The massive creature pawed the ground, shaking its massive head and tusks.
It then charged.
Crags exploded. Soil tore open, as it lay waste to the rest of the combatants, who were scrambling and screaming to get away from the beast.
As Shuaqagec trampled and gored, Idan leaped away from the fray and landed on a rock formation where he placed both hands on a boulder half-buried in the ground.
The rock groaned as he lifted it with shocking ease.
He hurled the massive stone high into the churning atmosphere.
It spun through the air, blowing through the corvette’s weakened stealth barrier.
Metal shrieked as the boulder pierced the field and lodged into an exposed engine intake.
Seconds later, an almighty explosion tore through the sky in a violent blossom of fire and shrapnel.
Metal buckled, panels ripped free, and flames engulfed the craft as super-heated wreckage rained down in burning fragments that scorched through the cloud and atmosphere.
The last remaining soldiers fled in wild panic, stumbling across the open ground.
The broken shell of the corvette spun downward, consumed by the fueled inferno.
Debris rained down even as Idan raised a hand.
His spectral shield extended above and around him, Shuaqagec and his animals, causing the pieces of scorching iron to disintegrate.
The screeching carcass of the vessel struck the ocean with a thunderous crash.
Water exploded upward in a column of white steam, pouring over the surface as the stricken ship boiled and sank beneath the waves.
When the sea eventually settled, the wreck had completely disappeared into the depths.
Silence returned to the cliffs.
Idan rolled his shoulders with the quiet satisfaction of a man who had finally resolved a tedious inconvenience.
He strode to the harrumphing beast and reached a hand out to stroke its snout.
Sante, I appreciate your help.
The bull nuzzled its nose into his hand.
Pity you go into basilisk musth in a few weeks, and your aggression will be savage. Fact, you won’t even recognize me until you calm down. Still, I won’t miss you because you always smell like a thousand male goats in a pen during mating season.
Shuaqagec gave a snort of faux indignation, whisked its tail, tossed its huge tusks and antlers, and sauntered off with a self-satisfied trot.
Idan’s lips quirked.See you soon, my friend.
He glanced toward his flock and whistled, the sound carrying over the veld.
The sheep lifted their heads and ambled after the prowling man as he led them away.
The world resumed its rhythm.
Idan adjusted his cloak and continued along the cliff path.
His staff tapped against the earth, guiding his herd farther into the wilderness as though the chaos had been nothing more than a passing gust of insignificance.
