Chapter 320: Very Dangerous Beings (1)
“Hmm…”
Ghislain crossed his arms, deep in thought. Many claimed to sense an ominous presence in the Forest of Beasts, but that was largely attributed to the dark and oppressive atmosphere of the forest itself.
He had never heard the kinds of sounds Lumina described, nor were there any records from his past life that mentioned such things.
Of course, in his past life, the exploration party hadn’t included any elves, so it was possible they had overlooked something. After all, elves were the only race capable of hearing the sounds of nature.
“Could there really be something here?”
It was possible Lumina had misunderstood, but Ghislain couldn’t outright dismiss her words..
This place was indeed unlike the outside world. The energy here was far more abundant than elsewhere. That’s why rare resources were plentiful, and the monsters grew larger and stronger under the influence of that energy.
The theory that the energy flowing through the Forest of Beasts was unique was one of the most compelling hypotheses in his past life. There was no other way to explain it.
“The forest wants to become one with you?”
He didn’t know what that meant, but it was clear the forest held some kind of secret.
‘There were parts of the map I saw in my past life that hadn’t been confirmed.’
The ducal family had successfully pioneered the Forest of Beasts. Yet, even after most of the forest had been charted, the central area remained blacked out on the map.
There were no markings or records regarding that area.
At the time, it was dismissed as unexplored territory, and Ghislain hadn’t paid it any unnecessary attention. After all, his goal back then wasn’t to explore the Forest of Beasts it was to destroy the ducal family.
Even after turning back time, he hadn’t given much thought to that region. He had figured it could be developed later if funds ever ran short.
But after hearing Lumina’s words, he recalled the map from his past life, and an uneasy feeling began to creep in.
“It wasn’t unexplored territory… it was deliberately concealed.”
There had always been something that bothered him. The ducal family’s obsessive fixation on the Forest of Beasts.
Initially, the ducal family hadn’t even known about the abundant resources here. Yet, they had launched a massive pioneering effort.
That meant they were after something else. It wasn’t simply about expanding territory or gathering resources.
In his past life, Ghislain had never figured out what the ducal family was trying to achieve with their exploration efforts. Most of those involved in the development didn’t even know why they were doing it.
“Even Harold only managed Ferdium without destroying it.”
Though they could have eradicated it, they had only ensured no one else could claim it. Only after their rebellion succeeded did the ducal family completely raze Ferdium.
Immediately afterward, they had urgently resumed the development of the Forest of Beasts.
“It’s certain. There’s something in this forest that I don’t know about.”
And that something might be connected to what Lumina had mentioned.
Ghislain had spent a long time as a mercenary, and he had developed a habit of never ignoring suspicious signs.
Even if something seemed useless at first glance, he compulsively kept track of it. That instinct was the key to survival.
“Keep an eye out for any strange sounds or suspicious signs. Let the other elves know they should share anything unusual with me as well.”
“Understood.”
The Forest of Beasts was a place where anything could happen. Dismissing even the smallest signs as trivial could prove disastrous.
Even if what Lumina mentioned was unrelated to what the ducal family sought, it was better to remain cautious than to ignore the possibility.
“Whatever it is, I’ll eventually uncover it..”
After all, Ghislain’s ultimate goal was to clear out the Forest of Beasts and claim all the land for himself.
The group, having defeated the ogres, resumed their efforts to secure more territory.
Everyone was on high alert and tense, unsure when or where dangerous monsters might appear.
The elves who had heard Lumina’s words shared their own concerns and observations with Ghislain.
Most of their comments were attributed to nerves or imagination, but some proved unexpectedly useful.
“There seems to be a group of monsters over there.”
“The monsters are hiding among the trees.”
“There’s strong energy gathering in this area. It might be a rare herb.”
Elves’ senses were particularly sharp within the forest. Unlike how mana users amplified their sensitivity, the elves’ abilities allowed them to perceive the flow of energy in the forest and hear the sounds of nature, providing wealthy information. Naturally, they were the first to notice monsters hidden far away.
The others were repeatedly impressed by the elves’ capabilities, and Ghislain was no exception. While he had expected them to be useful, their performance exceeded all expectations.
Watching the elves, Galbarik grumbled once again.
“Racial favoritism, huh… This is so unfair. At least their appearance could’ve been grotesque or something…”
Elves were unmatched in the forest, their natural abilities shining brightest here. Dwarves, who had always harbored a tenuous relationship with elves, felt a pang of bitterness.
Regardless of the dwarves’ frustration, Ghislain was highly satisfied with the situation.
‘Excellent. I didn’t expect the elves to be this helpful.’
Even though he possessed information from his past life, it wasn’t perfect. It was limited to the locations of significant resources and the territories of powerful monsters.
He couldn’t know the smaller details, like wandering monsters that hadn’t been recorded. Since the timing of this expedition differed from the one in his past life, the territories of monsters themselves might also differ from the information he had.
However, with the elves’ assistance, it became easier to avoid dangers, and they even discovered resources that he hadn’t known about.
It would have been even better if Ascon hadn’t voiced his complaints every step of the way.
“This place is awful… It feels like absolute garbage… Everything about this place is garbage. I hate it.”
“What is it now that you hate?”
“It’s just garbage! I don’t want to be here. Why do I have to suffer like this at my age? Lazy jerks, stupid idiots, complete…!”
Unable to contain his frustration, Ascon spewed a string of profanities, only to be immediately subdued by Belinda. His arms and legs were bent awkwardly, and a gag was placed in his mouth before he was dragged off.
