The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 317: Chapter 316: The Forest Must Stop Us (2)



Though Ghislain's declaration ignited a fighting spirit in most, there were some exceptions. Skovan saluted with a solemn expression.

"I wish you a safe return!"

His strong voice was echoed by Ricardo and the rest of the Forest Guard as they saluted.

They all shared the same thought.

'As long as we don't have to go.'

'Why does he keep stirring up trouble here?'

'Well, he's the Young Lord, so he'll figure something out.'

They had no taste for risking their lives. The events they had experienced so far were enough

to boast about for generations.

That was enough. They just wanted to live the rest of their lives in peace.

But Ghislain turned to Skovan and said,

"What are you talking about? You're all coming with us."

"What? Why?"

"The more hands, the better."

"We need to stay here and guard the area."

"What's there to guard? I'm clearing everything ahead of us."

"... Can't we just stay?"

"No."

Skovan folded his arms and thought for a moment. After racking his brain, he came up with a justification.

"I'm under Perdium's jurisdiction. I can't move without the lord's permission."

He was arguing that his different affiliation meant Ghislain had no authority over him. But Ghislain wasn't one to care about such details.

"My father's not here, so as the heir, I'm the acting lord."

"... The Head butler is the acting lord."

"Tsk... Do you want to avoid retirement?"

Once Ghislain inherited the territory, Perdium would also be his. Skovan could be worked to the bone for life.

Skovan quickly turned to Ricardo.

"Hey... Get ready... Gather the men."

"B-but we haven't received formal orders."

"Then hold out if you think you can. Don't you know the Young Lord standing next to you is scarier than the Head butler far away?"

|| ||

"Well, since it's come to this, we might as well go check out the interior. Let's think of it positively."

The Forest Guard wasn't large, but having even one extra pair of hands would help.

Ghislain added another order to Skovan.

"Leave only the minimum security forces in the territory, and bring all the reserves. Recruit laborers, too. Anyone who wants to come, let them come. I'll pay them generously."

Skovan complied without resistance. Most of the forces were stationed at the northern fortress, leaving no one who could stop this madman.

Of course, Ghislain had no intention of waiting for additional forces or laborers to arrive. The base camp had to be established as quickly as possible.

"Alright, let's go!"

Ghislain and the Fenris army entered the Forest of Demonic Beasts through the existing path they had made.

The forest was as quiet as ever. Since the path was only used for retrieving runestones, the forest hadn't changed much.

The path was flanked by tall wooden walls, making it far from a properly developed area. But Ghislain was now determined to secure this place as their territory.

"Tear it all down!"

Boom! Boom!

As 3,000 soldiers and knights moved, the tall and sturdy walls protecting the path crumbled in an instant.

A wide clearing was created, and a command tent was immediately erected. From this point onward, the true development would begin.

"There aren't many monsters near the entrance. Push forward as fast as you can."

The real danger lay in the territory of the Dirus Ents, still some distance away. The area near the path had already been cleared out during their previous expedition.

With no fear of monster attacks, Ghislain boldly mobilized his soldiers.

In less than three days, they had secured an area large enough to fit a couple of villages at the forest's entrance.

Of course, there were still occasional monster attacks.

"Graaaah!"

Something massive leapt out in front of the soldiers cutting down trees.

The soldiers screamed in surprise.

"Waaaah! What is that?"

"A bear? That's a bear?"

"How is it that big?"

The creature before them was a Grizzly Bear, nearly twice the size of a normal bear, covered in rough gray fur streaked with white.

At this size, it was no longer just a predator-it could be called a monster.

Its body was scarred and one eye gouged out, evidence of its hard life in this brutal forest. Though driven to the outskirts by more powerful creatures, it still possessed the strength to tear apart most humans in one blow.

As soon as it appeared, the bear roared, claiming the area as its territory.

"Graaaaaah...?"

The bear stopped mid-charge. There was too much prey. So much that it could no longer be

-called prey.

The bear froze, its eyes darting around. Even an instinct-driven beast could assess the

situation to some extent.

"Grrr, grrr."

Having made its decision, the bear nodded a few times as if to say, "Carry on with your

business," and turned to leave.

But the Fenris army didn't let it go.

Still on edge from the forest's ominous reputation, the soldiers overreacted.

"Fire!"

Whoosh!

At the command of the nearest infantry commander, hundreds of arrows flew toward the bear.

It was an overwhelmingly unfair attack.

"Grrraaaaaaagh!"

The bear, now a pincushion, let out a dying scream and collapsed.

Kaor rushed over, yelling.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing using that much firepower on something like that? His hide is

ruined now!"

A bear that size would fetch a high price for its hide. But with so many holes in it, it was now

just trash.

The infantry officer stammered.

"But... I mean, it looked so scary..."

"Ugh, unbelievable! That's no monster; it's just a deformed bear! There's nothing to worry

about here, so don't panic."

The infantry commander had no response. How could anyone call such a beast "nothing"?

Kaor smugly issued a warning.

"This isn't my first time here, is it? I know this place inside out, so call me first when

something like this shows up. Got it?"

Kaor had spent entire days skinning monsters to send back to the territory. Over time, he had become obsessed with hides, upgrading every part of his outfit that included leather to the

finest quality.

He quickly summoned the hunters.

