It took them about five hours of travel to get to the location where they would camp while preparing for the hunt. The actual area where they would attempt to trap the Night River was about one hour out, but if it was too disturbed, it would be easy for the monster to realize something was wrong. Hera understood that if someone had to walk all the way back to the village, it would take just a bit under three hours, but since they were all carrying materials and boxes, their travel time was severely increased. When they arrived at their campsite, Multrak tasked Hera to create some houses using her stone shape spell. The Empress also grabbed Berylla, who was the person responsible for building things in the Vanguard, to help her. As much as she knew how to make some makeshift shelters, she wasn't an architect by any means. Because of that, larger projects required the help of someone who understood what support beams and other structural features would do. The rock was about 10 meters tall, 30 meters wide, and who knows how many meters deep since it was lodged on the side of a hill. This area was an extremely thick part of the jungle where no one could take two steps without touching some of the roots or bushes that covered the ground. Because of that, only small monsters lived in this area, and those were either herbivores or cowardly creatures that would run away at the slightest notion of a predator.

While that was going on, Multrak split the rest of the Vanguard into groups to prepare for the hunt. The hunters were responsible for tracking the Boulder of Vine and ensuring no other dangerous monsters were getting close. Yet, they had to leave some creatures alive. If the Night River arrived and all the beasts were gone, it would realize something was wrong. Another group was in charge of gathering food and water for everyone, while the third and biggest group would be preparing the numerous variations of traps that they brought here.

The basics were some pressure plates that would activate sharp spikes of stone and wood to clamp down on whatever stepped on it like a bear trap. There were logs covered in poisonous plants, pointy branches, and spikes tied up on the trees, ready to be dropped at a moment's notice. They had a few small snares, which were made for the other monsters. The Night River was too big to be captured with rope, and tying it up was simply impossible since the creature was made out of water. Their bread and butter were pitfalls. Most of the people involved with the installation of those traps were so used to making holes and flooding them with spikes that creating those things became second nature. But again, those would not be very effective against the Night River. All those were just the simple 'analog' traps that used the materials around them to be constructed. The real meat of the plan involved the several magic traps that were brought from the village. Stone plates that could petrify anyone who stepped on them. Their effect wouldn't last long, and the stronger the creature, the less effective it would be, but what that trap lacked in power compensated in numbers. Another trap would animate the smaller trees to attack the Night River when it passed by, not to mention the elemental traps that would send an elemental burst at the monster when activated. There were so many traps that instead of telling everyone where they were, Multrak and the others were doing the opposite, showing the group the places that were free of traps, and those would be the only safe spaces to move.

The first day went on without a hitch; Hera created some shelter for everyone with the help of Berylla, who gave her a few pointers. The beastwoman was very excited when the Empress made a couple of stone bunk beds. She never considered the possibility of making a bed with multiple floors, and her craftsman mind was already flowing with ideas about that.

During dinner, Multrak took the chance to explain the plan to everyone. The Night River would follow the river, as it was something it always did. When it arrived at the turn close to their location, Grilat would get its attention and make it chase him through the woods. During that time, no one was to attack the Night River. They needed it to be far enough from the river; otherwise, the fight would be impossible. This monster was, essentially, a gorilla made out of water. It had a wolf-like face and ears and a tail, but its body was much bulkier. That only happened because it would be close to the water. If they managed to pull it away, some of the water would be left behind, and it would become that Wolf-Monkey that was its original form. Grilat would lure it to the trap field, and then they would activate the traps. That was the moment when everyone should attack, but to hinder and delay the monster. No one should go for the kill. While that was going on, the hunters would be luring the Boulder of Vines to the same location that Grilat lured the Night River to. Only when the Boulder arrived would Multrak signal everyone to go for the kill, and their attacks should only be aimed at the Night River.

Everyone then went to bed early to start working on everything in the morning. Hera and her friends didn't have many opportunities to search for anything else, and they were also tired from all the day's travel. The Empress had made a special dormitory for them, where they would all be in the same room, sharing bunk beds, but it was still a bit detached from the rest. She did that because she did not trust the people in the Vanguard not enough to have a restful night of sleep without someone keeping a lookout. Luckily, Nimbus and Lurize could stay there during the night without any problems, and that wasn't something anyone else knew about. Yet, despite all their worry and preparation, nothing happened, and morning came without any problems.

