Chapter 68: Ambush

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Ambush

"There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand him that sword or spear and send him along to war, the beast stirs." — George R.R. Martin

The border ridge did not look like a frontier.

It looked like a jagged scar tearing across the spine of the continent.

For three days, Riven and Lyra had climbed steadily upward, leaving the sun baked badlands behind and entering the freezing, thin air of the northern crags.

The landscape had changed completely.

The dry earth and endless sandstone had been replaced by towering cliffs, narrow trails, and enormous drops that disappeared into the clouds below.

Riven barely noticed the cold.

His boots found purchase on loose shale with practiced precision, each step deliberate and controlled. The slope beneath him was steep enough that one mistake could send a person tumbling thousands of feet.

He did not slow down.

Nyx sat comfortably on his left shoulder.

The small wyvern’s midnight black scales seemed to absorb what little sunlight reached the mountain trail. Her luminous violet eyes constantly moved across the cliffs above them, watching every movement and reacting to every change in the wind.

Her wings twitched whenever a stronger gust swept through the pass.

Riven glanced at her.

Nyx gave a quiet trill.

"See something?"

The wyvern tilted her head.

Then she looked forward again.

Riven continued walking.

Behind him, Lyra followed closely.

Despite her high born elven upbringing, she had not complained once during the climb.

That alone had surprised him.

Her clothing had clearly been made for comfort and elegance rather than three days of climbing through frozen mountain terrain. Her silver blonde hair whipped around her face whenever the wind picked up, and her violet eyes remained focused on the path ahead.

She was exhausted.

Riven could tell.

But she continued.

That was something he respected.

Most people who grew up surrounded by luxury had no idea how to endure discomfort.

Lyra apparently did.

The trail narrowed as they climbed higher.

Eventually, it became little more than a stone shelf pressed between a towering cliff wall and a drop that disappeared into the clouds.

Riven slowed.

His senses sharpened.

The wind had changed.

Too suddenly.

He stopped.

One gloved hand rose.

Lyra immediately froze behind him.

Nyx’s head snapped upward.

The little wyvern released a sharp hiss.

Riven stared at the rocks above.

There.

Movement.

Three distinct mana signatures.

Not animals.

People.

Armed.

Riven’s core stirred.

"Ambush."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

The next second, three figures dropped from the ledge above.

They landed across the trail, blocking the path forward.

Riven immediately recognized their equipment.

Heavy chainmail.

Enchanted short spears.

Reinforced boots.

Their armor carried the branded insignia of a northern slave broker syndicate.

These were not desperate bandits.

They were professionals.

The man in front stepped forward.

A jagged scar stretched across the side of his mouth.

His eyes moved toward Lyra.

Then toward Riven.

A cruel smile appeared.

"Well, well."

He lifted his spear.

"The runaway elven bird."

His gaze settled on Riven’s mask.

"And look at that. She picked up a stray dog."

The other two men laughed.

The leader pointed his spear toward Riven.

"Cut the boy down. Take the girl."

Riven did not respond.

He did not threaten them.

He did not ask why they were after Lyra.

He already knew.

They wanted her alive.

His core began to pulse.

Mana flowed through his body.

The dormant hum inside his Core reservoir rapidly intensified until it became a violent, controlled surge.

Riven stepped forward.

"Stay back."

Lyra did not argue.

She moved toward the cliff wall.

Riven’s right hand moved behind him.

His fingers wrapped around Garreth’s sword.

The Hilt activated the moment he touched it.

The weapon slid free without making a sound.

Not even a whisper of steel leaving the scabbard.

The blade caught the pale mountain light for only an instant before the enchantment swallowed the reflection.

The leader lunged.

His spear shot forward with frightening speed.

Riven watched the tip approach.

He did not move.

Not yet.

At the final instant, his body shifted.

Shadow mana wrapped around his form.

Phantom Step.

For a fraction of a second, a dense afterimage remained exactly where Riven had been standing.

The spear pierced straight through it.

The illusion shattered.

The spear continued forward and slammed into the stone wall behind him.

The leader’s eyes widened.

Riven was already gone.

He appeared beside the man’s shoulder.

Inside his guard.

Inside his blind spot.

The sword moved.

One clean motion.

Garreth’s blade passed through the man’s armor as though the metal were little more than cloth.

The man froze.

His mouth opened.

No words came out.

A faint trail of violet black shadow mana spread from the wound and wrapped around his core.

