Chapter 639
At This Point, We're Just on a Trip. (1)
[The Crystal Golems emitted an ominous aura, but once their life force was extinguished, they lost that energy and reverted to mere crystals. Many ornaments were crafted from them, greatly benefiting the financial state of the Kingdom of Pharniel.]
[As monsters dwelling deep within the Forest of Beasts, Crystal Golems boasted formidable defenses. Even when knights imbued their strikes with mana, they only managed to leave minor scratches. Furthermore, their high resistance to magic made our battle...]
BOOOOOM!
As Parniel swung her massive mace, the charging Crystal Golems shattered into countless fragments in an instant.
"Hmm, their defenses are weak."
At her matter-of-fact remark, Ghislain looked at her in disbelief.
"Don't you think it's just that you're too strong?"
KA-KA-KA-KANG!
Ghislain, too, swung his sword at the approaching Crystal Golems.
These creatures were sturdy enough to endure an Aura Blade. Even when he slashed at them with normal strikes, he couldn't cut through cleanly.
But as he drew out a little more power—
BOOM!
With each swing of his sword, the Crystal Golems' bodies began to shatter.
Parniel muttered as she observed the scene.
"Not much of a difference."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
Julien, Gillian, Tennant, Kaor, and the other Transcendents effortlessly dealt with the Crystal Golems.
The soldiers and mages didn’t even need to move. Their only role was to stand guard and protect the laborers in case of an unforeseen attack.
Yet, there were those who stepped forward to fight despite not being Transcendents.
"Hiyaaaaaaah!"
BOOOOM!
Elena swung her massive hammer with all her might. Her mana reserves were only at the level of a knight’s.
Thus, even when her attacks struck the Crystal Golems, they only staggered rather than breaking apart.
"Grrr! Why won't you just break?!"
Gritting her teeth, Elena put even more force into her strikes. She rarely exerted her full strength, but given how solid her opponents were, she had no choice.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
With each terrifying blow from her hammer, cracks began to spread across the Crystal Golems' bodies. She was outright smashing through creatures that knights couldn't even cut properly.
Since she wasn't a Transcendent, Elena's attacks were inevitably crude. Each time she struck, shards of shattered crystal exploded in all directions.
Seeing this, the soldiers instinctively leaned back, murmuring to themselves.
"Oh... damn..."
"Poor golems..."
"As expected of the Princess of Destruction..."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
With the Transcendents leading the charge, the hundreds of Crystal Golems were mercilessly obliterated in mere moments.
The lifeless crystal shards soon radiated a brilliant azure glow.
Ghislain rotated his shoulders before commenting.
"Ah, this is... kinda boring, huh?"
It wasn’t even enough to register. He hadn’t even used half his strength.
No matter how dangerous the Forest of Beasts was, it was no match for a group that had even slain a dragon.
Ghislain turned to Julien with a grin.
“How is it? Feels easy, right? At this point, we’re basically on a trip.”
“...Hmm.”
Julien hesitated for a moment. He wasn’t sure if this could be called playing around, but it certainly wasn’t difficult. In the end, he nodded.
This forest stirred something within him. The aura that the forest and its monsters exuded felt strangely familiar.
‘How curious.’
Julien assumed it was because of the dragon’s energy that had seeped into him. Otherwise, there was no reason for the ominous energy pervading this forest to feel familiar.
The peculiar monsters were an interesting spectacle. Julien simply regarded them with casual intrigue without realizing that this was the first time he had ever felt such emotions.
The Crystal Golems were cleared out in an instant, and the labor resumed.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
As trees were felled and the land was cleared, Jerome scanned the path ahead and spoke.
“Hmm. The interference with mana is getting stronger the deeper we go.”
The further they advanced toward the core, the harder it became to see far ahead. Jerome found this fascinating.
Even as an 8th-Circle Mage, he couldn’t clearly perceive the energy spreading through the forest.
There was something there. He could sense it, but he couldn’t identify it.
There were no issues when casting magic. However, some unknown force was interfering with his long-range vision, making everything seem hazy.
