Chapter 37: This Place is Crazy.
Rumble…
Palor arrived at the hideout and looked around. There was no trace of the relentless pursuer.
Finally feeling relieved that he had shaken off the stalker, Palor started removing the stones blocking the entrance of the hideout.
The thought of eating slowly in a safe place and recovering made him speed up the stone removal.
While focused on his task, Palor accidentally released the tentacles that were covering Gordon’s mouth.
Gordon seized the moment.
“Here!!”
It was the loudest scream he had ever let out.
Kraa!
Palor panicked and wrapped his tentacle around Gordon’s neck, lifting him into the air.
Gordon was struggling for breath but squeezed his eyes shut and shouted again.
“Right here!!!”
Kraaaar!
Furious, Palor tossed Gordon back to the ground.
The stalker he barely shook off would definitely hear that sound and come running. Palor resolutely decided he might as well finish his meal quickly and hide.
Palor raised his sickle-like hand high.
“Ugh…”
Gordon sat slumped on the ground, eyes closed.
As the terror of death washed over him, he could no longer make a sound. He felt the warmth pooling between his legs.
Swoosh!
Just as Palor’s sickle was about to fall on Gordon’s head, something flew quickly from the dark woods, glinting in the light.
Thud!
Belinda’s dagger embedded itself in Palor’s arm.
Due to the poison on the blade, Palor’s pale skin began to turn black.
Kraaaar!
Palor screamed in pain, but it didn’t last long.
Poof!
Next came Ghislaine’s sword, piercing through Palor’s head.
Crunch!
Finally, Gillian’s axe split Palor’s body in half.
“I-I’m alive!”
Seeing the three people appear before him, Gordon cried out in joy.
Ghislaine smiled as she tore the ‘Light’ scroll to check Gordon’s status.
“You held out well, Gordon.”
At those words, tears finally streamed down Gordon’s face.
He was so grateful that Ghislaine had risked danger to chase after him all the way here.
He knew he shouldn’t be crying due to muscle loss, but right now, he just couldn’t hold it back.
I know I shouldn’t be shedding tears, but right now, I just couldn’t hold it in.
“Waah! Thank you! Waaah!”
After a long bout of wailing, Belinda tossed a remark to the sobbing Gordon.
“By the way, your clothes… did you, um, pee yourself?”
Gordon’s tears vanished, and his face turned beet red as he subtly turned away. Belinda couldn’t help but burst into laughter at his reaction.
In the meantime, Ghislaine awkwardly surveyed the entrance of the cave that had been half-hidden by rocks.
“So this is their hideout, huh.”
It would be foolish to come this far and just turn back without checking it out.
The group immediately entered the cave.
Graaah!
As soon as the Palors inside the cave saw the group, they let out a horrific scream.
Seeing the mangled and ripped bodies, it was clear the ones who had fled were among them.
“I was a bit disappointed I couldn’t catch them all, but looks like they’re all gathered here? This makes things easier.”
Now that they had found the hideout, eradicating them all would surely make their journey ahead smoother.
Ghislaine wore a cruel smile as he surveyed the surroundings.
“Kill them all.”
Before Ghislaine’s words even finished, Belinda and Gillian mercilessly slashed at the Palors.
Graaahhh!
The Palor group, weakened from fighting against the mercenaries, couldn’t put up a proper resistance and were swiftly slaughtered.
Even if the Palors had been in good shape, everyone here, except for Gordon, could wield mana freely, so dealing with them wasn’t going to be tough.
After dispatching the last Palor, who was desperately trying to escape, Ghislaine spotted something curious inside the cave.
“What is this…?”
Belinda and Gillian were equally shocked at the pile of objects in the corner.
“Isn’t this human bones?”
Just as Belinda said, scattered throughout the cave were not only monster bones but also ones that appeared to be human.
“It seems to be the bones of those who unofficially explored the Forest of Monsters.”
Ghislaine nodded at Gillian’s words.
Though there had been explorers of the Forest of Monsters long ago, it had been a very long time since then.
As far as Ghislaine knew, the entry to the Forest had been prohibited by the Perdium Territory for several decades.
However, the torn clothes and tools lying around seemed to indicate they were no more than a few years old.
‘So someone has been secretly exploring this place recently…’
While he had a hunch, he couldn’t jump to conclusions. It could simply be a group of explorers.
Ghislaine decided to put aside the unresolved issue for the time being.
He planned to revisit the area later, secured the cave entrance, and returned to where his team was.
*
The mercenaries waiting anxiously for Ghislaine’s return all stood up, weapons drawn, as they sensed a presence from the direction of the forest.
They breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Ghislaine’s face emerge between the trees.
It was unfortunate that Gordon had died, but to survive in this forest, Ghislaine was a must-have.
“The young master has returned!”
The mercenaries approached Ghislaine with welcoming expressions.
Following behind him appeared Belinda, Gillian, and lastly the slightly awkwardly smiling Gordon.
