Chapter 71: Executing the Plan

Kaden hit the base of the slope at full speed, his bare feet finding purchase on the rocky incline where his ruined shoes would have slipped. The demon blood in his legs pulsed with each explosive step, leaving small craters in the stone as he practically flew upward. Behind him, the corrupted horse's metal-on-stone screech told him exactly how close death was riding.

"Don't trip. Don't trip. If you trip now, your epitaph will read 'Here lies Kaden, who died doing what he loved: making incredibly poor life choices.'"

He reached the top of the slope in a shower of displaced rocks, his enhanced legs trembling from the effort. For one breathless moment, he stood at the peak, looking down at the steep descent before him. The beast horde followed, climbing the incline with single-minded determination. The humanoid rider's horse somehow managed to gallop up the near-vertical surface, its hooves leaving glowing red marks in the stone.