Moonlight Grove's Gathering
I added a long list of names to the kill roster and tossed the captured people into the Water Realm, wearing a satisfied expression. So many volunteers—well, slaves—willing to come work in the North. It was heartening to see that humanity still had some decency left in the world.
Neon, who had been adding noble names to the list beside me, pointed at them with his magic quill and asked, "What are you going to do with the nobles?"
"Dispose of them," I answered without a moment's hesitation. People like these were trash who contributed nothing to the world, regardless of their region or status.
The Central region had plenty of problems, but places like the Grond Kingdom, which bordered the North, were relatively decent. Even within the Empire, there were plenty of upright nobles. Just look at the Academy—there were plenty of noble students who turned out fine. It was only because the rotten ones were so loud that the decay stood out.
Unless they had some use, most nobles only caused trouble later if left alive. It was simpler to deal with them on the spot. If we spared them, the Empire might demand their return for the sake of appearances. In noble society, being reduced to slavery was considered a greater disgrace than death, so killing them made things easier for the Adventurer Guild to clean up afterward.
Neon gave me a worried look at my attitude. "Are you sure this is okay? There are already dozens of nobles on that list. Most are just baronets or barons, but still."
"Don't worry about it. The Empire won't seriously come after us."
"Right. They wouldn't want another Northern War."
Neon nodded in understanding. The Northern War. In the Central region, it was remembered as a symbol of terror. In the North, it had been little more than a one-sided act of violence—hardly even worth calling a war.
To summarize the long story: about a hundred years ago, a high-ranking noble who held a grudge against a Gold-class adventurer operating in Imperial territory spent years preparing an assassination attempt. The result was that the reigning emperor was dragged out and forced to bash his head against the ground until blood flowed, and an entire duchy was destroyed. The noble faction families that had been in power at the time were not only shattered but erased from history entirely. For reference, the Grond Kingdom had been the first to open the way. They had been pro-North for centuries.
"With the Archduke's protection, there's nothing to fear from the Central region."
"Must be nice. Not just some ordinary noble, but the entire North watching your back."
"It's just compensation for hunting monsters for the North's sake."
This wasn't a privilege granted only to me. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every Gold-class adventurer enjoyed the North's protection. Even Neon, a Silver-class adventurer, would have the Count of Edenberg personally investigate if someone killed him. The North wasn't the sort of petty place that treated warriors fighting for peace with stinginess. Of course, if the fault lay with me, they would punish me, but since I had no intention of causing trouble, it was a meaningless restriction.
Once the captured prisoners and the elves that followed had all been sent into the Water Realm, I turned to Neon and Adela.
"At this rate, if the flies are already swarming, that place must be on a completely different level of battlefield."
"Probably," Neon sighed, shaking his head as if he didn't even want to imagine what it would look like soon.
"They don't seem to have noticed yet, but once they realize who's there, it'll be obvious soon enough."
"She asked us to rescue the others first, so we're following her request for now, but I'm still worried."
Scratching my head, I climbed onto Ikelos and spurred it forward. I would have preferred to rescue her first, but given the geography, rescuing her and escaping would take too long, and the other locations would likely come under attack in the meantime. Considering the adventurers' skills, they probably wouldn't fall easily, but places with weaker fighters, like the small beastkin tribe we'd met earlier, made me uneasy.
"This won't do. I'll handle the rest alone. Neon and Adela, head over there."
"That would be better. Looking at the level here, we should be fine without you."
"Then we'll go that way."
After the two nodded and headed toward the location guarded by Goro and Arash, I dismounted from Ikelos without hesitation once I was completely alone.
"Time to really run, then."
I took my stance, kicked off the ground lightly, and began running on my own two legs. Ever since reaching Gold-class, my running speed had surpassed Ikelos. With that physical ability, the scenery blurred with every step, and I covered dozens of meters in a single bound. Running at such an incredible speed, even curious animals and monsters that glanced my way fled in terror. At that pace, reaching the next gathering point didn't take long.
I eliminated any vultures lingering near the gathering points hoping to kidnap the other races, and when there were none, I sent the other races into the Water Realm. After running nonstop for several days, I looked at the three teams of adventurers guarding the fourteenth gathering point after sending its occupants into the Water Realm.
"Only the last location left now."
"Indeed. Thanks to you working so hard, Argo, we finished earlier than expected."
"How on earth are you that fast?"
"Just ignore the roads on the map and run straight without stopping. If you've got the stamina, it's easier than you think. The monsters in the Central region are weaker than expected, after all."
To move as quickly as possible, I replaced the animals pulling the carriages with Ikelos and said, "The rumors must be spreading by now."
"Word that the other races are migrating on a large scale has already reached the citizens."
"Then things must be chaotic over there."
"Can't be helped. We have limited manpower, so while the closer northern locations might be manageable, we've decided to gather everyone from the south in one place and move them together."
Other races hoping to migrate from the northern part of the Empire, based on the Central region, had been divided into fourteen locations and gathered relatively discreetly. Those from the south had been gathered in one place for a single move. I offered endless thanks to the information agents who had worked hard to maintain security during the process, then recalled our destination.
