Dune and Mindya were still brushing off the dust from their spar when the ground beneath them shifted with a deep, resonant vibration.
Dreadmarch had stopped.
For a moment, everything was still. Then, without warning, the atmosphere around them changed. People began to freeze mid-step, their expressions snapping from casual to alert.
The tension in the air crackled like electricity, and then someone shouted from the distance, voice high with excitement.
"It's starting! Everyone, get here!"
That was all it took. A wave of anticipation surged through the crowd, and in an instant, the people on Dreadmarch's back moved as one.
Merchants abandoned their stalls, children were scooped up by rushing parents, and travelers darted in one direction like birds sensing an incoming storm.
Dune exchanged a quick glance with Mindya, confusion written all over his face, but the girl was already sprinting ahead, dragging him along with a wild grin.
They followed the flow of bodies to the edge of Dreadmarch's shell, where a wide railing curved around the outer rim like the border of a coliseum. Pressed up against it, Dune finally saw what had everyone in such a frenzy, and what he saw stole the breath from his lungs.
Standing on the plains below, towering high above the trees and hills, was a monstrous, two-headed wolf. Its entire body was coated in glimmering black fur, sleek and pulsing with blue Zeten Neba that danced across its form like lightning caught in a stormcloud.
From each of its heads, massive horns curved skyward, radiating power with every twitch. The creature didn't roar, it growled, low and primal, as it glared up at Dreadmarch's looming form with an anger that promised destruction.
Dune barely had time to process the sight before the voices around him erupted again.
"I say one attack!" someone yelled confidently from behind.
"Nah, it's blue a Zeten, it might survive two!" another argued.
"Two tops! No way it lasts longer!"
Through the sea of shouting spectators, a man carrying a huge iron chest weaved between them, stopping briefly to collect gold coins from anyone willing to place a bet.
His movements were swift, practiced, as if this was something the people had seen many times before. Dune, still wide-eyed, turned to Mindya.
"What the hell is going on?"
She shrugged, though her eyes never left the massive wolf. "You'll see. It's kind of tradition."
The creature below began to move, charging across the field with terrifying speed. Its jaws opened wide, and within, swirling blue Neba gathered like a hurricane ready to be unleashed.
Dune's pulse spiked. There was no time to react, no way the turtle could defend against an attack like that.
But then, Dreadmarch moved.
The great turtle's mouth opened slowly, revealing a blinding purple light that hummed deep from within his core.
The sound that followed wasn't just heard, it was felt, like a second heartbeat pressing into Dune's chest. The glow intensified until it engulfed the edges of the shell, and before the wolf could even release its energy, Dreadmarch fired.
A single, devastating blast of concentrated purple Zeten surged from his mouth, cutting through the air like divine judgment.
It struck the wolf mid-charge, and in the span of a heartbeat, the entire landscape shook.
The sky turned a violent violet as the blast detonated with enough force to eclipse the sun.
The crowd shielded their eyes, yet not a single person moved from their spot. Around them, a soft purple veil shimmered, cast from Dreadmarch himself. It covered the buildings, the streets, and every person standing on his back, protecting them from the sheer destructive force of the blast.
When the light faded and the smoke cleared, silence fell like a heavy curtain.
The wolf was gone.
Only blackened bones remained where the monster had once stood, and nestled among them, pulsing with faint life, was its blue core, the only thing left untouched.
The ground around it was intact, the trees stood untouched, and even the grass remained vibrant and green. It was as if the blast had burned away only what it had meant to, leaving the rest of the world in perfect peace.
Then came the roar of the crowd.
"One strike!" a voice bellowed in triumph.
"Dreadmarch is still as strong as ever!"
"He never gets old!"
Mindya jumped beside Dune, fists raised as she howled with excitement, while Dune stood still, overwhelmed by what he'd just witnessed.
It wasn't just the sheer power that left him speechless, but the precision behind it. Dreadmarch hadn't simply destroyed the wolf, he had erased it with such accuracy that not even a blade of grass had suffered collateral damage.
"That… that was unbelievable," Dune muttered, still staring at the empty land below.
"Told you he was a kind turtle," Mindya said proudly, nudging his arm as if this proved her point beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Dune couldn't help but smile, finally understanding just how much more there was to this living caravan, and how little he truly knew of the world.
Mindya's eyes sparkled as she grabbed Dune's hand, practically bouncing in place as the crowd roared louder around them. She pulled him toward the edge where people were already laying out chairs and crates, settling in close to the shell's rim like it was some grand coliseum in the sky. Laughter and chatter filled the air, echoing across the curved walls of Dreadmarch's living town.
Soon enough, Cadogan, Atlas, and Ned showed up, weaving through the gathered crowd until they reached Dune and Mindya.
Did you guys find a place?" he asked once they were close enough to hear.
"Yup," Ned replied, stretching his arms behind his head. "Not bad, either. Top floor, decent view, and it doesn't smell like boiled lizard."
Atlas smirked. "Barely."
Cadogan chuckled and added, "It's better than sleeping on Dreadmarch's spine on below floors, that's for sure."
Dune nodded. "Good. You all alright?"
"All good here," Atlas said as he glanced around. "Looks like you two were having fun."
Dune gave a half-smile. "You could say that."
Mindya, still slightly flushed from the excitement, gave the others a toothy grin. "We saw Dreadmarch destroy the two headed wolf!"