“Would it look different from above?”
Ghislain shook his head.
“There’s no point in going up. That’s why we’re not using the hot air balloons.”
“Why not?”
“There’s something up there that attacks.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well… I tested it before.”
Of course, it was something he had read in records from his past life, but Ghislain brushed it off casually.
Still, Jerome seemed eager to confirm it for himself. Slowly, he began to levitate.
“I’ll take a quick look.”
“Go ahead.”
Jerome was strong enough to avoid being taken down easily. If he wanted to see for himself, there was no reason to stop him.
As Jerome ascended, he took in the vast scenery below and let out an impressed gasp.
“Whoa.”
The forest was massive. Even from his elevated position, he couldn’t see its end.
The densely packed, towering trees concealed everything within.
It was as if a sea of darkness stretched endlessly before him a landscape truly befitting the name Demonic Abyss.
Excited, Jerome flew a little further ahead. He was growing curious about what lay at the heart of the forest.
‘Maybe I should take a quick peek?’
They would have to carve a path through here anyway. He figured he might as well sneak a glimpse at the center before heading back.
And as he moved just a little further—
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
A Colossal Tree Came Hurtling from the Heart of the Forest at an Astounding Speed.
“Whoa!”
Jerome barely managed to dodge, his eyes widening in shock. If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, his body would have been skewered.
“What the hell?!”
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
Before he could even regain his composure, another massive tree came flying at him. Left with no choice, Jerome was forced to descend.
“What is that? What’s attacking us?”
“I don’t know. But there’s definitely something huge out there.”
“Damn… it’s not another dragon, is it?”
The sheer speed at which the trees were being launched was no joke. Even as a Transcendent, Jerome had barely dodged in time.
Ghislain smirked and shook his head.
“Nah, it’s not a dragon. If it were, we’d already be dead.”
There was definitely something powerful lurking ahead, but it wasn’t on the level of a dragon. No need to panic before even seeing it.
Jerome let out a shaky breath and muttered,
“Damn, trying to take a peek almost got me killed.”
It was disappointing, but there was no other choice. The only way forward was to continue clearing the path together.
As the laborers worked, Ghislain called over Lumina.
“How about now? We’ve gone deeper than before. Is the forest still… talking to you? Are you okay?”
“Yes, it keeps telling me to become one with it,” Lumina answered with a troubled expression.
She had insisted on joining the expedition again this time.
Just like before, the forest whispered to her, urging her to merge with it. But now, they all knew the truth—
That voice was the lingering will of the Demon God, the call of the Demonic Abyss.
Ereneth had warned her before.
— Be careful. That is the scattered will of the Demon God that still lingers in this world. If you succumb to it, your mind will be consumed by the same purpose as those Salvation Church fanatics.
Unlike the artificially created priests of the Salvation Church, Lumina was someone who was naturally drawn to the call of the Demonic Abyss.
Even though the abyss had been sealed, the Demon God’s lingering thoughts still remained in the world.
That was why the Salvation Church continued to grow, why their priests could still wield their power.
And as time passed, their king would eventually regain the strength to be resurrected.
The fact that the whispers were growing stronger meant that the process was already underway.
Ghislain looked at Lumina and asked,
“Do you want to go back? If you do, it’s fine.”
Lumina shook her head. She trusted the people around her. She wanted to listen more to what the forest was trying to say.
Perhaps it held a clue to uncovering the Salvation Church’s secrets.
From the start, Ghislain had intended to keep Lumina out of this expedition. But she had insisted, saying she wanted to help.
Just in case, Piote had been continuously casting protective blessings on her. Maybe thanks to that, Lumina hadn’t shown any serious symptoms yet.
Once the area was cleared, the Northern Army continued pressing forward.
KAAAAAAAAAH!
The Name ‘Forest of Beasts’ Was No Exaggeration.
The deeper they advanced, the more monsters swarmed them. At one point, they were attacked by thousands at once.
But sheer numbers alone were no match for the Northern Army, hardened by countless battles. No matter how many monsters came, the overwhelming difference in power crushed them effortlessly.
