episode_0094

Sigh─

Charlie, who was leading, suddenly raised his hand.

The group, who had agreed in advance and knew that this was a signal to stop, immediately stopped in place.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Tension began to arise among the group.

This was especially true for L.

It was probably because he knew that it would not be normal for Charlie, an experienced mercenary, to stop in the forest.

On the other hand, in my case, I was at the end of the group and wasn’t really nervous.

Yes, because I knew.

Why did Charlie run the stop sign?

Ssuk─

The sound of leaves rustling can be heard quite far away.

And at the same time, there were several signs approaching this place at breakneck speed.

I had been noticing their presence for some time.

I also vaguely guessed their identities.

So, I wasn’t nervous.

However, since he couldn’t show it on the outside, he put on an appropriately nervous expression and pretended to look around with trembling eyes like a novice mercenary.

How long has it been like that?

“Coming!”

Shouting loudly, Charlie pulled out the jungle sword from his belt.

Battles in the forest often take place at smaller intervals than in open areas.

For that reason, skilled mercenaries often kept separate weapons for use in the forest, even if they were not the weapons they originally used.

And the longer your mercenary life becomes, the more you treat those weapons as if you were your own limbs.

Like Charlie right in front of you.

and.

Hiss!

Finally, the first villager showed up to greet us.

“Devil Monkey… !”

Upon seeing them, El let out a cry that was either an exclamation or a scream.

A shout that accurately penetrates the identity of the opponent.

Devil Monkey.

This monster with a very intuitive name was one of the monsters that only appeared in this forest.

However, this does not mean that it is truly a devil or one of its affiliates, but it is simply a name given to it because of its extremely ferocious appearance.

Its size is roughly half that of an adult man, and its face is as ugly as a monkey possessed by the devil.

In addition, their fingernails and toenails are long, like those of a wild animal, and their strength exceeds that of an average human.

It can be said that he is truly worthy of being called a monster.

A total of six devil monkeys appeared.

The number was considerably higher than in normal cases.

However.

Even when facing as many as six monsters with such ferocious appearance, there was little tension on Charlie’s face.

Kiyaaaak!

Devil Monkey screamed and rushed towards the group.

but.

Suddenly!

The one in the lead was broken in two in the next moment.

Kiik?!

The other Devil Monkey’s eyes widened in anger at the death of his colleague, but his anger never came out.

Hiss!

After Charlie’s jungle sword flashed and moved a few times, the four devil monkeys again turned into cold corpses and lay on the ground.

Key, key… !!

Only then did the last one scream and try to run away, but it was already too late.

Sigh!

The last devil monkey’s head fell, and silence returned to the forest.

After confirming that all Devil Monkeys were out of breath, Charlie waved the jungle sword in the air to shake off the blood, put it back on his belt, and looked back at the group.

“It’s all over.”

With that sweet smile.

“More than you think… It’s over soon… .”

El muttered with a slightly puzzled expression.

“Ah, unlike how they appear, these guys are nothing special.”

Charlie responded immediately to that muttering.

As the saying goes, Devil Monkeys were nothing special.

If you look at its appearance, it is extremely ferocious, but its combat power itself is not that high.

It would be close to a disaster to an ordinary person with no powers, but a warrior or wizard who has reached a certain level can handle it without much difficulty.

“Monsters will gradually appear, but since it is still the beginning, there are no dangerous ones. So, you can rest assured.”

In the midst of all this, Charlie seemed to have not forgotten his efforts to make a good impression, and he smiled wholeheartedly as if he saw this as an opportunity.

In fact, El was probably dumbfounded by the monster she saw for the first time, and Dorothy was only paying attention to El with innocent eyes, so it didn’t seem to mean much.

“Still, there is a possibility that other guys will catch this scent and come rushing in, so let’s get out of here for now.”

Charlie suggested.

That judgment was right in my opinion.

The smell of blood is noticeable in the forest.

Because they are not deep in the forest yet, there are very few aggressive ones, and among them, those who pose a threat are even rarer, but there is no need to cause unnecessary threats.

Following that judgment, the group started moving again, and that day there were no more encounters with monsters.

However, that only applied to that day.

From the next day, we encountered monsters quite frequently.

L, who was startled at first, was now able to look at the monsters with confidence.

“Something… Monsters are appearing more frequently. Is it really like this?”

So much so that he finally asked this question with a calm face.

“Hmm… Originally, it was time for monsters to appear more frequently… This feels more frequent than usual.”

Charlie answered with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

This was consistent with the information I knew.

Even when compared to the information provided by Anton, who can be considered an expert in this area, this frequency is clearly frequent.

“Maybe something happened to the forest.”

Charlie said.

“Then… Is it right to go back?”

L asked with a worried expression.

“No. If the worst happens, that’s what we’ll have to do… I don’t think it’s that serious right now.”

Fortunately, Charlie shook his head, and Elle’s face brightened.

“Let’s move forward while being careful.”

As someone who was in a position to lead the group, Charlie made the appropriate judgment as a skilled and reputable mercenary.

And, we continued to move forward based on that judgment.

I encountered monsters quite often, but most of them were insignificant, so it wasn’t a big problem.

To that extent, it was a problem that could be sorted out at the Charlie Line without the need for the entire party to go out, so the speed at which the party moved through the forest was not much different compared to before.

There was a problem that fatigue accumulated slightly compared to before, but that was not a big problem.

Luckily, we were never attacked at night.

Anyway, after going on for a few more days, the group was able to see a broken tower that had suddenly been erected in the forest.

“This is the ‘top’.”

“That’s right.”

To L’s question, which was sparkling with interest, Charlie answered straight away.

Even though it is a building located in the forest, far away from Darbil, El is aware of its existence.

There was a good reason for that.

This tower is one of the rare, well-preserved buildings among the imperial heritage.

Even though it was almost half blown away, it was still quite high, and because of that, it was quite noticeable in the forest.

Because of its characteristics, this tower was used as a landmark.

“A milestone that marks the end of the first part of the forest… .”

Just as El muttered, this was a signpost that signaled the end of the first part of the forest.

The tower stood at the border between the beginning and the depths, signaling that the real forest would begin from now on.

Of course, passing this tower does not mean that the surrounding environment changes instantly.

However, it is true that the classification is based on this tower.

In other words, it meant that from now on, it would become dangerous on a different level than before.

“… … .”

“… … .”

There was clear tension and excitement on Elle’s face, and concern in Dorothy’s eyes.

This may be because El has a very interested personality, and in Dorothy’s case, she is confident in her own power, so she is probably reacting that way because she is worried about El’s safety rather than her own.

Charlie still had a serious expression on his face.

This may be because I know from long experience that it will be a completely different place from here on.

“We will do a final inspection before entering.”

There was nothing wrong, and the group knew it, but Charlie insisted that they properly inspect their equipment and belongings.

There’s no harm in being prepared, just in case.

Only after completing a fairly thorough inspection.

“Then, let’s go.”

We passed the tower and entered the true forest.

Of course, that didn’t mean that an unusual monster attacked the group right away, or that an unexpected event occurred.

After getting out of the early part, we proceeded through the forest without any problems for a while.

As one day passes, until two days pass.

By that time, as we entered deeper into the forest, the tension among the group that had come up a lot had dissipated somewhat.

However, the tension that had eased soon became tight again.

Because I faced something shocking.

A powerful and vicious monster did not appear before the group’s eyes.

However, perhaps an even bigger shock hit the group.

Because I came face to face with a group of humans who had been brutally slaughtered.