With Ascon rendered incapacitated, the list of injured personnel in the Fenris army grew by one.
Despite the addition of an injured party member, the expedition proceeded steadily, thanks to the elves’ help.
Ghislain continued to review the map, calculating their position.
Compared to his previous visit, their progress was incomparably smoother and faster.
When the elves detected danger, skilled knights and soldiers prepared for battle. Ghislain provided strategies and directed the combat.
With no one letting their guard down, the battles posed little difficulty. Even fierce beasts and monsters avoided confronting the sizable army.
“We’re almost there.”
He didn’t mean the runestone resource site there was still a considerable distance to that location. Ghislain was referring to something else entirely.
[The Forest of Beasts was a truly dangerous place. The vanguard failed several times. But that was simply due to a lack of information. Once we identified the monsters, we were never defeated twice. No matter how powerful the monsters were, they couldn’t withstand our elite knights and soldiers.]
“Of course they couldn’t.”
Ghislain nodded as he recalled the records he had read in his past life.
Even with fewer forces than the ducal family had deployed back then, they were steadily clearing the forest.
The ducal family’s military strength at the time had been far superior to his current troops.
Yet, despite having stronger and more numerous forces, the ducal family hadn’t progressed as easily. They had kept using vanguards and reconnaissance teams, claiming they wanted to conserve their main strength.
[Viscount Joseph never cared about the deaths of the vanguard. He hoarded the main forces for reasons no one could comprehend. Occasionally, Count Balzac would lose patience and join the vanguard himself.]
[As they kept failing and dying, they gradually gathered more information and became increasingly familiar with the Forest of Beasts. Then, one day, we encountered a monster we had never seen before.]
“What’s this?”
A knight patrolling the outermost boundary brought back a monster’s corpse. Its body was half-torn, seemingly killed by another monster.
The creature’s appearance was grotesque. Its body was only about half the size of an adult male, with an upper body resembling a reddish, human-like figure, while its lower half resembled a spider.
Its hands had long, sturdy claws like those of a mole, seemingly useful for both digging and combat.
Saying its upper body resembled a human didn’t mean it looked human. It only shared a general structure a head and torso similar in form.
Its overall appearance was indescribably hideous. What appeared to be its mouth was surrounded by tentacle-like appendages, and its eyes were atrophied, leaving only traces behind.
The skull extended backward, and antennae protruded from the front of its head.
No one could identify what kind of creature it was. The sight of the monstrous corpse made everyone grimace.
“Ugh, disgusting…”
“What the hell is this? I didn’t know monsters like this existed.”
“This forest really is full of strange things.”
The group gathered around, murmuring as they examined the unfamiliar monster.
Despite its grotesque appearance, no one seemed particularly frightened. Its size was considerably smaller compared to other creatures in the Forest of Beasts roughly equivalent to a large dog.
For a wild beast, such a size could pose a significant threat to humans, but to those accustomed to seeing enormous creatures in the forest, it seemed relatively unimpressive.
Of course, in terms of sheer repulsiveness, it would undoubtedly rank pretty high.
[Compared to other monsters in the Forest of Beasts, these creatures were noticeably weak. Two or three armed soldiers could easily subdue one, and a single soldier could defeat it alone if they were willing to risk injury. No one could understand why such a weak creature resided in the depths of the forest.]
Recalling the records from his past life, Ghislain stepped closer to the monster’s corpse and spoke.
“These are called Grex. Judging by this one, it must have become separated from its group and died.”
[We assigned them a new name in the ancient tongue and decided to observe their habitat for a few days, just in case.]
[Sure enough, their habitat contained a significant population of them. Like other monsters, they fiercely defended their territory, attacking and killing intruders before sharing the remains among their group. Sometimes, they even went out in packs to hunt.]
Hearing Ghislain’s words, the people tilted their heads in confusion.
“Grex? I’ve never heard of them before.”
“That’s right. They’re extremely dangerous creatures.”
No one asked how he knew this. By now, they were accustomed to their lord’s extensive and seemingly boundless knowledge.
[Their hunting success rate was abysmally low. More often than not, they were seen dragging carcasses of other monsters back to eat. Occasionally, they used their sturdy claws to dig into the ground and store leftovers. Despite their horrifying appearance, they were ultimately pitifully weak creatures.]
“These creatures live in packs. Underestimating them individually because they’re weak would be a mistake.”
[There was, however, one baffling aspect. Occasionally, a powerful monster would appear, kill the Grex, and consume them. Yet, those strong monsters never took over their territory, despite it being spacious and well-suited for habitation.]
“Do we need to prepare countermeasures?” Gillian asked.
Ghislain nodded.
“Yes. I was planning to prepare later, but now that we’ve found this corpse, it’s better to start here.”
[Even after several days of observation, the pattern remained unchanged. The powerful monsters in the Forest of Beasts would kill and eat the Grex, then leave. This led us to a conclusion: the Grex existed solely as a food source for the other monsters in the forest. The stronger monsters allowed them to breed unchallenged, ensuring an easy supply of food.]
“What do we need to do?”
“We need to prepare more thoroughly than ever before.”
“Just give the order.”
[Once we reached our conclusion, we decided to exterminate them. There was no reason not to they were small, weak, and insignificant creatures.]
Ghislain spoke firmly, his expression resolute.
“We’ll build a fortress here. A large, sturdy one.”
[But that decision… turned out to be one of the worst mistakes we made in the Forest of Beasts.]