Episode 37 This is a crazy place. (5)
Krrrrrr… … .
Palor arrived at the hideout and looked around. There was no sign of his persistent pursuer.
Feeling relieved that he had finally shaken off his pursuers, Palor began to remove the stones blocking the entrance to the hideout.
With the thought of slowly eating and recovering in a safe place, the speed of clearing the stones gradually increased.
Palor, who was concentrating on his work, unknowingly removed the tentacle that was covering Gordon’s mouth.
Gordon didn’t miss the moment.
“Over here!!”
It was the loudest scream I’d ever made in my life.
Kwaaah!
Palor panicked and wrapped his tentacles around Gordon’s neck, lifting him into the air.
Gordon was out of breath, but he squeezed his eyes shut and shouted again.
“Come here!!!”
Kwaaaaah!
The enraged Paloor threw Gordon to the floor.
It was certain that the pursuer he had just barely gotten away would hear that sound and come looking for him. Paloor decided that he would rather eat it quickly and hide.
Palora raised his scythe-like hand high.
“Ugh… … .”
Gordon sat down on the floor and closed his eyes.
As the fear of death set in, I couldn’t make any more noise. I could feel the wetness between my legs.
Shhh!
Just as Palor’s scythe was about to fall on Gordon’s head, something flashed with light and flew quickly from the dark forest.
grasp!
Belinda’s dagger was stuck in Paloor’s arm.
Palor’s pale skin turned black from the poison on the blade.
Kwaaaaah!
Palora screamed in pain, but the sound didn’t last long.
Phew!
Then, Jiselle’s sword flew in and pierced Palor’s head.
Kwajik!
Immediately afterwards, Gillian’s axe split Palor’s body in half.
“Yeah, I survived!”
Gordon cried out in excitement as he saw the three people appearing before his eyes.
Jiselle, who tore the ‘Light’ scroll and checked Gordon’s condition, said with a smile.
“Well done, Gordon.”
Those words eventually caused Gordon to burst into tears.
I was so grateful to Jiselle for risking her life and chasing me all the way here to save me.
I know I shouldn’t be shedding tears because of muscle loss, but I just can’t hold it back right now.
“Oh my! Thank you. Oh my!”
Belinda said a word to Gordon, who had been wailing for a long time.
“But your clothes are a bit… … . Did you pee?”
Gordon, whose tears had completely disappeared, turned his head away with a flushed face. Belinda laughed as she watched Gordon like that.
Meanwhile, Jiselle looked around the cave entrance that was awkwardly hidden by a stone.
“I guess this is their hideout.”
It would be stupid to come this far and just turn back and leave their hideout.
The group went straight into the cave.
Kwaaaaah!
The followers gathered inside the cave screamed as soon as they saw the group.
Looking at the broken and torn things here and there, I was sure they were the ones who had run away a little while ago.
“It was a shame I couldn’t catch them all, but they’re all gathered here? Things have become easier.”
Now that I’ve found a hiding place, I should get rid of everything now so that my future journey will be easier.
Jiselle looked around at them with a cruel smile.
“Kill them all.”
Before Giselle could finish speaking, Belinda and Gillian mercilessly cut down the followers.
Kwaaaaah!
The Palor group, weakened by the fight against the mercenaries, was slaughtered without any proper resistance.
Even if the followers were in good condition, it wouldn’t have been difficult to deal with them since everyone here, except Gordon, was strong enough to use mana freely.
After killing the last of the followers who were struggling to escape, Giselle looked around the cave and discovered something strange.
“This is… … .”
Belinda and Gillian also looked surprised at the pile of things in the corner.
“Isn’t this a human bone?”
As Belinda said, there were not only monster bones in every corner of the cave, but also bones that looked like human bones.
“It looks like the bones of people who unofficially explored the Forest of Demons.”
Giselle nodded at Gillian’s words.
There have been people who have explored the forest of demons since ancient times.
But that was a long time ago.
As far as Jiselle knows, it has been several decades since the Ferdium Territory banned entry into the Forest of Demons.
But the torn clothes and tools rolling around with the bones looked like they had only been there for a few years at most.
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‘There’s someone who’s been exploring this place secretly lately… … .’
I had a guess, but I couldn’t jump to conclusions. He could have been a simple explorer.
Jiselle decided to put aside her worries about problems that could not be solved immediately.
He decided to come back later to look around, closed the cave, and returned to where his companions were.
* * *
The mercenaries who had been waiting for Jiselle to return all stood up with their weapons raised when they heard a noise coming from the forest.
They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Giselle’s face emerging from between the trees.
It’s a shame that Gordon died, but Giselle was absolutely necessary for survival in this forest.
“Confucius has returned!”
The mercenaries approached Giselle with happy expressions.
Following that, Belinda, Gillian, and finally Gordon appeared, smiling awkwardly.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
The mercenaries cheered as the forest disappeared.
“Gordon is back! Gordon is alive!”
