The lookout's transformation was instantaneous. The predatory gleam in his eye vanished, replaced by a mask of rough-hewn concern. As Yao's mechanical horse skidded to a halt near the tree line, gasping and bloodied, the man waved her forward, his voice dropping into a surprisingly convincing tone of gruff reassurance. "This way, lad! Hurry! There's a defensible position just ahead—a rock cleft! We'll cover you!"
Yao's heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic counterpoint to the snarling chorus at her back. A rock cleft. Sure. More like a slaughter chute.She forced her face into a mask of pathetically grateful terror. "Thank you! Thank you, brother! I'm coming!"
She kicked the mechanical steed forward, its servos whining in protest. The "path" the bandit indicated was suspiciously clear, a narrow lane carved through the underbrush. As she plunged into the tighter confines of the woods, the pursuing wolf pack was funneled behind her, their numbers compressing, their rage focused. The bandits themselves, she noted with a cold, detached part of her mind, had melted into the rougher, more difficult terrain on either side, moving with the silent ease of men who knew every root and stone.
Her enhanced eyes, sharpened by adrenaline and her new attributes, caught the glint of thin, almost invisible wire strung between tree trunks at ankle height. A glance upward revealed the deadly payload: heavy, spiked metal gratings suspended in the canopy, woven with branches for camouflage. A classic deadfall trap. Step on the wire, and a rain of impaling death would fall. Further ahead, the forest floor looked subtly wrong—patches of leaves too uniformly arranged. Pit traps, likely lined with more spikes or worse.
She couldn't avoid them. Not without revealing her awareness. Her value as live bait would evaporate in an instant.
Play the part. Earn your keep. Then make yourself worth more alive than dead.
As she neared the tripwire, she suddenly yanked hard on the control interface of her mechanical mount. "Whoa! What's wrong? Damn piece of junk!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with feigned panic. The horse staggered, its legs locking and unlocking erratically, hooves churning the earth mere inches from the deadly line. She made a show of wrestling with the controls, cursing and slapping the metallic flank.
The pursuing wolves, seeing their prey apparently faltering, saw their chance. With a unified, guttural roar, the front ranks surged forward, redoubling their speed in a frenzied sprint.
Perfect.
Yao let out a genuine-sounding scream of terror. "No! Get away!" With a final, dramatic flourish, she "lost control," tumbling from the saddle and hitting the ground in a graceless roll. Scrambling to her feet, she bolted not along the path, but diagonally towards a massive, gnarled oak tree.
The lead wolves, driven by instinct and bloodlust, hit the tripwire at full speed.
TWANG-SNAP!
The sound was sharp, final. From above came a terrifying groan of stressed ropes, then a thunderous WHOOSH-CRUNCHas the spiked gratings plummeted earthward. The impact shook the ground. The metallic shriek of rending iron-spine plates mixed with the wet, meaty thuds of impalement and the agonized howls of twenty-odd wolves. The gratings, each spike the length of a man's forearm, hammered the creatures into the dirt.
Yao, crouched by the tree, watched with a hunter's cold eye. The wolves' famed iron-spine protection saved many from immediate puncture death—the spikes skidded off reinforced backs or lodged in thick muscle. But the sheer kinetic force of the fall was brutal. Internal organs ruptured. Dark blood frothed from muzzles as they were driven into the earth, trapped and writhing beneath the heavy metal lattice.
Then she saw it. Where the spikes had pierced skin, even slightly, a sizzling, acidic smoke began to rise. A virulent, blackish-green fluid was weeping from the spike tips, eating into fur, flesh, and even the metallic underlayers of their hide with horrifying speed. The trapped wolves' struggles turned frenzied, then weak, as the corrosive poison raced through their bloodstreams. Within seconds, the howls ceased, replaced by the quiet, final twitches of death.
A corrosive agent on the spikes.A chill that had nothing to do with the forest shade slithered down Yao's spine. These bandits weren't just thugs; they were methodical, sophisticated hunters.
The remaining wolf pack, smarter or luckier, split around the carnage, their fury now tinged with a primal caution. Yao was back on a different mechanical horse, weaving through the trees, using the dense trunks and her remaining steeds as living, metallic shields. She let herself appear desperate, reckless, narrowly avoiding snapping jaws and swiping claws. She was leading the dance now, a deadly, chaotic waltz through the woods, drawing the pack deeper, but always subtly veering away from the areas that feltwrong—the too-soft ground, the suspiciously clear patches.
From hidden vantage points, the bandits watched. Their initial suspicion—that the noble brat had seen through the trap—faded as they witnessed his "clumsy" near-miss and subsequent panic. But he was leading the wolves aroundthe main kill zones now. The precious prey, the mechanical horses, were at risk of being scattered or damaged in the chaotic chase.
