94 – Forest (5)
Swoosh—
Charlie, leading the way, suddenly raised his hand.
The group, having agreed beforehand that this was the signal to stop, promptly came to a halt in their tracks.
“……”
“……”
Tension began to spread among the group.
Especially El.
In the forest, with a seasoned mercenary like Charlie stopping in his tracks, it was no ordinary occurrence, a fact El had already suspected.
On the other hand, in my position at the rear of the group, I remained rather calm.
Well, I knew why.
Why Charlie had given the stop signal.
Whoosh—
The sound of leaves brushing against each other could be heard from quite a distance away.
Simultaneously, there were several approaching presences rapidly closing in on our location.
I had been aware of these presences for quite some time.
Furthermore, I had a vague idea of their identity.
Hence, I did not feel tense.
But since I couldn’t show it outwardly, I put on an appropriately tense expression, pretending to nervously scan the surroundings like a rookie mercenary.
How much time passed like that?
“They’re coming!”
Shouting loudly, Charlie drew the machete he had strapped to his waist.
From Noble mtl dot com
In the forest, battles often took place at closer quarters than open fields.
For this reason, seasoned mercenaries often carried weapons specifically for forest use, even if it wasn’t their usual choice of armament.
And as a mercenary’s career lengthened, they became as adept with these weapons as with their primary ones.
Just like Charlie in front of us.
And then.
Slish!
Finally, the first native revealed themselves to greet us.
“Devil Monkey…!”
Upon seeing them, El exclaimed, whether in awe or terror, it was hard to tell.
It was a cry that accurately pierced the identity of the adversary.
Devil Monkey.
This monster, with a very intuitive name, was one of the creatures unique to this forest.
Not because it was truly demonic or related to that realm, but simply due to its excessively savage appearance.
Roughly half the size of an adult male, its face was truly grotesque, like a demon fused with a monkey.
Moreover, its claws were as long as those of a beast, and its strength exceeded that of an average human.
It can be said that the name “monster” suited them perfectly.
The Devil Monkeys that appeared numbered six.
A more significant number than usual.
However.
Even facing a group of six monsters with such ferocious appearances, there was hardly any tension on Charlie’s face.
Yaaah!
With a scream, the Devil Monkeys charged towards the group.
However.
Swish─!
One at the front fell lifeless the next moment.
Eek?!
Although another Devil Monkey widened its eyes in anger at the death of its comrade, that anger did not manifest outwardly.
Shiik!
As Charlie’s machete flashed and moved a few times, four Devil Monkeys became cold corpses on the ground.
Ki, Eek…!!
Only then did the last remaining one scream and attempt to flee, but it was already too late.
Chyak!
The last Devil Monkey’s head rolled off, and silence returned to the forest.
Confirming that all Devil Monkeys had breathed their last, Charlie wiped the blood off his machete into the air, then sheathed it back at his waist before turning to the group.
“It’s all over.”
With a grim smile.
“Sooner than I thought… it ended quickly.”
With a somewhat dazed expression, El muttered.
“Well, they were nothing special, unlike their looks.”
In response to that mutter, Charlie promptly replied.
Indeed, Devil Monkeys were nothing to write home about.
Despite their terrifying appearance, their combat prowess was not that high.
To an ordinary person without any power, they would be a disaster, but to a seasoned warrior or magician, they were manageable without much difficulty.
“Monsters may start revealing their true forms gradually, but for now, there are no dangerous ones around. So, you can relax.”
Perhaps not forgetting efforts to leave a good impression, Charlie flashed a confident smile as if seizing the opportunity.
However, El seemed to be in a daze, probably still stunned by the first sight of the monsters, while Dorothy, with her innocent gaze, seemed more concerned about El, making Charlie’s effort somewhat futile.
“Still, since we might attract others with this scent, let’s get out of here for now.”
Charlie suggested.
In my view, that decision was indeed correct.
The smell of blood is noticeable in the forest.
Given our current position not deep in the woods, aggressive creatures are rare, and even rarer are those posing a threat. Yet, there’s no need to invite unnecessary danger.
Following that judgment, the group began to move again, and that day, they encountered no more monsters.
However, that was just for that day.
From the next day onwards, we began to encounter monsters quite frequently.
Initially taken aback, El had now grown accustomed enough to gaze at the monsters somewhat calmly.
“Something… the appearance of monsters has become more frequent. Is this normal?”
Charlie asked with a calm face, to the point of throwing such a question.
“Well… it is a time when the appearance of monsters is supposed to increase, but… it feels more frequent than usual.”
Charlie replied with a serious expression, unexpectedly.
This part matched the information I knew.
Compared to the information Anton, who could be considered an expert on this matter, had shared, the frequency was clearly higher.
“Seems like something is happening in the forest.”
Charlie said.
“So… should we turn back?”
El asked with a worried expression.
“No. If the worst scenario unfolds, we might have to, but… for now, it doesn’t seem that severe.”
Fortunately, Charlie nodded, and El’s face brightened.
“Let’s proceed with caution.”
As the one leading the group, Charlie made a skilled and reputable mercenary-like judgment.
And so, we continued to move forward as per his decision.
Although we encountered monsters fairly often, most of them were insignificant, posing no major threat.
Dealing with such encounters was an issue that could be resolved by Charlie without the entire group intervening, so the pace at which the group advanced through the forest remained relatively unchanged from before.
There was a slight accumulation of fatigue compared to before, but it wasn’t a significant problem.
Luckily, we hadn’t been attacked at night.
After traveling for a few more days, the group suddenly spotted a broken tower standing in the middle of the forest.
“So, that’s the ‘Tower.'”
“That’s correct.”
In response to El’s intrigued question, Charlie promptly answered.
Despite being a building deep in the forest, far from Darville, El was aware of its existence.
There was a reason for that.
This tower was one of the few well-preserved structures among the Empire’s heritage.
Even though almost half of it had collapsed, it was still quite tall, making it quite noticeable in the forest.
Due to this characteristic, the tower was being used as a landmark.
“This landmark signifies the end of the early part of the forest…”
As El murmured, this was indeed a marker indicating the end of the early part and the beginning of the deeper section of the forest.
Of course, passing this tower didn’t mean an instant change in the surrounding environment.
It just roughly divided the area based on this tower.
In other words, it meant that the level of danger would increase significantly from now on, compared to what we had faced before.
“….”
“….”
El’s face showed clear tension and excitement, while Dorothy’s eyes revealed worry.
El was naturally more interested, which explained her reaction, and Dorothy, confident in her own abilities, was more concerned about El’s safety than her own.
Charlie, however, maintained a rather serious expression.
He must have known from his extensive experience that the upcoming area would be entirely different.
“I will make sure to do a final check before we enter.”
There was nothing unusual, and the companions knew it, but Charlie insisted on thoroughly inspecting the equipment and belongings.
It wouldn’t hurt to be prepared for the worst.
Only after such a meticulous check.
“Well, let’s go.”
We passed the tower and entered the true forest.
Of course, that didn’t mean that immediately some bizarre monster would attack the group, or that unexpected events would occur.
Even after getting past the initial stages, we continued through the forest without any issues for a while.
A day passed, then two.
By the time we ventured deep into the forest, the tension that had built up among our group began to ease somewhat.
However, that relaxed tension didn’t last long before tightening up again.
Because we were faced with something shocking.
A powerful and brutal monster did not appear before the group.
But perhaps an even greater shock struck the group.
They came face to face with a group of humans brutally slaughtered.