“For Shadow Cats, we will not use Agile Formation,” the sergeant Fenward said.

  “Garran, Varric, Jack, Kael, take the front.”

  “Owen, Colin, left.”

  “Edward, Walter, right.”

  “I’ll take the rear.”

  The formation began shifting before he finished speaking. Shields moved first, overlapping with practiced precision. Unlike the Agile Formation, this arrangement did not form a solid wall at the front. It was still tight, but small gaps remained between soldiers. Those gaps were its greatest weakness, a necessary compromise created by placing two additional soldiers at the rear. In Agile Formation, only a single soldier guarded the rear, leaving one wide opening that was easy to manage when the enemy was visible. Against Shadow Cats, however, beasts that were both fast and difficult to track, those wider openings became fatal, forcing the formation to redistribute its strength and accept smaller gaps instead.

  “Rely on your own awareness, but I’ll keep feeding general positions. Same simple codes as before. I’ll call the person’s name first, then Front, Right or Left to mark the cat’s position.”

  “The only other person allowed to call out positions is Edward. Edward, do so even if we both shout at the same time, but stay focused on the front line only.”

  By the time the sergeant finished his instructions, we were already in formation. Tier Twos forming a broken outer line with deliberate spacing between shields while the Tier Ones took positions inside, spears angled outward through controlled gaps. The fading light stretched our shadows long across the stone, overlapping and distorting until it became difficult to tell where one silhouette ended and another began.

  Within a few seconds, I could sense all six of them, but before I could shout, the sergeant did.

  “Varric, Garran, Kael, three front. Owen, Colin, two front. Edward, one left.” he shouted.

  I lowered my stance, tightening my guard to leave less opening. It tried to leap through the gap between Kael and me, not aiming for the front line but for the Tier Ones inside the circle. I shifted my shield into its path and thrust with my spear, only to strike empty air as it twisted away at the last moment.

  “Guard your gaps. They’re aiming for those,” the sergeant shouted.

  He kept calling out movements as the cats shifted positions, but one of them was left to me. We exchanged several blows. The Shadow Cats did not attack all at once. They tested us, one at a time, probing for hesitation. The one attacking to my position kept returning, darting in and out of reach, forcing me to react again and again. It slipped between me and Kael, then shifted toward the gap between me and Walter.

  But like other agile beasts, it shared the same weakness. Speed and flexibility came at the cost of durability. If I could land even one clean hit, I could cause significant damage, maybe even kill it.

  After a few more exchanges, Walter stepped forward slightly, tightening the line. His shield overlapped mine by a finger’s width, closing one of the gaps the cat had been exploiting. From inside the formation, Allan began assisting, thrusting whenever the beast overcommitted, forcing it to retreat each time with sharp, frustrated movements.

  Still, the cats were a nightmare.

  The fading light worked in their favor. Shadows pooled beneath our feet, and the overlapping silhouettes of the formation made it harder to judge distance. Every movement outside the circle felt like a trick of the eye.

  After fighting for more than half a day, fatigue began to settle into my arms and legs. My shield felt heavier with every block, the vibrations from near misses sending dull aches up my forearm. Even with more than five hundred mana left, my muscles were slowing, recovery taking longer after each burst of movement.

  Worse, my concentration was slipping. Against threats like these, adrenaline could only carry me so far.

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  Right then, my thoughts narrowed to two things. First, surviving the next few moments. Second, praying to whatever gods might exist to help us endure the next thirty minutes.

  As if the universe heard my wish and laughed at it, I sensed a sudden surge of mana, followed immediately by the sergeant’s shout.

  “WALTER, PROTECT ME!”

  Walter broke from our formation without hesitation.

  The Shadow Cat I had been fighting reacted instantly, sensing the opening and lunging for Walter’s exposed back. The movement was reckless, driven by opportunity rather than patience.

  That mistake gave me my chance.

  I channeled mana into my legs and spear in one smooth motion and drove a reinforced thrust into the back of its neck. The spearhead punched through flesh and bone as the beast let out a shrill, choking sound before collapsing in a heap at my feet.

  I wrenched the spear free and turned at once, keeping [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] fully active as I scanned my surroundings.

  The sergeant was crouched low, his movements unsteady. The mana surge I had sensed was gone. There was no dead beast near him. His arm and leg were shaking violently.

