Chapter 320
Chapter 320: They Are Very Dangerous Creatures. (1)
“Hmm…”
Ghislaine crossed her arms and pondered. Many people claimed to feel a sinister aura in the Forest of Monsters, but that was largely due to the forest’s dark environment.
She herself had never heard the kind of words that Lumina spoke of, nor were there such mentions in the records she had confirmed in her past life.
Of course, since the expedition team in her past life did not include any elves, they might not have known either. After all, the elves were the only race that could hear the sounds of nature.
‘Is there really something here?’
Lumina might have been mistaken, but Ghislaine couldn’t easily dismiss her words.
This place was definitely different from the outside world. The energy here was far more abundant than anywhere else. As a result, precious resources overflowed, and the monsters were larger and stronger due to the influence of that energy.
The uniqueness of the energy flowing through the Forest of Monsters had already been the most plausible hypothesis even in her past life. Without that, it couldn’t be explained.
‘The forest says it wants to unite?’
What that meant was unclear, but it was certain that there was some secret within this forest.
‘There were indeed unconfirmed areas on the map I saw in my past life.’
The Duke Faction had successfully developed the Forest of Monsters. However, after most parts of the forest had been revealed, the very center was shrouded in black on the map.
No markings or records existed regarding this place.
Back then, she thought nothing of it, assuming it was just an unexplored area. After all, his goal wasn’t to develop the Forest of Monsters but to eliminate the Duke Faction.
Even after traveling back in time, she had never particularly worried about that area. Later, when finances ran low, she had assumed it could be developed then.
But after hearing Lumina’s story, memories of the map from her past life resurfaced, making her feel uneasy.
‘It wasn’t just unexplored… was it possibly hidden?’
There had been one lingering fact that bothered her from the past. The Duke Faction’s tremendous obsession with the Forest of Monsters.
Initially, they clearly didn’t know about the abundant resources here. Nonetheless, they began extensive development.
That meant they were aiming for something else. It definitely wasn’t just for simple territorial expansion or resource collection.
Ghislaine had never figured out what the Duke Faction was targeting by starting the development. Most of the participants in the expedition didn’t even know why they were doing it.
‘Harold was only managing Perdium.’
Though they could have destroyed it, they simply managed it so that no one else could take it. It was only after the Duke Faction succeeded in the rebellion that they pushed Perdium away.
As soon as that happened, the Duke Faction hastily began developing the Forest of Monsters.
‘It’s certain. There’s something here that I don’t know about.’
And that might somehow be related to what Lumina was mentioning.
Ghislaine had spent a long time as a mercenary. Because of that, she had developed a habit of not overlooking any suspicious signs.
Even if something seemed useless, she obsessively kept it close. It was a way to survive.
“From now on, if you hear any strange sounds or see suspicious signs, let me know. And tell the other elves to feel free to speak up as well.”
“Understood.”
The Forest of Monsters was a place where anything could happen. Even a tiny sign couldn’t be dismissed lightly.
Even if what Lumina mentioned had nothing to do with what the Duke Faction was aiming for, it was better to consider the possibility than to ignore it.
‘Whatever it is, I guess I’ll find out someday.’
After all, Ghislaine’s goal was to push the Forest of Monsters completely and seize all the land.
The party that had defeated the ogres proceeded to secure their territory.
Everyone was more vigilant and tense than before. You never knew when and where dangerous monsters might pop up.
The elves, having heard Lumina’s words, reported any unsettling or suspicious feelings they had to Ghislaine.
Most were mere feelings, but there were some unexpected insights.
“I think there’s a group of monsters over there.”
“There are monsters hiding between the trees.”
“A strong aura is gathering over here. It seems like a rare herb.”
The elves’ senses became notably heightened in the forest. Their psychic senses, while using mana, were amplified in a different way.
They sensed the energy flowing through the forest and heard the sounds of nature, bringing back various information. Naturally, the elves were the first to spot the monsters hiding from afar.
People were once again astonished by the abilities the elves displayed. Ghislaine was equally surprised. She had expected some abilities from them, but she hadn’t anticipated them being this exceptional.
Galbarik grumbled again while looking at those elves.
“What’s with the racial discrimination…? It’s so unfair… Can’t they at least look ugly…?”
In the forest, the elves showcased superior abilities like no one else. The dwarves, who had always had a rocky relationship with the elves, felt resentful for no good reason.
Regardless of how the dwarves felt, Ghislaine was quite pleased with the situation.
“This is good. I never expected the elves to be this helpful.”
No matter how much he thought he knew from records he had gained in his past life, the information wasn’t flawless. He only had a general idea of the locations of valuable resources and the territories of powerful monsters.
He couldn’t know the miscellaneous information that wasn’t documented, like wandering monsters. The timing of their explorations had varied, so the actual territory of monsters could differ from the records.
However, with the elves’ assistance, it became easier to avoid dangers, and they were able to gather resources they had never expected.
It would have been even better if Ascon had shared what he felt more often.
“It feels like crap… It feels like crap here… I really don’t want to be in this dump. Just let me go back to my territory. Why should I suffer in a place like this at my age? You idiots, XXXXX, XXXXXX, XXXX!”
As he spat out harsh words out of frustration, Ascon was immediately dragged away by Belinda, limbs twisted and gagged.
With Ascon now incapacitated, a new entry appeared on the list of injured soldiers of the Penris Army.
