Chapter 764: Aimless Descent?

The rest of the pack met the same fate in short order, the team’s coordinated efforts and power overwhelming the beasts.

Within moments, the pack lay dead across the mountain peak.

Moon nodded in approval at his team.

They’d reacted fast, instinctively, without panic. Priya hadn’t frozen when targeted, she’d defended herself and created an opening. The others had moved to protect their teammate without being told.

Overall, they were quick-witted, cautious, and most importantly coordinated.

These were traits that Moon valued in fighters, markers of hunters who’d survived enough dangerous situations to have sharp instincts.

At their level of strength, these were the things that were expected of them.

"Good work, everyone."

The three new members straightened slightly at the praise, and Moon could see a bit of their initial reservation easing already.

Working alongside him was doing more to build trust than any order ever could.

"This terrain favors things that climb," Moon continued, scanning the ridges again. "That pack won’t be the only predators up here, and the mountain itself is a hazard, watch your footing near the ledges. Stay in formation, keep your spacing tight on the narrow stretches. Let’s find out what else this gate is hiding."

The team fell in behind him, more at ease than they’d been at the entrance.

Before beginning the descent into the treacherous range, Moon summoned Mirage and Honeybun. The white steed and golden turtle materialized beside him in a shimmer, their eyes already scanning the mountainous terrain.

Theo wasn’t surprised by the sudden appearance of beasts. He’d seen Moon’s beast control during the Rivergate gate, watched him command creatures no one else could. What did catch his attention, though, was something else.

Mirage radiated the clear aura of a Five-Star beast. But the golden turtle... gave off nothing at all. As far as Theo’s senses could tell, the little turtle seemed utterly ordinary, barely registering as a threat to anything.

Is it naturally that good at containing its aura? Theo’s brow furrowed slightly. Beasts don’t usually bother hiding their presence. They let it flow freely, they don’t have the discipline or the reason to suppress it. For one to conceal itself this completely, deliberately or by nature... that’s unusual.

He studied the unassuming golden turtle for a moment longer, a flicker of curiosity brewing in his brain. Then he pushed the observation to the back of his mind, deciding not to read too deeply into it. Moon kept his secrets, and prying into them was neither Theo’s place nor worth the risk. If the turtle was more than it appeared, that was Moon’s business.

He wasn’t going to complain about having a powerful ally by his side in this place.

The other three team members reacted with more open surprise. Garrett’s eyebrows rose at the sight of a leader casually summoning companion beasts in the middle of a gate, and so did the others too. But none of them said anything, choosing to keep their thoughts to themselves, the Surpasser’s warning about following Moon’s lead without question still fresh in their minds.

Moon caught every one of their reactions.

Whether it was the surprise, curiosity, or silence. But he’d long since grown accustomed to these looks, the shocked and confused gazes that followed him whenever he displayed another skill that didn’t fit what anyone expected.

He didn’t bother addressing them. Explanations only invited more questions, and his companions’ true natures were things he had no interest in revealing.

Instead, he simply gestured for the team to move.

"Theo, you can take point and scout ahead," He glanced at the descending ridgeline below. "Let’s move."

The team began their descent, Moon’s beasts falling into position around them, and whatever questions the three newcomers held about the leader they’d been assigned to follow, they kept them locked behind their teeth, watching and learning as they ventured deeper into the mountain gate.

On their descent, Moon and his team encountered several more packs of Mountain Stalkers.

The predators came in waves, pouring over ridges and down slopes, but after the first encounter they posed little real threat.

The team’s coordination had grown with each fight, and the Stalkers died quicker.

The team pressed on, descending steadily down the treacherous mountainside.

An hour after arrival, though, they still hadn’t figured out what they were actually supposed to do.

They’d descended more than a kilometer, and the gate had offered no clues to clear it.

There was no obvious landmarks, or gate boss.

"Are Mountain Stalkers the only thing up here?" Priya asked, frustration creeping into her voice. "And what exactly are we meant to be clearing? This place is so vague. There’s no structure or direction besides going down. I’ve never been in a gate like this before. We are just... killing the same pack over and over."

It was wearing on the team. The lack of any real objective was sapping the momentum that a visible objective usually provided.

Worse, the mountain itself fought them every step of the way. The terrain was brutal, steep slopes slick with loose scree, narrow ledges that forced single-file movement, and deep ravines that demanded careful routing around.

Their descent crawled along at a frustrating pace, every stretch of ground requiring caution lest a misstep send someone tumbling down the mountainside.

Moon shared a portion of the frustration, though he didn’t let it show. He understood that as the leader he needed to be calm and collected. Otherwise, his team would be affected by his own condition.

Internally, he’d been turning the same questions over in his own mind.

He paused on a narrow ledge, scanning the range below and the peaks above, his mind working.

"Well, the Stalkers aren’t random since they keep coming in packs, from the same direction... below us. That means there’s a population center somewhere down there. And a gate this focused on one species usually means that the beast, or whatever rules it, is the objective. We just haven’t gone deep enough to find it yet."

"The descent’s been slow because we’re fighting the mountain as much as the beasts. So let’s change our approach. Leave one of the mountain stalkers alive from the next pack. I want it to lead us back to their source instead of waiting for them to find us. Whatever this gate wants us to clear, it’s at the end of that trail."

His team immediately exchanged glances, curious about how Moon was going to make the mountain stalker lead them back to its den. The beasts were known for their ferocity and loyalty to their people; they would never betray the cause.

Moon looked at the group. "Having said that, do watch out for anything out of the norm. A stronger beast, a different species, a structure, any change at all. In a gate this uniform, the thing that’s different is the thing that matters."

The team nodded, their frustration easing slightly now that there was a plan, and a direction to go with rather than an aimless descent.

Within just a few minutes, the next pack of Mountain stalkers announced their presence, and Moon immediately reminded his team to keep one alive.

[You have killed level 59 B-Rank Mountain Stalker]

[You have gained 1,550 Lives]

[You have killed...]

[You have gained...]

Notifications flashed in their vision. Just as planned, they killed all but one mountain stalker and simply waited for Moon to somehow get it to lead them to their den.