Chapter 5: Blood in the Grasslands
Dawn broke over the ridge like molten gold, painting the wild grasses in strokes of amber and green. The hunting party was already assembled—eight villagers in total, including Instructor Wei, Lin Yue, and now… Chen Yu.
The journey to the outer hills had taken two hours. They had just passed the edge of Qinghe's territory, where the village paths gave way to the low, rolling plains that brushed against the Shadowpine Forest.
"This isn't just training," Wei said gruffly as they crouched by a thicket. "Recently, something's been spooking the wildlife. Deer gone. Rabbit burrows torn open. One of our shepherds found a goat carcass split clean in half."
He gestured toward Chen Yu. "New blood. Stay close, and don't do anything stupid."
Chen Yu nodded silently. His system had been silent since last night, but he could still feel it humming faintly in his core, waiting. Watching.
> [Environment Detected: Wild Territory]
Warning: Hostile presence likely. Caution advised.
As the group spread out in a semicircle, Chen Yu moved with practiced quiet. He'd been a commander once. Even now, muscle memory from another life guided his steps. He adjusted his breathing, kept his weight on the balls of his feet, and let the wind guide his ears.
"Movement," Lin Yue whispered, crouching beside him. She pointed toward a patch of disturbed grass and half-buried claw marks.
Suddenly, the tall grass rustled—fast, low, and wide. Something lunged from the brush with a guttural snarl.
A Shadowfang Wolf—larger than a normal beast, its fur mottled with sickly grey, eyes glowing faint red.
> [New Threat Detected: Mutated Beast - Shadowfang Wolf]
Level: F-Class Aberration
Analysis: Muscular density abnormal. Speed: Moderate. Weak spot: Lower left rib.
Time slowed for Chen Yu. The system's alert was instinctive now—his eyes traced the beast's path, his pulse quickened, and something ancient flared within him.
[Legacy Combat Instinct: Fragment Activated]
He moved.
As the wolf lunged, Chen Yu spun left, thrusting his training staff upward at an angle. The wood struck hard beneath the wolf's ribs, just as the system advised. The beast howled, body jerking back mid-air.
"Not bad," Lin Yue muttered, drawing her saber and slashing a clean line across the wolf's hind leg.
Together, they moved like a dance—her strikes fast and precise, his blows defensive and calculated. Within moments, the beast collapsed with a final snarl.
The others caught up, blades drawn too late.
Wei stared at the corpse, then at Chen Yu. "You've trained before. You said you were just a wanderer."
"I did wander," Chen Yu replied, "but I never said I was weak."
Wei's eyes narrowed, but he didn't press.
> [Beast Defeated. Partial Experience Gained.]
Quest Progress: 1/3 Beasts Subdued
Legacy Integration: 17%
You are beginning to reclaim your instincts... and your fate.
As they pressed deeper into the plains, more growls echoed from the shadows.
The hunt wasn't over. And neither was his path to vengeance.