Episode 30: Follow me with all your might (2)
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Before Giselle could answer Gillian’s question, several mercenaries walked forward, laughing and pushing past the two.
“Our employer suddenly got scared.”
“It seems like there’s nothing, so why did it suddenly stop?”
“Isn’t that why you hired us? Just leave this to us and rest.”
They laughed heartily at Giselle and swung their axes.
There have always been people in a group who are out of control.
In their eyes, Jiselle was young and inexperienced, in a word, a novice.
If you just tell them your destination, they will take care of it, but it’s just funny because they keep telling you to do this and that.
In fact, only the Cerberus mercenaries listened to Giselle’s words and prepared for battle.
The other mercenaries stood there blankly, watching their employer babble on.
“Stop.”
As Jiselle spoke softly with a cold expression, the mercenaries who had been walking ahead stopped walking awkwardly.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t seem as dangerous as rumored, so let’s get on the road quickly.”
“It’s not that far, is it?”
Even though the mercenaries grumbled, Jiselle hardened her expression and continued speaking.
“Come back here slowly. If you stay there, you will die.”
The mercenaries’ faces distorted as they could not understand what on earth Giselle was talking about.
But Jiselle raised one hand, keeping her eyes on the mercenaries nervously.
“Prepare for battle, you idiots. When someone speaks, listen to them.”
The mercenaries reluctantly took up their weapons at the harsh words.
I didn’t like it, but it was my employer’s order, so I couldn’t continue to refuse.
Jiselle slowly lowered her posture and prepared to jump out.
The mercenaries standing in front of him snickered and shook their heads.
I didn’t understand his sudden behavior, but I had to pretend to follow him since he was so nervous.
“Hey, let’s go. Our boss is really scared.”
When the mercenaries turned around, laughing heartily.
Gillian and Belinda, who had been looking at Giselle with suspicious eyes, suddenly hardened their expressions and turned their heads.
Kaor also drew his sword and cursed.
[We couldn’t have expected it to move. Feeling nothing, we went inside defenselessly, and went quite deep… ]
Only then did the mercenaries sense something moving.
[They attacked us.]
The vines that had wrapped around the tree began to swirl like a whirlpool.
And then he lunged out at the mercenaries ahead at lightning speed.
At the same time, Giselle’s body was shot forward.
As the vines were about to attack one of the mercenaries, Jiselle’s sword moved quickly.
Crunch!
The vines that were trying to capture the mercenary were cut by the sword and began to ooze a sticky, black liquid.
“What, what is it!”
Surprised by the sudden attack, most of the group was unable to react. Not understanding what was happening, they just stood there frozen and watched.
But Jiselman did not panic and moved quickly.
Crunch!
Another vine flying towards another mercenary was cut down.
But there were already dozens of flying vines, and Jiselle alone could not stop them all.
“Eww!”
Several mercenaries who were unable to dodge in time were caught in the vines and dragged away.
Jiselle grabbed the mercenaries she had saved by the collar, threw them into the group behind her, and jumped straight into the vines.
It was to rescue the people who had been captured.
But the road was already blocked.
‘Tsk, am I late?’
Dozens of vines flew towards him, surrounding him in all directions.
Jiselle leapt into the air, her sword gripped tightly, and spun around.
Gagagagak!
The vines that had been approaching him as if surrounding him were all cut down.
Landing on the ground with a piece of vine, Giselle slid backwards in a semicircle.
“master!”
“Confucius!”
Belinda, Gillian, and Kaor quickly gathered around Giselle.
“Wake up! Get in line!”
As Jiselle screamed, the group that had been standing there dumbfounded quickly grabbed their weapons and prepared for battle.
“Eww!”
“Save me!”
The dragged mercenaries screamed and struggled.
While everyone was wondering what to do, the trees connected to the vines began to sway little by little.
“What, what is it!”
Soon the bark of the giant tree split apart, revealing a shape resembling a distorted mouth.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
The trees each put the mercenaries they had caught into their mouths and began to chew.
