Dawn came too early. Like it always did. Like it would continue to do for the rest of Hunter's probably short life.
The Shadow Legion assembled in the pre-dawn gray. Fifteen people plus Hunter made sixteen total. Supplies packed. Weapons ready. Three days of travel ahead through forest that actively wanted them dead and would probably try multiple creative methods of achieving that goal.
Han had organized them into a marching formation with the efficiency of someone who'd done this a thousand times and refused to accept anything less than military perfection. Experienced members on the outside. New cultivators in the middle. Children protected in the center because apparently they had children now, and children needed protecting even if those children were technically bandits with defined organizational roles and surprisingly detailed risk assessment frameworks.
