Chapter 151 - A Great House is Not Called Great for Nothing (2)

Gunne returned.

["Monsters, everywhere."]

She relayed the situation inside the sea of trees.

["Enemy, engaging with monsters."]

Through her, I heard that the Imperial Army was currently suffering so much from the monsters that they couldn't even pay attention to the Dotrin army.

"What kind of monsters?"

Gunne slightly narrowed her brow.

["Trees, beasts, half-human half-beasts."]

Unfortunately, it seemed she didn't know the exact types of monsters.

It couldn't be helped.

If she were a pureblood elf, she would have known about the ancient monsters, but she was a half-blood.

Her lifespan couldn't compare to that of pureblood elves, and she wasn't qualified to access the elven Legacy.

"Good work."

As I patted her shoulder, Gunne hesitated before parting her lips.

Telling me that the sea of trees was crawling with monsters. That it was dangerous.

Eli, who had been watching Gunne and me with an anxious face, asked me.

"Are you really going to do it?"

I didn't answer.

"I'm asking if you're really going to do it?"

That punk Eli asked again.

* * *

"He really did it! He actually did it!"

That punk Eli screamed at the top of his lungs.

SLITHER.

But his screams were soon drowned out by a horrifying noise, like hundreds of snakes slithering around.

Hundreds of branches, vines, and tree roots were approaching.

To suck the blood of living humans.

VWOOOONG.

A clear sound echoed through the dreary noise.

It was Sword Resonance.

That punk Eli had officially begun his battle with the evil spirit trees (Trent).

His Sword Aura moved like rays of light, slicing off the evil spirits' tentacles. But no matter how much he cut and cut, the number of tentacles didn't decrease.

"You have to attack the original body."

When I leisurely offered advice, that punk Eli shrieked.

"Who doesn't know that! With the situation like this, what do you mean original body!"

At his furious shout, I chuckled.

For some reason, I felt a faint sense of nostalgia for my old memories.

It was always like this back when I was a sword. I would give instructions and just watch.

["Hmm. A rather unpleasant memory has come to mind."]

Agnes's voice could be heard. Unlike her usual self, her tone was somewhat sullen.

But she quickly dropped the sullen attitude and spoke to me.

["Is that child really my descendant? I can't believe it. How can she be so Timid."]

At her words, I looked right beside me.

There was Adelia, gripping her sword with a terrified face, staring at the evil spirit trees.

Unfortunately, the first opponents we met in the sea of trees were beings that couldn't stimulate her [Butcher] and [War Maniac] traits even the slightest bit.

And before her traits activated, she was just a frightened woman.

"Ann. Hide your presence for a moment."

["If it looks dangerous, I will step in again at any time."]

With those words, Agnes fell silent.

SLITHER.

Some of the tentacles crawling toward that punk Eli flinched, trembled, and then turned their heads toward us.

Now that the presence of my original body was deeply concealed, it seemed they finally felt like trying to mess with us.

Seeing the tentacles creeping closer, Adelia's face grew even paler. She was shivering so much that it wouldn't be strange if she dropped her sword at any moment.

To her, I spoke quietly.

That punk Eli was too busy just keeping himself safe, and with me currently unable to use mana, I couldn't strike away those tentacles one by one.

"So you must protect me."

I could have spoken more softly. I could have made her trembling subside with words of encouragement.

I didn't do that.

Because she wouldn't be able to stand on her own that way.

Adelia had gone through many battles so far. Despite that, her mind was still stuck as a Timid maid.

This was because she had never once overcome her fear until now.

She had merely forgotten it.

She had just borrowed the power of the [Butcher] and [War Maniac] traits to grab her sword and run wild.

Like that, she wouldn't be able to overcome the wall.

Sword Master was a stage of completion, a supreme realm unreachable by those who failed to achieve harmony of mind and body.

It wasn't such an easy level that someone who had never even lifted a sword by their own will could step into.

She had to overcome her fear without borrowing the power of her traits. She had to raise her sword herself, not as anyone else.

