The wall stretched around the entire perimeter of the village, more than two hundred meters of solid defense, raised in less than an hour.

Thorne’s work was impressive, but he did not stop there.

"The wall will withstand the first waves," Thorne explained as he worked, never interrupting the flow of mana.

"But it isn’t impenetrable. That’s why we need traps."

He walked along the base of the newly erected wall, stopping every twenty meters.

At each strategic point, Thorne knelt and pressed his palms against the ground. With a firm gesture, he channeled Earth mana to create underground traps.

The first trap was a "Devouring Rift."

Thorne opened a narrow fissure in the ground, camouflaged with leaves and loose soil. The moment a rat stepped onto it, the earth would violently split apart, swallowing the target into a two-meter-deep pit lined with razor-sharp walls of compacted stone.

Hardened earthen spikes protruded from the bottom, impaling anything that fell inside. The fissure was so narrow that a human could walk across it without triggering it, but a rat, with its concentrated weight, would be enough to activate the trap.

To finish it, Thorne added a subtle layer of Fire mana at the bottom. If many rats fell in together, the flames would ignite, incinerating their bodies and sending controlled fire upward.

"That will throw the horde into panic," the mage murmured with satisfaction.

The second trap was even more sophisticated. "Pulsing Spikes."

Thorne created circles of unstable earth that, when activated by the rats’ weight or corrupted mana, launched sharp spears of stone and earth upward within a three-meter radius.

The spears shot out with explosive force, piercing carapaces and limbs. Some were embedded with fire crystals. Upon striking their targets, they released small bursts of flame that scorched flesh and contaminated the corrupted mana, weakening the rats’ connection to the King.

Thorne also created "Igneous Quicksand" traps, areas where the ground became sandy and unstable, dragging rats downward like quicksand while weak flames rose from below, completely incinerating their bodies.

Finally, he placed warning seals, small runes buried beneath the ground that, when activated, sent a pulse of mana directly to Thorne and Clavor, informing them of the exact location of the attack.

The work lasted for hours.

The old mage was drenched in sweat, his white beard sticking to his face, yet he continued without complaint. He explained every trap aloud to Clavor and the guards so they would know where it was safe to step.

Lukas never took his eyes off the process. His enhanced vision allowed him to see the subtle flows of mana, the earth responding as though it were part of Thorne’s own body, the fire dancing obediently within the earthen structure. It was pure control, refined through decades of dedication.

As the sun began sinking toward the horizon, painting the sky orange and crimson, Thorne completed the final seal. He leaned against the newly raised wall and lit his pipe with a tiny flame that appeared at the tip of his finger.

Lukas climbed onto a nearby rock for a better view. With the golden light of late afternoon still illuminating the land, his eagle eyes could see astonishing distances. He swept his gaze across the tree line, focusing on the dark edge of the forest.

Then he saw them.

Hidden among tangled roots and bushes, nearly two kilometers away, small rats, tiny, no larger than ordinary rats, but with glowing red eyes, moved cautiously.

They were not the enormous warrior rats the size of dogs that had invaded Forest Village, the same giant rats Clavor and Lukas had fought. These were much smaller, the observer type.

One climbed onto a fallen log, another peeked through the leaves, and a third hid behind a rock. They did not advance. They merely watched the wall and the activity within the village outside the Great Forest.

Lukas counted at least fifteen of them, scattered throughout different positions in the forest.

He quickly climbed down and ran over to Clavor, who was inspecting the wall.

"Father! In the forest... there are small rats, really small ones. About fifteen of them. They’re just watching. They aren’t attacking. It looks like they’re observing or studying the defenses, the wall, everything."

Clavor narrowed his eyes, trying to see, but the distance was too great even for him.

"Are you sure, Lukas?"

"Absolutely. I can see them. They seem to be watching us."

Thorne, who had been listening to the conversation, released a long puff of smoke that drifted upward in slow spirals.

"The Rat King is being cautious. It’s common for that monster to control the horde to gather information. It’s a sign they’ll most likely act tonight. The Rat King isn’t known for waiting."

Clavor squeezed Lukas’s shoulder while looking toward Thorne.

"Excellent observation. We’ll reinforce the watch tonight. Thorne, can you maintain an active mana alert?"

The mage nodded, exhausted but determined.

As the sun disappeared completely, Lukas remained a short distance away, watching Master Thorne put away his tools.

The old mage moved with the dignity of a weary veteran, his hands still glowing with traces of Earth and Fire mana. The wall stood firm behind him, while the traps pulsed invisibly beneath the ground.

’Will I ever...’ Lukas thought, his chest tightening with admiration and a newfound desire after witnessing the magic of a true master.

’Will I one day be able to use mana to cast magic like that?’

He remembered Aurora’s words about the Awakening, the event that would occur when he turned five years old. Until then, he could only use the abilities he had inherited from Tilbo, Prata, and Astra.

But Thorne’s magic was different. It was pure, controlled, and versatile.

’I’ll probably only find out once I turn five and undergo my Awakening.’

Tilbo nudged his leg, bringing him back to the present. Prata climbed down from the wall and touched his hand. Astra let out a soft chirp.

Night descended upon Hill Village.

And with it came the certainty that the true test of the traps was about to begin.

The Rat King’s real attack.