"Kitsu, don't try to ignore this," Kayda said, worry seeping into her voice.
'I already know that, Kayda,' I thought bitterly, my tail curling around my leg. Meditation is just something I can't do. There are too many demons in my head for me to sit still for that long.
"Hey, say something, fox," Kayda snapped when I didn't answer. She was clearly annoyed I'd clammed up again.
Before I could respond, a faint rustling sounded to the left. I perked up immediately. "Oh, our first meal is here," I said, grabbing a handful of throwing knives and flicking them toward the bushes.
Ugh!
Gra!
Urk!
Three dull thuds echoed, and a trio of goblin bodies tumbled out from behind the foliage, blades stuck in their throats and chests.
"The poor goblins didn't even want to fight," Kayda muttered, watching their limp forms crumple.
"And the orcs heading this way?" I said, tilting my head.
"Ah, that's true." She hummed, not bothering to explain her earlier sympathy.
"The first layer of the Dead Forest mostly consists of goblins, orcs, kobolds, and lizardmen. Although they're different races, they seem to love working together-or so I've been told," I said, thoughtfully rubbing my chin.
"That is correct; however, there are many more races in the forest beyond just those," Kayda replied. "They even have their own towns in the forest. But monsters are monsters. They fight. A lot. Wars happen constantly between towns."
"This forest gets more fascinating the more I hear about it," I laughed. "It's like a dysfunctional kingdom of bloodthirsty gremlins."
"Yes. And very annoying."
"So is there a war going on right now? I mean, the forest feels more unstable than usual," I said, eyes drifting to the distant mountain ridges.
"There is. And it's way bigger than usual. We don't understand why yet, but something's changed," Kayda said, sighing.
"So we need to investigate that," I nodded.
"Yes, but we already have a few theories."
"Are you suggesting that a more powerful monster came down the mountain?" I asked. Even from here, the mountains were just slivers on the horizon. The idea that something from up there had wandered all the way down made my ears twitch.
"Usually, they wouldn't. But this time, we think something else came into the forest from outside. Something new has arrived, and now everyone is riled up and scared.
"So the scaredy-cats are coming down to avoid it?" I said, grinning.
"Pretty much, yeah."
"But then why is the main focus in the lower section of the forest?"
"Huh. Kitsu, think about it. Why would we send troops to deal with some powerful monster up in the mountains when the civilians are the priority?"
"Ah. I don't know. Because it might become a danger in the future?" I asked, holding up a severed orc head like a puppet.
"That's true," she said with a flat stare, "but that's only in the future. The immediate threat must always come first."
"And that's the town?"
"Yes and no. It's the powerful monsters that came down. Some of them are smart-smart enough to unite the weaker towns under their command." Kayda's voice grew sharper.
"Ahh, the intelligent ones. Those are the real pains," I said, nodding in understanding.
"Kitsu. To your right."
"I know," I muttered, shifting slightly as a dark wolf lunged out of the trees. My invisible wires snapped taut, and the beast was sliced into a thousand ribbons before it even reached us.
Kayda grimaced. "Ugh, we are not going to spar anymore."
"Huh!? Why? Did I do something wrong?"
"Yes. Your invisible manner is annoying. I need my carpet to even feel them," she said, gesturing to the shimmering blood-thread still hanging in the air.
"But I can't use mana when your carpet is active."
"I know. So we're learning that today," she said with a tone that ended the conversation before I could argue.
"But it's a date."
"No. It's an investigation."
"No, it's a time just for the two of us," I insisted. "No teaching, just walking and murdering monsters together."
"And killing everything we see. Fine. I'll drop it then," she said with a sigh.
"When you're open again, we can spar properly, okay?" I said this while leaning in to kiss her cheek.
"Okay." She smiled faintly, soft and rare.
"Oh, look at these two different symbols," I said, crouching by an orc's body and inspecting the cloth on its shoulder. The stitched pattern was crude but deliberate.
"Ah. Looks like we found a collaboration. The first symbol represents Blood Bear Town, while the second symbolizes the Blood Wolf. Kayda knelt beside me, ripping the cloth free.
"Sometimes I really hate my luck," I muttered.
"Why?"
"I always get pulled into something bigger. Never just a quick run. Always something we need to fix."
"Hmm, that's true. But hey, you'd be bored otherwise."
"I'd take a nap over this," I grumbled.