If she couldn't overcome it, she would remain in that spot for the rest of her life.

A sharp but unusable sword.

Just as she had been excluded from countless battlefields so far, she would continue to stay in the rear like that.

SLITHER.

Dozens of tentacles had now approached right in front of us.

Adelia looked at me with a face that looked ready to cry at any moment.

"I-I..."

Instead of comforting her, I asked.

"Adelia Bayern. Are you a knight, or a maid?"

Adelia didn't answer.

She merely looked back and forth between the approaching tentacles and me with trembling eyes.

I let my sword drop. And as if that wasn't enough, I planted the sword into the ground.

I told her with my whole body.

If you can't protect me, I will die.

A few tentacles hissed like snakes.

Although the presence of my original body had been concealed, they still seemed wary.

But the probing didn't last long.

The gluttony of the evil spirits was far too bloated to ignore a terrified woman and a man devoid of any presence.

SWISH!

One branch, sharpening its tip, thrust toward me.

"Y-Your Highness!"

Adelia screamed.

But I neither pulled out the original body planted in the ground nor drew Dusk, which was slung across my back. I didn't even budge.

I only looked at the pale woman's face.

The tentacle whipped forward and stabbed my shoulder.

SCRAPEEE.

The evil spirit's tentacle scratched against my iron pauldron, making a horrifying sound.

But it failed to pierce the sturdy armor and merely scraped the surface.

SCRAPE, SCRATCH.

The tentacle wandered all over the armor, searching for soft flesh. Adelia ran toward me, screaming.

She was out of her mind.

Unable to even think of swinging the sword in her hand, she struck and pushed the tentacle away with her bare hands.

Sensing the touch of soft flesh, the tentacle turned its head toward Adelia.

GRAB.

I reached out and grabbed the tentacle heading for her.

The tentacle shrieked inside my iron gauntlet. Then, it wrapped around my forearm like a snake.

Unlike the shoulder and gauntlet, the leather wrist guard was immediately gouged out. And the raw, red skin was exposed.

As if it had been waiting, the evil spirit's tentacle latched on.

GLUG.

Along with a numb pain, my blood was drained.

There was no smell of blood.

Because the evil spirit devoured even the scent entirely.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Adelia screamed, clinging to me and struggling with all her might to pry the tentacle off my forearm.

The tentacle ravenously sucking blood, Adelia's face drained of all color.

Behind her, excited tentacles of the evil spirits were flying in.

I pulled her toward me.

And placed her behind my back.

Over a dozen tentacles lunged at me.

My armor was dented and torn apart left and right.

Even then, Adelia was staring at me blankly.

As if she didn't understand what had just happened.

I glanced behind me.

The tentacles that had ripped off my armor raised their heads and hissed.

They looked as though they were rejoicing at the upcoming banquet.

I looked at Adelia again.

A golden radiance gathered in her eyes.

An auspicious light distinctively different from that of [Butcher] and [War Maniac].

SLITHER.

At that moment, an auspicious golden aura flashed around me.

THUD, THUD, THUD.

Severed tentacles rained down everywhere.

I watched the fallen tentacles burn black before turning my head toward Adelia.

Even though both her hands were still trembling and her face looked ready to cry.

She was holding her sword by her own will.

I smiled brightly.

She struck the waist of the tentacle wrapping around my forearm. Then, she desperately peeled off the tip of the tentacle tangled around my hand.

As the tentacle fell away, pieces of flesh were ripped off with it.

The scent of blood spread everywhere.

"Huh? Huh? Where do you guys think you're going?"

That punk Eli's voice could be heard.

Adelia stepped in front to block me.

Her small shoulders were heaving.

Whether she was crying or shivering.

I couldn't tell.

I merely watched the countless tentacles swarming in from over her small shoulders.

With my hand, I quietly gripped my original body.

["You are treating your body far too recklessly."]

As soon as I grabbed my original body, Agnes scolded me.

