Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Forest of the Dead
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"Wh-what is this…?"
Adelle Richter looked around, speechless.
But no matter how hard she looked, there wasn't a single survivor.
The camp was in ruins, and the bodies scattered everywhere were half-decomposed.
I, too, was left speechless by the horrific sight.
*This is even worse than I thought.*
The Imperial expeditionary force had been considerable in size.
Just counting the bodies strewn about the camp, there were hundreds.
Moreover, more than half of them had been dispatched from a knight order.
They were a force capable of razing a place to the ground, not one that should have been so unilaterally massacred.
"Look over here."
Adelle's voice called out as she surveyed the camp.
I ran over with Camill to find her crouching among a few corpses.
The stench of decay was overwhelming, but she seemed unfazed.
*She must have been shocked, but she recovered quickly.*
I marveled at Adelle Richter's resilience as I examined the tracks.
"It's hard to tell, but it doesn't seem to be the work of just one. Look at the footprints and the destroyed tents."
"The sizes and shapes are all different."
"Right? It looks like they were attacked by monsters..."
"Then what's this?"
I said, pointing to a body lying face-up in a crater.
But even after examining it for a while, we couldn't find an answer.
It was a strange shape, but the body was too badly decomposed.
"Maybe it was struck by something like a large club?"
"For that to be the case, the crater is a bit odd. Where have I seen this before?"
It was mostly round, with only the upper rim dug in deeper.
Adelle also had an expression like she was on the verge of remembering something.
Just then, Camill Felton, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
"A horseshoe."
"Yes! That's it. But could it be this huge?"
I thought I'd found the answer, but I quickly shook my head.
It just didn't make sense for a horse to be this large.
"Or it could be a war hammer."
"That's more likely."
Even though his suggestion was dismissed, Camill didn't seem to mind at all.
It was as if he'd just thrown out the first thing that came to mind.
Leaving the crater behind, we moved out of the expedition camp and began to search the surrounding area.
"From here on, we're officially in the Forest of the Dead, so we need to be careful."
I snorted at Adelle Richter's warning.
I was the one who had experienced the Forest of the Dead firsthand, after all.
"Honestly, its reputation is worse than the reality. It's nothing special. As long as you don't get lost, you'll be fine."
"I heard all sorts of strange phenomena occur here. And that there are lots of monsters."
"With our strength, that's child's play."
"True, with you two here, most monsters wouldn't dare come near."
I puffed out my chest with a look full of bravado.
She let out a small laugh.
"Pfft! Still, let's not get too careless."
"Right, right."
As expected, humorous guys are all the rage these days.
But at the same time, the image of Adelle putting up a wall flashed through my mind.
I had to correct my thought immediately.
*...Assuming they're good-looking, to begin with.*
This damn lookism, I should just smash it to pieces...
Wait a minute, when you think about it, aren't I the biggest offender?
Long live lookism!
"There are bodies here, too."
Adelle's voice broke through my silly thoughts as I walked.
It seemed she had found something else.
"This time... it's quite a fresh corpse."
"Excuse me, President? That's a pretty gruesome way to put it."
"Well, if you're a monster, that is."
"But we're not cannibalistic monsters, are we?"
"Ah, then let me correct myself. A nice, warm corpse."
"Wow... it's shattered."
"What is?"
"Your personality!"
"Something like that can afford to be shattered a little."
Ignoring Adelle Richter's shriek, I examined the people who looked like they had died recently.
Meanwhile, Camill was cautiously scanning our surroundings.
A recent death suggested that a vicious beast was nearby.
*There are signs of weapon wounds... are these claw marks?*
The wounds etched into the bodies were quite complex.
There were marks from all sorts of weapons, as well as injuries that looked like they were made by monsters.
But we couldn't find any more clues here.
The scene was too disturbed.
"It seems we should be looking for the beasts, not the expedition members."
"I agree."
"Shall we go a little deeper? The tracks seem to continue."
"Hmm... Should we?"
After a moment's hesitation, Adelle nodded.
There were only three of us, but the strength of Venderford's Third Student Division was considerable.
And with me here, it's game over for them.
She seemed to be thinking something similar, as she glanced at me.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"There's no particular reason, but you just had a very confident look on your face."
Why is she so sharp?
I can't even think freely.
"Forget it. Let's just go."
As I forced myself to look away and walk, Adelle Richter persistently followed, questioning me.
"What were you thinking that made you flinch?"
"It was nothing."
"It didn't look like nothing."
"It wasn't that it didn't look like nothing."
"Are you trying to start an infinite regress?"
"Yeah. And I'll keep going if you keep pushing."
"Wow! So childish."
"Then stop talking and just follow me."
I quickened my pace to hide my reddening face.
Why is this so embarrassing?