Kayda studied the cloth. "Looks like the towns are working together."
"Who named them that? It's awful."
"I don't know. I didn't write the naming guide for monster towns."
"Ugh, whatever. So what now? Do we go destroy the town?"
"No. Destroying a town causes more problems."
"Why?"
"If we wipe them out, another town just moves in and takes over. Stronger town, more territory, bigger threat."
"Oh. So it's better to let them stay in balance?"
"Exactly. Keep the chaos evenly distributed."
"So what do we do?"
"We find the commander. Take it out."
"Ah, so we are going to attack the town." I grinned.
"You can go wild. Just don't pursue. If they run, let them go."
"Okay, okay. So where's the nearest town?"
"I don't know."
"...What?"
"Kitsu, there are dozens of towns. Why would I know where all of them are?"
"Fair point. But they're not new towns, right?"
"No, but they move. Twice a year, minimum."
"Ahh... so do we need a supervisor?"
"Yes. I'll call one now." Kayda spread her mana into the air like a beacon.
Supervisors of the Dead Forest were like overworked zookeepers. Each had a designated area and had to ensure monster activity didn't spiral out of control. Cleanup, crowd control, and occasional extermination duty-usually alone. They were tough enough to take down hordes without blinking. Most of them were special-grade soldiers.
We were about to meet one.
And I had a feeling things were going to get even more complicated.
avataravatar
Chapter 160: It is too easy
"Young miss, Lady Kayda, how may I help you today?" A man knelt before us with a professional smile on his face, yet his posture resembled that of an eager puppy waiting for his master's attention-tail wag not included, but implied.
"As you can see, we found two towns working together and want to investigate it ourselves," I said, gesturing toward the cloth Kayda held in her hand. The blood-stained fabric bore two crude symbols: one resembling a snarling bear, the other a howling wolf.
"Yes, I see the Blood Bear and Blood Wolf towns..." The man leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at the markings. "Hmm... but how are they working together?" he asked, his tone suddenly doubtful as if trying to solve a puzzle.
"Why are you saying it like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the shift in his voice.
"You see, young miss," he said, respectfully crouching instead of kneeling, "the towns of the bear and wolf aren't very close to each other." In fact, there are four towns between them."
Kayda and I blinked. Then, without a word, we both turned our heads toward the bloody battlefield behind us. Dozens of orc and goblin corpses lay strewn across the ground, and in unspoken agreement, we knelt to check for more markings on their clothing.
"What?" I muttered, finding a third symbol-this one of a serpent coiled around a fang. Kayda found a fourth, a crude lizard face with a single eye.
"Ah, it seems the situation is on a bigger scale than we thought," Kayda said, chuckling, though her voice was strained with irritation.
"Yes," I agreed. "It seems we don't only have two towns working together, but a minimum of six." I stood up and dusted off my hands. "How many monsters live in one town?"
"Each town averages about fifty thousand monsters, young miss," the man said, nodding gravely. "Must I call for reinforcements?"
He looked at Kayda for confirmation, but he spoke to me with deference. Smart move.
"Nah," I said with a grin, glancing at Kayda. "We'll take care of the main problem. You guys can handle the cleanup afterward."
"You mean you're taking care of it," Kayda said, pointing a thumb at me.
"Ah, if you say so," I replied with a shrug.
"I see. I will let my commander know at once." The man bowed again and ran off in a blur, leaving a faint cloud of dust in his wake.
As silence returned to the clearing, I looked over at Kayda. "...So were you serious when you said I need to take care of this alone?"
"Yes. I'll help with a spell occasionally," Kayda replied without hesitation.
I sighed, long and deep. "Okay, okay. Hmm, now that I think about it... We didn't actually get any info about where they are."
I clapped my hands together in realization.
"Well, shit." Kayda clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed. "Hmm. Let's head toward the mountain for now." She pointed toward the misty peaks in the distance.
"Okay!" I said cheerfully, skipping toward the looming ridges like a child headed to a candy store-one filled with violent, bloodthirsty candies.
We walked over monster corpses as we went, the scent of iron thick in the air.
"Did you get a level from all this?" Kayda asked.
"Of course not. You know how challenging it is for me to level up," I groaned.
"Right. That is true."
Suddenly, I stopped mid-skip. "Ah. Here they come. And way more than before."