  I looked around, trying to understand what had happened. The sergeant’s voice had sounded more frightened than commanding, and the surge of mana I had sensed left me with an ominous feeling.

  A moment later, I caught a glimpse of a shadow sliding unnaturally across the stone, cutting through the overlapping silhouettes cast by the fort wall and the dead beasts. I followed its movement, not entirely sure what I was seeing. As it came within the range of my [Perceptive Instinct (UC)], I sensed only a very small amount of mana, similar to that of a Shadow Cat. But the skill’s secondary effect told a different story. While the mana signature was minuscule, the sense of danger it carried was far greater than that of any Tier Two Shadow Cat. That threat perception had once been part of [Guard Duty (C)] before it evolved into [Perceptive Instinct (UC)], even though I relied on that aspect far less now.

  A sense of dread seeped from the shadow.

  “BEHIND YOU, SERGEANT!” I shouted.

  Too late. The beast was already inside the formation.

  It appeared directly behind him, its jaws already closing on his neck. The sergeant reacted on instinct, trying to bring his spear around, but he was a heartbeat too slow. A large Tier Three Shadow Cat tore into his throat and leapt clear of the formation.

  Walter’s spear caught it as it fled, carving a long gash along its spine, but the damage was already done.

  I stood frozen in place. Never, even in my wildest dreams, had I thought the sergeant would die here on the field. After all, he was the only noble among us. If there was anyone I was certain would survive in this squad, it was him.

  “EDWARD!”

  Walter’s voice snapped me back to reality. I readied myself for his next direction. After all, he had experience leading squads.

  But his next words caught me off guard.

  “You’re in charge. You direct the squad. My danger sense can’t pick that beast up until it leaves the shadows. Only you can sense it. I’ll guard you. The squad is your responsibility now.”

  I wasn’t ready for that.

  Still, I stepped into the sergeant’s place.

  “Compact the formation. Two in front. Jack and Kael, replace Edward and me,” Walter ordered.

  Then he turned back to me.

  “EDWARD! We don’t have time for this. I need your full attention,” Walter said.

  I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus on the feed from my skills. Of the initial six Tier Two Shadow Cats, two were already dead. One had been killed by me. Of the pair that had attacked Owen and Colin, one was also down.

  But after losing the sergeant, the squad was struggling against the remaining Tier Twos. I could sense injuries on Jack, Garran, and Varric, their mana fluctuating unevenly as pain and fatigue set in. Worse, I could no longer sense the Tier Three at all. It was as if it had simply vanished.

  I started calling positions, forcing my voice to stay steady.

  “Jack, left.”

  “Owen, front.”

  “Garran and Varric, two on the right.”

  Slowly, we fell back into rhythm.

  Slowly, almost painfully, we fell back into rhythm, shields adjusting and spears striking with renewed coordination. As I adjusted, I began providing more precise positions whenever I could, narrowing angles and tightening responses.

  “Garran, two steps ahead, right. Jack, full spear length front.”

  The calls helped, but they came at a cost. My attention was stretched thin, pulled between sensing, judging distance, and anticipating the cats’ next feint.

  I almost missed it. But after my encounters with Tier Threes, I had learned one thing. They could somehow tell who was giving orders. Given time, they would always strike at that person first. During the expedition, the Venelion had gone for the sergeant. The Shadow Cat had done the same today.

  I was proven right.

  A faint fluctuation brushed the edge of my perception. Missing it by even a second nearly killed me. A familiar mana signature surged a spear’s length behind me.

  I reacted instantly.

  I spun and struck, but the Shadow Cat leapt away before my blow could land. Walter moved at the same time, attacking as soon as he saw my movement.

  The beast shifted direction and lunged for Walter instead. Its speed was only slightly greater than that of a Tier Two, fast but not overwhelming. I closed the distance quickly, forcing it to turn again. After several exchanges, Walter managed to drive his spear into the beast’s shoulder.

  That was when it slipped.

  The Shadow Cat dove into the shadow of a fallen corpse, its presence vanishing from my senses entirely.

  I turned –

  And my stomach dropped.

  Jack and two of the new recruits lay on the platform, unmoving. Beside them was the body of a Tier Two Shadow Cat.