This was the same army that had once fought against hundreds of thousands of Riftspawn. No matter what manner of beast appeared, they dominated the battlefield and pushed forward without hesitation.
If anything, the injured soldiers were getting scolded by their commanders for lack of training.
Even the laborers, who had initially been uneasy, completely let go of their fears.
"As expected of the kingdom’s strongest army."
"Not just the kingdom, the continent’s strongest army."
"There’s no army that can stand against the Northern Army."
The Northern Army had long been praised as an unbeatable force. Now, they were simply proving it to everyone once again.
Ascon watched the situation unfold and muttered,
"This place shouldn’t be called the Forest of Beasts anymore... It’s the Forest of Chumps now."
As usual, he wasn’t doing much fighting, just grumbling. He had been assigned to the labor division, helping cut down trees instead.
THUD! THUD!
Swinging his axe, Ascon continued his endless complaints.
"Shit, when is this damn work gonna end? When’s Labor Liberation Day coming?"
He dreamed of a world where work no longer existed.
With tens of thousands of troops moving in all at once, the dense forest blocked their path. So, they chopped down trees en masse, quickly clearing out large areas.
Naturally, this caused a ruckus in the forest. The monsters that had made their homes here were caught completely off guard.
As the massive trees toppled, the creatures that had lost their hiding spots went into a frenzy and charged at the Northern Army.
KAAAAAAAAH!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
Most of them were wiped out effortlessly by the Transcendents.
If too many attacked at once, making it difficult for the Transcendents alone to handle, the mages and soldiers would step in and finish them off.
The mages, aside from providing support during battle, had little else to do.
But they were excellent workers. They expertly helped with logging, cutting down trees into manageable sizes, and loading them onto carts.
Thanks to them, the work was efficient but the pace of the march itself was still slow.
“Hey, move faster!”
“They said we need more timber at the base!”
“Bring in more carts!”
The laborers shouted as they rushed to complete their tasks.
The Forest of Beasts was no longer a place where they had to hold their breath and move in silence. Now, speed was more important than stealth.
Numerous tasks were happening at once—
Transporting felled trees to the rear,
Building wooden fortifications in the newly cleared areas,
Collecting valuable resources discovered along the way.
Even with overwhelming power crushing the monsters, these activities naturally slowed their march.
"Whoa, what is this?!"
"I can’t believe something like this was here!"
"Seriously, what isn’t in this forest? It’s like all the expensive resources are gathered here!"
Each time they secured an area filled with rare herbs and ores, excitement spread through the ranks.
Ghislain also smiled in satisfaction. Even if nothing else, the herbs alone would sell like crazy across the continent.
Between clearing land and fighting monsters, the Northern Army had already spent nearly two months inside the Forest of Beasts.
Their pace was slow, but they were steadily drawing closer to the heart of the forest without encountering any major issues.
Ghislain checked his journal, which contained notes based on his memories, and thought to himself—
‘We’re almost at the next important point.’
Before long, they arrived at a vast plain with barely any trees. Given the sheer size of the forest, it didn’t seem strange for an open field to exist within it.
Beyond the plain, the forest resumed, densely packed with towering trees.
As they advanced further, those with sharp eyesight noticed something hanging from the trees ahead.
"What is that?"
"Is that… a person?"
"Something’s not right…"
It looked as if human figures were cocooned and dangling upside down from the branches.
The eerie sight made the soldiers grimace as they instinctively shifted into combat readiness.
As the army drew closer, the cocoons began to twitch.
Ghislain turned back and gave a command.
"Archers, mages prepare to fire. We’ll strike first."
Immediately, the archers drew their bows, and the mages began gathering mana.
Ghislain raised his hand forward and gave the order.
"Make sure to wipe out everything hanging there."
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
No one hesitated.
At his command, a barrage of arrows darkened the sky, followed by a volley of magical attacks.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
KEEEEEEEEK!
The cocoons tore open, and something burst out in swarms.
As the creatures filled the sky, the soldiers’ expressions twisted further.
They were giant bats, each one with a human face.