From the forest depths, a thunderous wave of footsteps echoed.
"Hmm. Well, enjoy," Kayda said, casually stepping away and letting the distance grow between us.
"Sigh... yeah, will do." I grumbled, cracking my knuckles and turning toward the noise.
I created a large claymore in my right hand, its transparent blade humming with invisible mana. Flicking my left hand, I sent threads of razor-thin wire lashing out into the trees ahead, attaching to trunks like anchors.
'Let's take the initiative this time.' I yanked the wires hard.
Eight trees ripped from the earth like weeds, roots tearing out dirt and moss as they tumbled forward. The wires tied them into a giant bundle. I pulled again, dragging the tree bouquet close.
"Hup." I jumped high into the air, bringing the bundle with me.
As I twisted midair, I began to spin the trees in a circular motion like a monstrous flail. Below me, a fresh horde of monsters charged through the clearing, two ogres leading the way, their clubs raised.
'Well, this helps.'
I hurled the spinning mass downward. It struck like a meteor.
BOOOM
The ogres were flattened instantly. Screams erupted around them.
Arg!!
Ugh!!
Grrrr!!
Chaos spread. I landed in the middle of it, swinging the claymore in a wide arc and beheading the first orc to charge me.
"Man, that took far too much stamina," I muttered, dodging two blades and killing both wielders in the same breath.
A kobold lunged, and I spun left, letting its weapon miss before skewering it through the chest. Another monster tried to grab me from behind, but I pivoted and removed its head.
"It's boring," I said flatly, dancing between them, claymore slicing in wide, bloody arcs.
Despite the monotony, it was an experience-holding off an entire horde alone. Not bad for a warm-up.
Mom had trained me in all weapons, and my class gave me adaptability, but the claymore was always the one I used the least. Too heavy, too slow. But in this chaos, it felt right.
The deeper I moved into the horde, the more I noticed something odd. Their strength increased slightly-not in body, but in equipment. The gear was getting better.
'I can't believe monsters are capable of forging armor,' I thought, eyeing a goblin wearing a surprisingly well-crafted iron chestplate with minimal dents. 'Who the hell is supplying them?'
Eventually, the monsters began avoiding me, trying to spread out and stay away from my blade's reach. Cute strategy-but ineffective.
I formed a ring of ice arrows around me, infused each with lightning magic, then sent them flying into the horde's rear ranks.
CRACK-BOOM-ZAP!
Monsters screamed as the arrows exploded in bursts of frost and sparks. With their backline torn apart, they had no choice but to charge me again.
"Gha grr!" One snarled, eyes gleaming with desperation.
Hooooorrrrrrrroooooo!
A loud war horn echoed through the forest.
Every monster froze. Heads turned toward the sound. It came from the east, low and resonant like the roar of something ancient.
'A retreat horn?' I wondered, stopping my spellcasting.
The goblins around me glanced at each other before turning and fleeing without hesitation.
"Hmm, what was that?" I muttered aloud, still cleaving a few stragglers who were too slow to escape.
"Kitsu, let's go. Something exciting is happening," Kayda called, floating down beside me, her feet just above the blood-soaked ground.
"What was that horn?" I asked, looking up at her.
"It's a war horn," Kayda said, not taking her eyes off the retreating army.
"I thought so. But what does it mean?"
"War," she said again, sharper this time.
"Ah. "Ah. Right," I said, feeling embarrassed about my question.
"Hmm."
"So this horde was normal?" I asked as we began to follow the retreating wave.
"Hordes happen," Kayda replied, her voice thoughtful. "But not like this. There are more of them... and they're weaker than expected. It doesn't feel right."
"You still think there's a stronger monster behind all this?" I asked, more seriously this time.
"Yes and no. I think there's a new monster in the forest... But I also think someone is using the chaos to stir things up. Maybe even target Draig territory."
Her theory made me frown.
"Hmm. Do you have any suspects?" I asked, jogging alongside her.
"I have one... maybe working with the main culprit," she said, then stopped and picked up a piece of armor from a fallen orc.
"Hmm?"
"Look here." She held up the breastplate. There was a small blacksmith's stamp near the collarbone. "Here's another one." She pulled a second armor piece from a goblin nearby.
"Huh... Stamps are like crafting seals, right?" I said, squinting.
"Yes. And both of these are from Draig territory," she said, sounding disappointed.
