Chapter 30
Chapter 30: Follow Me with All Your Might (2)
“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”
Before Ghislaine could answer Gillian’s question, a few mercenaries laughed and stepped forward, pushing the two aside.
“Our employer seems to have suddenly gotten scared.”
“Looks like nothing is wrong, so why did we stop all of a sudden?”
“Just leave this to us and take a rest. That’s why we were hired, right?”
They laughed at Ghislaine, swinging their axes.
There are always those in a group who can’t be controlled.
To these mercenaries, Ghislaine was just a young, inexperienced rookie.
They thought that if they were told the destination, they could handle it by themselves, so it was amusing that he was trying to give them orders.
In fact, the only ones who prepared for combat hearing Ghislaine’s words were the Cerberus Mercenary Group.
The other mercenaries were standing around, just watching their employer mumble nonsense.
“Stop.”
When Ghislaine said this in a cold tone, the mercenaries ahead awkwardly halted in their tracks.
“What’s all this fuss about?”
“It doesn’t seem as dangerous as the rumors say; let’s just get going.”
“Didn’t you say it wasn’t that far?”
Even though the mercenaries were grumbling, Ghislaine hardened his expression and continued.
“Turn back slowly this way. If you stay there, you’ll die.”
The mercenaries twisted their faces in confusion, unable to understand what Ghislaine was talking about.
But Ghislaine, still tense, kept his eyes on them and raised one hand.
“Prepare for battle, you foolish idiots. When a person speaks, listen!”
At his harsh words, the mercenaries reluctantly picked up their weapons.
Though they didn’t like it, they couldn’t keep refusing their employer’s orders.
Ghislaine slowly crouched down and prepared to spring forward.
The mercenaries in front chuckled and shook their heads.
Though they couldn’t understand his sudden behavior, they felt obliged to follow his lead while pretending to comply.
“Hey, let’s go. Our employer is really scared.”
Just as the mercenaries turned around with smirks on their faces, Gillian and Belinda, who had been watching Ghislaine with suspicion, suddenly stiffened and turned their heads.
Kaor also swore under his breath and drew his sword.
[We didn’t expect it to move. We entered unarmed, feeling nothing, and as we ventured further….]
Only then did the mercenaries begin to sense something moving.
[It attacked us.]
The vines wrapped around the trees started swirling like a vortex.
And with lightning speed, they lashed out toward the mercenaries in front.
Simultaneously, Ghislaine surged forward.
Just as a vine was about to strike a mercenary, Ghislaine’s sword moved quickly.
Swish!
The vine that was trying to grab the mercenary was sliced, oozing a sticky, black liquid.
“What, what is happening?!”
Startled by the sudden attack, most of the party couldn’t react at all. They couldn’t grasp the situation, frozen in place, just watching.
But Ghislaine didn’t panic and moved quickly.
Swish!
Another vine targeting a different mercenary was cut down.
But already there were dozens of vines flying in, and Ghislaine couldn’t block them all by himself.
“Ahh!”
A few mercenaries who couldn’t evade were swept away by the vines.
Ghislaine grabbed the collars of the mercenaries he saved and threw them towards the rear party, then immediately dove toward the vines.
He was going to save those who got caught.
But the path was already blocked.
“Tsk, am I too late?”
Dozens of vines were flying at him from all directions.
Ghislaine gripped his sword tightly and jumped into the air, spinning his body.
Swoosh!
All the vines that had been closing in on him were sliced apart.
Landing among the pieces of vine, Ghislaine slid backward in a crescent motion.
“Young Master!”
“Your Highness!”
Belinda, Gillian, and Kaor rushed around Ghislaine.
“Wake up! Form ranks!”
As Ghislaine shouted, the once-dazed party quickly grabbed their weapons and took battle positions.
“Ahh!”
“Help me!”
The captured mercenaries screamed and struggled.
While everyone worried about what to do, the trees connected to the vines began to stir slightly.
