When Minx's soul weapon went off, she was blown back a few feet but Shalt was there, so she didn't fall or get hurt. What the others saw was a pointed log come out of Minx's hand that entered the body of the beast.
What happened next defied logic for them. The log that entered the body of the beast came out of the beast in all different directions. It had the effect of having ripped it to pieces.
Shalt was the only one who was truly able to appreciate the full effect due to his vampire eyes. The others were still able to appreciate the explosive power of Minx's soul weapon.
"Time to head back," Minx announced. She had a big smile on her face. Without knowing how long Sil would be gone for, this would be a daily thing to make sure she was gaining crystals but able to be back in case he came home. She figured one week of such excursions should be safe. After that would be pushing it.
Once they got back to safer territory, Minx put up the kitchen and had the new plant masters grow all the food then assist in cooking.
On the way back, she had the girls do the same thing with the beasts. By the time they got back, each one had 4 basic tier crystals and 2 intermediate.
All three were getting better at their armor and fighting. Their whips were becoming more accurate. All in all, Minx had no complaints about this trip in terms of the hunt. The bigger issue would be the same problem she had with Caser. The time seemed to have flown by with all the things she had going on and he needed to survive long enough to evolve.
On the way back, she decided to pull Midas and Shalt aside over dinner and discuss options. By the time they arrived back home and got their crystals loaded, it was dinner time. Shalt cooked her dinner, while Minx rested.
She invited Midas over to eat to discuss the issue with Caser with Shalt included in the conversation.
"I wanted to ask your opinions. As you know, I don't like the idea of leaving Caser behind when I go out. What do you think of me having Alex design a form of armor to put on Caser's back for additional protection and have him create seats that can be attached in case we ever have kids?"
Shalt responded, "that would mean Caser can't engage in combat as easily. His movement would be restricted."
Minx nodded.
"Alex is very smart, I bet he can design something that is also interchangeable for the future. I say go for it."
Minx nodded, "I think I like the idea. And if we get him evolved, if the armor grows with him somehow, he'd be a great choice to be able to get any babies out of harm's way. I'll go to the Cursed Ship tomorrow and ask Alex."
"Another thing, today is Caser's first birthday. I think we need to go on a hunting trip tomorrow to get him a king-tier."
The food Midas was chewing when flying across the table. "Did I just hear you say you wanted to give caser a king-tier as a playmate?"
Minx laughed, "no. He evolves like the other beasts. Eating their crystals makes him stronger. He has been going out on his own since we got here. He doesn't stay inside all night, every night. He just makes sure not to be gone long but the weaker creatures will make him take a lot longer to evolve. So, I thought for his birthday, we can give him king-tier crystals."
"That's a lot of danger for a birthday present." Midas stated.
"He's worth it. I'll talk to Alex in the morning and see how the day will go from there."
They finished their dinner. Midas volunteered to handle the dishes so Minx could get some sleep.
Caser lay on the bed next to her to cuddle. Her nostrils were filled with the scent of fresh kill from his breath but even that couldn't stave off sleep.
Since Sil was gone so much, Caser decided sleeping in daddy's spot helped mommy cope with him being gone. He tried to be there before she went to bed but sometimes, he wanted to go hunting first. He laid there with his tentacles wrapped around her the way daddy wrapped his arms around her.
The next morning, after Qi meditation and breakfast, Minx, Caser, Shalt and Fiza went to the Cursed Ship. What they found shocked them. There were dents and marks all over. Some walls were actually damaged. Fiza took off running to find her mother. Minx veered off to check on the kids. She found them in their training room like normal as if nothing happened.
Apparently, one of the Pure leaders were killed in the duel by Quinn so they came to get their revenge. The kids had been instrumental in repelling their attack. She gave them all a high-five for doing so well and reminded them this was why they could not stop their training.
Several asked when they could come back to her shelter and she had to reply she didn't know. That was up to Sil.
She bid everyone goodbye and was off to see Alex where she got another surprise.
Minx and Shalt were both bewildered to find out the state of the ship. Dents, burn marks, and blood splatters were all over. A person here and there was working on cleaning up the biological droppings throughout the ship, but it was clear not many people were there.
Minx was beginning to fear the worst. Alex and the other forgers were not fighters. Three of her own people worked for him.
As she finally approached her destination, she noticed things were different here. Everything looked new. Did Alex and his people rebuild everything that was damaged by an attack that happened just yesterday?