Chapter 110 - 109: Beyond the Wall

Chapter 110: Chapter 109: Beyond the Wall

A few minutes later, the gates of the Blackstone Wall opened.

Iris stepped through first, her long sword secured at her side and the obsidian dagger within easy reach. Claire followed, then Henry and Veronica, with Benjamin and Caleb close behind. The bodyguards spread themselves around the group without making it obvious. Elias walked with them, while Snow and Dog trotted ahead, their attention constantly shifting between the trees.

They were not going far. Iris had already made that clear. They would stay within a familiar section of the forest and keep the wall close enough that they could return quickly if necessary. The purpose of the outing was to hunt, gain experience, and improve their ability to fight together, not disappear into unexplored territory.

The forest was quiet as they moved between the trees. Snow stopped once to sniff the ground, while Dog wandered a little farther before Elias called him back.

"Stay close, Dog."

The dog looked back at him before returning to the group.

Benjamin adjusted his thin-framed glasses and glanced around. "I still don’t understand how we’ve managed to make this place feel normal."

Veronica gave him a look. "Don’t say that. Every time someone says something like that, something appears."

Caleb laughed. "Then let’s blame Benjamin if a monster shows up."

Henry shook his head, though the corner of his mouth lifted. Iris smiled faintly before looking ahead again.

A rustle came from the bushes, and the conversation stopped. Snow’s ears went forward as something moved between the trees.

Caleb tightened his grip on his weapon. "Something’s there."

Henry raised a hand, and everyone slowed.

The creature emerged a moment later.

It stood on four long, deer-like legs, its lean body stretched forward beneath a slightly hunched back. Two short tails shifted behind it as it balanced itself. There were no visible eyes. Instead, several small openings surrounded its long snout, opening and closing as it seemed to sense the movement around it.

Its mouth opened, revealing rows of teeth.

Iris focused on it and used Appraisal.

"Veyrith. Level two," she said.

Caleb’s expression sharpened. "Level two?"

"Yes."

Henry kept his attention on the creature. "Then don’t assume the level tells us everything."

The Veyrith lowered itself and moved before anyone could say anything else.

Benjamin stepped forward and swung. The creature twisted away from the blade with surprising speed, then immediately turned toward him.

Caleb intercepted it. His weapon struck the creature’s side and made it stagger, but the hide barely gave.

"That’s tough," Caleb muttered.

The Veyrith recovered and circled them. Iris watched carefully. It wasn’t attacking randomly. Each time someone separated slightly from the others, its attention shifted toward them.

"Don’t spread out too much," she said. "Keep enough room to move, but don’t give it an easy target."

Henry nodded. "You heard her. Watch the people beside you."

The Veyrith lunged again. This time, Benjamin waited until it committed before stepping aside. Caleb struck its flank, forcing the creature to change direction, while Evelina moved closer to Veronica.

The creature suddenly accelerated.

Caleb tried to meet it, but the Veyrith twisted past his weapon and slammed into him. He fell onto his back, and the creature landed over him with its jaws opening.

Caleb caught its lower jaw with one hand and braced his other arm against its upper jaw, forcing the mouth away from his face.

"Little help here!"

Benjamin reacted immediately and struck the Veyrith’s side. The creature jerked away, but before it could recover, Evelina attacked from the opposite direction.

Caleb rolled free and scrambled backward. A few drops of saliva had landed on his sleeve, and the fabric had begun to deteriorate.

Caleb stared at it. "What the hell?"

Benjamin looked over. "Don’t let that touch you."

"I figured that out."

The Veyrith lunged again, but this time Caleb was ready. He waited until it committed to the attack, then stepped aside. Benjamin struck from the opposite direction, forcing the creature toward Henry.

Henry’s attack caught it across the side. The Veyrith stumbled, and Caleb moved in and struck beneath its jaw.

The creature collapsed.

For a moment, everyone remained still.

Benjamin looked at Caleb’s sleeve. "Did it burn you?"

"Not badly."

Iris stepped closer and examined the exposed skin. It was red and irritated, but the damage was minor.

"Keep it covered until we get back."

Caleb nodded.

Veronica let out a slow breath. "I thought it was going to bite his face."

Caleb glanced at her. "So did I."

She gave him an annoyed look. "That isn’t funny."

"I’m not joking."

That made Benjamin laugh, and even Veronica couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

They moved on.

The next sign of a monster came from Snow. The white dog stopped near a group of trees and lowered his head toward the ground, and Dog immediately joined him.

Elias crouched beside them.

"Fresh tracks."

Iris looked over. The marks were recent.

They continued carefully, following the signs without chasing whatever had left them. A few minutes later, something moved ahead.

Daniel noticed it first.

"Something’s coming!"

A Veyrith burst from the undergrowth.

Daniel moved before anyone else could reach it. He crossed the short distance between them and struck, forcing the creature to veer away from the center of the group.

Iris noticed how quickly he had closed the gap, but Daniel was already stepping back.

"Keep it away from Veronica," he said.

