Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Sinking Forest
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The Sinking Forest.
Even in the north's winter, the interior of the Sinking Forest was blotched with green.
It was because leaves similar to pine needles, which didn't fall even in winter, sprouted layer upon layer on the trees.
That was why snow didn't pile up inside the Sinking Forest, and green spores floated mysteriously about.
"This is the Sinking Forest. It's my first time seeing it with my own eyes. To think this place was once just a simple cliff long ago... Hard to believe."
Allen looked around here and there with his one remaining eye. His golden hair, sparkling in the sunlight, swayed every time he shook his head while gazing about.
"Hey, Allen. We're not here sightseeing, so quit gawking... If you fall into a pit, you'd be too small to bother fishing out."
"I wouldn't dream of asking for that. I'll manage on my own, so you watch yourself, Sir Aron. With that heavy body of yours, you'd be the perfect fit for sinking."
Just as Aron was about to fire back.
"Quiet down. We're not here to play."
Kallias put an end to their bickering.
"Kallias, sir... over there."
At that moment, Lini, perched up in a tree, called out to Kallias.
"They're there. Orcs on that side."
"I see."
However, Kallias looked toward Emily, who was near Lini.
It was a gaze seeking confirmation, so Emily glanced at Lini before replying.
"It's blurry, but I can see them moving. Lini's probably right."
Only then did Kallias nod. Lini's eyes shot toward Emily.
The subtle bond between the two furrowed Lini's brow.
"Location."
"Northeast."
"Not bad."
He turned to Brans, who promptly pulled something from his double bag as if he'd been waiting.
It was a telescope.
Kallias's figure vanished in an instant and shot up onto the trees.
Climbing higher than Lini's spot, he peered at the orcs through the telescope.
"So that's how it is."
Orcs weren't idiots.
The magic beasts that had entered the forest weren't the stupidly massive ones that had tried smashing the walls. They would know that too.
Transporting supplies with giant magic beasts was convenient, but impossible to do without being spotted.
'Earth dragons, huh.'
They had chosen earth dragons and the Sinking Forest.
Earth dragons were reptilian magic beasts known as such—bipedal walkers with highly developed leg muscles for fast movement and sleek bodies.
Each had a large load strapped to their backs, which were likely supplies destined for the orc army.
'They planned to use earth dragons to cross the Sinking Forest.'
A clever approach.
With their excellent balance and ability to hop about nimbly, they weren't affected by the Sinking Forest's quirks.
It required quite a few earth dragons, but it was a reliable and safe way to traverse the forest.
Just the sort of method orcs capable of commanding magic beasts would use.
'If they're using earth dragons, the odds of enemies lying in ambush here are low.'
For a moment, Kallias recalled the earth dragon meat he'd eaten at a northern inn. But he quickly shook off the thought, descended from the tree, and gave orders.
"Prepare."
The knights waiting in readiness began sprinkling something from their pouches at Kallias's command.
It was golden powder of some sort, which the knights scattered with the care one might use for gold dust.
'What the hell is this...'
Orphin scattered the powder in the designated spots alongside the knights, unable to shake her bewilderment.
Because this powder was simply ground leaves from a common weed. Moringa, a plant that grew even in the barren northern soil and was treated as a nuisance.
A few days prior, Kallias had finished a meeting with the knights and immediately ordered them to gather moringa and grind it into powder. Every knight had been puzzled by the command to process weeds into powder but hadn't shown it outwardly.
It was because their trust in Kallias had grown strong through the northern war.
"Sir, all done."
"Good work."
Confirming the spots where the moringa had been scattered once more, Kallias nodded.
'This should do it.'
The sediments piled up in the Sinking Forest had accumulated over long years, caught in the tree roots.
And most of the trees in the forest had a peculiar property—one that couldn't be easily put into words, but there was one notable oddity.
'Most people don't know, but...'
For some reason, the trees in the Sinking Forest would begin corroding within five minutes of moringa powder being applied, and by ten minutes, their fibers would slowly break down and snap.
A harmless weed to humans became a deadly poison to the Sinking Forest's trees.
What would happen if you dusted moringa powder on the already fragile roots in the Sinking Forest's weak ground?
'Even a small impact would bring them crashing down.'
In the setting, this was discovered by a mid-tier named character when the north began to crumble, using it as a turning point to reverse the war...
'No helping it.'
It was a simpler way to starve the orcs to death, so using it now wasn't a loss at all.
Besides, he had no intention of just spectating the war that would come later.
"Now we just wait."
If they simply waited, even using earth dragons, the slightest impact would cause everything to collapse spectacularly.
Kallias couldn't help but smile at the sinkhole-like trap he'd set.
"Sir, but will it really work like that?"
"Don't jinx it, Brans. My plan is flawless. If—if—they deviate from the expected path, we'll just reveal ourselves and drive the orcs together."
To that end, the knights were split and ambushing on both flanks.
No gaps.
"They're coming."
It was then.
Crack, crackle-crackle.
The sound of earth dragons' footsteps approached.
Sensitive to smells as they were, the knights had already smeared strong-scented herbs between their armor and clothes.
The lead orcs came into view.
They scanned about, signaled it was clear, and drew nearer.
Behind them trailed numerous earth dragons laden with cargo.
'Yeah, come a bit closer. Just a little more.'
Just a bit further.
Just a little, a little more.
They had just reached the trap site.
Tap.
A new presence approached.
'...That bastard.'
A hooded man stepped forward to block the earth dragons.
'No way...'
Kallias's eyes narrowed.
Hooded though he was, brilliant golden hair peeked from beneath.
And in his hand was a spear.
