FVN Chapter 317: Chapter 316: The Forest Must Stop Us (2)
Chapter 317: Chapter 316: The Forest Must Stop Us (2)
chapter 317: chapter 316: the forest must stop us (2)
though ghislain's declaration ignited a fighting spirit in most, there were some exceptions. skovan saluted with a solemn expression.
"i wish you a safe return!"
his strong voice was echoed by ricardo and the rest of the forest guard as they saluted.
they all shared the same thought.
'as long as we don't have to go.'
'why does he keep stirring up trouble here?'
'well, he's the young lord, so he'll figure something out.'
they had no taste for risking their lives. the events they had experienced so far were enough
to boast about for generations.
that was enough. they just wanted to live the rest of their lives in peace.
but ghislain turned to skovan and said,
"what are you talking about? you're all coming with us."
"what? why?"
"the more hands, the better."
"we need to stay here and guard the area."
"what's there to guard? i'm clearing everything ahead of us."
"... can't we just stay?"
"no."
skovan folded his arms and thought for a moment. after racking his brain, he came up with a justification.
"i'm under perdium's jurisdiction. i can't move without the lord's permission."
he was arguing that his different affiliation meant ghislain had no authority over him. but ghislain wasn't one to care about such details.
"my father's not here, so as the heir, i'm the acting lord."
"... the head butler is the acting lord."
"tsk... do you want to avoid retirement?"
once ghislain inherited the territory, perdium would also be his. skovan could be worked to the bone for life.
skovan quickly turned to ricardo.
"hey... get ready... gather the men."
"b-but we haven't received formal orders."
"then hold out if you think you can. don't you know the young lord standing next to you is scarier than the head butler far away?"
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"well, since it's come to this, we might as well go check out the interior. let's think of it positively."
the forest guard wasn't large, but having even one extra pair of hands would help.
ghislain added another order to skovan.
"leave only the minimum security forces in the territory, and bring all the reserves. recruit laborers, too. anyone who wants to come, let them come. i'll pay them generously."
skovan complied without resistance. most of the forces were stationed at the northern fortress, leaving no one who could stop this madman.
of course, ghislain had no intention of waiting for additional forces or laborers to arrive. the base camp had to be established as quickly as possible.
"alright, let's go!"
ghislain and the fenris army entered the forest of demonic beasts through the existing path they had made.
the forest was as quiet as ever. since the path was only used for retrieving runestones, the forest hadn't changed much.
the path was flanked by tall wooden walls, making it far from a properly developed area. but ghislain was now determined to secure this place as their territory.
"tear it all down!"
boom! boom!
as 3,000 soldiers and knights moved, the tall and sturdy walls protecting the path crumbled in an instant.
a wide clearing was created, and a command tent was immediately erected. from this point onward, the true development would begin.
"there aren't many monsters near the entrance. push forward as fast as you can."
the real danger lay in the territory of the dirus ents, still some distance away. the area near the path had already been cleared out during their previous expedition.
with no fear of monster attacks, ghislain boldly mobilized his soldiers.
in less than three days, they had secured an area large enough to fit a couple of villages at the forest's entrance.
of course, there were still occasional monster attacks.
"graaaah!"
something massive leapt out in front of the soldiers cutting down trees.
the soldiers screamed in surprise.
"waaaah! what is that?"
"a bear? that's a bear?"
"how is it that big?"
the creature before them was a grizzly bear, nearly twice the size of a normal bear, covered in rough gray fur streaked with white.
at this size, it was no longer just a predator-it could be called a monster.
its body was scarred and one eye gouged out, evidence of its hard life in this brutal forest. though driven to the outskirts by more powerful creatures, it still possessed the strength to tear apart most humans in one blow.
the first to notice was a soldier standing watch on the perimeter.
the soldier spotted the creature moving through the trees and shouted in panic.
"a-a monster! another monster's coming!"
the soldiers, still on alert, immediately assumed battle positions at the lookout's cry.
they soon caught sight of the creature and were shocked.
"w-what is that? why is it so big?"
"fall back! form a proper formation!"
"call the mages!"
the monster was a giant mantis.
the giant mantis was larger than a human, with forelegs strong enough to slice through steel
as if it were paper.
a single one could easily slaughter dozens of soldiers.
now, fifty of them have appeared. a force of this size could wipe out hundreds of armed
soldiers in an instant.
"regroup! quickly!"
"raise your shields and form up!"
"laborers, fall back immediately!"
the area grew chaotic as soldiers closed ranks. unlike the scattered monster encounters
before, this was a proper monster horde.
laborers stopped their work and retreated. soldiers nervously stared at the approaching
mantises.
"there's nothing small here. everything's huge." someone muttered, and others nodded slightly in agreement.
ordinary giant mantises were only slightly larger than humans. but these specimens seemed
to have grown to twice their normal size, likely due to some unknown factor.
even the smallest among them could slice through a heavy infantry shield with a single swipe
of their forelegs. the larger ones must have unimaginable strength.
the sheer size of the creatures made everyone uneasy.
sssssssss...
the giant mantises, wary of the soldiers' numbers, cautiously observed their surroundings.
unlike the bear, they didn't consider retreating. giant mantises were notoriously fearless.
though the soldiers outnumbered them, the mantises' larger size gave them confidence. slowly, they raised their forelegs and began inching closer.
the soldiers tightened their grips on their shields, their faces tense. it wasn't just the soldiers.
knights, hunters, elves, and mages all shared the same apprehension.
no one doubted they could handle this many monsters, but none of them had faced giant
mantises before. their reputation as incredibly powerful forest-dwellers made everyone
uneasy.
if they weren't careful, the damage could be severe. losing soldiers this early in the expedition was not an option.
vanessa approached the soldiers, gathering her mana.
"everyone, be ready."
the giant mantis was known for its incredible speed. unsure just how fast they were, vanessa
prepared for a preemptive strike.
she planned to reduce their numbers before they could attack the soldiers.
as the mages began chanting spells for their assault, ghislain spoke.
"oh, they're still around? this must be their territory. i thought we wiped them out before,
but it looks like the survivors bred again."
gillian stepped forward, holding his axe.
"i'll clear them out again."
"hey, old man, this time i'm getting more than you. don't get cocky."
kaor swaggered forward, and gordon flexed his muscles as he followed. "those bastards killed a lot of my friends back then. i had to work out so much to recover
from the loss of muscle."
several knights armed themselves and joined them. as they approached, they muttered
nostalgically.
"it's all just memories now."
"they were terrifying back then."
"just keep working. we'll take care of this."
not everyone in the group was unfamiliar with these monsters. among them were those who
had fought and survived encounters with giant mantises.
led by gillian and kaor, the knights stepping forward were 50 former mercenaries who had