“Waaaah!”
The mercenaries cheered as if to make the forest shake.
“Gordon has returned! Gordon is alive!”
“The young master succeeded!”
In all his time as a mercenary, Ghislaine had never encountered anyone like him.
Usually, nobles and employers treat mercenaries as expendable.
There was a common mentality that sacrificing mercenaries was completely acceptable if necessary.
For mercenaries, who had lived thinking this was just how it was, Ghislaine’s actions sparked feelings beyond mere shock.
Their employer was someone entirely different from your typical hypocrites.
“If we follow that person, we really might survive here.”
One mercenary muttered, and everyone nodded in agreement.
It’s not hard to be a good leader to mercenaries.
Just feed them well, pay them well, and bring in good jobs.
But to make them truly trust and follow you, something much more important is needed.
It’s the judgment and command that can save their lives even once more.
Ghislaine fought bravely ahead of them and possessed the heart not to abandon his followers.
He was the perfect figure for the mercenaries to trust and follow.
“The way he acted so far isn’t a facade. That person is genuine.”
“Yeah. Then we should repay that sincerity.”
“Turns out there are noble people like him.”
The mercenaries wiped their anxious minds clean and recalled the mercenary belief they had momentarily forgotten, looking at Ghislaine.
They had regained their true selves as mercenaries living with death by their side.
However, one person could not hide his displeasure while everyone else was regaining their composure; Manus sneered, unable to keep his face straight.
“Dumbasses, you just got lucky. How long do you think that will work? In the end, you’ll all die!”
Manus, who had merely pretended to fight by hiding behind other mercenaries’ shields, had survived once again.
To him, this forest was not a normal forest.
The monsters living here were far stronger than those dwelling outside the forest.
“Is it right to be happy just because we won this time? There are such bizarre monsters here at the forest’s edge; who knows what will come next?”
So far, their employer had resolved issues with amazing abilities, but there had been several close calls.
If their employer had been even slightly weaker or made a wrong judgment, there could have been complete annihilation.
“I have no intention of continuing this dangerous gamble. You idiots!”
It was the same this time. If the employer’s judgment was wrong, they would all be dead.
A single mistake could lead to total destruction in this place.
That was Manus’s evaluation of the Forest of Monsters.
“Damn, I need to charm a few of them to get out safely… From the looks of it, that seems tough.”
“Ugh… looking at the situation, it seems tough.”
I couldn’t bring myself to go back alone.
There would definitely be monsters wandering around without a habitat, and I was worried about how the employer would react if I said I wanted to leave.
“I need to look for any opportunities and charm a few of them. I have to return even if I have to pay the penalty.”
But right now, everyone was overflowing with enthusiasm.
It was clear that trying to stir them up now would be pointless. I had to be careful; I might even get beaten to death.
“If a few of them die, they might get scared and snap back to reality.”
Manus endured with that hope.
Even though they were acting out of character now, he believed that when danger approached again, they would surely face the reality.
When daylight broke, the mercenaries finished their preparations and began to move.
Since they had wiped out the Palors, there was no need to worry about monsters following them.
“Didn’t they say this was the territory of the Palors? There sure are fewer monsters appearing.”
“The ones that occasionally show up seem like they’re just wandering around looking for food instead of living nearby.”
Monsters did appear, but their numbers and frequency had significantly decreased from the beginning.
“Still, being careless can get you killed. Just listen to what the employer says.”
The mercenaries, with a changed mindset, became more seasoned and their instincts sharper as the battles continued.
Ghislaine watched this with a satisfied smile.
“Indeed, real battles where lives are at stake are the best. At this rate, they’re much better than the soldiers of the territory.”
Individually, the mercenaries might be strong, but the consensus is that they can’t match regular troops in group battles.
However, the mercenaries under Ghislaine were moving as organized as any regular army.
“Clearly their mental state has changed.”
The battles were still dangerous, and casualties continued to occur, but the mercenaries were no longer agitated.
They simply tried their best to follow Ghislaine’s command.
Thanks to that, Ghislaine could lead the mercenaries more easily than before.
It was possible only because they trusted Ghislaine.
Seeing them move as one, Kaor couldn’t help but admire.
“Those fools who jumped in for the money have different looks now. They’ve completely transformed into an army. They weren’t like this originally, you know?”
“All thanks to our noble lord.”
Gillian replied shortly and proudly. Kaor twitched his lips and turned his head.
“Damn, if someone saw it, they’d think he’s my hidden child.”
Though he felt the urge to speak, it was obvious that saying anything would lead to trouble, so Kaor kept his mouth shut.
“Am I really avoiding this? Just because I don’t want to fight with an old man?”
Kaor tilted his head seriously, lost in thought.
The leader of the Cerberus Mercenary Group refraining from the fight was unthinkable.
As Kaor fell into endless contemplation, the group quickly exited the Palor’s territory.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