“Kwaaaaak!”
A chilling mix of sounds and screams echoed through the forest. Other mercenaries cried out in horror as they saw their comrades being eaten alive.
“The trees are moving?”
“Could that be an Ent?”
Jiselle shook her head inwardly as she heard the mercenaries’ shocked voices.
Ents are guardians of the forest who are more like spirits or fairies than monsters.
They love peace, sometimes imparting ancient knowledge, and also serve as guardians of the forest tribes.
It is absolutely not a hideous being that eats living creatures.
The trees that had swallowed the captured mercenaries whole began to move again, shaking.
Two holes appeared above the gaping mouth.
Black eyes visible through them.
Goosebumps ran through the mercenaries’ bodies as they looked into those eyes filled with malice.
[They were not Ents. At first glance they resembled Ents, but unlike Ents they were sinister, vicious, and terribly unpleasant. We gave them names derived from the ancient language.]
Jiselle muttered the name as she looked at the trees in front of her.
“Dirus Ent.”
[Fortunately, Count Balzac was active and defeated them all, but most of the soldiers had already been ambushed. Having lost the advance party, we had no choice but to return to the outpost.]
The surprise attack by Dirus Ent was so fatal that even the Kingdom of Rutania in the previous life, which had gathered the power of the kingdom and started to develop, experienced its first failure.
[They are spread out like a forest of demons. In other words, they are like the gatekeepers of the forest of demons. If you don’t know them, you will be defeated… … .]
A creepy smile appeared on Giselle’s face as she remembered the phrase.
“We might be able to give it a try.”
The reason why no one could sense the presence of the monster even though it was standing right in front of them was simple.
No one suspected anything because it was just a tree until it started moving.
Kuoooooo!
Dozens of Dirus Ents began to move, screaming.
The thick branches were intertwined with vines and came down like arms, and the roots pulled out of the ground also intertwined with each other and became legs.
The faces of the mercenaries who saw that sight became tense.
“I, the trees are moving.”
“It’s not even an Ent, what the heck is that?”
“Damn, who would notice if it was like that?”
Since they were originally tree-like beings, they were able to become one with the forest and deceive everyone.
It was a monster that literally hit the weak points of one’s thinking, something that you couldn’t avoid if you didn’t know about.
Kwaaaaah!
All the Dirus Ents with movable forms glared at Giselle and let out cries of rage.
Their habit was to wait until their prey had come deep enough to escape, then surround them, attack them, and then eat them.
However, if the prey noticed and did not approach, they had no choice but to pull out the roots and move themselves.
Since he had to use strength he didn’t need to, his anger couldn’t help but pour out on Giselle.
Kwaaaaah!
Another roar erupted from the mouths of the Dirus Ents.
“First row! Raise your shields! Do your best to block the attack!”
At Giselle’s shout, the mercenaries at the front raised their shields.
But their expressions never looked comfortable.
“Fighting those big guys?”
They are like trees that make up the forest of demons.
It had to be much larger than the monsters living in the forest.
The Dirus Ents shot vines at the mercenaries who hesitated in front of their enormous size.
Thud! Thud!
“Eww!”
The mercenaries holding shields fell or were pushed back.
The Dirus Ents were as strong as they were large, so they couldn’t withstand their attacks.
The mercenaries waiting in the back row fired arrows in a hurry.
The arrows pierced the bodies of the Dirus Ents, but could not penetrate the tough bark.
“Oh, what should I do?”
“It’s a tree! It’s no use unless you cut it down whole!”
As the mercenaries were confused, Jiselle shouted again.
“Everyone throw down your lamps!”
The tree’s weakness is fire.
It’s common sense, but it’s dangerous to use here.
“Master! Are you crazy? You should run away!”
“Master! You must not burn the forest!”
Belinda and Gillian screamed in horror.
