207 - The Hunt Along the River

By the third morning in Kharad, Elder Maresh had assembled the settlement's river captains, hunters, and senior guards to discuss the Cavern Brood Matriarch. The previous encounter had confirmed that the colony occupied several passages beyond the western cavern, and the creatures could potentially reach the hunting grounds through routes the Kharan had never considered dangerous. Simply strengthening the settlement's walls would not solve that problem.

Subin stood beside a large map laid across the council table while Ara marked the locations where the expedition had encountered the insects. Three passages connected the nesting cavern to the wider underground river system. Two appeared to lead deeper west, while the third ran southeast toward a series of narrow waterways used by Kharad's hunters.

"If the colony spreads through these passages, your patrols could encounter it almost anywhere along the river," Ara explained. "We haven't confirmed that the insects are using the southeastern route, but leaving it unguarded would be a risk."

Maresh turned to his captains. "Double the river watches and suspend hunting in the lower channels. No one enters the western caverns without an escort until we understand the colony's territory."

One of the captains, a muscular Kharan named Varek, objected that closing the hunting grounds would reduce the settlement's food supply. Maresh acknowledged the problem but refused to gamble with his people's lives. Subin offered a practical alternative: his expedition would help establish a safe hunting route along the eastern bank while the Kharan prepared a larger operation against the colony.

The proposal gave the settlement breathing room without forcing it to abandon its work. Maresh assigned Varek and three experienced hunters to accompany Subin's team, and they departed before noon.

Yerin walked beside Subin as they left Kharad, her spear resting against her shoulder. "You could have offered to kill the Matriarch immediately. The settlement would probably have accepted."

"And if killing it scattered the colony into five separate groups?"

"Then we'd deal with five groups."

"That sounds considerably less convenient."

She laughed. "You have a talent for making the obvious solution sound like a bad idea."

"The obvious solution isn't always wrong. I just want to know what happens afterward."

Their route followed the eastern bank, where the river passed through a series of low caverns before widening into a natural basin. The Kharan hunters showed them several safe crossings and pointed out places where smaller monsters gathered to drink. The expedition marked these locations on Ara's map, creating an alternate route that could remain open even if the western caverns became inaccessible.

For several hours, the journey proceeded quietly. Then Varek found fresh insect tracks in the mud beside a narrow tributary.

"They weren't coming this far east last week," he said. "Something has changed."

The tracks led toward an abandoned hunting station built on a shelf above the water. Its outer wall had been broken, and several storage containers lay scattered across the floor. There were no bodies, but a bloodied spear had been left near the entrance.

Varek recognized it immediately.

"One of our patrols passed through here yesterday."

The group searched the station and found a wounded hunter hiding in a storage alcove. His name was Saren, and he had suffered a deep cut to his side while escaping from a group of insects that had emerged from a previously dry passage. Yerin treated the wound while Rafael checked the surrounding area.

Once Saren could speak, he explained that the patrol had encountered several smaller insect creatures near the tributary. They had retreated toward the station, expecting to find the route behind them clear, only to discover more creatures blocking the way. Saren had escaped through a narrow opening while the others drew the insects away.

"Did you see the Matriarch?" Subin asked.

"No. But the insects were moving in the same direction, as if they were following a route they already knew. They didn't scatter when we attacked them. They kept trying to reach the river."

That detail changed Subin's assessment. The colony was not simply expanding at random. Its movements appeared connected to the waterways, and the tributary might provide access to another nesting area.

He asked Saren to mark the passage where the insects had appeared. The hunter identified a fissure beneath the station, partially concealed by fallen stone. Ara checked it from a safe distance and confirmed that the opening continued underground, though she could not determine how far it extended.

Subin decided to investigate only as far as the next junction. They would not pursue the insects into an unknown tunnel, but they needed to establish whether the passage connected to the Matriarch's territory.

Jae-hyun and Liu Wei secured the entrance while Subin, Yerin, Rafael, Ara, and Varek descended into the fissure. The tunnel narrowed before opening into a small chamber, where several insect creatures were feeding on the remains of a large subterranean animal. They turned toward the newcomers, but Subin cut off their approach before the fight could spread into the confined passage.

The skirmish ended quickly. Rather than searching the surrounding tunnels for more enemies, the team inspected the chamber and found that the insects had been using a natural crack to move between the tributary and a lower watercourse. The route was narrow enough to defend, but it could not safely accommodate the entire colony.

