Chapter 6 · Tamer of the Ash Wilds - Chapter 6: Three Minutes to Bleed

The horn sounded and Lin stopped thinking.

Crunch shot forward, low and fast, and the thing across the pit moved to meet it. Bone plates, layered thick across its shoulders and spine, caught the arena lights like stacked shields. Armadillo stock, maybe. Or something worse. The crowd noise pressed down from three sides, but Lin kept his eyes on the seam where the plates overlapped at the neck.

Crunch hit first. Claws scraped across bone and skidded off. The impact jolted the grey furball back two steps, and the opponent swung its head, catching Crunch across the ribs with a plated ridge.

Crunch yelped.

Lin's hand twitched. He couldn't do anything. Couldn't take the hit for it. Couldn't step into the sand. The rules were clean: tamer stays behind the line, beast fights alone, and if you cross, you forfeit and lose the purse. He'd read them twice before signing.

The bone-plated thing circled. Crunch backed up, limping on the left foreleg. Not broken, Lin thought. Just bruised. The leg still bore weight. But the opponent saw it too and pressed.

Lin scanned the plates again. Keratin composite, dense enough to stop Crunch's claws but not fused. That meant gaps.