Prey

"Re... Report, sir!"

A Centaur scout rushed into the crude command post. Too panicked, he tripped and crashed into a pile of unidentifiable bottles and jars.

He scrambled back to his feet and hurriedly reported the latest news to the tall figure beside the command table.

"Great Magra Khan, Warlord Gelk... Warlord Gelk, he... he died in the line of duty!"

Warlord Gelk commanded two Centaur companies and was responsible for frontline combat in this operation. It was a crucial role, so his death would certainly have a severely unfavorable impact on the battle!

At least, that was what the young scout thought.

"Is that so? I understand."

What answered him was an indifferent "I understand."

"But... what are you doing?! Let go of me, let go... mmph!"

The scout seemed to want to argue further, but Magra Khan clapped his hands, and the tent flap was lifted.

Two Centaurs entered the tent. Their attire was rather inappropriate for the occasion. One was a veiled woman, while the other was a white-haired old man. The two strange figures covered the scout's mouth and carried him away between them.

"Annoying fly."

Magra Khan muttered a curse, then turned to the other person in the tent and said slowly, "It is time for your clumsy little tricks to make an appearance, isn't it? Vel'th... Witch Doctor."

The Centaur named Vel'th was crouched down, humming a leisurely tune as he slowly picked up the bottles and jars the reckless scout had knocked over, one by one.

He did not seem eager to answer the Magram Tribe leader's question directly. Instead, he toyed with a container in his hand and brought up something entirely unrelated.

"What a reckless child. Just like that valiant warlord, he could have been put to far better use. Don't you think it is a pity?"

"I don't want to talk about any damn value. Gelk had only that little task to carry out, yet he could not even handle something so simple. There was no need for him to exist."

"Is that truly what you think, my dear Khan?"

Witch Doctor Vel'th began pacing around Magra Khan at an unhurried pace, swaying his head as he let out bursts of delighted laughter.

"I recall... I seem to have conveyed a new mobilization order?"

The witch doctor shook his head unconcernedly. "To be honest, I had hoped to see some distinctive faces appear on this chaotic stage... like those two just now."

"After all, for our grand undertaking, if there are only young people, this delightful form of entertainment is truly a little... hmm, too monotonous."

"Then perhaps the great Khan should guess how much impact your dereliction of duty will have on this devout cause?"

He sneered mockingly. "Perhaps ambition has blinded your eyes, or perhaps I have neglected to remind you for far too long. The Earth Mother's gift may be loving and powerful, but it is not eternal. You chose to serve her..."

The witch doctor stopped in front of the Centaur Khan. His hunched figure was dwarfed by the tall, powerful leader, yet the shadow behind him was unfathomably deep, like the gaping maw of a ferocious abyss.

"But... why can I not feel your loyalty?"

He extended two fingers and, with outrageous insolence, lightly tapped the Khan's bare chest twice. The sensation clearly told him that the Centaur Khan's heart was pounding violently and powerfully.

"Ah, what a strong and vigorous heart. I truly want to know whether it still harbors devotion to its master."

"Tell me, if I were to thrust my fingers in like this, what color would I pull out from inside..."

Vel'th paused briefly, then burst into laughter. "But I suppose I should forget it."

"You are right. Those clumsy little tricks should make their entrance. After all, I am a generous man and never hide things from my partners..."

He gave a strange smile. "But compared to hearing it from me, perhaps you would be happier to hear it with your own ears. So I conducted an experiment everyone has been waiting for."

With that, the witch doctor clutched his stomach and laughed uproariously, unable to close his mouth. He snapped his fingers lightly, and a shrill, miserable scream rang out from outside the tent.

The Centaur Khan's expression changed. He swung his spear and flipped open the tent flap.

He stepped outside, only to be stunned by the cruel sight before him.

That scout... the young man the guards had carried outside the tent to protect, had collapsed to the ground in unbearable pain, curling up like a shrimp thrown into a boiling pot.

His entire body was swelling grotesquely, like a lava rubber ball filled with air.

