318 – We need to create some tension.
Vanessa swallowed hard and cautiously asked, “So… is that monster really going to show up around here?”
“Yep, it’s definitely coming. We need to use that to create some tension. If we don’t tighten our grip now, it’s going to get worse and worse.”
“Still, I think we should at least give a warning…”
“Then it’s pointless. No matter how much I tell you not to relax, words alone don’t do the trick. You have to experience it firsthand.”
No matter what happens, knowing and preparing ahead of time lessens the shock. That’s why Ghislaine planned to have the people face the monster without any preparation for the first time in a long while.
From his perspective, that was the perfect way to instill tension in the people.
Vanessa understood Ghislaine’s intention but still had lingering doubts.
“Didn’t you say, Lord, that you haven’t been here since the entrance? How do you know so much…?”
“Hmm, I’ll tell you later. Anyway, once you see it, you’ll believe it.”
Ghislaine forced a smile and mumbled. It was awkward to explain it at times like this, so he could only dodge the question.
After all, he was wrapped in a cloak of mysterious knowledge from an unknown source. Gaining one more piece of that knowledge wouldn’t change much.
Vanessa nodded in acceptance. Though she was full of curiosity as a mage, she figured there must be a reason why Ghislaine didn’t elaborate.
Throughout their time together, Ghislaine had always explained what she needed to know.
With a slightly worried expression, Vanessa turned back to the mages to explain what they needed to prepare.
From the end of the road, it was like starting to reclaim new territory.
The forest had been dense with trees and darkness for quite some time now.
“From now on, let’s proceed a bit more slowly. Raise the vigilance level, and have the knights and soldiers take the lead. Laborers should keep building the watchtowers in the rear.”
To claim a region as territory, it’s not just about securing the place. You have to be able to defend what you’ve secured to truly make it your territory.
As the secured area grew larger, Ghislaine paid more attention to the facilities that would protect it.
Now they were about to enter a new monster’s territory. Ghislaine carefully approached, rummaging through his memories from his past life.
[In this territory, there lived monsters that we were familiar with. A monster that would never tolerate disturbances in its domain, commonly referred to as the king of the forest. It’s a powerful monster, but since we’re accustomed to it, I believed that when it showed up, our advance party would be strong enough to deal with it.]
Boom! Boom!
To clear a path and secure the territory, they had to chop down trees. With thousands of people moving, it couldn’t help but be noisy.
That commotion finally piqued the interest of the resident overlord.
Kraaahhh!
A roar that seemed to shake the sky echoed from afar.
It was entirely different from the cries of the monsters that appeared at the entrance. The overwhelming force sent shivers down the soldiers’ spines, causing them to halt their work.
“Everyone, prepare for combat. Step back a little and form ranks. Knights, step forward.”
At Ghislaine’s command, the personnel quickly assumed battle readiness. Something was charging toward them from a distance, seemingly enraged, smashing through trees.
Boom! Booom! Boom!
They could feel it drawing nearer. Just the footsteps seemed to shake the ground beneath them.
It looked like this.
KWAANG!
“GRAAAAH!”
And when it appeared right in front of them, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.
“An ogre?”
Ogres aren’t common, but they are well-known monsters. A powerful creature said to be able to take on hundreds of soldiers and dozens of knights all by itself.
Because of its might and grandeur, it was called the king of the forest.
The soldiers stared at the ogre in shock.
“Isn’t that thing huge?”
“What on earth do the ones living here eat…?”
“Why do all the creatures in this forest look like that?”
It was indeed an ogre, but this one was not your average size. It looked like it was at least a head taller than the typical ogre.
In terms of size, it was a top-tier ogre that could rival the so-called Twin Head Ogre.
The size of monsters correlates with their combat power. At that size, it was clear that it would be much stronger than a regular ogre.
Even the hunters who had seen ogres a few times in the Shadow Mountain Range looked on with amazement.
“Wow, with a size like that, it’s gotta be worth some money!”
“The bigger it is, the better the quality.”
“Hehe, this is going to be fun.”
Everyone seemed completely unfazed. No matter how strong the ogre was, they had made it this far too easily.
It was known that an ogre could take on hundreds of soldiers by itself. But here, there were more than 4,000 troops. There were also around 400 knights and 300 hunters.
Size might be a bully, but numbers are bullies too. There was no way they couldn’t take down one ogre with this many people.
And there was someone here with a special nickname related to ogres.
“Sigh, looks like I’ll have to deal with this myself again. Everyone else just watch.”
Kaor stepped forward with an arrogant expression.
He had even taken out a Twin Head Ogre all by himself. Even if this ogre was of a similar tier, he was confident he could handle it.
He had gained some enlightenment back then and surpassed a wall.
Kaor swung his sword and said to the people,
“I’ll take it down myself, so don’t get in my way. Got it? Just enjoy the show.”
After all, he was known as the ‘Ogre Slayer.’ It was only right for him to step up when facing ogres.
“Whoa! It’s Kaor, the Ogre Slayer!”
“Show us your skills again!”
“You won’t let one measly ogre take you down, right?”
As the crowd cheered, Kaor puffed up his chest with pride.
Everyone acted like they were just out for a light-hearted spectacle.
The knights weren’t particularly tense either. They may not have been able to take down an ogre on their own, but there were those present who could.
Not only Kaor, but Belinda, Gillian, and Vanessa were all capable of taking down ogres by themselves.
And the lord, Ghislaine, was definitely a force to be reckoned with. He could probably take down several all by himself.
People who had relaxed along the way were enjoying the show, watching Kaor and the ogre as if it were a fun spectacle.
Only the mages kept a stern look on their faces as they glared at the ogre.
Ghislaine asked Kaor, who was stepping up front,
“Are you really going to take it down by yourself?”
“Of course! Being the ‘Ogre Slayer,’ I’m the one who has to handle it. I’m sure you all haven’t seen me take down an ogre solo, right?”
As Kaor swaggered with a twirl of his shoulder and stepped further, the ogre merely growled and glared at the crowd.
The ogre just growled and glared at the people.
Not exactly the demeanor you’d expect from a notorious ogre. Normally, it would charge headlong into battle, regardless of whether there were many enemies or few.
“See? It’s scared. It can already smell the blood flowing through my veins. The blood of its own kind.”
Kaor chuckled, then suddenly his expression stiffened. Something felt off. At the same time, Belinda and Gillian also tightened their faces a bit.
Boom! Boom!
With a crash, another ogre burst through the trees.
“Hm… two of them…”
Honestly, two would be a bit tough. A slight bead of sweat trickled down Kaor’s back. Still, he couldn’t just turn back and admit defeat.
The knights and hunters looked intrigued, and the crowd cheered even louder.
“Whoaaa! There are two of them!”
“Go ahead and catch both!”
“You can do it! Kaor!”
Encouraged by the cheers, Kaor shouted boldly.
“Alright! I’m going to unleash my hidden power today!”
Two might be difficult, but if things got hairy, he could always retreat. If things got really bad, the lord or anyone else would come to help.
If it were these people, two ogres would be a piece of cake.
Just as Kaor was about to step forward, yet another ogre came leaping out.
Boom!
“Three?”
That’s pushing it. Even with his life on the line, he wasn’t sure he could win. A single mistake could cost him his life. Stepping in now would be pure bravado.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Boom! Boom!
“Five?”
Kaor took a step back. Belinda and Gillian also gripped their weapons tightly.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
It felt like the ground itself was rumbling, with frenzied roars echoing all around. He could sense more of them rushing toward him.
[Ogres are monsters that live independently and don’t form packs. So we thought it would be the same in the Forest of Monsters. However, that was our misconception. The monsters here defied our common sense.]
“Groooor!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ogres came charging out in all directions with brutish roars.
Nine… ten… fifteen…
With each one that appeared, the expressions of the people went stiff. The knights quickly drew their weapons and lowered their stances.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…
Finally, the noise subsided. A staggering twenty ogres had shown themselves.
If that many ogres gathered, they could probably wipe a small territory off the map.
Indeed, the Forest of Monsters was no ordinary place. With powerful monsters aplenty, even the typically independent ogres seemed to have evolved to live in packs.
The soldiers and laborers were still struggling to grasp the situation.
“Uh… aren’t there fewer than the Giant Mantises?”
“We’ve taken them down easily so far, right? We could probably handle this too, right?”
“I… I don’t think so this time?”
The atmosphere was extremely odd. The knights, who had been so relaxed, were now tightly wound with tension.
Only then did the soldiers and laborers realize that the monsters now before them were on an entirely different level from those they’d faced before.
They recalled that ogres were called the kings of the forest.
“W-we… can’t catch them?”
“We might catch them… after a lot of people are dead…”
“Damn it, get a grip!”
The soldiers gripped their weapons tightly. If the soldiers had to fight those ogres alone, at least half of them would likely end up dead.
He gripped his weapon tightly. If the soldiers were to fight the ogres alone, at least half of them would be dead.
Considering that the monsters living in the Forest of Monsters were stronger than those outside, total annihilation was a real possibility.
The laborers sensed that the atmosphere was grim. They hurriedly stepped back, bumping into each other so much that they nearly stumbled.
In the meantime, the mages gradually stepped forward. The elves also drew their bows, their expressions stern.
“Combat preparation! Combat preparation!”
The commanders, who had belatedly regained their composure, encouraged the soldiers and formed ranks. These were veteran soldiers who had followed Ghislaine into battle.
They had the authority to assess the situation and act autonomously, even without orders.
The soldiers scrambled to form their lines and raised their shields. Yet, their faces still showed clear signs of tension.
The ogres were brandishing giant trees. Just one swing of those would send dozens of soldiers flying.
At that moment, Ghislaine, who had been silent up till now, turned to look at the people.
“This is the Forest of Monsters. You never know when or what monster might jump out. Ogres in groups of dozens are the least of our worries here. It’s a place filled with bizarre and deadly creatures that you can’t even imagine.”
“……”
“Don’t be overconfident. Don’t let your guard down. One mistake can cost you your life here in the Forest of Monsters.”
The people could only remain silent.
These were soldiers who had accomplished countless feats while following their lord. Even they had grown somewhat complacent, having earned the title of the strongest in the North. They trusted in the strength of numbers and let their guard down.
They believed that the outstanding knights and lords would handle everything easily. They thought they could just tag along without much worry.
Ghislaine was pointing that out now. Living like that could lead to death.
‘This… is the Forest of Monsters…’
‘How insane, to be so relaxed in front of an ogre. We’ve barely just crossed the entrance, and there’s already an ogre here at this spot.’
‘I heard the lord almost died here before; I guess that was true.’
People only realize the danger by experiencing it firsthand. The soldiers and knights, newly arrived here, finally understood how perilous the Forest of Monsters truly was.
Even the hunters, who had been so confident, were now swallowing hard. Though ogres could occasionally be seen in the Shadow Mountain Range, they had never seen them gathering in such numbers.
The only time ogres appeared like this was for one reason.
‘It’s not a Monster Wave, but the ogres are pouring out?’
‘Crazy… is this forest always in a Monster Wave state?’
‘No wonder we’ve gotten through so easily so far.’
Kaor, who had confidently stepped forward, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The tables had turned. The very ogre that had first appeared now walked forward, its eyes reflecting cruelty.
As Kaor kept staring at the ogre, he suddenly turned away with an awkward smile.
He looked at Ghislaine and the knights and said, “Help me.”
The embarrassment was momentary. It’s not the strong who survive, but the survivors who are strong.
Even if it’s embarrassing, he had to survive. He had no confidence in facing off against that many ogres alone.
The moment they engaged, he would surely be beaten to a pulp.
Kaor’s plea seemed to resonate quite strongly.
“Alright, I’ll help you.”
Ghislaine chuckled lightly and stepped forward, greatsword in hand.
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