As Vanessa engaged her opponent, a shrill cry sliced through the air. As she cast a fleeting nce in the direction the sound wasing from, the woman''s heart pounded painfully against her rib cage.


    The sight that greeted her as she opened them was a jarring reminder of the truth of the situation they were in.


    Den, a stocky and experienced hunter who was a member of her team, had be incapacitated and fallen to his knees.


    As he looked down at the sword sticking out of his abdomen, his eyes grew wide with shock, and his chest heaved violently. Den copsed to the ground as a Frantian soldier yanked the weapon away from him while smiling savagely.


    As Vanessa watched the life leave Den''s face, time seemed to slow down for her. The man''s once-animated eyes had be ssy and blind to everything around them.


    She gritted her teeth to fight off the wave of grief washing over her, her heart heavy from the burden of their losses. However, there was no time formenting the loss. Not yet.


    Vanessa was thrust back into the lethal rhythm of their duel when her opponent lunged forward, bringing her face-to-face with her current situation, a deadly fight.


    However, the images of Den''s death continued to burn in her mind, which fueled her determination and gave her strength in the face of her relentless adversaries.


    A voice could be heard cutting through the din of metal on metal and the cries of fallenrades as it made its way through the mayhem. "Vanessa, you must flee!"


    It was Abel, and the normally calm expression on his normally stony face was a mask of urgency and fear as he struggled against two Frantian soldiers, his muscles straining with every parry and counterattack.


    "I can''t leave you behind!" Vanessa yelled in response as she deflected a powerful thrust from her opponent.


    "You have to!" Abel retorted while deftly defending himself from an especially ferocious assault, and he did so with a grimace of pain etched on his face. "We can''t hold them off. You need to warn the others!"


    The argument raged between them, each word carrying the desperation of their situation.


    Even though the thought of abandoning Abel and the others caused Vanessa''s chest to tighten, she understood that he was in the right. They couldn''t live through this, and their only chance of survival was to alert the rest of the vige.


    The woman twisted her body and delivered a powerful kick to her adversary''s knee as she took a slow, steady breath before the attack. He fell backward, which provided the opportunity she needed to take advantage of the situation.


    Abel disengaged himself from the conflict and, with a loud war cry, charged toward the person who was attacking Vanessa in a single fluid motion. The bright spark of steel on steel illuminated the gloomy scene as Abel''s spear and his opponent''s came into contact with one another.


    Abel gave Vanessa onest desperate look. "Run, Vanessa," he rasped, his eyes filled with a solemn resignation that twisted the woman''s heart.


    Then he pushed the Frantian soldier, who could not reach the woman due to Abel''s massive frame blocking out the rest of the scene in the process. The woman turned her back on the ensuing battle, and each step she took felt like the tolling of her personal death knell.


    As she raced towards the vige, her lungs burned with each rapid breath as she tried to keep up with her pursuers. The sounds ofbat gradually receded into the background. The thought of herrades'' deaths weighed heavily on her heart.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ***


    As Erik, Samuel, and Amos leaned over the intricately sketched map that wasid out in front of them. This was not a mere charting ofnds and borders but the representation of their vige''s potential future home: the ancient city nestled deep within the cavernous maw of the cave from which Erik came out.


    The young man ran his fingers over the expansiveyout as he scanned his eyes back and forth between the buildings that were sketched in such minute detail.


    These were not the humble wooden houses that the vigers were used to; instead, they were enormous stone and concrete structures built in a mannerparable to that of the contemporary buildings inside New Alexandria.


    The underground skyscrapers acted as pirs supporting the cave ceiling, hinting at a once-thriving civilization.


    "The city is designed like a natural fortress," Erik exined, his voice echoing in the tense silence of the room. "These colossal structures not only provide shelter but also function as load-bearing pirs, maintaining the integrity of the cave," he said while pointing at them on the map he found in the ancient city.


    The speaker pointed out the dots that indicated the presence of Aitrium ore. The unusual mineral had a peculiar property: it gave off a soft, ethereal glow, illuminating the cavern in a light that seemed toe from another world. It was possible that it would transform thendscape of their underground existence into one that was always in the dark.


    He then moved his hand and pointed at the scattered dots marking the presence of Aitrium ore. The unique mineral had a peculiar property - it emitted a glow, bathing the cave in an otherworldly light. It had the potential to turn their subterranean existence into andscape of perpetual twilight.


    "We won''t have to worry about light," Erik continued, his gaze fixed on the glowing representation of the Aitrium ore. "The Aitrium embedded in the cave walls will provide constant illumination. It''s not sunlight, but it will be enough for you."


    Erik''s exnation hung in the air as Samuel and Amos absorbed his words. It was a terrifying prospect to think that they would have to relocate theirmunity into the dark and treacherous cavern. It was a step into the unknown, a world that was highly different from the one they were ustomed to, full of sun and vegetation.


    However, the danger posed by the Frantian soldiers was always hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles. They couldn''t stay there, and they couldn''t share their secret with Frant. They had to move.


    The silence was broken by the entrance of a breathless messenger who carried information that would shake the stale air of the hall with a new wave of urgency.


    The messenger rushed into the hall with a flurry of frantic energy, but he skidded to a stop in front of the three people, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. "Urgent News! Urgent News!" he yelled, his wide eyes gleaming with the solemn urgency of the message he was trying to convey.


    Amos, Samuel, and Erik exchanged quick, concerned nces before Amos rose to his feet, his stoic facade barely masking the worry etched into his face. If the man came here so rmed, something big must have happened. "What''s the matter?!" he demanded, his stern gaze fixed on the trembling messenger.


    The messenger sucked in a shaky breath, bracing himself against the weight of the News he carried. "It''s Vanessa''s group," he stammered, his voiceced with trepidation. "They''ve been attacked!"


    The words hung in the air like a palpable shroud of dread, their weight heavy and their meaning ominous and threatening. As everyone began toprehend the seriousness of the situation, there was a brief moment of silence.


    The vige''s most formidable group, led by Vanessa and consisting of her hunting party, had been attacked. This was not merely a threat but an overt act of aggression and a deration of war against Liberty Watch Vige.