"If you thought it was dangerous, you or Gunne would have stepped in."

["Even if we had stepped in belatedly, we could not have quelled the gluttony of evil spirits that have already tasted blood."]

"I could have handled that myself anyway."

I had told Adelia that I couldn't fight the evil spirit trees because I lacked energy, but that wasn't true.

Just with the sharpness of Dusk alone, I was confident I could cut down the tentacles as much as I wanted.

Even without mana, a Sword Master was a Sword Master.

Of course, going up to the evil spirit tree's original body might have been a bit overwhelming.

FLASH.

Right then, a blinding golden light burst out directly in front of me.

And sword light danced wildly in all directions.

The countless swarming tentacles were swept up in the sword light, sliced and torn to pieces.

Adelia still had her back to me.

I smiled in satisfaction.

Now, just one step.

It was the moment that knight Adelia Bayern, not maid Adelia, took her very first step.

* * *

As soon as the battle ended, Adelia dropped her sword and burst into tears.

"Sob. I-I'm sorry. Your Highness. I'm sorry. Your Highness."

While endlessly apologizing to me with her lips, she continued to cry.

"Hey, it's not like anything got cut off, it's just a little scrape on his skin, why are you going that far."

That punk Eli grumbled.

Even as he said that, his whole body was a battered mess.

Slashed and torn. His exposed skin was covered in marks from having his blood sucked, and his complexion was pale.

But neither Gunne, nor Adelia, nor anyone paid him any attention.

While the girls clung to the tiny wound on my forearm, applying medicine and wrapping bandages, that punk Eli had to treat his own body by himself.

The punk exploded in resentment.

An empty resentment with no one to listen.

I chuckled and mocked him.

But even while laughing like that, my mind was spinning furiously.

I knew the world had changed, but witnessing it with my own eyes showed that the change exceeded my thoughts.

I never even imagined that I would get to see ancient evil spirit trees.

If the elves saw this, they would faint.

Because it was the elves who drove the evil spirit trees to extinction.

The elves who hid in the forest after being pushed out by the Marquis of the Azure Sky, and the evil spirit trees that were driven to extinction after being pushed out by the elves who settled in the forest.

And yet, those evil spirit trees had now appeared within the territory of Dotrin, ruled by the descendants of the Marquis of the Azure Sky who had driven their natural enemies into the forest.

It was a terribly coincidental matter.

Just what else was inside this forest? What other things had returned to the world?

As if answering my question, a roar echoed from far away.

AWOOOOOO.

"What kind of wolf howls so unpleasantly?"

That punk Eli said with a pallid face.

He was right. It was far too ominous of a howl to call it just an ordinary beast's cry.

Because I knew.

The fact that it was no ordinary wolf.

"The Full Moon Clan..."

It was definitely the howl of a Lycanthrope that followed the Monarch of Plagues.

AWOOO!

AWOO!

The single howl quickly multiplied into dozens and hundreds.

I gauged the distance.

And then, I gave a swift order.

"We're going back."

At the earlier-than-expected order to retreat, that punk Eli's mouth stretched wide open.

But seeing my expression, he quickly shut his mouth.

"What's the problem with a few wolves? Did your guts shrink because you don't have mana?"

Ignoring his sarcasm, I hurried Adelia and Gunne.

And like that, we hastily escaped the sea of trees.

Even as we left the sea of trees and reached the main camp, the wolf howls continued to follow us.

Never getting any farther away, nor coming any closer.

* * *

While it was daylight, we wandered through the sea of trees. Then, when it grew dark, we returned to the main camp and summarized the situation inside to relay it to the Dotrin Kingdom's army command.

Old man Burk paid generously for the information.

I wondered just how much money he had to pay such generous compensation, so I asked, and the old knights quietly tipped me off.

That House Berten was one of the top noble families in Dotrin.

Not just any noble family, but one of only three Duchies in Dotrin.

No wonder an old man who didn't even hold any specific title was walking in and out of the command center like it was his own room.