The bandit leader, Li Chengkai, observing from a camouflaged blind, made a curt gesture. The plan had changed. The Taker of the Field was done waiting.
Gunfire erupted from the shadows. Not the sporadic pops of rifles, but the sustained, chattering roar of a heavy repeater, its rounds tearing through foliage and fur alike. Yao ducked low, guiding her horse behind the thickest tree she could find. The wolves, faced with a new, unseen threat, broke formation, some scattering for cover, others turning their rage towards the source of the gunfire.
Then came the chanting.
It was low, guttural, a chorus of ten voices weaving together in a complex, dissonant harmony. Yao knew this spell. Ironvine Thicket.A Tier 2 Earth-Aligned trap spell. It required a primary caster of at least Level 2 to anchor it, supported by others to fuel the area and duration.
The forest floor in front of the advancing wolves rippled. From the soil and rotting leaves, thick, barbed vines of dark, purplish metal erupted. They were not plants but constructs of solidified, enchanted ore—sinuous, sharp, and viciously intelligent in their movement. They lashed out, not to kill immediately, but to entangle, to snare legs and throats, to pierce paws and flanks with needle-sharp thorns that dripped the same corrosive venom.
From her shelter, Yao analyzed the spellwork. The color of the vines—a deep, bruise-purple shot through with metallic grey—indicated its potency and remaining duration. Sixteen seconds.A lifetime in combat.
The bandits didn't waste it. The gunfire intensified, now precise and merciless, targeting the immobilized wolves. Heads snapped back, throats were torn open. It was a slaughterhouse symphony. Within ten seconds, the entangled pack was decimated.
The raw, coordinated power on display was terrifying. One Level 2 Earth Mage and nine Level 1 supporters had just effortlessly controlled and enabled the massacre of fifty Iron-spine Wolves. This was the difference between theoretical knowledge and brutal, practiced reality.
Five minutes later, the clearing was a charnel house. The air was thick with the coppery stench of blood, the acidic tang of the venom, and the cordite smoke from the guns. The surviving bandits moved among the carcasses, finishing off the wounded with casual efficiency.
Through the haze, Yao saw him. Li Chengkai. He wasn't a giant of a man, but built like a block of granite, with a face that seemed carved from the same stubborn stone as the hills. He wore simple, stained leather pants and heavy hide boots, now soaked to the knee in wolf blood. A gnarled pine staff was gripped loosely in one hand. He exuded an aura of casual, absolute control. A Level 2 Mage. He could extinguish her life with a thought.
Yao let all her fear, her exhaustion, her calculated desperation show. Her eyes widened, swimming with what she hoped looked like grateful tears. She stumbled forward, her voice a trembling, pathetic warble. "Th-thank you! Thank you, sir! You saved my life! I'm Oaks, of the Jingyang Xie family! My father, he'll reward you! He will, I swear!"
Li Chengkai's cold eyes swept over her, a slow, reptilian assessment that felt like being physically stripped. He didn't speak for a long moment, his gaze lingering on her looted, ill-fitting armor, the fear-sweat on her brow, the way her hands shook. Then, a smile cracked his weathered face. It didn't reach his eyes.
"Don't be scared, little brother," he rumbled, his voice deceptively warm. "You're safe now. Consider this your home. We'll look after you."
The words were a bucket of ice water dumped down Yao's spine. Home?Her internal alarms screamed. She sensed movement behind her—soft, deliberate footsteps. She flinched violently, spinning as if only just noticing the approach, her voice climbing into a panicked squeak. "R-really? You mean it? I… I'm not very clever, don't trick me! If you spare me, I'll pay! I have money! One hundred thousand coppers! I just sold my mother's estate!"
She went for the most direct lure: raw cash. Forget noble favors; bandits wanted tangible loot.
Li Chengkai's smile didn't waver, but his eyes sharpened, calculating. He gave an almost imperceptible nod.
The world exploded into white pain at the back of Yao's skull. Darkness swallowed her.
Consciousness returned in a shuddering, gasping rush, heralded by a wave of icy water that slammed into her face and chest. She sputtered, choking, her senses swimming. She was upright, her arms wrenched behind her, bound tightly to a rough, cold wooden beam. The air was thick with damp, mold, and the underlying metallic scent of old blood. A single, flickering glow-globe cast long, dancing shadows across a stone-walled chamber. A dungeon.
Water dripped from her hair, her clothes, pooling coldly around her boots. Through blurred vision, she saw Li Chengkai. He had removed his outer jacket, revealing corded arms covered in faded tattoos. He was standing by a small, fierce brazier, idly turning a long, slender branding iron. The tip glowed a vicious cherry-red.
He turned, catching her gaze. "Awake? Good. We did some checking while you slept. You weren't lying. Xie family bastard. Must be worth something if they sent a full escort for you." His tone was conversational, almost friendly. But his eyes were flat and dead.