"Come out. You don't think hiding like that means I won't know, do you?"
The hooded man's voice was fairly young.
It carried considerable dignity and overflowing confidence—a young man's voice.
And one quite familiar to Kallias.
Bard’s Blessing automatically inferred the voice and revived the memory.
Back when he was a monk in the church. A friend he'd been close to, picking out the trashiest deeds together.
Unlike other monks, he was from a great noble house like Kallias himself, exceptionally talented and treated differently.
At that moment, a gust of wind crossing the forest blew off the man's hood, sending his brilliant golden hair fluttering.
"Luteon..."
Kallias, hidden in the underbrush, slowly rose. He gradually drew the Predator Sword from his waist.
"Kallias. Long time no see?"
Luteon gripped his spear shaft, his face a mix of gladness and hatred.
Seeing his spear, Kallias gripped the Predator Sword tighter.
"Traitor Luteon."
Traitor Luteon.
Hearing that, Luteon twisted his lips into a smirk.
"I've got reasons to bring down the north. So, mind doing me a favor?"
Luteon winked at his old friend like he was asking something trivial.
"Go ahead and die."
His figure vanished in a flash.
Kallias was momentarily flustered by the vanishing act but had no choice but to grit his teeth.
Clang!!
Luteon had reappeared before him, thrusting explosively with a crimson spear blade.
He barely blocked, but Kallias's body was inevitably pushed back.
But before he could steady himself.
Luteon's thrust targeted his chest once more.
Tch.
The moment he tried generating sword aura to block, he caught a acrid smell and forcibly twisted his body.
And right then.
Boom!!
An explosion like a bomb going off shook the entire forest.
Thud! Smack! Boom!!
Kallias emerged from the smoke, tumbling across the ground, smashing through several trees before stopping.
The faintly transmitted shock numbed his whole body.
"Ptui, damn it."
Spitting blood-mixed saliva, Kallias sprang up immediately.
He'd dodged without blocking, or blocking the spear again would have caused serious injury.
'I owe the cloak one.'
It was an explosion that should have burned his entire back, but the Twilight Cloak had blocked some of the heat.
He wouldn't have thought of it without smelling the gunpowder-like acridness.
"Explosive Spear, Ames."
A spear among Spirit Grade spears, counted on one's fingers for its immense power.
Ames.
The master of the Explosive Spear Ames.
Luteon von Luidren.
Infamously known as Traitor Luteon.
"Didn't expect you to show."
He knew the Empire and Crasion were entangled, but Luteon appearing was completely unforeseen.
In the original, his appearance came much later after the main quest began.
'Is this my influence too?'
But now wasn't the time for such thoughts.
Right now.
"What're you scheming, wastrel of House Jervan!"
Boom!!
He had to block Luteon's spear.
"Kallias, sir!!"
Rustle!
Kallias rolled across the ground, dodging Luteon's spear once more.
"Don't interfere! You lot handle the orcs! Seize the supplies!"
"Like we'd let that happen!"
A top-three master among Spirit Grade weapons. And Luteon's own skill was nothing to scoff at.
A genius with innate sword talent since monk days, he'd defected to the Empire, gaining a mighty spear and superb spear arts.
Current Luteon was overwhelming.
Because of the Explosive Spear Ames.
Ames possessed an absurd unique ability: one clash with a sword was enough to drive the foe to death.
Explosion.
How do you face a spear imbued with that?
It was no different from fighting a bomb packed with gunpowder!
Kallias rolled across the ground again against the follow-up Explosive Spear.
Boom!
"Kallias. You, the noblest of nobles, rolling in the dirt. You've changed a lot."
"Shut it, Luteon. Strutting around with that spear you got betraying Karpe and the church—that's the real clown show."
The situation was dire.
Too many variables.
Luteon's sudden appearance.
And with Luteon's emergence, memories not his own flashed through Kallias's mind like a lantern show.
Fleeting memories with Luteon throbbed in his head.
'Kallias. I'm jealous of you.'
Luteon from the memory. His image charging fiercely overlapped with now.
'You do whatever you want.'
His sad eyes under the moonlight.
And now's eyes were like a completely different person.
"Kallias!!"
The crimson blade of the madly charging Explosive Spear Ames targeted Kallias's neck again.
'Dangerous.'
Kallias had no way to oppose Luteon now.
He had a Spirit Grade weapon too, but a half-broken sword against a top-tier spear.
No contest.
If he had Bernard's Thunderclap Sword, maybe, but facing him with Predator Sword Roas was hopeless.
'But... there is one.'
He couldn't match him.
Yet Kallias had prepared a variable Luteon didn't know.
It was then.
"Where you looking, Kallias!"
Red light flashed, and as explosion brewed again.
Kallias dodged the Explosive Spear by an inch and gripped the spear shaft hard, yanking Luteon toward him.
"Idiot!"
But Luteon's spear primed to explode again.
At this rate, Kallias's hand would be caught in the blast and torn off.
"You thought I couldn't explode up close?"
Luteon's lips twisted, the Explosive Spear glowing red once more. Just as explosion loomed.
Rumble!
A massive quake made Luteon's eyes widen like saucers.
"What...!"
The ground beneath his feet began crumbling.
Luteon startled, Kallias curled his lips in a wicked grin.
"Kallias, you!!"
The ground collapsed, dragging earth dragons and orcs down with it.
Luteon tried fleeing, but Kallias, bleeding yet clutching the spear shaft, wouldn't allow it.
"You trying to die together!!"
To Luteon's shout, Kallias replied from bloodied lips.
"My victory, Luteon."
Soon, Kallias and Luteon's figures vanished into the abyss-like chasm.