The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 318

Episode 318: We need to create tension. (2)

Vanessa swallowed dryly and asked cautiously.

“But… … Does that monster really come out around there?”

“Yes, definitely. We need to use that to create tension. If we don’t get it right now, it’ll only get more dangerous.”

“Still, it would be better to at least give a warning… … .”

“Then it’s meaningless. No matter how much I tell you not to relax, words alone won’t do any good. You have to experience it yourself.”

No matter what happens, if you know in advance and prepare for it, the shock will be less. So, for the first time in a long time, Jiselle planned to have people face monsters without any preparation.

By his standards, that was the perfect opponent to make people nervous.

Vanessa understood Giselle’s intentions, but there were still lingering questions.

“Didn’t your lord say that this was his first time visiting since the first entrance? How do you know so much about it…?”

“Well, I’ll tell you later. Anyway, you’ll believe it when you see it.”

Jiselle smiled bitterly and tried to explain. It was difficult to explain at times like this. So she had no choice but to beat around the bush.

Anyway, he was already portrayed as someone who knew a lot of mysterious knowledge of unknown origins. Adding one more piece of such knowledge wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Indeed, Vanessa nodded and simply agreed. As a wizard, she had many questions, but she thought there must be a reason why Giselle couldn’t speak.

Because all this time, Jiselle always explained and told her what she needed to know.

Vanessa returned to the wizards with a slightly worried expression and explained what to prepare.

From the end of the road, it was like starting a new path.

The forest was once again filled with dense trees and darkness.

“From now on, let’s proceed a little more slowly. Raise the alert level and have the knights and soldiers take the lead. Have the laborers continue building the watchtowers in the rear.”

To claim a territory, it is not enough to simply secure the territory. You must be able to defend the territory you have secured in order for it to become real territory.

As the secured area expanded, Jiselle also paid attention to the facilities guarding it.

And now, they enter the territory of a new monster. Jiselle approached cautiously, searching through her memories of her past life.

[This area was inhabited by a monster we were familiar with. A monster commonly called the Lord of the Forest, who would never tolerate any disturbance in his territory. It was a powerful monster, but it was so familiar that when it showed up, we thought we could defeat it with the power of the advance party.]

Kwah! Kwah!

To make roads and secure territory, trees must be cut down. With thousands of people moving around, it cannot be quiet.

The commotion finally got on the nerves of the owner who was occupying the place.

Kwaaaaah!

A roar that seemed to shake the heavens was heard from afar.

It was completely different from the cries of the monsters that appeared at the entrance. The soldiers stopped working at the sudden shiver that went down their spines.

“All men, prepare for battle. Step back slightly and form a line. Knights, step forward.”

At Giselle’s command, the men quickly prepared for battle. In the distance, something was running towards them, destroying trees as if in anger.

Kwah! Kwah! Kwah!

I could feel it coming closer. It felt like the ground was shaking with every step.

Boom!

“Kuaaaah!”

And when it appeared before our eyes, everyone’s eyes widened.

“Ogre?”

Ogres are not common, but they are famous monsters. They are powerful monsters known to be able to fight hundreds of soldiers and dozens of knights alone.

It was a monster called the King of the Forest because of its majesty and power.

The soldiers looked at the ogre in horror.

“That thing is no joke, isn’t it?”

“What on earth do the people living here eat to survive… … .”

“Why do all the people living in this forest look like that?”

It was an ogre, but it wasn’t an ordinary ogre. It seemed to have a head that was a whole lot bigger than the regular ogres.

Judging by its size alone, it looked no different from the Twin Head Ogre, which was considered a higher grade of Ogre.

A monster’s physique is proportional to its fighting power. At that size, it would clearly be much stronger than a typical ogre.

Even the hunters who had seen ogres a few times in the Shadow Mountains looked at them with a curious expression.

“Hey, but if it’s that size, I guess you could make some money?”

“The bigger the size, the better the quality.”

“Hehe, this looks fun.”

