Chapter 424: The Searchers
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 424: The Searchers
In the gloomy forest, a two-man squad moved in silence, one behind the other.
They were covered in mud, looking exhausted and bedraggled. They scanned their surroundings with sharp, wary eyes, clearly aware that they were in a dangerous place; every movement was made with extreme caution.
Suddenly, the soldier bringing up the rear grimaced. He flopped onto the ground with a heavy thud, muttering, "I swear, that dog of a pharmacist must have swapped the quality herbs for cheap junk again," as he yanked off his boot and gave it a violent shake.
A toxic bug the length of a finger tumbled out. The soldier was quick; he unsheathed his dagger and stabbed downward in one fluid motion, slicing the creature in two.
Emerald fluid splattered. The two halves of the bug’s body writhed, emitting a sharp, piercing screech.
Even though he was used to it, the soldier couldn't help but pull a face of disgust. He shook his head and sighed.
"Sigh... how much longer is this crap going to last?"
"Stop complaining."
A steady voice drifted back. A leather boot came down hard, grinding the still-twitching remains of the bug into the dirt.
"The mission comes first."
"Right."
The soldier looked at his captain’s stern face—a face that looked as if the whole world owed him several thousand Emiels. Remembering that he actually did owe the man several thousand Emiels, the soldier shrunk his neck, pulled his boot back on, and scrambled to his feet.
The heavy humidity had soaked the inside of his boots, and combined with the airtight leather armor, he felt like he was trapped in a steamer. As the temperature dropped with the coming of night, a chill set in. The soldier felt his body heat rapidly draining away; his hands and feet were already ice-cold.
He had to keep moving just to stay warm.
But moving in this godforsaken place consumed a staggering amount of stamina.
This was a dense, eerie jungle. Aside from the toxic bugs carpeting the floor and the crows cawing as they flitted through the branches of the massive trees, there was virtually no sign of life.
If we die here, there probably won't even be enough left of us for a proper corpse, the soldier thought. He imagined his body being picked clean by bugs and crows and let out another long, heavy sigh.
He was a recruit who had only enlisted a few months ago. He had originally planned to just coast along for the army pay and maybe crack a few heads of those eyesore Kingdom barbarians to the north. That was why he had chosen the border defense army under the command of the highly-reputed Count Eller.
He never expected that before he’d even seen a single barbarian, he’d be assigned to such a bullshit task.
Searching for someone.
And searching in a forest this massive, no less.
It was as ridiculous as trying to find a needle in the ocean. In the soldier's experience, an ordinary person would only need a few days in a hellhole like this before they became nourishment in a crow's belly.
The person they were looking for had supposedly been missing for nearly a month. What was the point of searching?
"I say, Captain, wouldn't this be a lot easier if those mage lords handled it?"
The soldier couldn't help but complain again.
"I heard those mage lords can do anything—fly through the sky, tunnel through the earth. Finding one person should be a piece of cake for them, right? Just a few flicks of magic and—bam. I caught a glimpse of those mages once from a distance; they looked damn impressive using their magic."
The soldier made a series of exaggerated gestures, seemingly lost in his own imagination.
"I'm not entirely sure," the captain replied, pulling out a pipe and taking a few puffs as he expertly cleared a path with his longsword. "I only heard that a terrifying existence has awakened in this forest. The more powerful a person is, the more likely they are to draw that being's attention."
The soldier’s face paled. "Then we..."
"Relax." The captain glanced at him. "You don't have two ounces of meat on your bones. Why would anyone be interested in you?"
"True, true. Heh." The soldier scratched his head.
"But I still think it's weird. Our original orders were just to guard the perimeter of the forest. Why did it suddenly change two days ago? If you're looking for someone, aren't the first few days the most important? It's been a month; there won't even be bone fragments left."
"I don't know much either. I heard the initial orders came from Count Eller himself. But two days ago, some big shot from above arrived, said something to the Count, and then we got the order to come in and search."
