Episode 90
“This, what is this…”
Adele Richter looked around, speechless.
However, no matter how much I looked, there was not a single survivor.
The camp was shattered, and the corpses strewn about were half-rotten.
I couldn’t even close my mouth at that terrible look.
‘The situation is more serious than I thought?’
The scale of the Imperial Exploration Corps was considerable.
Even if the number of corpses scattered around the camp right now was hundreds.
Moreover, more than half of them were recruited from the Knights.
I don’t know if I’m going to smash somewhere, but it wasn’t enough power to be slaughtered unilaterally.
“Look here.”
While looking around the camp, I heard Adele’s voice.
When I ran with Camille, I found her squatting among several corpses.
My rotten self vibrated, but it didn’t seem to care much.
‘I must have been shocked, but the recovery is fast.’
Once again, I looked at the traces admiring Adele Richter’s modesty.
“It’s hard to recognize, but it doesn’t seem like at least one. Look at the footprints and the destroyed tent.”
“They come in all sizes and shapes.”
“Isn’t it? It looks like I was attacked by a monster…”
“Then what is it?”
I pointed to the corpse lying flat in the pit and said,
However, after looking for quite some time, I couldn’t find the answer.
It looked strange, but it was because the degree of corruption was so severe.
“Maybe it was taken with a big stick or something?”
“That’s why the pit is a bit odd? Where did you see this?”
The overall shape is round and only the top edge is cut a little deeper.
Adele also had an expression that seemed to remind her of something.
Suddenly, Camille Felton, who had been silent, spat out a word.
“Horseshoe.”
“Yes! That’s right. But how can it be this huge?”
I thought I had found the answer, but then I shook my head.
Because common sense words can’t be this big.
“Or maybe War Hammer.”
“That would be more likely.”
Although her opinion was denied, Camille didn’t care at all.
It’s because it seemed like I just randomly threw whatever I could think of in the first place.
After passing the pit, we left the expedition camp and started exploring the surroundings.
“From here on, it’s the forest of the dead in earnest, so you have to be careful.”
Adele Richter’s warning made me laugh out loud.
Because he was the one who experienced the Forest of the Dead himself.
“Actually, it’s notorious, it’s nothing special. Just don’t get lost.”
“I heard that all kinds of strange phenomena happen here. There are many monsters.”
“That’s enough with our power.”
“Well, since there are two of them, most monsters won’t be able to even come close.”
I puffed out my chest and put on a pretentious expression.
Then she let out a small laugh.
“Poohup! But let’s not be too vigilant.”
“Yes. Yes.”
As expected, humorous men are the trend these days.
But at the same time, the scene of Adele hitting the wall suddenly came to mind.
I had to correct my thoughts right away.
‘… … Assuming that the face supports it for now.’
This guy’s look superstitiousness, be sure to smash it… … .
Wait a minute, if you look closely, am I the most abusive?
Long live appearance supremacy!
“There’s a body here too.”
I was walking with silly thoughts in my head when Adele’s voice broke my thoughts.
It seemed she had found something else.
“This time it’s quite… a fresh corpse.”
“Hey. Chairman? Your expression is so frightening?”
“Well, if you’re in the position of a monster.”
“We’re not cannibal monsters, are we?”
“Ah, then I’ll correct it. With a warm corpse.”
“Wow… it exploded.”
“what?”
“Humanity!”
“That thing can explode.”
Whether Adele Richter screamed or not, I looked at people who seemed to have died some time ago.
Meanwhile, Camille was subtly wary of her surroundings.
The fact that a person died a while ago suggests that there is a pleural effusion nearby.
‘There are traces of being hit by a weapon… … . Are these claws?’
The wounds on the corpse were quite complex.
There were all kinds of weapons, as well as scars that seemed to have been made by monsters.
But I couldn’t get more clues here.
It was because the damage to the site was so severe.
“It’s time to find the beasts, not the members of the expedition.”
“I think so too.”
“Shall we go inside a bit more? The traces continue.”
“Um… is that so?”
After thinking for a moment, Adele nodded.
Although there were only three of them, the power of the 3rd Benderford Student Corps was considerable.
If I’m there, it’s just over, well.
She glanced at me as if she was thinking the same thing.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I don’t have much to do with that, but he just put on a very confident expression.”
Why are you noticing so fast?
I can’t even think
“All right. Just go.”
As I forcibly averted my gaze and walked away, Adele Richter persistently followed and asked a question.
“What were you thinking, so hot?”
“Nothing.”
“It was nothing, was it?”
“It wasn’t nothing.”
“Are you multiplying infinitely?”
“Yeah. If you keep pushing me, I’ll continue.”
“Wow! Childish.”
“Then stop talking and follow me.”