No one was afraid at all. No matter how strong the ogre was, it was too easy to get here.

Ogres are known to be able to take on hundreds of soldiers alone. But here, there are over 4,000 troops. There are 400 knights and 300 hunters.

They may be a gangster in size, but their numbers are even bigger. It makes no sense that they can’t catch one ogre with this many people.

And there was one here who was called by a special nickname related to the ogre.

“Haa, this body has to take care of itself again. Everyone, just watch.”

Kaor stepped forward with a cocky expression.

He had also single-handedly taken down a twin-headed ogre. He was confident that he could take down an ogre of similar rank.

Because he also gained enlightenment at that time and got over the wall one step.

Kaor waved his sword and spoke to the people.

“I’ll do it myself, so don’t get in my way. Okay? Just watch.”

He is known as the ‘Ogre Slayer’. Naturally, he had to take the lead when dealing with ogres.

“Wow! It’s Ogre Slayer Kaorda!”

“Please show us your skills this time too!”

“You wouldn’t be affected by just one, right?”

Kaoru raised his chin and shrugged as the people cheered.

Everyone acted like they were out for some light entertainment.

The knights weren’t particularly nervous either. They couldn’t catch an ogre alone, but there were people here who could.

Not only Kaor, but also Belinda, Gillian, and Vanessa are strong enough to take down an ogre on their own.

Not to mention the lord, Jiselle. She could probably easily catch several of them on her own.

People who had come this far had relaxed their tension and looked at Kaor and the Ogre as if they were an interesting spectacle.

Only the wizards were staring at the ogre with hardened expressions.

Jiselle asked Kaor, who had come forward.

“You really want to do it by yourself?”

“Ah, of course it’s my body, the ‘Ogre Slayer’, that has to catch it. You all must have never seen me catch an ogre by myself, right?”

Kaor stepped forward a little, shrugging his shoulders. Up until then, the ogre had simply been growling and glaring at the people.

An appearance unlike that of an ogre known for its ferocity. If it were true to its original nature, it would have to charge forward regardless of whether there were many enemies or not.

“Look, that thing is scared. It can already smell the blood flowing through my body. The blood of my kind.”

Kaor giggled, then suddenly hardened her expression. Something was off. At the same time, Belinda and Gillian also hardened their expressions slightly.

Kwah! Kwah!

Another ogre burst out, smashing through the tree.

“Umm… … Two… … .”

Two of them were honestly a bit difficult. A cold sweat broke out on Kaor’s back. Still, he couldn’t back down and say he couldn’t catch them.

The knights and hunters looked interested, and the people cheered even more.

“Wow! There are two!”

“Try to catch two of them!”

“You can do it! Kaoru!”

Kaoru shouted excitedly as the people cheered.

“Okay! I’ll show off my hidden powers today!”

Two might be difficult, but I was thinking of getting out if it was dangerous. If it was really dangerous, I would help the lord or anyone else.

If there are people here, they can steam two ogres and eat them in no time.

As Kaor was about to move forward a little further, another ogre jumped out.

Kuung!

“Three?”

This is impossible. Even if you risk your life, you will not win. If you make one mistake, you could die. If you leave here, you will be just a guest.

But that wasn’t the end.

Kwah! Kwah!

“five?”

Kaor took a step back. Belinda and Gillian also grabbed their weapons.

Ddddddddddd!

A mad roar came from all directions, along with a sound that made the ground tremble. I felt something rushing towards me.

[Ogres are monsters that do not live in groups and have their own territory. That is why we thought that the same would be true in the Forest of Demons. However, we were mistaken. The monsters here could not be judged by our common sense.]

“Koooooooo!”

Kwah! Kwah! Kwah! Kwah!

Ogres came rushing out from all over, roaring loudly.

Nine… … Ten… … Fifteen… … .

As they increased one by one, the expressions of the people became stiff. The knights quickly drew their weapons and lowered their stances.

Kwah! Kwah! Kwah! Kwah! Kwah… … !