The captain paused, then lowered his voice.
"Word on the street is that the person we're looking for is the young lady of a noble house!"
"...I see." The soldier’s expression shifted to one of realization, and he sighed. "Count Eller really is a good lord."
"Yes, the Count is a good man. That’s the consensus among the border army. But..." The captain sighed. "Not all noble lords are that kind."
"Too true." The soldier curled his lip. "I only left home because the lord of our territory was a monster. Not only were the taxes sky-high, but he even snatched people's wives. That's why I—"
The captain’s expression sharpened. "Quiet! You can't just go around saying things like that!"
"I know, I know. I'm only saying it to you because we're out here in the middle of nowhere..."
The soldier pulled out his canteen for a drink, but a quick shake revealed it was empty. He grumbled a bit more before asking, "Still, I feel like something's off. If they really wanted us to find someone, they wouldn't do it like this."
The soldier pointed to himself, then to the captain.
A two-man team.
For a search-and-rescue mission in a forest, this was incredibly stupid. Two people couldn't look out for each other properly, and they couldn't spread out to cover ground.
To the soldier, this method seemed like a way to make a limited number of men look like a massive force.
Sure, hundreds of men split into over a hundred small teams, reporting search progress day and night—it sounded impressive on paper.
"Who knows? How could we possibly guess what the lords up top are thinking?"
The captain tapped his pipe against a nearby tree trunk, ending the dangerous conversation. He looked at the soldier’s still-youthful face, and his expression softened slightly.
"That's enough for tonight. We'll camp here. I'll start the fire; you go to the lake and get some water."
The captain pointed toward a small lake not far away.
"You got it!"
At the mention of rest, the exhausted soldier suddenly found a burst of energy. He grabbed the captain’s canteen and hurried toward the lake.
The lake wasn't large, but the water was crystal clear.
There were no trees blocking the shore, so he could see the brilliant stars reflected on the surface.
The soldier didn't feel anything special about the view; he was sick of looking at these dry stars. They weren't nearly as nice to look at as the pale, soft chests of the working girls in the city.
Bored, he watched the bubbles gurgling from the mouth of the canteen.
Caw—
Suddenly, a crow flew over his head, startling him so badly he stumbled and nearly fell into the lake.
"Damn bird!" the soldier cursed. "Keep it up and I'll pluck your feathers for tonight's snack!"
The crow was like a bolt of black lightning, quickly vanishing into the night.
The soldier looked down, only to realize that in his fright, the canteen had slipped from his hand and was sinking into the lake.
"Dammit," he cursed again.
In a forest that was humid and hot even during the day, water was vital. He couldn't afford to lose the canteen.
The soldier leaned down, reaching out to grab it. To extend his reach, he even dipped his head into the water.
The lake water was cold and clear. Aided by the starlight, he saw the canteen sinking rapidly.
But just as his hand was about to touch it, he realized there was... something else in the water.
A mass of twisted shadows was writhing near the canteen, expanding rapidly.
No! It wasn't expanding!
The shadow was approaching at high speed!
The soldier jerked his head up, but in that same instant, the shadow broke the surface!
His face twisted in terror, his eyes reflecting the horrific form of the shadow.
It was... a massive tentacle as thick as a barrel!
"A... a magical beast!"
The soldier cried out, but fear seemed to paralyze him for a heartbeat. He could only watch as the tentacle lunged toward him!
"Idiot! This is no time to daydream!"
A sharp roar snapped the soldier out of his trance. The veteran captain lunged forward, hacking his longsword down at the tentacle.
The tentacle was covered in scales; the sword only managed to chip a small notch into it.
Fortunately, the pain caused the tentacle to recoil and coil up. The captain seized the chance to grab the soldier and pull him back.
But before they could breathe a sigh of relief, a massive wave surged in the lake. A gargantuan black shadow rose from the water like a small mountain!
