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Chapter 81— The Inferno's Judgment

The battlefield was eerily silent. The air was thick with the scent of blood, burned flesh, and the distant echoes of dying groans.

For a moment—just a moment—there was peace.

Some hunters, battered and wounded, collapsed onto the blood-soaked ground, their bodies too exhausted to move. Others scavenged the battlefield, their hands shaking as they pried beast crystals from the corpses. A few whispered among themselves, their voices trembling, clinging to the false hope that maybe—just maybe—it was over.

Then, the ground trembled.

At first, it was subtle. A small vibration pulsing beneath their feet, like a distant heartbeat.

Kaden barely noticed it at first. His hands were still bloody, his breathing ragged. His body screamed at him to rest.

Then—the sound came.

Hooves.

Distant at first. But growing.