The wolfman fell to all fours as arrows flew past him, one nicking his cheek and the others sinking into the soil. The beast dug into the ground, slamming all of his strength into the floor to propel him away.

The horses struggled to keep up with the wolf speed as the riders let off an array of razor-sharp arrows. The man scampered from side to side, looping in and out of each trajectory. This slowed him down and the arrows started hitting their mark now the archers were closer.

The wolfman tried leaping over the ditch but his paw was knocked as an arrow pierced into its tough skin. Its momentum sent it tumbling down the ditch and the riders caught up. Their sights fell upon the injured beasts but as they pulled the strings of their bows back blood spewed from the closest horse.

In a flash the beast had pounced onto the lizard and wrenched the scales from its muscular neck, slashing the jugular veins. It then snarled as it scampered back around the ditch, sprinting for the other edge of the island.

He was much slower though with a wounded leg and couldn’t create enough distance as the others reach his sides.

The blood-covered beast howled, parrying a steel blade and dancing between an array of arrows. It ducked under another ranger’s sword swing, slashing the knees of the lizard it rode. The rider was thrown off but before the beast could kill an arrow ploughed into the beasts’ muscular thighs and threw him to the floor.

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An arrow ploughed into the soil, nicking the wolf ear of the man. It leapt to his feet as a sword sliced through the air and almost knocked off his head as his legs buckled. It sliced a chunk of flesh from his shoulder instead as the beast manipulate did with his paw.

He tried barking but only a whimper came out as blood poured from the wound.

“You mutt! Killing a lone human, some beast saint you are!” A rider shouted, slamming his sword through the air. “Just die-ghrg!”

His sword fell to the floor with a thud as his insides were almost ripped out, his flesh torn asunder.

The other rangers hesitated in shock as their friend closed in on death. The shock threw their aim off, giving the beast an opportunity to create distance.

The rangers shook off their shock and knocked more arrows to their bows. Each and every shot missed as the beast scampered off into the distance. One ranger spat in disgust as he hopped back onto his lizard.

“Stop! He’ll kill you if you’re alone and my land-dragon is fucked!” another yelled, the dying soldier in his hands.

“Then come with me!”

“I’m not leaving Hilsan behind! I order you to stop! We came here to save our fallen from the corpse eater, we weren’t supposed to fight those beasts on a truce day!”

The hot-headed ranger smashed his fist into the tough scales of his land-dragon and threw his head back.

“Fine!” he yelled, releasing his pent-up frustration before jumping to the ground. “Wait…”

The other rangers tending to their injured ally looked up. “What?” two said in unison, the other muttering to herself as her hands glowed a pale green above the bloody wound.

“Why is our ‘leader’ over there still?!”

He glared past the ditch where Sagil stood. With him was a tall lean man leaning on his land dragon with his green cloak draped over his shoulders.