“What, what’s going on?!”
Soon, the bark of a giant tree split open, revealing shapes resembling twisted mouths.
The trees began to chew on the mercenaries they had captured.
“Gahhh!”
Chilling sounds and screams echoed through the forest. Other mercenaries who saw their companions being consumed alive screamed in panic.
“Are the trees moving?!”
“Could it be, an Ent?!”
Hearing the mercenaries’ horrified voices, Ghislaine shook his head inwardly.
Ents, rather than monsters, are more like the spirits or fairies that guard the forest.
They love peace, sometimes sharing ancient knowledge, and protect the races of the forest.
There’s no way such grotesque beings would exist to swallow living creatures whole.
The trees that had swallowed the captured mercenaries began to stir and move again.
Two holes appeared as their mouths grotesquely opened.
In between, black eyes became visible.
At the sight of those eyes filled with malice, chills ran down the spines of the mercenaries.
[That was not an Ent. Though it resembled one at first glance, it was tainted with malignancy, horrifyingly unpleasant. We gave it a name derived from ancient words.]
Ghislaine muttered that name while gazing at the trees before him.
“Dirus Ent.”
[Fortunately, Count Balzac fought valiantly and managed to defeat them all, but by then, most of the soldiers had already fallen to the ambush. Having lost our advance guard, we were forced to retreat to our base.]
The coordinated effort to reclaim the Ruthania Kingdom in the past had faced its first failure because of the Dirus Ent’s ambush.
[They are widely spread as if embracing the Forest of Monsters. In other words, they are the sentinels guarding the Forest of Monsters. If one is unaware, they will inevitably fall victim…]
Recalling that phrase, a chilling smile crept over Ghislaine’s face.
“We might just have a chance.”
The reason everyone could not sense the monster even though it was right in front of them was simple.
Until it moved, it merely appeared as a tree, so no one suspected anything.
ROOOOAAARR!!!
Dozens of Dirus Ents let out screeches and began to move.
Thick branches entwined with vines dropped down like arms, and roots pulled from the ground intertwined to form legs.
Seeing this, the faces of the mercenaries turned pale with tension.
“The trees, they’re moving!”
“What the heck is that?! It’s not even an Ent!”
“Damn, with it right there, who can notice?!”
Being tree-like beings to begin with, they blended into the forest and could fool everyone.
It was a monster that exploited the gaps in awareness, making it truly dangerous.
KRAAAAAA!!!
The Dirus Ents, now with a semblance of a moving form, glared at Ghislaine and let out furious roars.
They wait for their prey to get drawn in before encircling them to attack and consume them.
However, if the prey detects them and doesn’t approach, they too have to uproot and move themselves.
Now that they had to expend unnecessary strength, they inevitably directed their rage towards Ghislaine.
KRAAAAAA!!!
A roar erupted once more from the Dirus Ents.
“First row! Raise your shields! Do your best to block the attacks!”
At Ghislaine’s shout, the frontline mercenaries lifted their shields.
But their expressions did not look relaxed at all.
“Fighting giants like that?!”
These creatures were no different from the trees making up the Forest of Monsters.
They were naturally going to be much larger than the monsters living in the forest.
The Dirus Ents shot their vines at the wavering mercenaries.
THUD! WHAM!
“AHHH!”
The mercenaries with shields were either knocked over or pushed back.
The Dirus Ents were incredibly strong, and the mercenaries couldn’t withstand their attacks.
The mercenaries waiting in the back hurriedly fired arrows.
Though arrows punctured the bodies of the Dirus Ents, they couldn’t penetrate their tough bark.
“What do we do?!”
“They’re just trees! It’s pointless unless we cut them down completely!”
As the mercenaries panicked, Ghislaine shouted again.
“Everyone, throw your lamps!”
The weakness of trees was fire.
It was common knowledge, but using fire in this situation was dangerous.
“Young Master! Are you crazy? Let’s just run away!”