His skin and muscles had taken on the appearance of a baked chocolate cake crust. They continued swelling, then split apart, breaking into chunks.

Blood poured from every part of his body, dyeing the poor Centaur scout and the ground beneath him a horrifying crimson.

"Save... me..." He weakly reached out toward his Khan.

The Khan snapped out of his shock and hurriedly reached out to help, but before their hands could touch, a terrible explosion occurred.

Bang!

With a horrifying boom, the swollen scout exploded into fragments. Warm blood drenched the Centaur Khan from head to toe. He knelt there blankly, frozen in the posture of reaching out his hand.

A new creature was born from the Centaur's remains. Its body was composed of orbiting rocks. Blood-soaked stones formed an inverted triangular humanoid shape under some kind of restraint, while two massive rocks floated through metal bracers beside the stone that imitated a head, forming a newborn earth elemental.

"It seems this brand-new Ascension Ritual is still imperfect. It is not fast enough and has no value as a controllable tool at all."

He shook his head in disgust, seemingly deeply dissatisfied with his work. "And... look at this pile of garbage. This ritual did not fully transform the host. It is truly far from perfect."

Witch Doctor Vel'th had not been touched by even a speck of dust from the explosion. He now stood beside the Centaur Khan, critiquing the scene as though he were a meticulous scientist.

In the moonlight, the blade of the spear lying on the ground reflected a blood-smeared face, hideous as an evil ghost.

The Khan slowly raised his head, looking at the spotless Witch Doctor Vel'th, then at himself covered in filth, then at the newly born earth elemental, stained in mottled colors by corruption. Rage burst from his chest with a bang.

With a roar, he kicked up his spear, caught it in one motion, and spun it in a beautiful half-moon arc before aiming the sharp spearhead at Vel'th's throat.

Vel'th mockingly laughed at his insignificant threat and extended one finger to press against the spear's tip, slowly pushing it aside.

"A pitiful ant that attempts to defy destined fate will inevitably receive cruel punishment... sooner or later."

Glancing at the Khan, Vel'th said with a cold laugh, "And... although I have waited a long time and would not mind waiting a little longer, my hateful kin do not seem willing to let us continue. This undertaking truly has reached the point where it must end..."

"I will end it myself."

Vel'th patted the Khan on the shoulder, then lightly walked past him. The witch doctor's mocking laughter echoed through the night, gradually fading until it could no longer be heard.

A crescent moon lit up once more. With a swing of one arm, Magra Khan drove a grief-filled and humiliated strike cleanly through the earth elemental's core.

As the fierce battle raged on, the two young Tauren were also facing an enemy they could hardly defeat.

"Is that all? Foolish creatures, do you truly think you can oppose a great Centaur with such pathetic tricks?"

Warhammer and spear collided, scattering sparks.

By the light cast from a nearby illumination totem, Baine Bloodhoof wielded his warhammer and struggled to fend off his opponent's relentless assault.

Thrusts, sweeps, chops—the spear techniques came too quickly to follow. This clash of life and death was completely different from ordinary practice. Every collision of weapons was a dance with death, and the slightest lapse could mean dying on the spot.

Under the pressure of death, Baine Bloodhoof gradually felt a strange power: the power of rage.

This power was born in his chest, then spread through all four limbs and every bone in his body. It drove away all fear, while the sound of metal striking metal brought an unusual thrill. It even made him crave battle, crave bloodshed and slaughter.

The heart of a warrior slowly awakened within this immature body.

The combat talent inherited from the great Tauren warrior Cairne Bloodhoof had finally awakened! Powerful warrior instincts and accumulated training gave Baine extraordinary fighting intuition. He began instinctively predicting his opponent's next move through the force and posture behind each attack.

The next move was... a thrust!

Sure enough, a deadly stab came straight at him.

Baine knocked aside the spear with a backhand strike. The sharp tip severed several strands of brown mane, and Baine followed through with a heavy blow, swinging his hammer toward the Centaur's exposed chest.

