Ch.378378 – Hector’s Vassal Group

# Chapter 378 – Hector’s Divine Tree

When I realized that Dorothy, Rockpell, and Yuie’s random starting points might be more impressive than I thought, I suddenly became curious.

“By the way, Dorothy, which forest are you from?”

“One of the Three Forbidden Forests!”

The Three Forbidden Forests.

It refers to three forests designated as forbidden areas where one should not set foot.

The territory of the Ein race, the Western Great Forest.

The territory of the demon race, the Northern Demon Forest.

The territory of chaos species, the Dimensional Rift Monster Forest.

“You’re not friendly enough with the Ein race for it to be the Great Forest, and I don’t detect any dark mana for it to be the Demon Forest, so it must be the Monster Forest. Right?”

“Wow. You got it in one try? As expected, Oknodie knows everything. Or is it the Foundation that knows everything?”

“Wow. Then Rockpell and Yuie must have become incredibly strong in this round too.”

“Rockpell is an idiot. Just swinging a sword quickly doesn’t mean he can defeat all monsters.”

Rockpell, who had been standing by Dorothy’s side, scratched below his nose in embarrassment.

“That’s not wrong. The Monster Forest has numerous large species monsters, and there are even ultra-large species that can flip the terrain and seasons when they awaken.”

“Well, it is difficult to handle such giant creatures with just a sword in the early to mid-stages!”

“Early to mid-stages…? Ah. You mean early to mid-teens.”

Rockpell wasn’t as quick-witted as Arcadia and fell for it easily.

“I’m already in my late teens, but I think that with your skills, if you were my age, you might be able to handle even ultra-large species somehow. Like the hero did.”

“Did the previous hero visit the Monster Forest too?”

“I only heard the sound from a distance. Both Dorothy and I were still young then.”

The previous hero Nialatotp was surprisingly diligent! I should beg Professor Destroyer to tell me the story later.

Through the library expedition, spirits gain old fairy tales and veterans gain settings from the past.

Huh?

Aren’t fairies and I similar in our principles of action?

Maybe I’m actually a fairy!

While giggling at the happy thought, Dorothy was still glaring somewhere with a displeased face.

“Is Yuie bothering you that much?”

“It’s not just the smell of money.”

From over there came the smell of blood too.

And that was the different blood scents of many people.

* * *

What they thought was darkness wasn’t because they had entered a forest at night.

It was because the massive negative energy under the dense branches drove away all the bright energy in the world, creating a high-density dark zone where even moonlight couldn’t reach.

The light from the torches couldn’t extend beyond 2 meters around the students and was greedily swallowed by the darkness.

R-run away.

That monster is beyond our ability to handle.

The library is not something first-years should attempt!

The students who had been opening and closing their mouths as if screaming looked at each other with surprised eyes.

No sound came out.

As if they were being devoured.

When in danger, people instinctively understand the cause of the danger.

Now they realized that <Pet Tree Poppy> was the entity consuming their sounds.

Blood splattered.

A sharp branch pierced through a student’s forearm.

When a friend drew his sword and cut the branch, blood gushed out from it.

The students became even more terrified.

How could cutting a branch cause blood to pour out like a human’s!

<Troy Royal Family 5th Tier Vision Magic>

<Light, Shine Down>

Dazzling light from Hector’s drawn sword drove away the darkness and raised the morale that had been plummeting to the bottom of Hector’s Vassal Group.

Instead of speaking, Hector stepped forward and swung his sword at the eerie tree.

Against a tree that blocked vocalization, preventing skill activation and incantation, Hector had perfected his spell mastery to the point where he could cast magic without incantation.

Hector, who was determined to surpass the hybrid life form Cassia and advance to the upper class, successfully cast magic against the chapter boss of <Chapter 4: Silent Death, Forest of Silence> that would normally appear in the summer vacation of the second year.

If Oknodie had seen this, he would have sparkled with excitement at Hector’s brilliant growth, but Pet Tree Poppy did not rejoice in its opponent’s strength.

[Dizziness][Vomiting][Fever][Loss of Balance][Chills][Itching][Numbness][Suffocation]

Curses accumulating at a frightening speed by the second.

As Pet Tree Poppy exerted its power with determination, the students who had rushed in behind Hector collapsed or convulsed while vomiting blood.

While the students in the rear frantically tried to rescue their friends, Hector suffered all those curses at the closest range and with the strongest output.

Lead the way!

We cannot leave Lord Hector alone!

The loyal Deiphobus followed with his spear.

His judgment was correct.

The more people who share Pet Tree Poppy’s curse, the less powerful it becomes.

For Hector’s sake too, they must endure the immediate pain.

Only then could they temporarily repel that crazy tree and open a path, even if they couldn’t kill it.