“Your Highness! We mustn’t burn the forest!”
Belinda and Gillian exclaimed in shock.
Even if they defeated them with fire, burning the forest would be meaningless. It would only bring greater danger.
Monsters that had lost their habitat would rush out in all directions, reducing the Perdium Territory, which was closest, to ruins.
That’s why past lords of Perdium had to give up the method of burning the forest to use it for farmland.
But Ghislaine showed no concern, throwing a lamp and shouting.
“It’s fine! They’ll consume the flames! Hurry and throw them! The ones in the back, prepare your fire arrows!”
CRASH!
A lamp hit a Dirus Ent, shattering and spilling oil everywhere.
Seeing this, the mercenaries each took up lamps and began throwing them around.
“Damn it, I don’t care! Just throw it quickly!”
“Who cares if the whole forest burns down! The employer said to do it!”
They knew the forest couldn’t burn, but their lives took precedence, so they felt nothing could stop them.
ROOOOOO!!!
The Dirus Ents, screeching unpleasantly, swung their vines wildly.
But the frontline mercenaries braced themselves with all their might, blocking with their shields.
Realizing their vine attacks didn’t work, the Dirus Ents began to lumber forward, clearly intending to crush the mercenaries.
“Shoot!”
At that moment, Ghislaine shouted.
Fire arrows shot forth at the Dirus Ents encircling them.
WHOOSH!!!
Flames erupted from the oil-soaked bodies of the Dirus Ents almost instantly.
They halted, swaying as if in distress.
As flames spread, everything began to engulfed by the inferno.
The Dirus Ents in the back charged through the flames, but they too caught fire from the lamps and fire arrows being thrown at them.
KRAAAH!!!
Seeing the Dirus Ents letting out painful screams, the mercenaries gulped hard.
“Can we just burn everything down and get away with it?”
“I’m outta here. Once the forest burns, it will be a harbinger of monsters. This place is finished. Our employer is truly insane!”
“Wait, something’s off here!”
Sssssssssss!
From the bodies of the writhing Dirus Ents, mist began to spew out.
“The fire, it’s… going out!”
“What?! Is fire not effective?!”
Flames began to be sucked somewhere, and the fire gradually extinguished.
The mist created from the extinguishing flames filled the area, obscuring vision.
Before long, that smoke began to disperse.
Gulp.
The mercenaries swallowed hard, tense.
When the Dirus Ents revealed themselves again, they gazed in horror.
“W-What is that…?”
What remained after their bark had burned off or fallen away was truly the pinnacle of grotesqueness.
Their completely black insides appeared moist and sleek like soft pudding.
Holes for eyes and sharp teeth visible within mouths combined with their smooth black skin evoked repulsion.
Sssssss.
The most surprising part was that they didn’t seem bothered at all by stepping on the surrounding embers.
When their black skin touched the fire, it extinguished effortlessly.
“Fire, just….”
The mercenaries were aghast.
They had already been strong, but now they had transformed into monsters impervious to fire.
“H-How could it be? That’s not just a simple tree.”
The mercenaries finally realized what they were up against.
Though they looked like trees, they were far from being mere trees.
They were living beings capable of moving around, wrapped in tough bark, hunting down their prey to bite and consume.
[Their outer shell was no different from solid tree bark. That made them susceptible to fire, but the soldiers’ weapons would have had no effect at all. However, the inner layer was different. It could even resist 4th circle fire magic…]
“This is insane. This is a forest we shouldn’t have come to.”
“If this is the first monster we encounter, what about the others?”
“We need to retreat. Settling here was impossible from the start.”
The mercenaries were terrified and had lost all will to fight.
In contrast, Ghislaine recalled his memories and wore a triumphant smile.
“Their insides look very tender.”
The mercenaries stared at Ghislaine in disbelief.
Even when fire, which they had relied on, was ineffective, how could he remain so composed?
The employer was becoming more and more unbelievable.