Riven stepped away.

The man collapsed.

The entire exchange had lasted only seconds.

"What the..."

The second enforcer turned toward him.

He never finished speaking.

Nyx launched herself from Riven’s shoulder.

The small wyvern shot through the air like a living shadow.

Her wings snapped open.

She struck the enforcer directly in the face.

Her razor sharp wing tips scraped across his visor, and a burst of dark gas exploded around his head.

The man screamed.

He stumbled backward, clawing at his helmet.

"I can’t see!"

He swung his spear wildly.

Nyx twisted away from the attack and circled above him.

The enforcer backed up another step.

His heel caught against a loose stone.

He fell.

Riven ignored him.

The third enforcer had already begun casting.

Lightning crawled across his arms.

Mana gathered around his chest.

The spell was stronger than anything an ordinary adventurer should have been able to ignore.

Riven saw the structure forming.

He recognized the spell pattern.

More importantly, he saw the point where the mana was being anchored.

His left hand rose.

Disturb Magic.

A compressed pulse of shadow mana struck the spell node.

The entire formation collapsed.

The lightning vanished.

The enforcer gasped.

His hands flew toward his chest.

"What did you..."

Riven was already moving.

He crossed the distance before the man could recover.

The enforcer raised his spear.

Riven’s sword dissolved.

For an instant, Garreth’s blade became nothing more than a thin stream of black smoke.

His swords enchantment allowed him to dispel and recall his sword, Riven used this to bypass the man trying to bock the impact going past his sword.

The enforcer’s eyes widened.

Riven stepped past him.

The sword reappeared in his hand.

The blade drove straight through the man’s chest.

Silence returned to the mountain.

Riven pulled the sword free.

The third enforcer collapsed.

Behind him, the second man was still struggling to see.

Nyx landed on a nearby rock and shook herself proudly.

Riven looked toward him.

The man reached blindly for his spear.

Riven walked forward.

The man heard his footsteps.

He stopped.

"Wait."

Riven raised his sword.

"No."

One strike ended it.

Thirteen seconds.

That was all it took.

Three bandits lay motionless across the narrow trail.

The wind moved through the pass.

It carried away the smell of blood and ozone, scattering it across the mountains.

Riven stood still for several seconds.

His core gradually slowed.

The violent rotation of mana returned to its normal rhythm.

There was no excitement in his chest.

No adrenaline.

No satisfaction.

Only calculation.

Three bodies.

More would come.

Riven wiped the blade against the cloak of the nearest corpse before sliding it back into the scabbard.

The Hilt swallowed the sound.

Nyx fluttered down from the rocks.

She landed neatly on his shoulder and gave her wings a satisfied shake.

Riven turned toward Lyra.

"Keep moving."

Lyra POV

Lyra could not move.

Her back was pressed against the cold stone wall.

Her breath came out in short clouds.

She stared at the three bodies lying across the trail.

Then she looked at Riven.

He was already walking toward her.

His expression had not changed.

There was no pride in his posture.

No excitement.

He looked as though he had simply finished another unpleasant task.

Lyra swallowed.

She had seen him fight before.

She had watched him destroy the bandits who attacked her wagon.

But this was different.

Those men had been ordinary criminals.

These three were trained.

They had enchanted weapons.

They had armor designed for the northern mountains.

One of them had possessed enough magical ability to cast a mid tier spells.

Riven had dismantled all three.

Effortlessly.

She watched him approach.

The broad shoulders.

The dark cloak.

The black half mask.

The sword resting against his back.

Nyx curled around his left shoulder as though nothing had happened.

He looked less like an adventurer than something the mountains themselves had created.

Something designed to hunt.

Something designed to survive.

Lyra finally pushed herself away from the wall.

Riven looked at her.

"Are you coming?"

She blinked.

"Yes."

Her legs finally moved.

She hurried after him.

Riven continued along the trail without looking back.

Lyra watched him for several seconds.

’He’s just a boy.’

That thought refused to leave her mind.

He was only thirteen.

She knew that.

She had spoken to him.

She had watched him eat.

She had seen him sleep beside a dying fire with Nyx curled against him.

She knew there was still a boy underneath the mask.

But after what she had just witnessed, it was difficult to believe.

Her heart was still pounding.

Not because she feared the dead men.

Because she was beginning to understand just how dangerous the person walking beside her truly was.

’By the gods.’

Lyra quickened her pace.

’He’s an absolute monster.’