The creature buckled at the ankles as the sticky mud refused to give up its hold on the antlered legs. Egosum’s nose dissipated all of the force he built up into the forward-facing joint, sending the muscles and tendons tearing to shreds as it bent in the wrong direction.

The monstrous deer screamed a deep guttural bugle and looked for the cause of the damage and immense pain. The toad had fallen to the ground and disappeared into the ashen cloud. His eyes drew power from his developing Qi core and allowed him sight through the opaque surroundings.

The visage of a strangely normal deer appeared in his vision, overlaid by a filter of gray that the lingering magic left, obscuring him from sight.

He pressed the unseen advantage and maneuvered to the side of the beast with the uninjured leg. It thrashed around in the trap Egosum prepared in the spur of the moment. The constricting muck cemented its grip on the limbs with the help of the keratinous growths it sprouted as it prepared to fight.

The muck holding the creature in place slowly retreated back to where Egosum had originally inside the land. The front legs, farthest from that point, were yanked with as much force as the injured creature could manage. Its left leg found freedom at the same time the toad chose his next course of action.

Egosum picked his target and launched himself at the side of the beast's other back leg. The blow sent the joint to the side destroying the socket that connected the upper and lower parts with relative ease.

The beast shouted again in pain as it struggled to find a source for its frustration to pour out onto.

Cinera backed away from the deer and disappeared into the underbrush to let her friend finish the monster off.

It thrashed harder and harder to free itself before one of its back legs suddenly tore the top section from the damaged lower part. Hot blood splattered into the mud as it threw all of its weight into tearing the other side off as well. Egosum felt the liquid drip onto him with interest and then confusion.

‘Willing to lose a limb to have a chance at winning. That is pretty admirable. Wait, this shit is hot. Really hot!’

His musings ended as the beast succeeded in freeing itself. Its front muscles were visible through its skin as it used its one useful leg to leverage the other one out of the drying confines of the forest floor. Cascades of visible effort and strain poured through the beast as it fought for its life.

The deer fell forward and landed face-first into the dirt with large breaths blowing sand and leaves away from it. The red color slowly leaked from its skin and onto the floor as the blood dripping from the open wounds evaporated into smoke upon hitting the ground.

Egosum could see wisps of mana escaping from each droplet.

‘Interesting.’

The creature appeared like a deflated version of itself as it dragged its body forward, out of the smoke, intent of fighting until the very end. The strength hidden in the monster's body had fully disappeared by the time he caught sight of him again. All that was left was visible anger and desperation.

It was painfully obvious that the deer was on its last legs as he hopped into its line of sight. The bloodshot eyes were barely visible as it pulled itself forward, intent on continuing.

Some movement to the side caught Egosum's vision. Thunkar was standing just out of the creature's sight with a short white object clutched in his hand.

“Are you going to finish it or should I?” The question sounded innocent for how gruesome the subject was. The toad merely nodded his head in the boy's direction.

He answered by walking up behind the still-moving deer and slamming the white object deep into its neck.

The creature lurched forward before wobbling and falling down.

“I will be honest here. That was the first time I had seen a fight like that. I really feel like you need some kind of piercing attack of something to cause some bleeding beyond just blunt trauma and self-induced damage. It would help speed up hunts for you. That's why I carry this around. The good old stabber.”

The boy spun the object between his fingers before wiping it off on the animal's fur and sliding it into the shorts the entire tribe seemed to favor.

“That hunt was recommended for four people? It felt like if you know how it fights, two could easily handle it without being as strong as I am or as magically inclined as Cinera is.”

The two other amphibians came out of the hiding spots and met up with the other pair.

“Well, while it is alive and still has that red stuff in it, its skin is really tough and it just keeps getting angrier. Usually, it just pierces any armor or traps hunters set for them leaving a really pissed-off spikedeer roaming the woods. That is a recipe for disaster. Best to leave them alone or dead. No in-between.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Thunkar paused to think before looking back at the toad.

“Not sure if you were lucky but that was the smoothest deer hunt I have ever seen regardless of the beginning. Sure, I have only seen one, but hey, it still counts in my book.

Thunkar took a belt from his side and tied the creature's front legs together before lifting it up on a low branch.

“Just gotta prepare it and we can be on our way.”

“What are you doing? Let's get this to the village.” Egosum hopped over to the boy as he succeeded in hanging it.

