Li Wei stood in the command tent.

  "We are near Yanshan, but we should wait before riding further," he said, his eyes on the worn map he had taken from Master Chen. He had studied the maps and the books on Rakshasas, learning all he could before the battle. His voice was steady and calm, despite the weight of his words. "Rakshasas are like panthers. They see better in the dark than we do. Attacking at night would give them the advantage. No, we attack at first light."

  Mei Lin shifted where she stood, arms crossed tightly across her chest. "The village may not survive the night, young master." Her voice was tense. She was from Yanshan. She had family there. She had more to lose than any of them.

  "I know," Li Wei replied, his tone softer. "It is likely the Rakshasas will attack the village tonight. They may try to scale the walls or break through. But we do not know their numbers. We do not know their positions. If we ride in blind, we may walk into an ambush. We must wait and pray the walls hold. We begin our hunt at dawn."

  Thalassa rested her arms on the pommel of her sword and gave a curt nod. "The Rakshasas will be tired in the morning. We attack then. It will be the best time. They will be confused and unprepared."

  "Drakon," Li Wei said, turning to the towering mercenary. "I need you to lead the charge here." He pointed to a narrow bend on the map where the path curved sharply between two ridges. "Hit them hard. Cause chaos. Do as much damage as you can. Then fall back. Let them chase you. Pretend to retreat. Lead them into this valley."

  Drakon grunted in acknowledgment. His eyes moved over the map, expression unreadable. He needed no further explanation. This was not his first ambush.

  Li Wei looked up. "Thalassa and I will be waiting there with archers and cavalry. We strike from both sides."

  "It is a good chokepoint," Thalassa said, tracing the ridgelines with her finger. "Perfect for a killing field. Even better if it rains."

  "There is a trail here," Mei Lin added, stepping forward and tapping the parchment near the valley. "It is not on your maps, but I have used it. It could be useful if the Rakshasas try to flank us."

  Li Wei gave her a grateful nod. "Then we use it. Position scouts and a rear guard along it."

  They set to work as the sky darkened. Tents came down. Fires were extinguished. Troops were divided and briefed. Archers took positions. Pitfalls were dug. Horses were fed and watered. Armor was checked twice. Blades were sharpened in silence. Every soldier moved with grim determination.

  When the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, they moved.

  The initial strike was sudden, overwhelming.

  Drakon rode at the head of the vanguard like a storm given flesh, his short sword already wet with blood by the time the Rakshasas knew they were under attack. The beasts had gathered outside the gates of Yanshan, preparing ladders, dragging logs for a ram. They had been too focused on the village to notice the steel tide descending upon them.

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  Li Wei watched from the ridge as the first wave struck. Drakon was a force of nature, cutting through twisted, misshapen bodies with brutal efficiency. His soldiers followed close behind, shields locked, blades stabbing. Blood sprayed into the air, dark and steaming.

  It was Li Wei's first time seeing a Rakshasa in the flesh. The man-eating monsters he had only read about were more grotesque than the drawings. They were horrors, something between man and beast.

  The Rakshasas howled, wild and frenzied, but disorganized. The surprise scattered them like fire across dry grass.

  Then, as planned, Drakon sounded the horn.

  His forces broke off and began to fall back. The Rakshasas gave chase, roaring and shrieking, some on all fours, others bounding like wolves on two legs. Their eyes burned red with hunger. They took the bait.

  Li Wei sat atop his horse above the valley, Thalassa beside him, watching the enemy pour down the narrow trail below. Hundreds of them. More than he had expected. Even with three hundred men, he was outnumbered three-to-one.

  "Ready," Thalassa called to her archers. The bows were already drawn, arrows nocked and aimed.

  "Hold," Li Wei said.

  The Rakshasas entered the valley, snarling, bounding forward, bloodlust in their screams.

  "Now."

  Arrows rained from the cliffs, sharp and merciless. The first volley struck hard, dropping a dozen beasts before they even looked up. The second volley tore through them as panic set in.

  Then Li Wei gave the signal.

  He and Thalassa led the charge down the slope, cavalry crashing into the disoriented horde from behind. Screams filled the narrow pass. Steel met flesh. Bones cracked. Rakshasa blood sprayed the rocks.

  It was not like human blood. Rakshasa blood was darker, thicker, fouler. It clung to the skin like tar.

  Li Wei spotted one ahead of him. A massive brute with jagged teeth and gray mottled skin. Its eyes locked on him and it lunged.

  He ducked beneath its claws and struck low, slicing its thigh. The beast stumbled. Li Wei pivoted and brought his blade upward, driving it into the creature’s ribs. It howled, mouth frothing, and slammed into him, sending him tumbling from his horse.

  He hit the ground hard.

  The Rakshasa loomed over him, slavering mouth open, claws raised.

  Li Wei rolled aside just in time. The claws struck dirt. He slashed across its arm with his dagger, then gripped his sword with both hands and drove it deep into the creature’s belly. The Rakshasa screamed, twisted, and fell.

  Li Wei scrambled to his feet, chest heaving. Blood streaked his face and arms, but none of it was his.

  His first kill.

  He looked down at the creature's body. It was still twitching, jaw snapping weakly. He drove his boot into its skull and silenced it for good.

  Stat Progression Activated: Strength +1

  Stat Progression Activated: Agility +1

  Around him, the battle raged. Thalassa was a blur of motion, carving through limbs and throats. Drakon’s group had circled back, crushing the enemy from behind. Archers above loosed volley after volley until their quivers were empty.

  It was not a clean battle. It was not noble or elegant.

  It was slaughter.

  By the time the sun stood overhead, the valley was red with Rakshasa corpses. The air stank of blood, bile, and smoke.

  Li Wei stood amid the wreckage, his sword dark with drying blood.

  Then he saw it.

  A Rakshasa taller than any he had faced. At least nine feet tall. Broad as a wagon. Muscles bulging beneath coarse fur. Its face was more beast than man, mouth twisted in a permanent snarl. In one hand, it held a massive club. Draped across its shoulders was a cloak, stitched not from leather, but from human skin.

  There was no doubt.

  It was the warmaster of the clan.

  Li Wei raised his sword and prepared to face the monster.