It was a giant octopus!
The octopus's mottled skin looked vivid under the starlight. More tentacles emerged from the depths, and the small, protruding eyes on either side of its head stared at the two men with cold, bloodthirsty intent.
"Wh... why? They said there were no magical beasts in this forest!" the soldier stammered, his face deathly pale.
"No, this isn't a magical beast," the captain said, his expression grim. "There's no mana fluctuation. It's just an overgrown animal!"
"Then we—"
"What 'we'? Even if it's just an animal, it's not something we can handle!"
The captain suddenly dove forward, shoving the soldier’s head down as they turned to flee.
Simultaneously, a thick tentacle whipped past where the soldier had just been standing, smashing a massive boulder into fragments!
The soldier broke into a cold sweat. He didn't care about anything else; despite a day of trekking and his stamina being at its limit, he squeezed out every last drop of potential.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have spent all my money on whores. I should've bought some meat to eat instead." For the first time, the soldier felt a wave of regret for his wasted life.
"To hell with that! Now isn't the time for crying! If you want to cry, wait until we get back and cry on a woman's belly!"
The captain slapped the soldier’s back and, gritting his teeth, pulled a spherical metal object from his vest.
An Imperial Standard Tri-Form Alchemical Bomb!
These were precious items issued by the higher-ups. Given his rank as captain, he was only entitled to one.
But he couldn't worry about that now.
Without hesitation, the captain activated the alchemical bomb and hurled it at the massive octopus behind them.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion thundered through the forest. Fire lit up the sky, sending countless crows into flight in the distance. The massive shockwave and intense heat made both men's backs sting with pain.
The octopus was engulfed in flames.
But before the captain could celebrate, he saw the octopus—which had taken the blast head-on—begin to move again.
Its tentacles writhed in the fire like dancing pythons!
The bomb had only managed to blow off one of its limbs. Even now, that limb was sprouting new flesh, regenerating at a visible speed. The octopus's massive body began to swell as if it were filling with water!
The captain couldn't tell how much actual damage the explosion had done, but he knew his actions had thoroughly enraged the monster!
"Run!"
The captain pushed the soldier, who had tried to look back, and they bolted deeper into the woods while the octopus was momentarily delayed by the blast.
"Quick... drop your weapons and run!"
Neither of them held a high rank; they weren't even qualified to wear real armor. They only had soft leather armor made of animal hides and standard-issue army longswords.
But based on the previous attack, those standard swords couldn't even scratch the octopus. They were nothing but dead weight.
Normally, a sword wasn't much of a burden, but their stamina was almost completely spent!
Without hesitation, both men threw down their weapons and pushed themselves to keep running.
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
The sounds of destruction continued behind them.
This forest was different from ordinary ones; the trees were incredibly tall, but because of that, they weren't packed tightly together. They did nothing to slow the octopus down.
The octopus’s tentacles lashed out, and it moved with surprising speed on land. As its tentacles swept against the trees, they left horrific gouges in the massive trunks!
The two men had no time to marvel at the sight; they were using every ounce of strength they possessed.
But they were ultimately slower than the massive monster. At this rate, they would be caught sooner or later.
What do we do... is this how it ends?
The captain’s mind raced, but he could find no way out.
The things he had learned during his years in the army weren't enough to deal with a monster this terrifying.
But...
In the midst of his encroaching despair, the soldier’s eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed ahead, gasping for breath.
"Cap... Captain... look there..."
"What?"
The captain glanced over, and a surge of wild joy hit him.
Up ahead, nestled among the dense thickets, was a cave!
The cave entrance was only about as high as a man. Given the octopus's size, there was no way it could fit inside.
Furthermore, after his earlier strike, the captain knew for certain that this monster wasn't the kind of soft-bodied creature that could squeeze into tiny spaces.
He didn't know what lived in that cave, but he’d never heard of bears in this forest. Regardless, anything was better than the monster behind them.