Yao's mind, despite the throbbing in her head, raced. She followed his subtle glance to a small table beside him. On it, a communicator glowed with a steady green light. Recording. He's recording this. Why? To send to someone? For leverage?
A cold knot of dread tightened in her stomach. This wasn't just about ransom anymore.
She let her face crumple into a mask of groggy, earnest pleading. "Sir… big brother, I told the truth! I have money! Just contact my father, he'll—"
"Your father?" Li Chengkai interrupted, his voice dropping to a soft, dangerous purr as he stepped closer, the brand hissing faintly in the damp air. "The Xie Clan of Jingyang is a rising Green-Blood house. I'm not a fool. One call to them, and they'd trace the signal. My head would be on a spike before sunset." He stopped an arm's length away. The heat from the iron was a physical pressure against her wet skin. "But here's what's interesting. While you were sleeping, I did some more… local inquiries. It seems some of my men… and your dear escorts… were acquainted. They had an arrangement concerning you. But something went wrong. They're all dead. And you… you're here."
So he knows about Adar's betrayal, or suspects it.Yao's original plan had relied on the Li Conglomerate's timely intervention, on the clean narrative of a bandit attack. The wolf pack had thrown that into chaos. Now she was in the lion's den, being asked to account for the lions that had gone missing.
She let her jaw drop, her eyes widening in what she hoped was genuine-looking shock and dawning horror. "Killed? They… they were going to hurt me?!" Her voice trembled, rising in pitch. "Those men who attacked us… they were yours?!" She infused her words with a betrayed terror. "No wonder they found us so fast! There was a traitor among the guards! You… you planned this from the start? Why? Why do you want me dead?"
She was turning the tables, accusing him. The subtext was clear: Your own men went behind your back for a side deal. This is your problem, not mine.
Li Chengkai's expression didn't change. He brought the glowing tip of the brand closer, so close she could feel her eyelashes beginning to curl from the radiant heat. "Clever. But not clever enough. How did you end up with all the mechanical horses, then?"
Yao flinched, trying to shrink away from the searing heat. "They… they started fighting among themselves! Adar, the captain, he was supposed to protect me, but he barely used any magic! Then your men shot him! But… but I'm the young master! The horses were keyed to me from the start!" She babbled, layering truth (Adar's lack of effort) with lies (the transfer of control had been via his stolen biometrics, not pre-existing).
"Is that so?" Li Chengkai's voice was a whisper now, his face inches from hers. The smell of hot metal and his stale breath was overwhelming. "And the wolves? You just happenedto lead a hundred Iron-spines right to my doorstep?"
This time, her fear and anger were utterly real. "How should I know?! I was running for my life! The horses were my only chance! Then the damned wolves came out of nowhere, chasing me! I was terrified! I saw the woods and just ran! How was I supposed to know this was yourterritory?" She let genuine tears of frustration and fear well up. She was gambling that the wolves, having devoured the corpses, had left no evidence of poison. Her story was one of pure, panicked chance.
"You're lying." The words were flat, final. He moved the brand until its glowing tip was a hair's breadth from her right eye. The heat was agonizing, forcing her to squeeze her eyelids shut. "You have no coin on you. You hid it. You came here prepared to buy your life. That means you knew what we were. So stop. The. Act."
He began to press the iron forward.
A scream tore from Yao's throat, raw and unchecked. "I'm not! The money! It's in one of the mechanical horses! In a sealed compartment in its belly! I thought the wolves would sense the metal, chase it instead of me! I was trying to use it as a decoy! But they just kept coming for me! Like they were spelledto!" She was sobbing now, the words tumbling out in a frantic rush. She was gambling on a different detail now—the fresh, wet blood staining his boots. He'd been examining the wolves. Had he found traces of alchemical agents in their systems? Had he seen the strange, focused nature of their pursuit?
The searing heat retreated an inch.
Silence. Then a soft clangas the branding iron was tossed back into the brazier.
Yao's heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. She'd guessed right. He'd confirmed her own suspicion.
Li Chengkai walked back to his stool, sat down, and lit a crude cigarette. The smoke curled in the dank air. "Seems you've made powerful enemies, little lordling," he said, his tone almost conversational again. "Someone paid your guards. And someone else… used a Tier 2 Hunting Beacon on a pack of wolves. They really wanted you dead."
Confirmed.The thought was cold comfort.
He took a long drag, the ember glowing in the dim light. "We checked the market records. You sold your assets. Not for a pittance. Eight, nine million coppers, at least." His yellowed teeth appeared in a smile that held no warmth. "You will give me every last coin. Then, maybe, I let you live." He exhaled a cloud of acrid smoke directly towards her. "Otherwise… I'll skin you myself and hang your hide out to dry. Slowly."