Chapter 134
Within the heart of the Beast Forest, the air was sticky and ominous, unlike the world outside.
Valdes hesitated to step further, the forest’s interior atmosphere gripping him with an uneasy hold.
Yan glanced at Valdes and inquired, “Not familiar with the inside, are you?”
“Indeed, I’ve only ever gathered herbs near the entrance.”
No matter how many rare and mystical herbs were said to dwell within the Beast Forest, none were worth risking his life for.
“Then, you needn’t have come this far.”
At Yan’s words, Valdes forced a smile.
“It was the lord who brought me here…”
“I thought you knew better.”
“Ah.”
“Still, it’s not too bad. We need someone to dismantle the beasts, after all.”
With that, Yan slowly walked ahead.
‘Hmm. Seems like there’s quite a number of beasts in this forest. Well, that’s why it’s called the Beast Forest, I suppose.’
The reason the forest’s air was stickier than the outside was due to the magical stones the beasts harbored.
The energy from the stones seeped out with the beasts’ breaths.
‘And this stickiness means…’
It was a sign that beasts were already converging around them, eyeing their prey.
Yan picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it fiercely into the bushes.
Sssshk! Whump!
A sound like something being crushed echoed from the bushes.
Valdes spun around at the noise.
“Wh-What was that sound?”
“Stay behind me.”
Yan drew his sword, Ascalon, and approached the bushes.
Swoosh!
Clearing the bushes revealed a green monster, its head split open, trembling on the ground.
“Yikes!”
Crash!
Valdes stumbled backward in shock at the sight of the creature.
“A goblin!”
The beast Yan had killed with a stone was a goblin.
“Huh? You know what a goblin is?”
Unlike Yan, who had hunted many beasts, commoners like Valdes rarely saw one in their lifetime.
But Valdes had correctly identified it, prompting Yan to look back at him.
“It’s attacked our village a few times before.”
“The knights were guarding and it still managed to escape and raid the village?”
Yan chuckled sarcastically.
It was indeed the right decision to expel those knights.
They were nothing but a headache, failing even to guard the outskirts of the Beast Forest properly.
Valdes recalled a past incident as he alternated his gaze between the dead goblin and Yan.
‘To kill just one goblin, two of the village elders died.’
The goblin wasn’t particularly strong, but it was quick and vicious.
To think that Yan could dispatch it with just a thrown stone.
‘The lord truly is a remarkable person.’
As Valdes was lost in thought…
Scrape!
Yan pulled out a dagger from somewhere and ripped open the goblin’s chest.
He then extracted something.
“Heh heh.”
Valdes shivered at the sinister laughter that followed.
“My lord?”
“Indeed.”
“Yes?”
“If we have this Beast Forest, we can make Armenia the greatest domain!”
In Yan’s hand was a crimson stone.
“What is that…?”
“Ah, I’ll tell you later.”
Yan carefully placed the stone into a spatial pocket as if it were a precious item.
Then his eyes sparkled.
“Shall we start mining?”
He was referring to mining magical stones, far more valuable than any ordinary metal.
* * *
Three Hours Later
A trail of monstrous carcasses stretched from the entrance of the Demon Forest to a clearing beyond.
“…My lord?”
“Hehehe, jackpot. This is a gold mine.”
Yan’s eyes sparkled with each beast he encountered, effortlessly sweeping them away.
Goblin, troll, ogre, or saber-toothed tiger—it mattered not; all fell equally to his swift blade.
“Hmm hmm hmm.”
He then sat down with a thud, skillfully butchering the bodies with practiced ease.
The peculiar stones extracted from the carcasses invariably ended up in his spatial pouch.
By rough estimate, Yan’s pouch must have contained at least a hundred magic stones by now.
“Looks like the sun will set soon. Should we head back?”
“What are you talking about? We haven’t even mined for a few hours yet.”
“…Mined?”
Yan stood up from his spot, stretching his back with a satisfying crack.
Crack. Crack.
“Beasts become more ferocious at night.”
“So that means…”
“It means we can catch even more beasts in the evening,” Yan said with a smile.
Gulp.
Valdes swallowed hard at that enigmatic smile.
And then came Yan’s declaration.
“We’ll keep hunting beasts until dawn breaks tomorrow.”
Valdes’ face turned to stone.
Unsettling sounds reached his ears.
Howl! Growl! Rustle. Rustle.
The howls of dire wolves, the roars of ogres, and the fluttering of insectoid beasts signaled they were awakening to begin their nocturnal activities.
And then, from right behind them…
Grunt?
A troll, even larger than the rest, voiced its confusion.
Yan’s lips curled up at the sight of the troll.
“A troll, eh? A fine start!”
Thud!
In a flash, Yan leaped towards the troll, and Valdes’ face fell.
Yan’s sword sliced through the troll’s chest, and a fountain of blood sprayed onto Valdes’ face.
Valdes despaired.
‘Do we really have to stay here until dawn?’
Had he known, he wouldn’t have followed Yan so obediently.
He should’ve just pointed out the entrance.
* * *
As Yan joyously slaughtered the monsters,
“Panting heavily,”
“Damn, we shouldn’t have come.”