"The last gathering point was the Moonlight Tree Forest, wasn't it?"
"It's a fairly famous forest in the southern Empire."
"Rumor has it that the power of moonlight lingers strongly there."
"That, and it's home to werewolves, the same race as Lord Vergo."
I nodded at the Silver-class adventurer sitting beside the coachman's seat. It made sense that werewolves would stay in a place deeply connected to moonlight. As powerful warriors and hunters individually, werewolves enjoyed a degree of freedom from outside interference, and the Mystery phenomenon of the Moonlight Tree Forest effectively repelled external invasions.
"We're lucky the race closest to the North is staying there."
"That's exactly why we chose the Moonlight Tree Forest as the southern gathering point in the first place."
"True. The forest itself is a natural fortress, too."
Werewolves, like the North, valued strength and honor. And the strongest being they respected most was Vergo. He was the strongest among his kin, had accomplished feats renowned across the continent, and had even been acknowledged by a divine beast. It would be stranger if they didn't respect him. They had apparently been considering migration after sensing the chaotic situation in the Central region, so they had decided to head north together on this opportunity.
Since Ikelos, transformed into a horse, pulled the carriage at high speed, I munched on jerky while riding the less bumpy carriage and said, "There will be countless other races in that forest."
"Plenty of greedy ones too, I bet."
"If we capture them, we could use them later, but let's give up on that this time."
"You're planning to kill them all?"
"Better than letting the ones who run away escape."
"That's true."
"Capture only those who surrender. Don't spare the rest."
I didn't know how many would gather, but I had no intention of letting any go. If there was rot, it had to be cut out before it spread elsewhere. With a low, focused gaze, I concentrated on driving the carriage forward. With such a long distance ahead, I drove without rest, operating on the mindset that I would sleep when I was dead.
After crossing the vast Central Empire, we finally arrived at the last gathering point. We stopped the carriage, taking in the view of the mysterious forest visible in the distance.
"Whoa, it's swarming."
"Are all of them targets we need to deal with?"
"Hard to say. With numbers like that, some might just be people who came because they were ordered from above."
Upon arriving at the mysterious forest where moonlight shone instead of sunlight even in the morning, we couldn't help but marvel at the encampment stretching along the forest's boundary. There had to be over a thousand people just based on those staying in the camp. Since the slave prohibition law prevented them from openly raising troops, they must have sent a small number of trusted subordinates along with mercenaries and slave traders. I couldn't understand why they would send such a large force just for the other races, casting aside their pride out of greed. Of course, they would have cited some other reason on the surface for capturing the other races, but their true goal of slave hunting wouldn't change.
As I stared in disbelief at the unimaginable sight, the air distorted and an Adventurer Guild information agent with their face hidden by a robe appeared.
"You arrived faster than expected."
"I hurried because I figured the greedy ones would cause trouble. I didn't expect this many, though."
"It just shows how much they covet what's inside."
I gave a bitter smile at the agent's words. While there were indeed many other races gathered in the forest, the majority of those surrounding it were likely after her.
"Not just anyone, but a High Elf. The timing couldn't be worse."
"When an ordinary elf comes of age, the World Tree chooses them, so no one could have predicted this."
"A High Elf appearing in such chaotic times—of all times. What was the World Tree thinking?"
The value of a High Elf who could communicate with the World Tree was beyond imagination. They could freely manipulate forests to change terrain, moisten cracked, barren land, and possessed the passive aura to sprout new growth in empty wastelands. The tale of cultivating a forest in a dry desert was a widely known legend. Recalling the miracle Kierre, the High Elf from the expedition, had performed, I clicked my tongue.
"Even just the abilities that come to mind are beyond imagination. On top of that, High Elves are treated as royalty no matter where they are, so of course people would covet them."
Just possessing one held infinite value, so who wouldn't be tempted? Given the legends about their appearance, it was no wonder greedy people were desperate for them.
I looked down at the swarming people in the encampment from the hill.
"So, why did you come here?"
"I came to deliver information about the current situation to you, the leader of this request, Argo, and to guide you to a path that can secretly enter the forest."
"No need for that. We'll be using the carriages here."
There were plenty of people who could track traces even in the sky, so it would be troublesome if they underestimated us from the first encounter. I knocked on the carriage and spoke, and the agent asked, "You went through the trouble of bringing them, but is it okay to use the carriages here?"
"Doesn't matter. Three carriages' worth is nothing compared to what Adela will replenish once she's in the forest."
"I see."
At my words, the agent smiled enigmatically from beneath the robe. Though only the sharp jawline was visible under the hood, the information agent watched as I opened the firmly shut carriage door.
"It feels truly thrilling when someone you thought was an enemy turns into an ally."
"Right? Let's give those smug bastards in the encampment a good hit."
Beyond the wide-open door appeared hundreds of pairs of eyes glowing red.
"Kiiik."
"Ki-gi-git."
I wore a satisfied expression at the sight of them looking ready to burst out of the carriage and sweep everything away at any moment.