“Bad idea. Something can track the smell of blood back to the village. Plus, it tastes better if you bleed them quickly. All that anger really spoils meat faster than you would expect.” Thick blood poured from the deer’s head and legs as Thunkar found a place to sit.

“If the smell of blood leads them to the village, won’t it also attract them here?” Egosum watched the body hanging as it swung slightly.

The boy shrugged his shoulder before turning his head to the side.

“Yeah, it will. If something too big comes, we can just leave it here and get out while it eats. Only the really scary stuff will eat spikedeer anyway so we should be fine.”

“Only fools speak it into existence. Let's follow his lead. He has been doing this for a while now by the sound of it and who better to listen to than someone who has lived to learn the lessons.” Cinera chimed in as she walked over to get a closer look at the beast.

Before Egosum could argue again, Coyotl placed one of his hands on his back, jarring him from the combative mood he found himself in.

“Fine, I will listen. How long do we need to wait?”

“An hour or two. Should be dusk by the time we get back. People will be hungry by then.”

The group loitered around with Thunkar barraging the pair that fought with any question he could think of with the excuse of passing the time. No large monstrous devils came running at them for an easy meal, leaving them with nothing but a bit of tension in the amphibians and a carefree kid.

Egosum finally ended the conversation and suggested they return. The beastman grabbed the deer from its place and slung it across his shoulders. Despite the size difference, he handled the burden with ease, and they quickly found their way back with his guidance.

They broke through the treeline into the village. The response that welcomed them was beyond anything the amphibians were expecting. The women around the town perked up and looked in their direction with hope in their eyes.

Thunkar waved a few of them over and asked for help dressing the meat.

They looked between the deer and the small group behind the boy, unsure if they should listen to him.

“Go ahead. I didn’t hunt this for myself anyway. Disperse it amongst yourselves as you see fit. Just let Morgal know that I was the one who brought it back.

The woman's face lit up with more life than he had seen from any of them before beyond when they first welcomed them to the village with spears at the ready.

She thanked the group profusely before calling several of the other onlookers over to help clean and disembowel the creature.

Within minutes of them converging on it, the body was cut into portions and handed out between the children and then to the adults.

A strange feeling welled up inside Egosum as he watched the kids fill out slightly from the meat they were given. Instead of the emaciated skeletons, he saw when he arrived, healthy visages of what they could be started to shine through for him to see.

The small feast lasted a few hours until they had to return back to work. The children who didn’t return to their parents moved over to the group that provided the meal and offered their thanks with as much sincerity as he had ever seen.

The childish smiles sparked Egosum’s still heart with each happy kid brightening his mood even further.

Thunkar walked up to them after they finished the impromptu meet and greet with meat in tow.

“They save the organs for the hunters as is tradition. I saw you guys snacking on the random stuff in the forest, but it would be rude not to accept it. I recommend the heart. Look, they even cut it into smaller pieces to accommodate you.

“I really appreciate the offer but-” Egosum’s voice cut off as he looked at the cubed organs with wide eyes. His mana sight exposed the truth in its full glory as he watched the heart muscle pulse with an energy he had only seen in the spiritual herbs.

His mouth opened slightly before he closed it again on instinct.

“Well, it would be rude not to take it, I guess. Let them know we appreciate it. It won’t go to waste.” Thunkar sat the platter with the organs on it in front of them and turned to leave.

“I almost forgot. Granny wants to talk to you guys about something. It was the happiest I have seen her in a while so it should be pretty good.”

The boy waved back at them before heading to his tent to relax, leaving the trio of amphibians to their smaller meal.

“I think I might pass. I am not sure how appetizing I will find this once it hits my tongue.” Cinera glanced over to Egosum before blanking slightly at the look plastered to his face. Pure hunger and desire were obvious to anyone capable of reading the toad's emotions.

“Why do you look like that? You can’t seriously think that stuff is gonna be that good.” Egosum gulped before glancing back at his friend.

“More for me and Coyotl I guess.” The toad lunged to the platter and took in a small handful of the dark red meat, savoring the taste in his mouth like it was the most delectable food he ever had.

“Coyotl won’t want to eat this stuff. He is-” She cut herself off as she saw the smaller frog hop over to the platter and begin chowing down as well.

“He is a very basal but lovable creature. This is your last chance before we eat all of it. Just try one cube. You’ll love it. Trust me.” He swallowed his mouthful before offering Cinera the last bite of muscle.

The salamander cracked under the pressure and sucked up the cube with her sticky tongue. She let out a strange squeal before moving on to the other pieces of meat left.

“I told you.”