The forest was alive with tension.
Jayden's boots sank slightly into the damp earth as he stepped into a wide clearing, the air thick with the musky stench of reptiles and the metallic tang of blood. The trees here were ancient, their gnarled roots twisting from the ground like the fingers of buried giants. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy in fractured beams, casting shifting patterns of gold and shadow across the battlefield.
Jayden ventured forward, looking for any beast in the area. But he didn't have to wait long.
A low, rumbling hiss slithered through the undergrowth. Then another. And another.
Five massive shapes emerged from the murk... E-Rank Tremor Gators, each the size of a small car, their armored hides glistening like wet slate. Their yellow eyes, slit-pupiled and predatory, locked onto Jayden with cold, calculating hunger. Saliva dripped from their serrated jaws, their thick, muscular tails twitching in anticipation.
