SSS Rank Dragon Tamer: Unleashed
Chapter 95: Thunder of Hooves

Chapter 95: Thunder of Hooves

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Keep him alive. Keep him strong. And when the moment came—when Star’s next stage demanded even more. Zephyr would be ready.

Even if it meant chasing prey across the whole of Emberwood forest, dragging home every beast foolish enough to breathe within hunting range.

Because this time, the hunt wasn’t a drill. This time, they were feeding a dragon.

Behind him, the faint sound of a bell made him grimace.

"Muse..." he whispered.

He turned just enough to peek back through the trees.

The cow, aka queen of unintended chaos, bane of stealth ops—was nibbling bark again, despite his earlier lectures. Her thick horns were hidden behind a brush curtain, and the cart sat quietly beside her, tucked in shadow. But she was unmistakably ignoring orders.

Still, she hadn’t wandered. And the bell hadn’t rung loud enough to carry. Small mercies.

Zephyr sighed and turned back to the trap. He crouched beside the snare path one last time, dragging his palm across the ash streaked soil, erasing any trace of boot print or disturbance. The bait smear glistened on the log beside him, pungent and ripe, already drawing a few curious insects.

He stepped back into the shade, found his cover behind a split tree trunk hawthorn, and let the silence settle again.

The wind held. The trap stood ready. Everything slid into place.

A distant grunt tore through the morning hush like a snapped bowstring. The forest stilled in response. Charfruit leaves rustled lightly, but nothing moved unnaturally. Zephyr pressed his back against the scorched trunk. He held breath, his muscles coiled, hand on the hilt of his hatchet. Every instinct screamed focus.

A system notifications came in front of zephyr eyes:

[Ding! System notifications- Ember Tusk Boar. Rank:E approaching.]

Ash drifted from above like ghost snow, which cling to his shoulders, catching in his lashes. Then a sudden movement.

Through that faint, smoky curtain, a shape lumbered into view. Massive. Powerful. The Ember Tusk Boar emerged like a walking furnace. Its hide was the color of burnt mahogany, lined with crusted streaks of dried sap and singed soot. Its bristled fur glowed faintly, lit from within, as if embers smoldered just beneath its skin.

And its tusks were like... Jagged arcs of obsidian black, curved like sickles, still glowing faintly red at the tips from rooting in magma fed soil. A hiss rose with every breath it took, as heat rolled off its body in vaporous waves. Sparks danced from its hooves as it stepped over rocks, leaving faint scorch marks in the dirt.

Its ember bright eyes scanned the forest sharply, restless, and hungry.

Zephyr remained motionless, even as sweat crawled down the back of his neck.

[🐗 Beast Profile: Ember-Tusk Boar

Rank: E to B

Type: Fire-Aligned Beast

Habitat: Emberwood forest volcanic corridors and other sulfur-rich glades places.

Traits:

-Body temperature regulated by internal ember sacs

-Tusks infused with trace magma minerals; regenerate slowly

-Highly territorial and aggressive during feeding hours

-Diet: ash-root fungi, ember leaves, molten bark

-Known to charge perceived threats at full force once agitated.

Core Type: Lesser Fire Core (Grade E To Grade B)

Estimated Weight: ~320kg to 900kg

Threat Level: Moderate (Solo capable only with traps and sand rank beasts.) ]

The boar snorted once, then dipped its head and sniffed a glob of charfruit paste smeared along a mossy log. It Sizzles. Drool hissed as it dripped onto its glowing tusks. It grunted again, this time lower than before. The boar was satisfied and followed the trail.

Closer.

Closer.

One more step...

Snap!

The tension line jerked as the boar’s bulk triggered the trap. The spider-silk net whipped downward with vicious precision. Cords tightened, cinching around limbs like strangling vines. The boar shrieked, voice like a furnace letting off steam. At that moment, Zephyr’s buried snare jars burst open—two controlled explosions of pale-white smoke engulfed the beast’s head.

The boar reared, flailing, tusks swinging blindly. The net barely held it.

"Now!" Zephyr bellowed, bursting from cover, dagger flashing.

Fenna exploded from the opposite side, bowstring already taut. Her arrow loosed with a sharp thrum. An arrowhead striking deep into the creature’s thick shoulder. Blood hissed as it spilled from the wound, glowing like molten iron.

Zephyr ducked low and dove into the smoke, slamming his dagger directly into the rear hamstring—just above the hock. A gout of blood and sparks burst from the wound. The boar screamed again, then stumbled.

"Leg joints!" Fenna called, loading another arrow.

Zephyr pivoted on his heel, readying for a killing blow to the throat. But the beast twisted, its tusks sweeping in a wild arc.

Pain lanced through Zephyr’s left hip as one tusk caught him—burning-hot ivory slicing through his tunic like wet paper. He flew back, hit the ground hard, breath knocked out, rolling through a bed of ash that cushioned the impact. It saved him from a broken spine, but not from agony.

The net strained and groaned as the boar heaved again.

Fenna fired her second arrow, this one tipped in bean-sap paralytic. It struck behind the skull. It was a perfect placement. The boar faltered, its limbs trembling. Then—’

Thud! Thud!

A furious moo blasted across the corridor as Muse, startled by the boar’s screams, charged down the path with the cart bouncing behind her.

"Muse! Stop!" Zephyr shouted, staggering to his knees.

But she was already on her path of glory.

The cart slammed over tree roots. Muse lowered her horns and rammed into the boar’s flank like a siege ram. The net snapped. The boar howled, tusks flailing as it toppled sideways with a pained grunt. But one tusk caught Muse across the cheek, leaving a glowing slash that began to bubble with steam.

Muse reared back, mooing bloody murder threats.

Aurora shrieked overhead. She dove down, and spat a tiny arc of flame directly at the boar’s snout. The flames didn’t hurt it—but they distracted it. In its haze of smoke and pain and noise, the beast’s movements slowed.