Even if you use fire to defeat them, it would be meaningless if the forest burns down. In fact, it would invite greater danger.
Monsters that have lost their habitat will run wild in all directions, and the Ferdium territory closest to the forest will be reduced to rubble.
That is why the successive lords of Ferdium had no choice but to give up on burning the forests to use them as farmland.
But Giselle threw the lamp away as if it didn’t matter and shouted.
“Okay! They’ll eat fire! Throw them quickly! The back row, prepare your fire arrows!”
Crispy!
The lamp that hit Dirus Ent’s body broke and oil flowed out.
The mercenaries who saw this scene all picked up lamps and threw them around.
“Oh, I don’t know! Throw it quickly!”
“What does it matter to us whether the forest burns or not? Our employer told us to do it!”
They also knew that the forest should not be burned, but they did not hesitate because their lives came first.
Khoooo!
The Dirus Ents howled with disgust and swung the vines attached to their arms wildly.
But the mercenaries at the forefront held out with all their might, using their shields to block the attacks.
The Dirus Ents, realizing that their vine attacks were ineffective, began to slowly approach the group with heavy steps.
It was clear that they had the intention of crushing the mercenaries.
“Shoot!”
Then Giselle shouted.
Fiery arrows were fired at the surrounding Dirus Ents on all sides.
KOOOOOOOOOO!
Flames instantly burst out from the bodies of the Dirus Ents, who were covered in oil.
They stopped walking and hesitated as if in pain.
Fire spread in all directions and everything began to be engulfed in flames.
The Dirus Ents behind them ran through the flames, but they were all set ablaze by the lamps and fire arrows that were thrown back at them.
Khoooo!
The mercenaries gulped as they watched the Dirus Ents screaming in agony.
“Hey, is it okay to just burn everything and run away?”
“I’m going to leave this estate right away. The forest will burn down and it’ll become a monster paradise. This place is ruined now. My employer is a real lunatic.”
“Wait a minute, something seems strange?”
Cheeeeeeek!
The bodies of the Dirus Ents, who were writhing in agony, began to emit smoky vapor.
“Oh, the lights are going out!”
“What! The light doesn’t work?”
The fire gradually went out as it was sucked somewhere.
As the fire went out, the steam that rose filled the area and obscured the view.
Even that smoke soon dissipated.
Gulp.
The mercenaries swallowed nervously.
They were shocked when they saw the Dirus Ents reappearing soon after.
“What, what is that… … .”
Their appearance, with their bark completely burned or fallen off, exposing the flesh inside, was the height of grotesqueness.
The flesh, which was completely black, looked moist and smooth like soft pudding.
The eyes in the middle of the body and the sharp teeth visible in the mouth, combined with the smooth black skin, were repulsive.
Cheeeeek.
What was even more surprising was that they nonchalantly stepped on and touched the embers on the floor and around them.
When it touched the black skin, the fire went out in vain.
“Oh, the fire just… … .”
The mercenaries were terrified.
He was already strong, but now he has turned into a monster that is impervious to fire.
“That’s right. That’s not just a tree.”
Only then did the mercenaries realize exactly who their opponents were.
It looks like a tree, but it’s not a full tree.
It is a living creature that is covered in a hard shell, but moves around to catch, chew, and swallow its prey.
[Their outer skin is no different from a hard tree bark. They are weak to fire, but the soldiers’ weapons were not effective against them. However, their inner skin was different. They were resistant to 4 circles of fire magic… … .]
“You’re crazy. This is a forest you shouldn’t come into.”
“If the first monster you meet is like that, what about the others?”
“I have to go back. Pioneering was impossible from the start.”
The mercenaries were terrified and lost their will to fight.
On the other hand, Jiselle smiled with repentance as she recalled her memories.
“The flesh looks very tender.”
The mercenaries looked at Giselle with expressions of bewilderment.
Why are you being so carefree when even the fire you trusted is not working?
The more I looked at that employer, the more out of his mind he seemed.
