Blood-Gilled Command Beast

After headquarters began recording each tributary separately, the north bank also received a new set of observation orders.

Once Aldrick had finished reorganizing the forward companies, he did not remain at the river embankment line. He left personnel registration to his adjutant and took an Echo Messenger to an observation position near the main channel.

The Gillsplitter Beasts were still active on the river.

The gill sacs on the sides of their necks had turned dark red, and the corruption within their bodies was more active than usual.

During the recent fighting, some Gillsplitter Beasts had continued dragging their wounded bodies toward the line even after crossbow bolts pierced their gill sacs.

These changes reminded Aldrick of the Blood Moon Seasons he had experienced in the past.

He had spent many years on the Tear Knight Defense Line and lived through fifteen Blood Moon Seasons.

Whenever the Blood Moon rose, the Demon Beasts in the water were affected. The Gillsplitter Beasts' gill sacs gradually took on this color, and their bodies became more resistant to injury.

But this year, the change had come too early, and there were other differences as well.

Aldrick glanced up at the Blood Moon climbing higher in the sky, and a chill crept into his heart.

What concerned him even more was the movement of the packs.

When the First Legion withdrew earlier, he had already noticed several groups of Gillsplitter Beasts changing direction after entering the main channel.

Now that headquarters had ordered them to record movements in the tributaries, he considered these changes together, and a pattern gradually emerged.

A group of Gillsplitter Beasts near the Second Legion's position had paused briefly near the river bend after entering the main channel, then turned downstream with the current.

The packs that appeared afterward headed