Ara placed a marker beside the opening. "This connects to the same underground system as the western cavern. If we can block this crack without flooding the passage, we can prevent the insects from reaching the hunting station."

Varek examined the stone. "The Kharan can build a barrier here, but we would need to reinforce the surrounding rock. Otherwise, the water could find another way through."

"We'll leave that to your engineers," Subin said. "Our job is to find out whether there are other connections nearby."

They continued only as far as the next junction, where the tunnel split around a pillar of dark stone. One branch descended toward the river, while the other sloped upward into a dry chamber. The floor of the dry passage was covered with old tracks, but none were fresh enough to indicate recent movement.

Subin chose the lower route. It brought them to a ledge overlooking the underground river, where a series of natural stone arches crossed the water. Beyond the arches, the cavern opened toward the west, and the air carried a faint clicking sound that reminded them of the Matriarch's colony.

They had reached the edge of its territory without encountering another large group.

From the ledge, Ara identified several paths running between the arches. One led back toward Kharad's hunting grounds, another continued west, and a third disappeared beneath a shelf of rock. The colony had more than one route to the river, but the geography also gave the Kharan an opportunity to defend the most important crossings.

Subin studied the arches for a moment before turning to Varek. "You don't need to clear every tunnel. If your guards hold these crossings and your workers close the fissure near the station, the colony will have fewer ways to reach the settlement."

"And the Matriarch?" Varek asked.

"We still need to deal with it, but not before your people can secure the river."

Varek considered the answer, then nodded. It was not the decisive victory he had hoped for, but it gave the Kharan a plan they could carry out with their own forces rather than depending entirely on a foreign S-rank Awakener.

The team returned to Kharad with Saren and a detailed map of the newly confirmed passages. Maresh immediately ordered repairs to the hunting station and assigned workers to reinforce the eastern crossings. The wounded hunter would recover, and the patrol members who had drawn the insects away were found alive at a nearby shelter later that evening.

Their return improved morale throughout the settlement. The Kharan now understood that the colony's reach was limited by the terrain, and that carefully chosen defenses could protect the main routes even before the Matriarch was defeated.

That night, Subin met Yerin on the raised walkway overlooking the river. Lamps shone along the opposite bank, where workers were already reinforcing a stone crossing. The sound of hammers carried through the cavern, accompanied by the steady rush of water beneath the settlement.

"You've spent the last two days helping people build walls and mark paths," Yerin said. "Doesn't it bother you that the Matriarch is still alive?"

"Not particularly."

"You fought a level 268 A+ monster, injured it, and then walked away."

"Because the fight didn't accomplish everything we needed. If I defeat it tomorrow but leave the settlement vulnerable, what have I actually solved?"

Yerin leaned against the railing. "And when do you decide that preparation is enough?"

"When we can fight it without gambling the lives of people who had nothing to do with our expedition."

She considered that, then nodded. "I can accept that answer."

For a while, they watched the workers below. Yerin eventually rested her head against his shoulder, and Subin let the silence continue without trying to turn the moment into a conversation about their next mission. The journey through the Great Passage had brought them into contact with unfamiliar civilizations, but it was moments like this that reminded him why he preferred solving problems alongside people rather than treating every challenge as another opportunity to gain strength.

The following morning, Maresh approved a joint operation. The Kharan would secure the river crossings and evacuate the most exposed hunting stations, while Subin's team returned to the western cavern to confront the Matriarch. The objective was no longer to destroy the entire colony. They would force the Matriarch away from the passages leading toward Kharad, then assess whether the remaining insects could be contained by local defenses.

Before the expedition departed, Varek handed Subin a small token carved from pale river stone. It bore the mark of Kharad's river watch.

"It won't make your sword stronger," Varek said, "but it will tell our patrols that you are traveling with our permission. Some of the western hunters may not recognize your faces."

Subin accepted it with a nod. "That's useful enough."

The expedition left Kharad with a clear route, local support, and a defined objective. They would not waste time clearing every tunnel or chasing every retreating insect. They would confront the Matriarch where its control over the colony mattered most, protect the settlement's access to the river, and finish the operation before the swarm could establish itself along another route.

For the first time since discovering the colony, Subin was no longer reacting to its movements. He had a plan, and the Kharan had a way to defend themselves after his team left.

The next battle would determine whether that plan was enough.