Harvesting Strength

Thalia planted her boots into the churning mud, her knuckles white around the iron spike embedded in the beast’s shoulder. The three-foot rodent snarled, snapping its yellow teeth as thick muscles bunched beneath bristle-covered skin. It felt like trying to pin down a charging battering ram.

"Watch your sides!" Dante roared from the left.

Two heavy blades cleaved down in tandem. Bria took the fl