Henry moved beside Veronica immediately. "Stay behind us."

The Veyrith circled. Jin Taejin moved to block one side while Li Wei covered the other. Marcus stayed farther back, watching for another creature rather than focusing entirely on the one in front of them.

The Veyrith suddenly lunged toward Benjamin.

Benjamin blocked the attack, but the force pushed him backward.

Caleb moved in. "Benjamin, step back!"

Benjamin did, and Caleb struck the creature as it turned.

The Veyrith twisted away.

Henry waited for the opening instead of rushing after it. When the creature turned again, he attacked, making it stumble.

Caleb finished it.

Benjamin adjusted his glasses and looked at Caleb. "Thanks."

Caleb grinned. "You’re welcome."

They continued for another stretch of forest, still close enough that the Blackstone Wall occasionally became visible through gaps between the trees.

Victor remained quieter than usual. His injured forearm had been healing, but every time he used it to steady himself, his expression tightened slightly.

Priscilla noticed.

"You should stop using that arm."

Victor glanced at her. "I’m managing."

"You’re compensating for it."

Victor sighed. "I know."

Henry looked back. "Victor, don’t push it. We didn’t come out here to make an existing injury worse."

Victor nodded. "Understood."

A rustle came from the side, and this time the Veyrith came from closer than expected.

Victor raised his weapon instinctively, then immediately regretted the movement when pain shot through his injured arm.

Priscilla stepped forward. "I’ve got it."

She blocked the creature’s first attack, giving Victor time to move away.

The Veyrith changed direction and headed straight toward Veronica.

Evelina moved with her. "Veronica, behind Henry."

Veronica obeyed, but she kept her weapon raised.

The creature lunged.

Henry blocked its jaws while Caleb attacked from the side and Benjamin followed. The Veyrith twisted between them and knocked Benjamin off balance.

"Benjamin!"

"I’m fine!"

He pushed himself up before anyone could reach him.

The creature turned toward him again.

This time, Benjamin didn’t wait for it to close the distance. He moved with Caleb, letting them attack from opposite sides.

The Veyrith tried to escape between them, but it couldn’t. Caleb struck its hind leg while Benjamin’s weapon connected with its side.

The creature stumbled, and Henry delivered the final blow.

The forest fell quiet again.

Veronica lowered her weapon and exhaled. "That one was closer than I liked."

Henry looked at her. "You handled yourself well."

She glanced down at her weapon. "I mostly stayed out of the way."

"You stayed where you were supposed to."

That seemed to reassure her.

Iris looked around the group. They had fought several monsters, and each encounter had gone a little differently. They were beginning to understand how to cover one another without getting in each other’s way.

They had also learned that the monsters could still surprise them.

That was enough for today.

Henry looked toward the wall through the trees. "We should head back."

Iris nodded. "Agreed."

They turned toward Velaris.

The walk back was quieter. Snow and Dog stayed closer to the group, and Victor kept his injured arm protected. Benjamin’s sleeve was still damaged from the first Veyrith, while Caleb had dirt across the front of his clothes.

They had almost reached the area where the wall was clearly visible when Snow stopped. The dog growled, and everyone turned.

Another Veyrith stood between the trees.

It had been following them.

The creature lowered itself, then suddenly ran, not toward them but toward the wall.

Caleb raised his weapon. "It’s heading for Velaris."

Henry’s expression tightened. "Don’t let it get too close."

They followed.

The Veyrith moved quickly between the trees, but it wasn’t trying to attack them anymore. It was retreating toward the territory.

The Blackstone Wall came into clearer view, and Iris could see the dark structure through the trees now.

The creature kept running.

Then it crossed into the Sentry’s defensive range.

A faint glow appeared along the wall.

Iris stopped as a projectile shot from the Blackstone Wall and struck the Veyrith’s side. The creature stumbled, and before it could recover, a second projectile hit it.

It tried to change direction, but a third shot followed.

The Veyrith collapsed.

Nobody moved for a moment.

Caleb stared at the wall. "So the Sentries can hit things from here."

Iris looked at the fallen creature.

She already knew the Sentries had a twenty-meter range. That wasn’t new.

What was new was seeing what that range could mean for them.

The Sentries didn’t need the hunters to be inside Velaris. They only needed the monster to enter their range.

Iris looked from the wall to the others.

If they stayed close enough to the boundary, they could potentially bring monsters toward the Sentries, let the defensive system weaken them, and then finish the fight themselves.

She hadn’t considered using the wall that way. Not until now.

Henry looked at her. "You’re thinking something."

Iris smiled slightly. "Yeah."

Caleb waited. "What?"

Iris looked back at the wall. "We’ll talk about it when we get inside."

She turned toward Velaris.

For the first time that day, she wasn’t thinking about how far they could safely travel into the forest. She was thinking about how much of the forest they could bring within reach of Velaris.

And tomorrow, they would find out.

*~*

A/N:

Thank you for your patience while I was away! I’m finally back to updating, and I hope you’ll enjoy the Chapters ahead. ❤️