* * *
After following the tracks for quite some time, we finally found the expedition members.
Unfortunately, the last survivor was not in good shape.
"Kurgk! Kuhh..."
"N-No! We have to treat him!"
Adelle frantically pulled out a potion.
But I stopped her.
"It's too late."
Most of his intestines had already spilled out and were scattered about.
It would be far better to ease his pain now.
But I met the last expedition member's eyes and asked.
"Who did this?"
"Th-Them..."
I heard him mumble something, but I couldn't understand it.
He died mid-sentence.
After gently laying down the collapsed expedition member, I narrowed my eyes and scanned the area.
Adelle immediately voiced her confusion.
"'Them'? What could he have been trying to say?"
"I'm not sure, but I don't think this is the time to be thinking about that."
*Whoooosh!*
Just then, an ominous wind swept through, shaking the Forest of the Dead.
Adelle must have sensed the strange atmosphere as well, because her expression tensed.
"Presences... many of them."
A single phrase from Camill, who had been silent for so long.
Just as he said, there were strange presences surrounding the clearing.
A thick fog had rolled in, drastically reducing visibility.
*Swish!*
Dark shadows could be seen darting back and forth between the dense trees.
But it was difficult to identify them.
"This isn't ordinary fog. It's scattering the light in strange ways, blocking our vision."
"No wonder I couldn't see them even though they felt so close..."
"Get ready."
We stood back-to-back, forming a triangular formation.
Soon, the ghost-like figures that had been circling us drew near and suddenly revealed themselves.
"Kyaaaa!"
The monster that opened its jaws wide right in front of us was a Crocman, a bipedal, crocodile-like monster.
This creature could not only grind its prey with sharp teeth but also use its claws freely.
In the southwestern part of the continent, it was a fearsome beast known as the Tyrant of the Swamps.
"A familiar foe."
*Klang!*
Though one might have panicked at the surprise attack, Camill Felton handled it calmly.
He promptly let the approaching creature bite down on the flat of his sword.
Then, he started punching the Crocman in the abdomen.
*Thwack! Thwack!*
Surprisingly, the Crocman began to stagger backward.
For a creature infamous for never letting go once it bit down, this was quite an unexpected sight.
"Oh... what was that?"
"Its weak point. They're common where I'm from."
"Let me try."
*Klaang! Thwump!*
I held out the Black Dragon Sword and rammed my fist into it, hearing a sound like something bursting.
At the same time, the Crocman's body rapidly collapsed.
"Kerrk! Kerk!"
The creature, which had been retching repeatedly, soon died.
As Camill and Adelle stared in surprise, I smirked and held up my fist.
"I pack quite a punch, you know. From now on, call me the Iron Fist of Venderford."
"Hah... You can joke at a time like this?"
"It's better than whining, isn't it?"
Leaving a dumbfounded Adelle behind me, I started beating down the Crocmen.
Now that I knew their weakness, monsters like these were no big deal.
They weren't some incredible ancient monster like the Crown Arachne, after all.
However, that didn't mean there was no crisis at all.
*Rumble!*
"Huh? There are... a lot of you?"
The horde of Crocmen that burst through the fog numbered at least several dozen.
The sheer intimidation from the 2.5-meter-tall monsters charging at us was no joke.
If they pushed forward with their weight and size, we'd be crushed to death before we could even fight properly.
"Th-This isn't just a few! They keep increasing!"
As Adelle's panicked voice echoed through the forest, I was already on the move.
*Tat! Swish!*
*Hoh?*
It seemed Camill had the same idea, as he was darting out in the opposite direction.
Exchanging glances and smirks, we unleashed our sword attacks on the Crocmen.
"We just have to take them out before they can surround us!"
*Swish-swish-swish! Splat!*
The sword light pouring from the Imperial Sound Lock Sword and the Line-Drawing Sword Technique crisscrossed through the fog.
"Krrwaaak!"
*Kagagang!*
The Crocmen's resistance was fierce, but they couldn't withstand the aura imbued in our blades.
Even when they lunged with their teeth, the hardest part of their bodies, they were sliced apart with ease.
But it was at that very moment.
*Thud!*
"Hm?"
While I was busy pushing the creatures back, something caught my foot.
I was about to ignore it, thinking it was just a rock, but the sensation was deeply unpleasant.
*K-clang!*
After sending two Crocmen flying with a powerful strike, I immediately glanced down at the ground.
And there, I saw the blood-soaked corpse of a man.
Seeing a dead person in the Forest of the Dead wasn't anything special.
Countless expedition members had died here.
But this corpse had one distinct difference.
"Hey, why is he naked?"
My eyes widened as I examined the naked man, and I soon realized why.
"The Seal of the Malevolent Spirit? It's a second-rank."