The four elite guards had only just begun their advance when they skidded to a halt. They were frozen by James's cold, steady aura—an predatory intensity that seemed out of place for a sub-adult. They hesitated, the dirt kicking up under their paws as they weighed the risk of a single step forward.
Under their watch, the Hyena Queen beneath James's weight let out a final, rattling breath. James simply opened his jaws and let her limp body thump into the dirt, dismissing her like trash.
The sight snapped the guards into a frenzy. The Queen was dead. In their brutal hierarchy, this was a vacuum—whoever killed this cat that murdered their leader would surely ascend to her throne.
But as they debated their move, James moved first. His eyes locked onto the nearest guard, and he exploded forward in a blur.
The guards shrieked in terror as the distance closed. Their resolve shattered instantly, and they scrambled backward. The guard James had targeted tried to spin around and bolt, her claws digging frantically into the soil.
BAM!
James's heavy paw slammed into the side of her skull. His curved claws hooked deep into her face. With one violent, wrenching pull, he tore the hide away. The skin and muscle of her cheek were stripped in an instant, leaving the gleaming white bone of her jaw exposed to the air.
The guard collapsed, her body folding into the dirt. James didn't give her a second to bleed out. He dropped his head, driving his sabers into her throat with the same mechanical efficiency as a knife through soft fruit. Arterial blood sprayed across the snow, and her head slumped at an unnatural angle.
Another effortless slaughter.
The remaining three guards were paralyzed by the scene. They had watched James dismantle their strongest fighters without breaking a sweat.
"ROAR—"
James bellowed a low, vibrating challenge. He coiled his hind legs and launched himself again, catching a third guard who was already half-turned to flee. His forelimbs, corded with perfect muscle, pinned her to the ground with ease. He lowered his head and buried his sabers into her spine.
The guard's head snapped back, her body arching in a final, agonizing howl as the steel-hard teeth severed her nerves.
Another companion was dead.
The promise of the throne couldn't compete with the absolute certainty of death. The last two guards lost all pretense of loyalty. They turned and fled, shrieking in pure panic. They pinned their hopes on their legs—they believed a heavy, sub-adult Smilodon could never match their legendary endurance. They had seen his Dad and Mom tire out earlier.
But James wasn't like his parents.
With his 60 Agility and leaner, 135kg frame, James hit over 60km/h in seconds. He was a biological engine of speed.
The chase lasted less than five heartbeats.
James slammed a massive paw into the haunch of the fleeing hyena. The sheer impact buckled her rear legs, sending her tumbling head-over-heels across the plains.
"A-OOO! A-OOO!!"
She scrambled up, her face matted with dust and blood. She yelled hysterically, her lips pulled back so far her gums were fully exposed—the final expression of a cornered coward. James didn't flinch. He lashed out with a lightning strike to her head.
BAM!
The sound of the impact was final. Her screams cut off. Her body went rigid for a split second before slumping into the dirt. There were no visible wounds, but the internal shock had killed her instantly.
Four down. I missed the penta-kill... the last one's too far.
James tossed the body aside and watched the lone survivor vanish into the horizon.
Across the field, the rest of the pack saw their Queen and her elites slaughtered like cattle. Their coordination vanished. They broke like a wave hitting a cliff, scattering in every direction with their tails between their legs.
Mom, Dad, Zack, and Zoe seized the opening. They roared and gave chase, pinning the stragglers and crushing their throats in the red-stained snow.
It was a total rout. Without a leader, the clan was just meat.
"ROAR~~"
Mom trotted over to James immediately, grunting a question to check his condition. James rubbed his cheek against hers in response, signaling he was unhurt. Zack and Zoe had taken some hits, but unlike James's previous injury, these were just superficial scrapes. They would recover in a few days.
The sun was sinking low. Once the last of the scavengers had vanished, the family gathered around the mangled remains of the Macrauchenia to finally enjoy their hard-earned feast.
As he ate, James pulled up the system to tally the day's haul.
* Hunting the Macrauchenia yielded 25 Gene Points.
* Hunting the four elite hyenas brought in a staggering 140 points.
This was his biggest payday yet. It felt like he had discovered a gold mine. In the past, hunting massive herbivores required massive effort just for one kill. Trying to accumulate points through those numbers was too difficult.
But these medium-sized carnivores? They were much simpler targets that paid out in bulk.
That clan still has at least 12 or 13 members... if I can wipe them all out, the points will be incredible.
James looked back at the field of hyena corpses, his mind racing with the possibilities. He wasn't reckless enough to charge their main camp alone and face a dozen-to-one ambush, but he knew he could dismantle them one by one.
He made his decision. He was going to have those points.
Before moving forward, he converted his stockpile of Gene Points and distributed them evenly across his attributes.