In the dense jungle

The mice were weaving through the lush jungle.

"Food, can we find some food?" A mouse held a dagger, patrolling the jungle while twitching its nose non-stop.

At first glance, it seemed to be warily sniffing for any enemy traces, but its mumblings revealed its true thoughts.

"Foolish thing, move aside! Be careful, or the Night Watcher will cleave your head off!"

The leader of the Ratmen squad turned around and slammed an elbow into that mouse's forehead, scolding it.

The struck mouse squeaked in pain twice.

"I'm starving, I'm almost dying of hunger! Even if the Night Watcher comes, I'll eat him!" That obviously starving patrol mouse retorted defiantly.

"Idiot, keep up!"

The leading mouse evidently didn't want to waste more words on this guy. It was simply wishful thinking to eat others.

It was clearly a newly released mouse from the nest, completely unaware of the Night Watcher's prowess, simply assuming from those casually instilled ideas that the Night Watcher was an easy target.

Only those who had truly exchanged hits with the Night Watcher and were lucky enough to survive could genuinely feel the terror of the Night Watcher, much like itself.

The leading mouse thought silently while remaining vigilant, continuing to weave through the jungle.

"Let's move, we need to leave quickly. Going further out would be too dangerous; there might be a Night Watcher ambush out there." Another mouse couldn't help but advise.

This mouse had survived two battles with the Night Watcher, though at a significant cost, with a piece missing from its ear and battle scars on its face.

"Shut up, coward!"

The leading Evil Rat turned around and cursed fiercely.

If the suggestion had been proposed just now, it might have considered listening and calling it a day. After all, patrolling till here would count as task completion.

But this guy had been mumbling the same thing since they left the fortress, driving the mouse insane.

It was either ignorant arrogance like this or cowardice.

When will we mice rise up?

Evil Rat above, please guide us on a path free from the torment of hunger.

The leading mouse silently prayed.

However, it indeed slowed its pace, feeling it was about time to head back.

Given the tense situation, with patrol frequencies of the Night Watchers increasing around here and their camp slowly advancing forward.

It had also heard that a colleague recently encountered the Night Watcher's forces in the wild, resulting in the entire squad being wiped out, with not a single mouse returning.

Upon pondering all this, it too couldn't help but feel the urge to retreat.

"Well… then let's head back, we've explored enough, time to report back."

It mumbled quietly, issuing a retreat order.

At this moment, a rustling noise, like a bird flying by, came from the treetops above.

"A bird?! That's food!"

The ravenous mouse immediately sensed the commotion, raising its head excitedly.

It indeed saw something.

However, it was a giant bird clad in heavy armor, rapidly gliding down from above.

"Kill it, then we can feast!"

The mouse shouted excitedly, but as it lowered its gaze, it saw its companions frantically running in all directions.

"Run! The Night Watcher is here! Run!"

The mice fled in panic, scattering everywhere.

Before the stationary mouse could react, the Land Bird landed beside it.

Before it could comprehend the situation, a cold gleam flashed, and a sharp blade swung at it.

It had no way to defend itself; its head flew off instantly, landing with a thud.

Until its death, this mouse remained woefully ignorant of the outside world, its life ending while still yearning for food.

Zahanu leaped down from the Land Bird, gripping the blade in his hand, and charged toward the cluster of mice without hesitation.

The mice were quite experienced in fleeing; despite the chaos, they scattered in different directions, avoiding a trampling chaos.

Every mouse instinctively chose a different route, down to who would be unlucky enough to get caught.

Zahanu charged, swinging his blade, slicing a mouse in two with a single strike.

Next, he kicked, sending a nearby, wide-eyed, terrified mouse flying.

The mouse traced an arc in the air, landing heavily on a stake, clearly lifeless.

However, more mice continued to frantically flee.

Zahanu made a powerful jump, smashing through some branches, tracing an arc in the air, landing abruptly on the escaping mice's path.

The moment he landed, he stomped two mice to death; steadying himself with one hand, he kicked another mouse trying to sneak away from the side.

That mouse spun away like a rolling top, far into the distance.

As Zahanu rose, he swung his blade, slicing two more mice in half.

The nearby mice gradually sensed something was amiss.

These mice had faced a Night Watcher and survived; they were well aware of the horrific slaughter a real Night Watcher could unleash in battle.

But the havoc this Night Watcher wrought was vastly different from the Night Watchers in their memories.

Though Zahanu moved swiftly, dispatching several mice in a flash, the pace wasn't fast enough.

Their numbers were large, and if the Night Watcher was always this slow in killing, they wouldn't be in such dire straits.

Thus, some clever mice noticed this Night Watcher's "weakness."

This was a rare opportunity.

The mice's fear vanished instantly, replaced by greed.

This was the true nature of the Sharp-eared Rat People.

"We vastly outnumber him, let's attack together! The Evil Rat is watching us!"

"Eat his flesh, and maybe we can become powerful big rats too!"

"Maybe even become a general!"

"Then we'll have endless food!"

Spurred by these inciting words, the previously chaotic mice became instantaneously emboldened.

Only some utterly terrified mice ignored these words, continuing to frantically flee.

Masses of mice surged toward Zahanu.

Zahanu remained unmoved, pulling out a potion, clamping it between his teeth, ready to drink at any moment.

"Drink!"

Zahanu shouted, releasing a surge of magic power with the yell, making the surrounding mice clutch their ears in pain, heads down, grimacing and yelping.

He wouldn't miss such an opportunity, charging at the mice horde with his blade, unleashing a powerful Sacrificial Slash.

Under the flickering blade light, several sturdy-looking mice fell to the ground.

Among them, a mouse believed to be the leader managed to block the blow with dual daggers, but the impact sent it flying backwards.

It was the only mouse successfully defending against the attack.

Taking advantage of the gap, several mice jumped on Zahanu's back, stabbing at him fiercely with sharp daggers.

Blood instantly flowed from the wounds.

Zahanu gritted his teeth against the pain, flipping to throw the mice off his back. He stomped on one, still holding another, hurling it forcefully into the mice swarm. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Immediately after, he reversed his fist, smashing another lunging mouse away.

In no time, blades swung, blood splattered everywhere.