"What a rather eccentric old man."

Seeing how a great man who would have lived like a king if he stayed in his territory was wandering battlefields leading only old knights.

Anyway, for me, it wasn't bad that the old man paid generously for information.

Raising my knights and gathering money. "Killing two birds with one stone" was definitely meant for situations like this.

Day after day, we poked around the forest hunting for evil spirits.

Even Adelia, who had only drawn her sword on the first day after I was put in danger, was now properly drawing her sword on her own.

Although the pitiful sight of her trembling uncontrollably, unable to overcome her tension and fear, remained the same.

The truly pitiful ones weren't her.

It was the evil spirit trees being torn to shreds by her sword.

Adelia's sword, which had fully inherited the swordsmanship of her ancestor who slaughtered giants, was literally ruthlessness itself.

Like that, she was slowly getting accustomed to combat.

Of course, this was only possible because her opponents were dry dead trees that didn't bleed; there was no guarantee what would happen if different enemies appeared.

That punk Eli, who at first was too busy just parrying tentacles, also seemed to have gotten used to fighting the evil spirit trees lately, trying this and that.

The Gawain trio, who joined late, also diligently honed their swords against the evil spirit trees.

Everything was going smoothly.

Save for one thing—the Full Moon Clan.

There were no ominous howls, nor any noisy presences.

But they were definitely around us.

Hovering around our group, probing endlessly.

They never lunged at us with noisy threats like on the first day.

It was a given.

They weren't low-level beings driven merely by appetite like the evil spirit trees, so they were more than capable of sensing the status I wasn't revealing.

You could say they were testing the waters.

Testing whether this bizarre seed, possessing status but no presence, was a delicacy they could take a bite out of at any time, or a poisonous mushroom that would make them sick if eaten.

And so, under the watch of these secretive spectators, the group continued to hunt down the evil spirit trees.

Adelia had now reached a level where she wasn't consumed by fear when facing the evil spirit trees.

Just a short while ago, out of pure terror, she would flare up her sword light multiple times just to cut down a single tentacle, but now she delivered only one strike per tentacle.

It was a massive improvement.

But that was all.

Just by swinging her sword at dead trees that were highly ambiguous to even call alive, she couldn't overcome the wall.

It was a point where battle against monsters made of flesh and blood was necessary.

That was when a giant wolf blocked the group's path.

What a coincidence it was.

GRRRR.

The giant wolf raised its body.

It didn't just lift its paws for a moment. It stood tall on two feet.

Just like a human.

At the majestic sight of the Lycanthrope, which was easily twice as massive as a grown adult male, Adelia froze stiff.

Making her past slaughter of the evil spirit trees seem pointless, she was overwhelmed by terror just like when she first entered the sea of trees.

It was the same for that punk Eli, and the Gawain trio as well.

Looking at the wolf standing on two feet, they couldn't hide their tension.

It was natural.

Because it wasn't just some simple monster.

It was the Full Moon Clan, a messenger sent by the leader of those fierce half-human half-beasts.

And the message the messenger of the full moon would deliver to us was obvious.

Death, or pestilence.

GRRRRR.

The Lycanthrope growled low in its throat.

Looking at the beast full of hostility and murderous intent, I chuckled softly.

"Did you think you needed to take a bite to get a feel for it?"

When I laughed, that punk Eli's face lit up.

"H-Has your mana returned?"

"No. I don't have a speck of it."

The punk aggressively frowned.

Asking why I was overflowing with so much leisure when I couldn't even use mana. Asking if we weren't all going to die at this rate.

At his snapping words, I grinned.

"That might happen."

At my nonchalant reply, that punk Eli was about to have another fit, but I beat him to the punch.

"Eli."

"What!"

"If you have a hidden Poem of Martial Deeds from your family, it'd be best to use it today."

At my words, that punk Eli flinched and trembled.

"Because otherwise, you really will die."

The moment I finished speaking, the Lycanthrope kicked off the ground.