In the center of the arena, the Asura girl''s eyes widened as she noticed something startling on the screens.


    The maze of the Stonehooves Tribe, previously a chaotic yet eerily bnced battleground, was shifting.


    The birdmen, scattered and desperate, had begun to mount a counterattack.


    One of the birdmen warriors—a lithe figure with dark feathers and a blood-streaked beak—had somehow managed to kill two Raging Pigs.


    The Asura girl watched intently as the birdman fought, his talons shing and his wings whirling in a deadly dance.


    He moved frantically, his eyes darting between his foes as if every second could be hisst.


    A Raging Pig charged at him, snorting aggressively, its tusks glistening with fresh blood.


    The birdman dodged to the side, shing with his winged arms, a burst of wind magic slicing through the air and catching the pig across the throat.


    Blood sprayed, and the Raging Pig let out a guttural scream, stumbling and copsing onto the ground.


    "Look at him go!" the Asura girl eximed, her voice filled with both awe and dread. "One down, but there''s another oneing right at him!"


    The second Raging Pig,rger and fiercer than the first, charged with reckless abandon.


    Its muscles bulged, its eyes red with rage as it swung its massive axe down in a vicious arc.


    The birdman barely managed to dodge, rolling to the side as the axe cleaved into the ground, sending dust and debris flying. He retaliated with a desperate strike, his talons glowing with magical energy as he ripped into the pig''s side.


    The Raging Pig howled, staggering back, but it wasn''t enough to kill it.


    The birdman was panting now, his movements slowing, fatigue setting in. He had already been fighting for his life within the maze for far too long.


    His breaths were ragged, his wings drooping as he struggled to stay upright. He had killed two of the pigs, but it had cost him dearly.


    "What a fighter!" the Asura girl marveled, but her tone quickly shifted to one of concern.


    "But look! He''s exhausted! There are still so many Raging Pigs in that maze, and the birdmen don''t have the numbers or stamina to keep this up for long!"


    She turned her attention back to the screens, watching as more Raging Pigs emerged from the shadows of the maze, their eyes glowing with primal hunger.


    "What''s going to happen if the birdmen manage to kill them all? Lyerin''s pets—his beasts—they''re dwindling!"


    The numbers shed before her: one hundred Raging Pigs against eighty birdmen.


    A small margin, and yet, as each battle took its toll on the pigs, the birdmen grew more desperate, more ruthless.


    They were fighting not just to survive but to ensure that Lyerin''s forces were crippled.


    The Asura girl bit her lip, one could see her anxiety was growing. "What can Lyerin do if the Raging Pigs are all killed? What then? Is he gonna show another miracle that he would unravel before our eyes?"


    ---


    Meanwhile, deeper in the maze, Velros stumbled forward, his breath heavy andbored.


    The sight of his fallenrades and the in pigs filled him with a mixture of triumph and dread.


    He barely had time to catch his breath before one of his subordinates swooped down beside him, shing at another pig that was charging their way.


    The birdman''s winged arms glowed with the remnants of magic, and with a swift motion, he sliced through the pig''s defenses, sending it crashing into the ground.


    "Velros!" the subordinate panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "We can''t keep this up. The maze won''t let us use the same spells repeatedly, and these pigs… they''re adapting! They''re learning how to defend against our attacks!"


    Velros nodded, wiping blood from his beak.


    He knew hisrade was right.


    Every time they used a spell, the maze seemed to twist the rules, forcing them to find new ways to fight.


    And the Raging Pigs—once a simple enemy—had quickly be more dangerous, learning to anticipate their magic too.


    Their shields, once easy to break through, were now reinforced, and their movements were bing harder to predict.


    "If we keep fighting like this," the subordinate continued, ncing nervously around the maze walls, "we''ll exhaust our magic and ourselves long before we find a way out. We''re running out of options. We need to regroup, Velros. We need to find each other and move as one."


    Velros frowned, considering his words. Regrouping would mean slowing down, gathering everyone into one ce, but it also meant they could pool their remaining strength.


    "But if we regroup," Velros said, thinking out loud, "we risk getting cornered. If we''re all in one spot, the pigs could overwhelm us. And… we''ll be burning through our magic trying to fend them off all at once."


    The subordinate shook his head.


    "We don''t have a choice. We''re losing people, Velros. Scattered like this, we''re just easy prey for those beasts. We regroup, we form a defensive line. We can pool our magic, createbined spells. We need to cover each other''s weaknesses."


    Velros''s eyes darted upward, toward the tangled canopy of the maze that blocked their path to freedom.


    He knew that if they kept fighting this way, picking off pigs one by one, they''d run out of magic and be left defenseless.


    They needed to regroup, but it wasn''t just about numbers—it was about strategy.


    "If we can hear each other," Velros mused, his mind racing, "then we''re not far apart. We can use that. Call out positions, draw everyone in. But we have to be quick. If we''re all together, we can coordinate our attacks better, protect our mages while they cast. The pigs adapt, but they''re not perfect.


    They can''t handle overwhelming force from all sides."


    He looked at his subordinate, determination sparking in his eyes.


    "This maze wants us dead. But we can turn that against it. We regroup, we find each other, and we push through. We can use the maze''s walls to funnel the pigs, create choke points. We just have to get to the others."


    The subordinate nodded, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. "If we regroup," he added, "we can also keep the pigs off bnce. They''re spread out, too. We''re not the only ones fighting here."


    Velros''s n crystallized in his mind.


    They needed to act fast, pull their forces together, and strike with concentrated power.


    The maze would try to break them, but if they moved as one, they could survive—and perhaps even turn the tide.


    "Alright," Velros said, straightening his wings and calling out to the others in the maze. "Everyone, regroup! Head toward my voice! We''re not going to die here, not like this!"


    ---


    Back in the grand arena, the Asura girl''s breath hitched as she watched Velros''s n unfold on the screens.


    She could hear the birdmen''s voices echoing through the maze, their cries of pain and shouts of strategy filling the twistedbyrinth.


    "They''re regrouping," she said, her voice trembling with anticipation. "Velros is pulling them together. If they manage to regroup, if they can coordinate… Lyerin might be in real trouble."


    The tension in the arena grew palpable, and the spectators leaned forward, eager to see how this new twist would y out.


    The birdmen were gathering, and their numbers were still formidable despite the losses they had suffered.


    They could still turn this around, and the thought sent a ripple of excitement—and fear—through the audience.


    "What will Lyerin do now?" the Asura girl wondered aloud, her eyes fixed on the screen. "The birdmen are rallying. If they break through the maze or find an exit, Lyerin''s tribe could be finished. He has to act fast… but what can he do?"


    The camera feed switched to Lyerin''s side of the maze.


    He was still sitting casually with his tribe members, seemingly unbothered by the chaos unfolding within thebyrinth.


    The message shed on the screen in front of him, and his expression shifted slightly as he read it: 196 members turned into 153.


    Lyerin nced up, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sudden reduction of numbers.


    The Raging Pigs were falling, and the birdmen were regrouping.


    For the first time, the game felt like it was beginning to tip out of his control.


    He nced back at his tribe, who were blissfully unaware of the impending threat.


    Lyerin stood slowly, a calcting look in his eyes. "So this is how far these bird brains can go," he muttered.