Chapter 37
Chapter 37: This Place is Insane. (5)
Grrrr…
Palor arrived at the hideout and looked around. There was no sign of the relentless pursuers.
Finally feeling safe that he had shaken off the stalker, Palor began to move the stones blocking the entrance to the hideout.
As he thought about slowly recovering while eating food in a safe place, the pace of removing the stones gradually increased.
Lost in his work, Palor inadvertently removed the tendril covering Gordon’s mouth.
Gordon didn’t miss the moment.
“Here!!”
It was the loudest shout he had ever made.
Kraaah!
Startled, Palor wrapped his tendril around Gordon’s neck and lifted him into the air.
Gordon struggled to breathe, but with his eyes tightly shut, he shouted again.
“Here!!!”
Kraaaah!
Enraged, Palor threw Gordon to the ground.
The pursuer that had just been shaken off would definitely hear that shout and come right away. Palor resolved that he better eat quickly and hide.
Palor raised his scythe-like hand high.
“Ugh….”
Gordon sat on the floor, eyes closed.
As the fear of death washed over him, he could no longer make a sound. He felt himself wetting his pants.
Swoosh!
Just as Palor’s scythe was about to fall on Gordon’s head, something flew swiftly from the dark forest, shining brightly.
Thud!
Belinda’s dagger embedded itself in Palor’s arm.
Due to the poison on the blade, Palor’s pale skin began to turn black.
Kraaaah!
Palor screamed in pain, but the sound did not last long.
Thwack!
Then, Ghislaine’s sword pierced through Palor’s head.
Crunch!
Soon after, Gillian’s axe split Palor’s body in half.
“I-I’m alive!”
Seeing the three people appear before him, Gordon shouted with joy.
Ghislaine smiled after tearing a “Light” scroll to check Gordon’s condition.
“You held on well, Gordon.”
At that, Gordon finally burst into tears.
He was so grateful that Ghislaine had risked herself to come all this way to save him.
He knew he shouldn’t cry due to muscle loss, but he just couldn’t hold it in.
“Uuuh! Thank you! Uuuuh!”
As Gordon sobbed for a while, Belinda threw in a remark.
“But your clothes… Did you perhaps wet yourself?”
Gordon, whose tears had vanished, turned red and shyly looked away. Belinda began to laugh at the sight of him.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine awkwardly surveyed the entrance to the cave hidden behind some rocks.
“So this is their hideout.”
Having come all this way, turning back without checking their hideout would have been foolish.
The group immediately entered the cave.
Kraaah!
As soon as the Palors inside the cave saw the group, they howled.
Looking at the broken and torn figures around, it was definitely the same ones they had just fled from.
“I was a bit disappointed we couldn’t catch them all, but they were all gathered here? This makes things easier.”
Now that they had found their hideout, they should wipe them all out for the ease of their future journey.
Ghislaine wore a cruel smile as she looked around.
“Kill them all.”
Even before Ghislaine’s words had ended, Belinda and Gillian mercilessly attacked the Palors.
Kraaaah!
The group, weakened from fighting the mercenaries, was slaughtered without even the chance to resist.
Even if the Palors had been in peak condition, everyone here, except for Gordon, was a strong user of mana, so handling them wouldn’t be difficult.
After killing the last Palor, who was desperately trying to escape, Ghislaine looked around the cave and discovered something intriguing.
“This is…”
Belinda and Gillian also gasped, looking at what was piled in the corner.
“Isn’t this human bones?”
Just as Belinda said, there were not only monster bones but also bones that appeared to belong to humans scattered throughout the cave.
“It seems to be the bones of those who explored the Forest of Monsters unofficially.”
Ghislaine nodded at Gillian’s words.
There had been people who explored the Forest of Monsters in the past.
However, that was a long time ago.
As far as Ghislaine knew, the entrance to the Forest of Monsters had been prohibited in the Perdium Territory for decades.
However, the torn clothes and tools rolling around with the bones looked like they had only been here for a few years at most.
‘So there have been some who explored this place secretly recently…’
There were some clues, but he couldn’t jump to conclusions. It could have been simply an explorer as well.
Ghislaine decided to put off thinking about unresolved issues for now.
He planned to look again later and went back to where the group was.
*
The mercenaries, eagerly awaiting Ghislaine’s return, stood up with weapons drawn as soon as they sensed movement from the woods.
They sighed in relief upon seeing Ghislaine’s face emerge from among the trees.
It was unfortunate that Gordon had died, but they needed Ghislaine to survive in this forest.
“The young master has returned!”
The mercenaries approached Ghislaine with joyful expressions.
Following him were Belinda and Gillian, and finally, there was Gordon, who wore a sheepish smile.
“Waaaaah!”
The mercenaries cheered as if the forest would collapse from their uproar.