Although one more injured soldier had been added, the development of the forest progressed steadily thanks to the elves’ help.
Ghislaine continued to check the map and estimate their position.
The development was proceeding with a speed and easiness that was incomparable to when she had come here before.
Whenever the elves alerted them to dangers, the seasoned knights and soldiers prepared for battle. Ghislaine dictated how to deal with the situation and commanded them.
With nobody careless, battles weren’t tough either. Most large beasts and monsters would avoid them simply out of fear.
‘We’re getting close.’
That didn’t mean the Runestone resource was nearby. There was still quite a distance to go. Ghislaine was thinking of something else.
[The Forest of Monsters was indeed a dangerous place. The advanced teams had failed multiple times. But that was merely due to a lack of information. We had never been bested by monsters we had identified. No matter how powerful a monster, our outstanding knights and elite soldiers would be able to handle them.]
‘That seems right.’
Ghislaine nodded as she recalled the records she had read in her past life.
Even with a smaller force than what the Duke Faction had sent at the time, she was making her way through the forest.
Thinking back to the power of the Duke Faction back then, each soldier’s abilities were likely not even comparable to those of now.
Yet the Duke Faction hadn’t been able to easily push through like Ghislaine was now, even with stronger and more numerous forces. They had continued using advanced teams and reconnaissance groups under the pretense of conserving vital strength.
[Baron Joseph didn’t care about the death of the advanced teams at all. He was conserving his main forces to an almost incomprehensible degree. The only exception was when Count Valzac, unable to contain his frustration, participated in an advanced team.]
[…With each failure and death, we gradually became familiar with the Forest of Monsters. During that time, we discovered yet another monster we had never seen before.]
“What is this?”
One of the knights on guard at the perimeter brought back a monster corpse. Half of its body was torn apart, possibly attacked by another monster.
The monster looked truly bizarre. Its height was only about half that of an adult male, yet its upper body resembled that of a person with red skin, while its lower body had the appearance of a spider.
It had long hardened claws extending from its fingers, suitable for digging into the ground or wielding as a weapon.
Just because its upper body resembled a human didn’t mean it looked exactly like one. It just meant the structure of its head and body was somewhat similar to that of humans.
Only the overall structure was similar to a human; the exterior was too horrific to describe. What appeared to be a mouth was covered in what seemed like tentacles, and its eyes were barely noticeable, as if they had degenerated.
Its skull elongated back. There were tentacle-like appendages attached to the front of its head.
There was no way to tell what kind of life form it was. People scrunched their faces at the sight of the hideous monster’s corpse.
“Eww, that’s disgusting…”
“What the hell, it’s like such a monster existed?”
“Really, there are all sorts of things living in this forest.”
Seeing a monster they had never encountered before, people gathered and chatted among themselves.
However, they weren’t particularly frightened. After all, compared to other creatures living in the Forest of Monsters, its size was considerably small. It could be likened to a large dog.
For a wild beast, this size would indeed be quite threatening to a human, but to those who had seen only massive creatures since entering the forest, it strangely appeared weak.
Certainly, it ranked highly in terms of disgust, though.
[Compared to the other monsters residing in the Forest of Monsters, they were significantly weak. Two to three armed soldiers could easily kill one, and if they braced for injury, a single soldier could manage it alone. It was incomprehensible why such weak creatures inhabited the interior of the Forest of Monsters.]
As Ghislaine recalled the records from her past life, she walked up to the monster’s corpse.
“These things are called Grex. It looks like it died separated from the group.”
[We gave them a new name in an ancient language. And just to be safe, we observed their habitat for a few days.]
[Indeed, there were quite a few of them in the habitat. Like other monsters, they didn’t allow monsters entering their territory to go unharmed. Multiple would group up to attack, kill, and share the carcasses. Sometimes they would even go hunting in packs.]
At Ghislaine’s words, the people tilted their heads in confusion.
“Grex? That’s a name I’ve never heard before.”
“Yeah. They are very dangerous creatures.”
People didn’t ask how she knew that. They had grown accustomed to the lord knowing all sorts of things.
[Their hunting success rate was tragically low. It was far more common to see them carrying monster corpses from somewhere to eat. Occasionally, they would dig with their strong claws to store leftover corpses. Despite their ghastly appearance, they were truly nothing but insignificant monsters.]
“These things live in packs. Don’t underestimate them just because each one is weak.”
[However, there was one part that was difficult to understand. Occasionally, powerful monsters would come and kill them to eat, yet those monsters did not claim their territory. Despite having a fairly large area with good conditions.]
“Do we need extra preparations?”
At Gillian’s question, Ghislaine nodded.
“Yes, I was planning to prepare further ahead, but seeing this corpse means it’s better to do it here.”
[Even after days of observation, nothing changed. The powerful monsters living in the Forest of Monsters would come, kill them to eat, and then leave. Thus, we came to a conclusion. They were merely a food source provided for the monsters living in the Forest of Monsters. The many monsters residing in the Forest of Monsters allowed them to breed in peace without taking over their territory.]
“What should we do then?”
“We need to be more thoroughly prepared than before.”
“Just give the orders.”
[As soon as we reached a conclusion, we decided to hunt them down. It wouldn’t be difficult. Grex are small, weak, insignificant monsters.]
With a firm expression, Ghislaine said, “We will build a fortress here. A very large and sturdy one.”
[However, that decision would become one of the worst mistakes we made in the Forest of Monsters.]
