisible force. They didn't hit the eyes, but one struck the Eagle's lower beak, momentarily stunning it, and the other shattered against its wing joint. It was a hit! The Alpha's control failed completely.
It plummeted toward the ground, screeching wildly.
"Vena! Give it hell!" Cassandra shouted, immediately covering Vena with a thin 'Wind Barrier' to protect her from the Alpha's desperate attack.
Vena, her face pale from exhaustion but her eyes blazing with fury, unleashed a 'Fireball' coated with Lightning, a chaotic, searing mess of power. The strike hit the Alpha square in the back as it hit the ground.
KABOOM!
The eagle screamed, its silver feathers smoking and charred. It struggled to stand, thrashing its enormous wings and sending rocks and debris flying. Dred and Pelz saw their chance. They charged through the smoke.
"For the Prince!" Pelz screamed, leaping onto the Eagle's back, risking everything. He plunged his axe deep into the Eagle's shoulder where Vena's magic had cracked its defenses.
The Eagle thrashed madly, trying to shake the soldier off, but Dred came from the side, distracting it by slamming his shield into its head. Borrin, recovering his breath, saw the final, crucial opening: the Eagle's long, muscular neck was briefly exposed.
He roared, his entire body glowing faintly with the power of his Bone Tempering technique. He charged, ignoring the pain in his shield arm, and swung his massive axe in a wide, horizontal arc.
The blow landed with a sickening crunch. The Alpha Silver-Wing Eagle's screech was cut short, its huge, feathered head flying across the canyon, landing hundreds of meters away. Its immense body shuddered once, twice, and then lay still.
Silence fell over Aldoras Mountain. The soldiers collapsed, groaning, their armor scratched and their faces filthy. They had won, but barely. It was a close victory, bought with blood and perfect coordination.