Cadogan sat down at the edge without hesitation, legs dangling above the distant forest below, and a wide smile spread across his face.
"I love this part," he said, almost like a child watching his favorite play. "Dreadmarch is hungry, so he's taking us through some of the most dangerous regions between here and Rendely. Unlike us, he doesn't need to stick to the safe roads or winding mountain paths. He just goes straight through… and everything in the way gets crushed or burned."
Atlas raised a brow as he looked out at the horizon. "And people bet on this?"
Cadogan nodded. "Of course. There's nothing like watching beasts tear each other apart from the safest place on the continent." He chuckled. "And when you know what you're looking at, it's even better."
Another loud cheer erupted. The next fight was starting.
This time, two monstrous figures loomed ahead of the caravan. One flew in from above, its four massive wings cutting through the air with a terrifying screech. A long, barbed tail whipped behind it, and a glowing blue Neba burned around its feathers. Huge curved horns crowned its head, and its sharp beak gleamed like steel.
"That's Zekros the Sky Reaper," Cadogan muttered, his tone more reverent now. "A mythical predator. Blue Zeten. It's said to live only above the cloud sea."
The second creature leapt from the cliffs ahead, landing with a thunderous crash that shook even the shell beneath them. It was a hulking monkey-like beast, covered in jagged bone-like spikes. Its hands had transformed into massive swords, glowing red-hot.
"And that," Cadogan continued, pointing with a grin, "is Raval the Spitebound. Red Zeten. They say it was once a man consumed by rage until his body transformed into that of a monster. His hands never open, always ready to kill."
People around them screamed out bets, coins clinking and notes exchanged in a frenzy.
"Two hits!"
"No way, Sky Reaper's got this in one!"
"Put me down for three. Raval's a tank."
Dune's eyes were locked on the sky as the bird launched like a lightning bolt. The air cracked, and within seconds, it had pierced straight through the monkey's chest. The impact was so violent the monkey's feet lifted off the ground before it collapsed, lifeless. Its red Zeten faded in seconds, and its glowing core rolled to the edge of a scorched crater.
The crowd exploded with cheers again, and someone shouted, "One strike!"
Cadogan just shook his head, clearly impressed. "Sky Reaper's speed is no joke."
Dune blinked, still processing the speed and precision of the attack. For a moment, he'd forgotten these creatures were real, living legends, not stories told around fires. And here they were, witnessing them from the back of a godlike turtle as it marched across the land like a moving fortress.
As the hours passed, the sky above Dreadmarch shifted between hues of fading gold and deepening blue, but the action never slowed.
More creatures emerged along the vast terrain before them, some crawling out of hidden dens, others flying through the clouds with shrill cries and glowing Neba auras. One by one, some of these beasts made the fatal mistake of getting too close. Without warning, Dreadmarch's massive mouth would open, and with a rumble like the earth splitting in half, he devoured them whole in a single chomp, not even slowing his pace.
Others, too proud or too foolish to flee, clashed in brutal duels beneath the turtle's towering shadow. Blue lightning cracked across the field as a panther-like beast leapt at a serpent made of smoke and bone. Explosions of Neba lit up the sky. Blood sprayed, cores dropped, and gold coins exchanged hands faster than anyone could count.
Through it all, Dune and Mindya sat side by side near the edge, betting like maniacs. A pile of gold Neba coins grew between them, gleaming under the purple glow of Dreadmarch's shell.
"Another one!" Mindya shouted, slapping Dune's back hard enough to make him cough.
Dune couldn't stop grinning. "Told you the three-legged Serpent would win."
Cadogan walked over with wide eyes, watching their winnings stack up. "How in the world…?"
Ned scratched his head, genuinely confused. "You got some sixth sense or what?"
Dune shrugged, smug. "Just good instincts, I guess."
Mindya threw her hands up, showering a few coins onto Dune's lap. "We're rich! We can buy the whole shell now!"
"Don't let her near the food stalls again," Atlas muttered.
Cadogan shook his head, still baffled. "A thousand gold… you do realize that's like a noble's purse for an entire month?"
Dune leaned back, arms behind his head, grin still plastered on his face. "Guess I'm just built different."
Mindya threw her arm around his shoulder and cackled. "Dune boy is so so lucky, Cadogan i also won 200 gold look."
Cadogan chuckled, "nice!"
The group burst into laughter as another massive creature roared in the distance, setting off the next round of bets.
Above the horizon, where the sun once shone, a figure emerged, floating calmly above the battlefield.
At first, people thought it was another beast, another prey for Dreadmarch. But the silence that followed said otherwise.
He wasn't a creature.
Clad in black and white robes adorned with celestial ornaments, his perfectly sculpted body shimmered with ancient markings, golden rings, and embedded relics that pulsed with raw energy.
His white hair flowed behind him like silk in the wind, glowing faintly against the dimming sky. A black halo-like ring rotated behind his head, covered in shifting symbols. His eyes, deep and sharp, stared directly at Dreadmarch, unblinking and without fear.
The crowd murmured, confused.
"Who is that…?"
"Is he… flying?"
"Is he a noble?"
Even Cadogan stood still, stunned. "That's..."
Dune's gut twisted. He didn't know why, but everything about this being screamed danger.
Not like a beast. Not like a man. But something that should not exist.
The being raised his hand slowly, gracefully, and for a moment, the entire shell of Dreadmarch fell into silence.