Although his voice was swallowed by Pet Tree Poppy and didn’t reach anyone, Deiphobus’s determination not to retreat even while suffering from real-time curses gave courage to the students again.

Hector’s Vassal Group was brave.

They were lower class students who had been left behind and abandoned, but Hector had taken them all in.

With their leader Hector and the loyal Deiphobus taking the initiative to face the greatest difficulties, it was impossible not to feel respect as their subordinates.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Hector’s sword flashed with magic several times, cutting off more than a dozen branches.

As cursed items hanging from the branches like Christmas tree ornaments fell with a thud, other students gained more courage and rushed in.

“Push a little more!”

“Huh? I can hear sounds again!”

“The monster’s power must have weakened!”

It was an illusion.

Hector, who had been fighting at the very front, turned pale.

“Everyone, cover your ears!”

A horrific scream erupted from the sinister mouth that appeared on the tree trunk.

Pet Tree Poppy’s new pattern <Flood of Terror> released all the consumed sounds at once.

Students who failed to cover their ears collapsed foaming at the mouth, and even those who covered their ears trembled with fear and couldn’t raise their swords above waist height.

“Forget about repelling it. Everyone, support those who have fallen and run beyond the gate!”

As if to say it wouldn’t be that easy, Pet Tree Poppy raised large roots from underground.

Facing the spectacle of roots rising high like earthen walls, Deiphobus said with a hardened face.

“We should abandon the library expedition, Your Highness. If we try to advance any further, there will be seriously injured subordinates.”

“Kugh. What is this crazy academy thinking, making the library like this? Are the weak ones not even qualified to look at reference materials!”

“Do you need help?”

At the inappropriately calm question, Prince Hector glared angrily at the owner of the voice.

“Senior Tetrapos. Are you just going to stand by and watch?”

“I’d feel bad interrupting when you’re fighting so hard.”

“Please help us.”

“What will you pay me with?”

“…!”

Do you really need compensation even in this situation?

The words that had risen to the tip of his tongue sank back down as he saw the snake-like cold eyes that were looking at prey, despite the mouth that was smiling as if finding the situation interesting.

A devil.

This senior was truly a devilish character.

The juniors’ reckless adventure and the adversity they faced as the price of their rashness—none of it mattered to him.

Even if a few first-years died here, he would just laugh loudly and mock them for being too weak, without ever regretting it.

“What do you want?”

“Points would be nice. Or it could be free too.”

…What does that mean?

Did he suddenly feel compassion?

But it’s strange.

Why would such a ruthless senior suddenly offer help for free?

This is dangerous.

A very dangerous smell.

“With points…”

“Would it kill you to help us for free!”

Instead of Hector, who was about to answer that he would pay points even if it meant pushing himself, Deiphobus, who had been fending off the waves of branches with his spear, shouted roughly during the moment Hector’s hand paused.

He couldn’t be blamed.

Deiphobus’s forearms were scratched by the killing intent that he couldn’t completely block while stopping the branches, and blood was dripping through his broken arm guards.

However, the feared event finally occurred.

The students who had been hesitating in front of the roots screamed again.

But this attack wasn’t from Poppy.

Even Pet Tree Poppy stared blankly with its knot holes that served as eyes, as if wondering what was happening.

Slash!

Wherever Tetrapos gestured, flying threads dug into the students’ skin, drawing blood.

An act that wouldn’t kill or seriously injure them, but they couldn’t avoid the pain!

Especially since the surprise attack came from a senior they had trusted, all students were wounded helplessly.

“What on earth are you doing!”

“You asked for help, right? For free. So I drew blood. First-year blood doesn’t count as points.”

“You call that an explanation!”

“Haha. Don’t get so heated, juniors. This is what’s called <Cruel Blood Control Technique>.”

Tetrapos’s blood-stained threads glowed bright red and shot out in crisscrossing layers, maintaining formation.

Everyone was astonished as the roots blocking their path were cut down in an instant, as if being sieved.

“There, one serving done. Do you need more help?”

Pet Tree Poppy, having lost its roots, stopped its offensive as it writhed in pain.

Hector glared at Deiphobus, warning him not to say a word.

Of course, Deiphobus, with a face paler than when he was bleeding, couldn’t escape his guilt over the disaster his rash outburst had caused.

The battle was lost.

They had to either break through the gate or defend, one or the other.

Before everyone collapsed from excessive bleeding, whether at the hands of the monster or the senior.

But even after losing its roots, Pet Tree Poppy attacked again.

By raising eight more roots of the same size from all directions.

“Hah, really. I didn’t want to show my hand in a place like this!”

The one who stepped forward in this desperate crisis was Yuie.

The person everyone had assumed would have negligible combat power, being from a merchant guild leader background.