“Confucius succeeded!”
In all my years as a mercenary, I’ve never seen anyone like Jiselle.
Usually nobles and employers treat mercenaries as expendable goods.
It was a custom to take it for granted that mercenaries would be sacrificed whenever necessary.
Even for the mercenaries who had lived their lives thinking that such things were natural, Jiselle’s actions were not only shocking, but also brought about new emotions.
Their employer was a completely different person from the usual hypocrites.
“If I follow that person, I can really survive here.”
Everyone nodded as one mercenary muttered.
It’s not difficult to be a good leader to mercenaries.
All you have to do is feed your subordinates well, pay them well, and give them good work to do.
But there is something more important than that to get them to truly believe and follow.
It is the judgment and leadership that can save their lives just one more time.
Jiselle fought ahead of everyone else to protect them, and she also had the determination to never give up on those who followed her.
For mercenaries, a perfect person they can trust and follow has appeared.
“The actions he has shown so far are not hypocritical. That person is sincere.”
“That’s right. Then we should repay that sincerity.”
“As I lived, I realized that there were nobles like that.”
The mercenaries now erased their anxious minds and reawakened their faith as mercenaries, which had been momentarily forgotten due to the fear of the forest, upon seeing Jiselle.
He has regained his original form as a mercenary who lives with death by his side.
But even when everyone was calming down, one person couldn’t hide his unpleasant expression and his face twisted.
‘You idiots, you just got lucky. How long do you think that’ll work? We’ll all die in the end!’
Manus, who pretended to fight while hiding between the shields of other mercenaries, survived this time too.
In his view, this forest was not a normal forest.
The monsters living here were incomparably stronger than those living outside the forest.
‘Is it something to be happy about because I won this time? There are such strange monsters living here even at the entrance of the forest. Who knows what will come next!’
Up until now, the employer has been solving problems with amazing ability, but if you look closely, there were more than one or two close calls.
There were many situations where everyone would have been wiped out if the employer had been even slightly weak or made a poor judgment.
‘I have no intention of continuing this dangerous gamble, you idiots!’
This time it was the same. If their employer had been wrong, they would all have died.
A place where you cannot avoid annihilation if you make just one mistake.
That was the forest of demons that Manus was talking about.
‘Damn, I have to seduce a few guys to get out safely… … Looking at the situation, it seems like it’s going to be difficult.’
I didn’t have the courage to go back alone.
There must certainly be monsters wandering around without a habitat, and I was worried about what my employer would think if I decided to leave.
‘I have to seduce as many of them as possible by taking every opportunity. I have to pay the deposit and go back.’
But now, everyone was overflowing with motivation.
It was obvious that even if I tried to incite them now, it wouldn’t work. Instead, I had to hold back because I might get beaten to death.
‘If a few more die, they’ll get scared again and come to their senses.’
Manus held on to that expectation.
Even though he was acting out of place now, I believed that he would face reality when danger came again.
As day broke, the mercenaries finished their preparations and began to move.
Since the followers were all wiped out, there was no need to worry about the monsters that would follow them.
“You said this was Palor’s territory? There are definitely fewer monsters appearing here.”
“The ones you see sometimes don’t seem to live nearby, but rather wander around in search of food.”
Although monsters did appear, their number and frequency were noticeably reduced compared to before.
“But if you let your guard down, you’ll still lose. Just listen to your employer.”
The mercenaries, whose mindset had changed, became more experienced as the battles continued, and their prayers also became sharper.
Jiselle smiled with satisfaction at the sight.
‘After all, actual combat where you risk your life is the best. At this level, you’re much better than the soldiers of Yeongji.’
The general opinion is that mercenaries may be strong when looking at their individual strength, but when they enter into a group battle, they are no match for regular troops.
However, the mercenaries led by Jisel were moving in an organized manner no less than regular troops.
‘Your mental state has definitely changed.’
The fighting was still dangerous and casualties continued, but the mercenaries were no longer shaken.
I just tried to follow Giselle’s instructions as much as possible.
Thanks to this, Jiselle was able to move the mercenaries more easily than before.
It was possible because they trusted Giselle.
Kaoru couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration as she watched them move as if they were one.
“These idiots who got sucked into the business by money have completely changed their gazes. They’ve completely changed into something like the military. They’re not like that, are they?”
“It’s all thanks to our Confucius.”
Gillian answered briefly and bluntly with a proud expression. Kaor turned her head, licking her lips.
‘Damn, if anyone saw me they’d think I was a hidden child.’
Kaoru’s mouth was itching, but since it was obvious that she would get into trouble if she spoke, she just kept her mouth shut.
‘Am I avoiding you right now? Just because I don’t want to fight with my old man?’
Kaor tilted his head with a serious expression.
The leader of the Cerberus mercenary corps held back his words about not wanting to fight.
Kaor was troubled, thinking that it couldn’t be happening.
While Kaor was lost in endless thought, the group quickly left Palor’s territory.
