[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dawn-walker":3,"chapter-dawn-walker-dawn-walker-chapter-170":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Dawn Walker",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1836727,2443,"Chapter 170: Night’s Hunt","dawn-walker-chapter-170",170,"\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet nodded once. \"Good,\" he replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mira hesitated, then spoke carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young master,\" she said. \"That space you use. It is... unusual.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet looked at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mira’s eyes remained steady. She was not accusing. She was not begging. She was simply acknowledging reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s voice stayed calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is mine,\" he said. \"Your job is not to understand it. Your job is to make Dawn House business stronger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mira bowed slightly deeper. \"Understood,\" she replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena approached again, eyes scanning the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much did you buy,\" she asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough,\" Sekhmet replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena nodded once, satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat shuffled closer, holding her writing board like it was a shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at Sekhmet with wounded eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master,\" Bat Bat said, \"Bat Bat worked hard today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena’s voice cut in. \"She drew a few lines and cried twice,\" she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat pointed at Elena with outrage. \"Elena tell lies,\" she accused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet looked at Bat Bat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did you learn,\" he asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat lifted the board proudly and showed it. There were, indeed, three lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was straight. One was crooked. One looked like a dying worm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stared for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly as if he had witnessed an ancient technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This, what is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat replied, \"It’s your name, master.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet said, voice controlled, \"is an improvement.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat’s eyes widened with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, as if she suspected Sekhmet was bribing Bat Bat with false praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet looked at Elena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She is improving,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena’s expression softened by the smallest fraction, because Elena wanted Bat Bat to improve more than she wanted to win arguments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat puffed her cheeks proudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hunt soon,\" Bat Bat declared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet did not promise to hunt. Promises became obligations, and obligations became leverage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he walked away before Bat Bat could negotiate a treaty. He returned to his study and sat behind the desk, letting the quiet settle again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The void land had changed today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auri had changed today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the ghouls had changed today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was how foundations formed. Not in grand speeches. In wood, rope, and small disciplined decisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet opened his ledger and began writing plans for the coming days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The auction was still ahead. The Iron House was still ahead. The middle domain predators were still traveling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, the void land was not just a hiding place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was becoming a base that could grow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Sekhmet, for the first time in a long time, felt a calm that did not come from hunger or blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few moments later...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night came quieter than the day deserved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dawn House settled into its usual sleep rhythm, the kind that looked peaceful to outsiders and felt like a fortress holding its breath to anyone who knew what hunted it. Lanterns dimmed. Servants withdrew. Doors latched. Curtains pulled. The courtyard turned into a pool of shadow where even footsteps sounded guilty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet sat in his study with his ledger open, ink drying in careful lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was not writing poetry. He was writing about survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Materials moved today. The void land changed today. Auri started building today. That mattered more than any rumor because it was tangible. Real. A foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was in the middle of tallying the next set of purchases when he felt it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small vibration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not on the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three taps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not servant taps. Servants knocked softly and waited like they feared being scolded for breathing too loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These taps were confident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost rude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s eyes lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could speak, the door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat stepped in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not sneak. She did not hesitate. She walked into his room like she owned the corridor and the moon paid rent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hair was still messy from homework. Her wings were half tucked. Her cheeks were slightly puffed like she had been arguing with her own stomach and losing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pointed at Sekhmet dramatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master,\" Bat Bat said, voice full of accusation, \"hunt.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stared at her. He did not ask why. He already knew why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat pointed at her mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bat Bat is hungry,\" she declared. \"Bat Bat want warmth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s gaze narrowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is not a proper sentence,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat frowned. Then she said it again slower like she was teaching a baby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bat Bat. Is. Hungry.\" She nodded firmly after each word. \"Need Warm Blood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet leaned back slightly in his chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did Elena feed you,\" he asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat puffed her cheeks harder, offended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elena fed Bat Bat soup,\" she complained. \"Soup is not blood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet pinched the bridge of his nose briefly. He could already imagine Elena’s face if she heard this conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat stepped closer, eyes wide and shining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master,\" she said sweetly, \"master promised hunt soon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s eyes flicked to the ledger. He had not promised. Bat Bat had declared. Bat Bat lived in a world where declarations were legally binding if said loud enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bat Bat,\" Sekhmet said evenly, \"it is night.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat nodded once like that was the whole point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" she replied. \"Night is hunting time. Master is blood lord. Bat Bat is Blood bat. Same face girls are new followers. Time to Hunt.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet went still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had planned to teach them control soon. If he delayed too long, hunger would teach them instead, and hunger was a brutal instructor. Hunger did not care about rules. Hunger cared about feeding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat was impatient. Bat Bat was annoying. But Bat Bat’s instinct was not wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet closed the ledger. He pushed his chair back. Then he stood up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat’s eyes lit up like she had won a war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Quiet,\" Sekhmet said immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat froze, then put a finger to her lips dramatically as if she had always planned to be quiet and was simply waiting for permission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet walked to the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat followed, tiptoeing so loudly it defeated the purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>",1006,"2026-06-09T06:31:32.937Z",1,"novelbin.me","17dfdeeda6e08c3c790dd30d1315df156536634062adc555fd61ae0aa7ecb2bd","dawn-walker-chapter-171","dawn-walker-chapter-169",359,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdawn-walker-cover.jpg"]