"If anything worth skinning shows up, take the lead! Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

It was the command of Ironcliff's "Leather King." The hunters responded with enthusiasm.

Whenever a skinnable monster or beast appeared, Kaor and the hunters took the lead. With their skilled hands, they harvested pristine leather.

Gathering pelts along the way was one of the benefits of the expedition. Of course, the forest was filled with more grotesque creatures than those with valuable leather.

At this early stage, the scattered monsters they encountered weren't much of a threat. Still, no one completely let their guard down.

The dark, foreboding atmosphere of the forest and the ominous rumors surrounding it kept

everyone on edge.

The Forest Guard, in particular, felt a mix of emotions.

"Strength really is the key. I never thought I'd see the day this forest was pushed back like

this."

"Do you think truly dangerous monsters will show up? Will we be okay?" "The Young Lord cleared the entrance once before, so it should be safe. It has to be."

For the people of Perdium, the Forest of Demonic Beasts had long been a source of terror. Even after Ghislain's first successful expedition, that fear hadn't disappeared. Access to the forest was still restricted, except for retrieving runestones. Guards remained at the entrance to deal with potential monster outbreaks.

Even as Ghislain's overwhelming forces swept through the forest, the guards couldn't relax.

Those entering the forest for the first time felt the same. Though the monsters appeared less frequently than rumored, their size and appearance were intimidating.

If a large group of such monsters appeared all at once, it would undoubtedly be dangerous.

The only ones truly enjoying themselves were Kaor and the hunters. They began to see the forest as less of a threat.

"Is that it? There are fewer monsters here than in the Shadow Mountains. This isn't even a

challenge."

"Wasn't this place supposed to be terrifying? How did anyone avoid developing it for so

long?"

"Even if they cleared it out before, this is too tame. It's getting boring."

In the Shadow Mountains, monsters reappeared almost immediately after being wiped out. The sheer numbers were overwhelming.

While the creatures here might be individually stronger, there simply weren't enough of them

to keep the thrill alive.

As they laughed and joked, real threats finally emerged.

Sssssss...

The first to notice was a soldier standing watch on the perimeter.

The soldier spotted the creature moving through the trees and shouted in panic.

"A-a monster! Another monster's coming!"

The soldiers, still on alert, immediately assumed battle positions at the lookout's cry.

They soon caught sight of the creature and were shocked.

"W-what is that? Why is it so big?"

"Fall back! Form a proper formation!"

"Call the mages!"

The monster was a Giant Mantis.

The Giant Mantis was larger than a human, with forelegs strong enough to slice through steel

as if it were paper.

A single one could easily slaughter dozens of soldiers.

Now, fifty of them have appeared. A force of this size could wipe out hundreds of armed

soldiers in an instant.

"Regroup! Quickly!"

"Raise your shields and form up!"

"Laborers, fall back immediately!"

The area grew chaotic as soldiers closed ranks. Unlike the scattered monster encounters

before, this was a proper monster horde.

Laborers stopped their work and retreated. Soldiers nervously stared at the approaching

mantises.

"There's nothing small here. Everything's huge." Someone muttered, and others nodded slightly in agreement.

Ordinary Giant Mantises were only slightly larger than humans. But these specimens seemed

to have grown to twice their normal size, likely due to some unknown factor.

Even the smallest among them could slice through a heavy infantry shield with a single swipe

of their forelegs. The larger ones must have unimaginable strength.

The sheer size of the creatures made everyone uneasy.

Sssssssss...

The Giant Mantises, wary of the soldiers' numbers, cautiously observed their surroundings.

Unlike the bear, they didn't consider retreating. Giant Mantises were notoriously fearless.

Though the soldiers outnumbered them, the mantises' larger size gave them confidence. Slowly, they raised their forelegs and began inching closer.

The soldiers tightened their grips on their shields, their faces tense. It wasn't just the soldiers.

Knights, hunters, elves, and mages all shared the same apprehension.

No one doubted they could handle this many monsters, but none of them had faced Giantn/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Mantises before. Their reputation as incredibly powerful forest-dwellers made everyone

uneasy.

If they weren't careful, the damage could be severe. Losing soldiers this early in the expedition was not an option.

Vanessa approached the soldiers, gathering her mana.

"Everyone, be ready."

The Giant Mantis was known for its incredible speed. Unsure just how fast they were, Vanessa

prepared for a preemptive strike.

She planned to reduce their numbers before they could attack the soldiers.

As the mages began chanting spells for their assault, Ghislain spoke.

"Oh, they're still around? This must be their territory. I thought we wiped them out before,

but it looks like the survivors bred again."

Gillian stepped forward, holding his axe.

"I'll clear them out again."

"Hey, old man, this time I'm getting more than you. Don't get cocky."

Kaor swaggered forward, and Gordon flexed his muscles as he followed. "Those bastards killed a lot of my friends back then. I had to work out so much to recover

from the loss of muscle."

Several knights armed themselves and joined them. As they approached, they muttered

nostalgically.

"It's all just memories now."

"They were terrifying back then."

"Just keep working. We'll take care of this."

Not everyone in the group was unfamiliar with these monsters. Among them were those who

had fought and survived encounters with Giant Mantises.

Led by Gillian and Kaor, the knights stepping forward were 50 former mercenaries who had

experienced the brutal battles of the Forest of Demonic Beasts. [T/L: Please support me and read 385 extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans]