In Pinwood Forest, what was initially blamed on monsters turned out to be the work of the heretic Ariane. The Paladin Order engaged in a fierce battle against the creatures.
Contrary to the simple rumor that the Paladins were defeated in a surprise attack by monsters, that night’s clash was a bloody conflict among those with different motives, all drawn together.
‘A monster that could slaughter over ten knights in such a short time… Ord, that monster hunter, won’t let this slide.’
Having left the Excommunicated, Ariane aimed to lure out and deal with Ord Zenbel under the pretense of the Pinwood Forest monsters, after consistently picking fights with him.
“This disgusting corruption…! It must be related to the Abyss heretics!” “Let us advance to the lake! In the name of Elianel!”
The Paladin Order marched toward the tainted lake, battling the increasing tentacled beasts over several days.
“…Looks like there are a lot of fireflies.”
Bzzz…
“Keeeek…!”
As expected by Ariane, Ord Zenbel appeared, determined to control the monsters leading them into the Pinwood Forest.
“Twenty silver coins for each of those monsters, huh…? Alright, let’s do this!”
“Be careful! There’s one coming from the side!”
The Adventurers hired at great expense by Baron Braum, who had lost so many knights, were also on the scene.
All of them converged on the tainted lake, where they unexpectedly clashed.
“Paladins…! How dare these blind dogs pant in front of the trash!”
Ariane, who had been quietly hiding to ambush Ord, suddenly attacked when she saw the Paladins, unable to contain herself.
An impulsive surprise attack.
“Surprise! Everyone, combat formation!”
“Enemies at the back! Hold the flanks—Aaaah!”
The dark crusaders assembled to counter Ord’s monsters.
Monsters that looked like undead, yet weren’t, surrounded the Paladins, launching surprise attacks that showered blood everywhere.
“Roooaaar!”
“It’s a troll! Everyone with shields, get out! The rear, start a fire!”
At the same time, Ord’s monstrous horde encountered the Adventurers.
“Keruk! Kerereuk!” “Krrr…!” “Kyaaaah!”
“Goblins and devil beasts? Even gargoyles? Why are they all in one place…!”
Monster hunting specialists faced off against Adventurer hunting specialists.
Adventurers with various equipment and monsters of all shapes roared at one another amidst the chaos.
White flashes erupted repeatedly, fiery arrows wove through the air, and blades and claws shimmered in the light as they crossed.
“Roooaaar!”
A troll, infuriated by an arrow lodged in its shoulder, smashed a shield-bearing warrior with its club, while Adventurers seized the opportunity to plunge their weapons deep into the troll’s belly.
“Grrrrgh!!”
“Wait, wait! Aaaah!”
While a troll’s left hand crushed an Adventurer’s head like a smashed tomato, someone swung a large sword, severing one of the troll’s legs.
As the falling troll swung its club, an Adventurer crushed beneath it was flattened, and a wizard quietly crept up from the ground, plunging a fire arrow into the troll while simultaneously stabbing it in the groin with a dagger.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Shasha! Where did that crazy goblin brat come from!”
Furious at the wizard’s scream, a warrior stepped out of line to skewer the goblin, only for a devil beast to rush in and bite another warrior’s calf.
Screams and cries filled the battlefield, with bodies of monsters and humans entangled and rolling together.
‘To think I can’t overpower even this number. If it weren’t for Heid…’
From afar, Ord Zenbel brooded over his resentment towards the absent Heid.
Since losing the previous monster army to Heid, he had gathered new creatures, but they weren’t nearly as fierce as before.
That fact left him disappointed.
◆◆
The battle of the four factions raged on in the dead of night.
As more and more Abyss-corrupted beasts joined the fray, the area around the lake descended into complete chaos.
Amidst the bloodbath, it wasn’t until Paladins and Adventurers, fighting entirely in different directions, accidentally faced one another that they realized their mutual presence.
This also meant that Ord and Ariane were aware of each other’s existence.
‘A monster horde? Damn it, I completely forgot about Ord…!’
‘Those are… the dark crusaders? How did that heretic’s monsters end up here….’
The two, now realizing that former comrades from the Excommunicated were hidden somewhere nearby, shared one thought, just like the crumbling bonds of the Abyss priests.
‘Now’s the time to kill Ord!’
‘An opportunity. In this chaos, I can naturally eliminate Ariane!’
First, I’ll find you and kill you.
Despite their extreme loathing for one another, their thoughts aligned perfectly as they abandoned their subordinates and searched the forest for each other.
After a while…
“Finally found you, Ariane Babelos!”
“Hah, that’s something I was going to say!”
At the edge of the lake, the two dark priests met, baring their teeth and drawing powerful magic filled with malice.
“At least set up a grave marker for me. Rest easy in death, Ord Zenbel—!”
And then, they clashed.
Crack!
Black lightning rained down like arrows, and curses rippled like waves.
“I’ve disliked you since ages ago! Just a rookie spouting off reckless comments!”
Countless spears birthed from shadows danced through the air, while a black veil enveloped Ariane, forming a sphere of darkness.
“Who are you to say that! You entered the game only a few years before me, flaunting all your pompousness!”
From Ord’s arm, a lizard tongue burst forth, belching flames, while a massive scythe-like arm shot out, tearing up the ground.
His wolf-like legs allowed him to move with beast-like grace, and from the vacant eye socket, a swarm of rats poured out, covering the ground with venom.
“Roooaaar—? Gurk…!”
Tentacled beasts, unfamiliar with the struggle, were torn apart by stray magic, and twisted trees caught fire, burning to ashes.
The fight between humans and monsters.
A battle between a witch and a monster hunter.
After a fierce and brutal clash that threatened to turn the terrain around the lake into ruins, the last standing entity emerged—
“…What are these pests doing here?”
Finally arriving at the lake after most of the fighting concluded was a golden-haired, red-eyed high-ranking knight.
“…Damn it, this is messed up.”
“Why, why are you here…?!”
No, he wasn’t just an ordinary high-ranking knight.
A magnificent armor emblazoned with the royal emblem.
An azure greatsword studded with purple jewels.
Surrounded by holy light that flowed like flames.
No one present could be unaware of the identity of that sword. Both Ariane and Ord suffered immensely from it.
The Holy Sword of Hervor.
Tirving.
“Well, does it even matter? The Abyss pests have gathered here like a pair of troublesome bugs…”
Heid Gardarick Hervor, the hero of the Kingdom of Hervor, smiled as he looked at the dejected Abyss priests.
“Just kill them all.”
The Tirving floated in the air before shooting out as a blue flash.
◆◆
After giving Baron Braum a heart attack and humiliating the Paladins in the lake battle, the bizarre sight of the two dark priests forming a temporary alliance ended with Heid arriving ahead of his party for battle.
Of course, even if the Abyss priests who had expended considerable effort fighting one another were in perfect condition, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Heid.
“Ugh… time to retreat. It’s a shame, but it’s over!”
Ariane, convinced she’d end up as just another casualty if she stayed, pushed the advancing Ord forward as a meat shield and fell back.
“What…?! What was that about cooperating…?!”
“Did you actually believe that? I guess your brain got replaced with monster meat!”
“You crazy witch!”
Pushed forward unexpectedly, Ord let out a furious curse, but Ariane had already dashed far away.
It wasn’t the time to question her betrayal; it was the moment he had to save his own neck.
“A pest being used by a pest. What a delightful comedy.”
“F*ck…!”
As Ord unleashed every magic he could while barely clinging to life, Ariane managed to hide herself and slip away into the forest.
Even Heid, who was pressing Ord, couldn’t help but admire her escape skills.
Left alone in front of the hero of the Holy Sword, Ord was on the edge of dying from rage, humiliation, and crisis, yet…
…Well, at least he wasn’t dead.
After sending the remaining monster horde to engage Heid and commanding even the corrupted beasts, he was able to buy time to escape.
“Push forward! Throw him into the lake!”
“How dare filthy creatures touch my body!”
A wall of smelly flesh surged towards Heid.
Unpleasant with the foul odor, Heid thrust Tirving forward, and the azure blade moved on its own, slicing through the wave of monsters.
Then again, it shot out like a flash, piercing into the body of the fleeing Ord.
Scrape!
“Ugh…!”
Even feeling like being burned, Ord ran furiously, escaping from Heid while leaving his right arm, now cut to the shoulder, behind in a sea of blood.
Heid gave up the chase.
He could have caught Ord if he pushed with everything he had, but he decided it would serve him better to rescue the survivors still clinging to life.
This was the aftermath of the lake battle that occurred in the dead of night.
‘But I really can’t make sense of this. Why were those Abyss folks having a fight amongst themselves here? A power struggle?’
The one who finished the fight couldn’t grasp the circumstances, though.
‘Then, did Ganagl kill those bastards…?’
The series of misunderstandings continued even after the instigator had long gone.
And the next morning…
While the tainted lake was purified by Heid and his companions, the duty of clearing the corpses amassed around the lake fell upon the barely conscious Baron Braum.
It was only natural. Pinwood Forest lay within the bounds of Baron Braum’s domain.
In fact, Baron Braum, having lost countless soldiers and exhausted his finances, fainted again and fell into a coffin, pouring blood over the results.
That all this carnage stemmed from a careless bathing was a tale hard for anyone to believe, excluding the real instigator.
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