Isa drew up to a cliff. Before them, the earth fell away, trees dropping far below them. Levi and Colin walked up alongside her, following her gaze. From this point, they had a clear view out into the hills below, where a quaint village nestled in the folds of the valley.

  “It’s so small,” Levi murmured, frowning slightly.

  “Size isn’t everything,” Isa replied gravely.

  “Damn straight. Preach it, sister.”

  She shot him a look. “Don’t underestimate the village. Each one of those villagers is as dangerous as the entire first town combined.”

  “Got it.”

  Colin glanced at Levi and Isa. “Are we sure the other two won’t also skip and come here? If we’re fighting someone super tough and one of them show up, we’ll be in a bad place.”

  “It’s possible. If it happens, we can always cut and run. But I don’t think they’ll run straight here. Vox and Kai both seemed like the type to duel to the death, even if I left. They’re probably both injured. I’d be absolutely shocked if they stayed injured for more than a day or two, with the kind of healing that’s available in this world, but for one day, they’re probably out of the game,” Levi argued.

  “Not dead?” Isa asked.

  “Nah. I don’t think either of them succeeded. Vox is… honestly, I’d be far more scared of him if he had an army or underlings. His skills don’t seem particularly suited to one-on-one duels. Right? I mean, imagine if he had a bunch of powerful soldiers who stabbed you the second he paralyzed you. That’d be overpowered as hell. As-is, he kind of struggles to land the finishing blow after statusing or paralyzing you. Kai is weaker, but he’s a dueler for sure. All about that single-target burst DPS. Putting those two together in a fight? I think they both fail to kill one another, and retreat to fight another day.”

  Isa glanced at Levi. “What about the slombie?”

  Levi grimaced and shook his head. “I had it wander around the first village. It keeps Kai or Vox from following it to me, but downside, I lose my most powerful fighter against Vox.”

  “It’s still alive?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Well, Kai followed it once, so if he found it, he wouldn’t kill it. And I did have it hide during the fight’s end, so Vox might just think it left with me, since he doesn’t know it moves slowly.” He shrugged. “It’s too bad I can’t see out its eyes, or something, but I’ve deferred my next skill to get something very important already. I can’t ask for that now.”

  “What did you ask for?” Isa asked.

  “The ability to level up my zombies.”

  She nodded. “That is more important.”

  “But I did learn from this. Seeing through my zombies’ eyes is next in line. Information is valuable, and I’ve effectively lost the slombie until I figure out where Kai and Vox are—or stop caring if they find me—which is incredibly annoying since it’s so OP against Vox.” Levi sighed deeply. He gazed down at the city for another beat, then turned, heading into the forest.

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  “Where are you going?” Colin asked.

  “To go stake out the village. C’mon.” Levi gestured.

  Colin hesitated. “Should I go?”

  “I’m going, my sweet. I’ll keep you safe,” Isa pledged.

  Levi nodded at her. “You heard the vampire. Besides, if we get in a fight, it’d suck if you weren’t there.”

  Colin hesitated again, but nodded in the end. “Understood.”

  “Everyone good?” Levi scanned the group, then took off again. Colin and Isa followed him.

  The three of them quickly abandoned the paths, melding into the bushes instead. Vines grappled their ankles, and branches dragged at their bodies, but they pressed on, as silently as they could manage. Levi and Isa kept alert, their heads on a swivel. Colin followed at the back, trying not to walk too loudly. Abruptly, Isa held up her hand. Levi and Colin both slowed to a halt.

  A group of three cannibals rounded the corner. These cannibals were much more muscular than the first town’s cannibals. Not a one of them stood less than seven feet tall, bulging with hundreds of pounds of muscle. Their heads bore heavy horns, so huge that even their thick, meaty necks seemed insufficient to hold them aloft. It wasn’t possible to tell male from female. All of them had melded into one hefty build, identical between men and women.

  Isa and Levi exchanged a glance. Levi shook his head. Isa nodded. They held still and silent, waiting for the cannibals to pass them by.

  One of the cannibals lifted his head. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. He turned toward the bush Levi and the others hid in.

  Levi reached for his hilt. He leaned forward, pressing his fingertips into the loam. On his back, the Armalgam also readied its weapons.

  Another cannibal turned. He grunted derisively and slapped the first cannibal on the head. The first cannibal looked at him, massive brow ridge furrowed. The second cannibal grunted again and nodded ahead. The first cannibal huffed and shook his head. With a last look at the bush, he walked on after the group.

  Beside Levi, Isa relaxed her shoulders. She let out a sigh of relief as soon as they were out of hearing range. Leaning toward him, she whispered, “If those three attacked us, we would have had to flee. We couldn’t have beaten them.”

  “Three of the first village at once? Yeah, no kidding,” Levi replied. He peered after the cannibals. “Is this a good place to hide? If they hunt in threes, we might be better off looking somewhere else.”

  Isa waved her hand. “Not much can challenge the cannibals of this village. They don’t need to hunt in threes, unless they’re hunting each other…or if a troublesome vampire starts chewing down their ranks. They usually hunt alone.”

  “So we should be ready for them to start grouping up, but right now, we should be able to hunt them solo. Got it,” Levi whispered back.

  Isa nodded. “More or less, yes.”

  He nudged her. “Even you couldn’t take on three at once?”

  She scoffed. “Alone, I could. If I abandoned you and Colin to death or dismemberment, I likely could take on three cannibals as well. But if you want to stay safe, and keep your precious healer safe, then we cannot face three at once.”

  “Understood,” Levi said.

  “Don’t abandon me to dismemberment. I like my limbs,” Colin piped up.

  “Well said, well said.”

  Hunkering in the bushes, they laid in wait. Ten minutes passed. Twenty. Half an hour.

  “Are you sure this is—”

  Isa slapped a hand over Levi’s mouth. She pointed.

  For a long time, there was nothing. Silence. And then a figure emerged from the trees. A terrifyingly muscular cannibal, even beefier than the first three, walked down the path, carrying a giant axe over his shoulder.

  Levi glanced at Isa. He raised a brow.

  She nodded.

  He turned back to the path, eyeing the cannibal. The man was huge. Just a mountain of flesh. But if Isa thought he could handle it, he’d trust her.

  The cannibal passed by. Levi took a deep breath, then dashed out behind him, thrusting his sword toward the man’s kidneys.

  The man turned. His eyes locked with Levi’s. Humor flashed in his eyes. He’d known Levi was there the whole time, and he’d been waiting for him to jump out. He lifted his axe and swept it toward Levi. A wall of metal hurtled toward him.

  Levi’s eyes widened. He tensed. Well, fuck.