The knights who followed Set were regretting their decision.
Firstly, because of the overwhelming sight Yan presented.
Secondly, as dusk approached, powerful monsters began to emerge, ones they could not easily overcome.
Set, leading the way, was equally troubled.
It had been three years since he entered the Monster Forest.
Back then, the number of monsters wasn’t this high.
But maybe due to changes in the ecosystem, their numbers had increased unbelievably.
Now, they are being attacked by monsters every two to three minutes.
It was then…
A thunderous roar!
Something charged at them from the side with terrifying speed.
Set, who noticed first, shouted,
“Damn it! Form up! It’s a Minotaur!”
“Curses, we might die before we even draw out the monster.”
“…Shouldn’t have followed.”
The Minotaur, with the head of a bull and the body of a man, swung its massive axe at them.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Six knights blocked the Minotaur’s strike.
The rest aimed their swords at its back.
Screech! Bang!
But the Minotaur’s skin sparked like metal against their blades.
Another roar!
As the Minotaur turned its head, the knights felt a heavy stone drop in their hearts.
Snort!
The Minotaur swung its axe in a wide arc behind it.
Clang!
“Ah!”
“The strength is too much!”
The knights raised their swords to block, but were helplessly thrown into the air by the immense force.
With the Minotaur’s eyes seemingly reddening,
It swung its axe at one of the knights suspended in mid-air.
Crunch! Thud!
The knight’s armor crumpled like paper and he plummeted to the ground.
The ground caved where the knight fell.
“Bill!”
“Damn it!”
A knight lay sprawled in the hollow, blood seeping from behind his armor, apparently killed instantly by the impact.
Fear flickered in the knights’ eyes.
They too could end up like their fallen comrade below.
The Minotaur roared again,
Like a victor looking down on the defeated.
It was at that moment…
Thump! Grunt?
The Minotaur’s body froze, and it turned its head.
Its face began to contort grotesquely.
“Where do you think you’re going, you beast…”
Set, who had disappeared for a moment, was now thrusting his sword into the Minotaur’s flank.
The knights were astonished at the blue aura around Set’s sword.
“Sword energy…?”
“When did you reach Level 5!”
“Is that important right now? We need to take down this beast!”
Urged by Set’s cry, the knights regained their composure.
“Haah!”
“Die!”
They shouted fiercely, thrusting their swords at the Minotaur’s eyes, mouth, and solar plexus.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Unlike the back or chest, the swords penetrated easily.
Gushing blood!
Blood spurted like a fountain, and the Minotaur began to scream.
A prolonged roar!
But soon, staggering from blood loss, it collapsed to the ground.
“Just a mere bull.”
Set once again raised his sword energy and swung at the neck of the fallen Minotaur.
Slice!
With a clean cut, the Minotaur’s head rolled on the ground.
It was the knights’ victory.
“We won!”
“We almost got wiped out here.”
“Let’s bury Bill’s body.”
The knights began to look for a place to bury their fallen comrade.
And not long after,
They stood agape at the sight before them.
There were three Minotaur corpses, all hard-fought victories.
Their horns, hearts, and hides were stripped, showing how thoroughly they had been scavenged.
“…What on earth.”
“I knew he was strong, but this is superhuman.”
“Superhuman, you say?”
Silence fell among the knights.
Perhaps they realized they might die before even summoning the ‘monster.’
“Hey, Set. Maybe we should just…”
One knight called out to Set in a low voice.
Set whirled around and glared at the knight who spoke.
“Are you suggesting we give up? Plan to live in this backwater forever?”
“Ahem.”
“Stop with the pointless thoughts. Focus on the outcome. How long will we waste our lives guarding this cursed forest?”
At Set’s words, the knight turned away with a somber face.
“That monster will surely kill the lord. Don’t worry too much.”
Set comforted the knights as he moved forward. It was also a reassurance to himself.
* * *
Where the Knights Departed
Thud!
Perched atop an ancient tree, Yan watched everything unfold below and let out a wry chuckle.
“Right?”
Valdes, tucked at Yan’s side, nodded stiffly.
“It’s true then. The knights were spying on the lord…”
Valdes turned to Yan and asked,
“So, what will you do? Will you go out and punish them?”
“Me? Deal with them now?”
Yan laughed heartily.
Valdes tilted his head in confusion at Yan’s reaction.
“Why would I kill them when they’re hunting for me?”
“You mean, you’ll just leave them be?”
Yan shook his head dismissively.
“Why bother? They’ll die on their own if they hunt hard enough, won’t they?”
“Ah.”
“So stop worrying needlessly and get on with dissecting that. I’ve shown you how, haven’t I?”
Yan pointed to the Minotaur that Set and the knights had dealt with.
Valdes gripped the small dagger Yan had given him and resolutely headed in that direction.
Slicing sounds.
Valdes skinned and sliced the muscles as Yan had taught him.
Yan watched Valdes for a moment, then turned his head.
It was in the direction where Set and the knights had vanished.
And from there, an ominous aura was palpable.
‘They’ll fall into the trap they’ve set for themselves.’
A trap that Set and his knights could not survive.
The night deepened further.