All the people who came in the hunt started working as soon as they woke up, installing more traps, preparing the field, and memorizing the paths they could take and the ones that were a minefield. It was noon, and everyone was eating when one of the scouts appeared, sweat dripping from his face. He had some black fur around his eyes and a pointy nose of a raccoon. He was called Rocky, a name that got some reaction from Hera and her party, not for any reason that people here would understand. It would take a long time before people would associate that with a movie. However, there was no whimsy in what he came to say.

"The Night River is getting close; he should be here in an hour at most!"

"How is that possible?" Grilat stood up.

"I don't know. Maybe it went for a run, or maybe it chased something for a while. All I know is that it is already passing the mark where we have to be ready."

"Shit!" Grilat yelled and slammed his wooden bowl on the ground, making more noise than he should have.

"What's done is done. Now we have to deal with this. How long to get the Boulder here?" Multrak turned to the hunters.

"Last we heard about two hours. Half an hour to get to where it is and the rest to lure it here," one of the hunters replied.

"I'll go get it then. My hunters are great at killing things, but making them angry and chasing after you, that's my specialty," Reynara was already grabbing her weapons, ready to move, but she still took a moment to confirm if she could go. Multrak wanted the huntress with the attack team. Her illusions would prove to be very effective in stalling the Night River while dragging the Boulder here could be done by anyone. However, that was only the case when they had time to prepare.

"Go. Try to get it here in an hour. The sooner, the better," Multrak turned to Grilat, "You are going to have to hold on."

"We can tag team it!" Blue spoke up, "Between me, Grilat, and whoever else feels confident installing the monster, we can fight against it one at a time to stall. That way, we won't threaten it too much, and it won't run away."

Multrak looked down as Reynara and the hunters were already running towards the Boulder of Vine, "That can work. How many of you can be toe to toe against a giant monster?"

"How giant?" Bonnie asked.

"About five meters tall and can punch a tree in half. It's also completely made out of water.

"It's a physical thing. I don't think I can do it," Bonnie shook her head.

"Me neither. My Explosions might cause problems, and some spells could deal too much damage. I'm better as a plan b in case we need a kill shot," Shane added, but her idea seemed to be dismissed by everyone. No one was able to kill the Night River, and they didn't expect this new person to be able to do something like that. Of course, that didn't take into account her legacy since it was something Hera's group was keeping as an ace up their sleeves. They had already talked about it and tested it out. If needed, Shane could enchant a large area so it would become waterproof. Even water spells wouldn't be able to penetrate that field, which could be a way to stop the Night River from running away completely.

"I think I can work with it. The water is not crystal clear, is it? There are shadows inside it?" Helena asked.

Grilat nodded, "Yes, only a few in the middle, but yes. Why?"

Helena opened a smile, "Because that's what I need."

"I think I can stall it too," Hera summoned a couple of her blades, "Better than fighting it one on one, I can have a few weapons flying around him to distract. That can be active the entire time if we need to."

"I might be able to fight against it too. Illusions don't care if it's water or not," Mylo made a lotus flower inside his cup. The illusion exploded, causing the water inside to spill out, "Yeah, that works."

"Five people seems more than enough; if we have more, it might run away seeing that we have the numbers. But each of us should be hidden unless we are fighting the Night River," Grilat stood up, "Come, I need to show you the area we will fight in."

They all started moving, not just the ones who would fight against the monster but also the ones who would try to make some last-minute traps. As Hera was about to move out with Grilat, Kadhan touched her shoulder, "Here. For you. It will make you stronger and faster, but it will hurt. Good in a pinch as long as you don't get hit."

"Thanks," Hera smiled and looked at the potion.

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Berserker's Tonic

After consuming this potion, all attributes will be increased by 20% for 10 minutes.

The user will be in constant pain while the potion is in effect.

The user will receive 40% extra damage when the potion is in effect.

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"Wouldn't it be better to give one of these to Grilat?" she asked.

"Only have the one. He wouldn't run. You? I hope you would."

"So this is a way for me to survive in case things go wrong?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no. I like my assistant. Dying wouldn't be good. I think. Not sure, never tried."

Hera chuckled, "I got close. It wasn't fun. Thanks. Try not to die either."