This was his first somewhat successful attack. Baine had struck with all his strength, intent on badly wounding his opponent, and for the first time, he had forced his opponent back.

However, Stone Spear gathered a little strength in his front hooves and avoided the dangerous blow with a simple backward leap. While still in midair, he thrust his spear repeatedly. With two sharp cracks, he knocked away two crossbow bolts that came flying from the darkness.

Sian hid in the darkness, dragging his half-crippled arm as he struggled to cover his companion.

Do not underestimate this young hunter's marksmanship. He was Tamara Bloodhoof's most outstanding young apprentice. Though injured, he had still saved Baine's life several times with that battered crossbow.

Sian ran through the night, having exposed his position with that last shot.

He clenched the crossbow stock in his teeth, freeing his remaining hand to draw a bolt from the quiver at his waist, then laboriously cocked the crossbow.

He and Baine had been waiting for an opportunity, and just now had been a fine one. The two had understood each other perfectly and indeed seized it, but even that near-flawless cooperation had achieved nothing.

Sian sighed. Although he had expected this outcome, he was still shaken by the enemy's strength.

Yet he kept running, because the two young ones had never given up hope of defeating their opponent.

They still held courage in their hearts.

While young Sian marveled at his opponent's strength, the attacker was also terrified by their growth.

Stone Spear was filled with anger over the two arrows just now.

Even though he had predicted the direction of the attack, the instant the arrows came flying, he had felt the absurd sensation that hunter and prey had switched places. Instinct made him swing his spear involuntarily, in a manner that was practically disorderly.

He had successfully knocked away the two arrows aimed at his neck and heart—though he knew perfectly well that attacks of this level could not harm this perfect body even if they hit. Yet he had still dodged instinctively.

That unconscious reaction enraged him beyond measure. He was angry at the archer, but also angry at himself.

What enraged him was that beneath this perfect body, there still lurked the lowly heart of a Centaur.

With my master's blessing, I am different! I have ascended! I am no longer a mortal!

Someone who thought so highly of himself would naturally not embrace a mark of shame.

Even though he had warned himself countless times, the fear of nearly having his brain pierced not long ago made him once again experience the frailty of being a living creature.

It was a fear born from origins, rooted in life and dissolved into all things. It was what he desperately avoided and refused to acknowledge, yet it was also the sharp blade that could expose a false lie.

So... I am not perfect. Once that thought began to take root, it was like a venomous spider building a nest and weaving a web in his heart, gradually spiraling out of control.

He refused to admit it, and this ugly pretense had already driven him mad. That was why he frantically hunted the two Tauren who had brought him fear.

He did not care whether a housecat had scratched a lion's face. He only wanted to torment them, kill them, and repay the humiliation they had given him a thousandfold!

Yet in this absurd hunt, he gradually became alarmed.

The hunter hidden in the shadows possessed superb archery, exerting immense pressure on him. It was skill so exceptional that even he, also an archer, could not help but marvel at it.

Thinking back, the young warrior ahead of him had also been improving at a terrifying speed.

Like dry sponges, they greedily absorbed experience through life-and-death combat, transformed it, and applied it to battle again. At first, they could only barely survive under the hunter's protection, but later, they were even able to find his openings.

What was even more outrageous was that neither of them was a battle-hardened warrior or an experienced hunter. They were merely two underage Tauren calves!

This was simply unacceptable!

Fortunately, Stone Spear was not very educated, so he could not spout an awkward timeless saying like, "This child is terrifying and must not be allowed to live."

But he fully realized that even if only ten minutes had passed, this battle absolutely could not be dragged out any longer.

So he put away his contempt and began gathering the powerful gift newly bestowed upon his body by his master.

He looked toward the composed young warrior, then toward the pitch-black corner. With a turn of his head, he instantly decided which one to deal with first.

Stone Spear's body gave off an earthen-yellow glow, then melted into the ground before Baine's horrified eyes.