He just hoped it was deep enough.
"Get inside!"
The captain gritted his teeth and led the soldier toward the cave.
But, just as they were less than ten meters away, with hope right in front of them...
BOOM—
A tentacle like a giant python whipped over them and smashed into the cave entrance.
As earth and stone sprayed everywhere, the two men watched in despair as their only lifeline was completely buried.
"It's over..."
Both men stopped in their tracks; there was nowhere left to run.
The massive octopus also came to a halt. Its protruding eyes held a look of almost human-like mockery.
It was as if its previous actions had merely been a game of cat and mouse.
And now, the game was over.
"Dammit..."
In his final moments, the captain looked at the soldier beside him, who was weeping in terror. He let out a bitter, resentful sigh.
He had promised to help the kid find a wife. It looked like... he was going to break that promise after all.
As a captain, I really am a failure...
What a shame...
The sound of rushing wind filled the air.
A black shadow lunged at the captain at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to track. He didn't bother with a futile struggle; he simply pulled the soldier into a protective embrace and prayed to the Goddess he believed in.
He knew that in the face of the coming death, all struggle was meaningless...
"Ah, what's going on?"
But then, perhaps because the Goddess had heard his prayer, another voice rang out abruptly. It was a voice that forced that unavoidable death to a sudden... halt.
The captain’s eyes flew open in shock.
In front of him, the octopus had frozen mid-motion. The small eyes on the sides of its massive head were fixed with extreme wariness on the collapsed cave.
The voice came from there:
"I finally make it out, and I get such a warm welcome?"
"It really... doesn't make me very happy."
As the voice turned cold, the tentacle the octopus had used to crush the cave—the one it hadn't yet retracted—suddenly... shattered.
Yes, shattered.
Abruptly... it just fell apart.
A fierce flash of sword-light illuminated the night for a fleeting heartbeat, slamming into the tentacle. In an instant, flesh and blood sprayed everywhere, accompanied by a shower of foul-smelling slime.
The octopus’s limbs thrashed and writhed violently as it let out a piercing shriek.
In that moment, rage completely filled its primitive brain, making it forget the threat it had just sensed.
However, before it could even launch an attack, a massive blade emerged from the pile of collapsed earth and stone.
The blade flowed with a lava-like crimson. It swung toward the octopus with a light, effortless stroke.
It looked like a child swinging a toy, devoid of any power.
But.
In an instant.
The earth was cleaved.
The ground was cleaved.
The octopus was cleaved.
Everything in front of the longsword was cut asunder.
This time, the octopus didn't even have the chance to scream before intense flames erupted, enveloping it.
The stench of burning flesh spread rapidly. The octopus struggled frantically, but it was all in vain.
No matter how powerful its regenerative abilities were, they could not withstand that mighty strike or those scorching flames.
It could only be reduced to ash by a far more terrifying power.
"This..."
Seeing a monster so powerful that it would normally require a military formation of at least a hundred men to defeat being killed so easily, the captain and the soldier both shuddered. They were nearly scared witless again as they looked in terror at the slender figure standing amidst the cloven earth.
Specks of light like stars rose and fell with the figure's breath. A powerful aura emanated from her slight frame. In this moment, she seemed like the center of the world; even her heartbeat seemed to make everything vibrate in sync.
They remembered the rumors from before. Was this the terrifying existence in the forest?
But that terrifying existence didn't seem to care about the two ants before her. She simply looked up, her long hair fluttering, and gazed at the sky with a hint of melancholy.
"Is this... what the Fourth-Tier feels like? Breaking through to the Fourth-Tier in just one month... this speed could be called world-shaking, couldn't it? Unprecedented? Perhaps. I can only say that as expected of an ancient ruin, the harvest was bountiful."
"But... even after clearing the entire ruin, I didn't see any sign of you. Liya, you weren't in the ruin at all. Where are you?"