I stepped faster and faster to hide my reddened face.
embarrassing why are you like this?
* * *
After following the footsteps for quite some time, we were able to find the members of the expedition.
Unfortunately, the last survivor wasn’t all that well.
“Keureuk! Keuchuu…”
“Oh, no! Come on, get a treat!”
Adele panicked and took out the potion.
But I stopped her from doing that.
“late.”
Most of the intestines had already leaked out and were scattered all over the place.
It would be much better to ease the pain now.
But I made eye contact with the last member of the expedition and asked a question.
“Who is this?”
“That, that…”
I heard something muffled, but I couldn’t understand it right away.
It was because he died without talking.
Laying down the fallen explorer, I narrowed my eyes and looked around.
Then, Adele immediately expressed her curiosity.
“That? What the hell was he trying to say?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s time to think about that.”
Whoa!
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Just then, an ominous wind blew and shook the forest of the dead.
Adele, too, must have sensed a strange atmosphere, and her expression hardened.
“There are many signs….”
It was a word from Camille, who had been silent for a long time.
As the guy said, there was a strange presence around the vacant lot.
A thick fog rolled in before anyone knew it, and the visibility was extremely shortened.
Shhh!
I could see dark shadows moving here and there through the dense forest.
However, it was difficult to find out their identities.
“It’s no ordinary fog. It’s scattering light in the wrong direction, blocking your vision.”
“Somehow, I couldn’t see it even though it was quite close…”
“Prepare.”
We formed a triangle with our backs to each other.
Before long, beings that had been wandering around like ghosts approached and suddenly appeared.
“Kyaaa!”
The monster with its jaw wide open in close proximity was Crocman, a bipedal crocodile-shaped monster.
In addition to grinding prey with sharp teeth, this guy could use his fingernails freely.
In the southwestern part of the continent, he was fearsome enough to be called the Tyrant of the Swamp.
“You’re a familiar guy.”
Cagan!
Although the surprise could have taken a toll, Camille Felton responded calmly.
He passed the sword body to the mouth of the guy who approached him.
He then threw a punch into Crocman’s abdomen.
puck! puck!
Surprisingly, Crocman began to stumble back.
It has a reputation for never letting go once bitten, but it was quite unexpected.
“Oh… what is it?”
“Weakness. He’s a common guy in our neighborhood.”
“I should try too.”
Caang! Wow!
I held out my black dragon sword and punched it, and I heard the sound of drums bursting.
At the same time, Crocman’s new model was rapidly disintegrating.
“Keruk! Keruk!”
The guy who vomited for a long time died soon after.
When Camille and Adele looked at each other in surprise, I smiled and raised my fist.
“Because I’m going to punch you again. Call me Benderford’s Tekken from now on.”
“Ha……. Are you kidding me in a situation like this?”
“Isn’t that better than crying?”
I left Adele with a bewildered expression behind and started beating the Crocmen.
As long as he knew his weakness, there was no such thing as a big problem with monsters.
They’re not huge ancient monsters like Crown Arachne.
But that didn’t mean there was no crisis.
rumble!
“Huh? There are a lot of you…?”
I could see dozens, if not a bunch of crockmen that came out through the fog.
When the 2.5m tall monsters came rushing in, the intimidation was really no joke.
If he pushed in with his weight and size, he would be crushed to death before he could even fight properly.
“Eh, isn’t this a little bit? It keeps increasing!”
When Adele’s panicked voice echoed through the woods, I was already moving.
Tadat! Ssuk!
‘Huh?’
As if thinking the same thing as me, Camille was also jumping out on the other side.
Glancing at each other and smiling, we fired swords at the Crocmen.
“It’s enough to deal with it before siege!”
Spa Papa Pad! Pooh!
The sword light pouring out from the Jeeumswaegeom and Cheokseongeombeop roamed through the fog.
“Kwaaak!”
Kaga River!
The Crocman’s resistance was very strong, but they couldn’t overcome the aura that filled their sword body.
It was a situation where even if I pushed the hardest teeth out of the body parts, a lot of them would be cut off.
But that was just then.
Took!
“Well?”
In the middle of pushing them, isn’t something getting caught in their feet?
I tried to ignore it, thinking it was like a stone beak, but the touch was very unpleasant.
Damn!
I hit the floor with a strong blow and sent the two Crocmen in front of me flying away.
Then, the body of a man soaked in blood came into sight.
Seeing the dead in the Forest of the Dead was nothing special.
Because the expedition members died countless times.
However, there was one thing that was definitely different about this corpse.
“No, why are you naked?”
After looking at the naked man with my eyes wide open, I finally understood the reason.
“The ghost’s seal? It’s the 2nd spirit?”