Finally, the ringing stopped. The number of ogres that appeared was a whopping 20 or so.

If this many ogres had gathered, they could wipe out a small territory from the map.

As expected, the Forest of Demons is no ordinary place. With so many powerful monsters, even the independent ogres seem to have evolved to live in groups.

The soldiers and laborers still had difficulty grasping the situation.

“Those… are fewer in number than the Giant Mantis?”

“You’ve gotten rid of them all so easily so far. Shouldn’t you be able to catch them easily this time too?”

“Hey, I don’t think that’s the case this time.”

The atmosphere was very strange. The knights who had been so relaxed were now very tense.

Only then did the soldiers and laborers realize that the monster that had just appeared was a being of a different dimension from those they had encountered so far.

I now remember that the ogre was nicknamed the Lord of the Forest.

“Mo… can’t you catch it?”

“I guess I’ll catch it… … After a bunch of people die… … .”

“Damn it, come to your senses!”

The soldiers were tense and clutched their weapons. If the soldiers fought the ogres alone, at least half of them would die.

Considering that the monsters living in the Demon Forest are stronger than those living outside, they could have been wiped out.

The laborers also sensed that the atmosphere was not normal. They hurriedly retreated. They moved so quickly that their shoulders bumped into each other and they staggered.

And taking advantage of the gap, the wizards slowly stepped forward. The elves also pulled back their bows with stern expressions.

“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”

The commanders who came to their senses belatedly rallied their men and formed ranks. They were veteran soldiers who had followed Giselle and participated in the war.

They had the authority to judge situations and move autonomously without having to give orders.

The soldiers hastily formed up and raised their shields, but their faces still showed signs of tension.

The ogres are carrying huge trees. With just one swing of them, dozens of soldiers will be blown away.

Jiselle, who had been silent until then, looked around at the people and spoke.

“This is the Forest of Demons. You never know when or where a monster will pop out. Dozens of ogres can appear here, which is ridiculous. It’s a place full of unimaginably bizarre and vicious creatures.”

“…….”

“Don’t be proud. Don’t let your guard down. The Forest of Demons is a place where one mistake can cost you your life.”

People were speechless.

These are soldiers who have followed the lord and achieved numerous feats. They were also proud of themselves after receiving the title of the strongest in the north. They were confident in the power of numbers and let their guard down.

They believed that the excellent knights and lords would easily solve anything. They thought that they just had to follow along.

Jiselle just pointed out that if you live like that, you might die.

‘This is… … the forest of demons… … .’

‘Are you crazy, you’re taking it easy after seeing an ogre? We’ve just passed the entrance, and there’s an ogre living in a place that’s not even the center.’

‘I heard that even the lord almost died before, and it turned out to be true.’

One has to experience it firsthand to truly understand. The soldiers and knights who first came here finally realized how dangerous the Forest of Demons was.

The hunters also swallowed their saliva, forgetting their composure now. Ogres can be seen occasionally in the Shadow Mountains, but this was the first time they had seen them living in groups.

There was only one instance where ogres appeared together like this.

‘It’s not even a monster wave, but ogres are coming out?’

‘Crazy… is this forest always in a monster wave state?’

‘I thought it had been too easy up until now.’

Kaor, who had been confidently walking forward, stopped walking.

Now the tables were turned. The ogre that had appeared at the beginning stepped forward with a cruel look in his eyes.

Kaor, who had been quietly glaring at the ogre, suddenly turned his head with an awkward smile.

He looked at Giselle and the knights and said.

“Help me.”

The defeat is only temporary. It is not the strong who survive, but the ones who survive are strong.

I had to survive even if I got beat up. I didn’t have the confidence to face that many ogres on my own.

The moment I got hit, it was clear that my whole body would be hit so hard that not a single bone would be broken.

It seems that Kaor’s plea was heard quite strongly.

“Okay, I’ll help you.”

Jiselle snickered and stepped forward with her greatsword in hand.