“Gordon is back! Gordon is alive!”
“The young master succeeded!”
In all their time as mercenaries, they had never seen anyone like Ghislaine.
Nobles and employers typically treated mercenaries as mere consumables.
It was a common practice to sacrifice mercenaries whenever necessary.
Even the mercenaries had lived under the assumption that it was the norm, but Ghislaine’s actions evoked a response that was beyond shock, stirring up new feelings.
Their employer was completely different from the usual hypocrites they encountered.
“If we follow that person, we might really make it out alive here.”
As one mercenary muttered, everyone nodded in agreement.
It wasn’t hard to be a good leader to mercenaries.
Feeding them well, paying them well, and bringing in jobs was all it took.
But to get them to genuinely believe in and follow you, something more important was necessary.
That was the judgment and leadership to save their lives at least once.
Ghislaine fought ahead of everyone to protect them and had the heart to never give up on those following him.
A perfect figure emerged for the mercenaries to trust and follow.
“What he has shown until now isn’t an act. That person is sincere.”
“Right. Then we must repay that sincerity.”
“Seems like there are nobles like that after all.”
The mercenaries, now free from anxiety, looked at Ghislaine and reignited the mercenary spirit they had briefly forgotten under the forest’s fear.
They reclaimed their true nature of living life with death at their side.
However, one person could not hide his unpleasant expression and twitching face even as everyone focused and gathered their resolve.
“Fools, you were just lucky. Do you think that will last? You’ll all end up dead!”
Manus, who had barely pretended to fight while hiding behind the other mercenaries, had survived yet again.
To him, this forest was not a normal forest.
The monsters living here were incomparably strong compared to those outside the forest.
“Is it something to be happy about winning again? Even at the forest’s edge, there are those bizarre monsters living here—who knows what else is coming!”
Until now, their employer had resolved issues with remarkable abilities, but there had been many close calls upon review.
If the employer had been even slightly weaker or made the wrong judgment, they could have been wiped out completely.
“I have no intention of continuing this risky gamble. You dumb idiots!”
The same was true this time. If the employer had been mistaken, they would all be dead.
Just one mistake would leave them unable to avoid total annihilation.
That was how Manus assessed the Forest of Monsters.
“Damn, I need to charm at least a few to get out safely… but looking at the situation, that seems tough.”
He didn’t have the courage to go back alone.
There would undoubtedly be monsters wandering around without a habitat, and he worried about how the employer would respond if he tried to leave.
“I need to opportunistically charm a few. I have to pay the penalty to get back.”
But everyone was overflowing with enthusiasm right now.
It was clear that any incitement at this point would be futile. It would be better to just stay quiet to avoid getting beaten.
“Once a few more die, they’ll regain their fear and come to their senses.”
Manus held on with that hope.
For now, they were acting all chummy, but he believed that when danger struck again, they would clearly see reality.
As day broke, the mercenaries finished their preparations and began to move.
Since they had wiped out the Palors, there was no need to worry about monsters following them.
“Didn’t they say this was Palor’s territory? The monsters certainly seem to appear less.”
“The ones that do show up don’t seem to live nearby; they’re just wandering around looking for food.”
Though monsters had appeared, their numbers and frequency had significantly decreased compared to the beginning.
“Even so, it’s still the same: if you let your guard down, you die. Just listen to the employer.”
The mercenaries’ mindset had changed, and they became more seasoned and sharp with each battle.
Seeing that, Ghislaine smiled in satisfaction.
“As expected, real-life situations are the best. At this rate, they’re even better than the soldiers of the territory.”
While each mercenary’s strength may seem formidable, it is generally believed that they cannot stand up to regular troops in a collective battle.
But the mercenaries led by Ghislaine were moving as organized as any regular army.
“Clearly, their state of mind has shifted.”
The battles were still dangerous, and casualties continued to occur, but the mercenaries no longer faltered.
They simply strove to follow Ghislaine’s command as best as they could.
Thanks to that, Ghislaine could now move the mercenaries more easily than before.
This was possible because they trusted Ghislaine.
Observing their unified movements, Kaor couldn’t help but admire them.
“Those who jumped in for money have completely changed their gaze. They’ve turned into a real army. They weren’t like this before!”
“It’s all thanks to our young master.”
Gillian replied concisely and proudly. Kaor turned his head with twitching lips.
“Damn, it’s as if anyone would think he’s a secret love child or something.”
Though his mouth itched, Kaor kept quiet, knowing that speaking would result in chaos.
“Do I really want to avoid a scuffle just to get into a fight with an old man?”
Kaor tilted his head seriously, pondering.
It was unthinkable for the leader of the Cerberus Mercenary Group to hold back from saying what he wanted to.
Kaor sunk deep into thought.
While Kaor was caught in endless contemplation, the group quickly passed beyond the realm of the Palors.
