Danger befell the party from the very entrance of the Forest of Death. Damon, who had been walking while casting detection magic, suddenly shouted like a thunderbolt and pointed.
“Watch out.”
Kasim, drawing his sword, immediately hurled himself forward. He, too, had sensed the danger. There stood a Sentinel, frozen in place without the faintest idea of what was happening. Without asking questions, Kasim swung his sword at her. When she was attacked out of nowhere, the Sentinel’s face twisted in terror. But what rang out was not the sound of flesh being split, but the sound of something hard being severed.
Thwack.
Kasim’s longsword, condensed with mana, cut clean through a tree vine as thick as an adult’s waist.
It had been the very moment the vine, moving as smoothly as a python, was about to coil around the Sentinel’s neck. The severed vine writhed and twisted as if it were a living creature. Only after Kasim, frowning, swung his sword and chopped it into several pieces did the vine stop moving.
Kasim looked over the shredded vine with a doubtful expression.
“What the hell is this thing?”
The Sentinel, who had escaped the fate of being dragged away without knowing why, turned deathly pale.
She muttered something, but since it was in the language of the elves, Kasim could not understand it.
Watching, Damon’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“So this is the man-eating tree I’ve only heard about.”
“What? A man-eating tree?”
At Shrekheimer’s question, Damon nodded and began to explain.
“I once read about it in a book. It’s a kind of tree that inhabits the Demon Realm, a monstrous tree that captures living creatures and feeds on their bodily fluids. It was written that its strength is tremendous, enough that even most monsters are caught and devoured by it. But to think it would be growing in none other than the elves’ forest…”
Shrekheimer, who had been listening, looked worried.
“Could it have come over during the Dark War?”
Damon quietly shook his head.
“No. Plants from the Demon Realm reproduce in a completely different way from those here. Just as elves are different from humans, you might say. My guess is that the trees here were affected by the demonic mana flowing out of the Demon Realm and transformed into man-eating trees. If even a thread of demonic mana continues to leak out, it would be enough to infect the trees.”
“If enough demonic mana is leaking out, then we must assume the Dark Portal is still functioning.”
“That’s right. If we turn the portal’s coordinates toward Arcadia, the demonic mana should stop leaking out. Then the trees here should return to their original state.
“It seems we’ll need the Death Knights’ help from here on.”
Without a word, Damon opened Increasia. Soon, four Death Knights—Helbertron, Reindelf, Primberg, and Salamis—leaped out from within. Winslot appeared behind them as well.
They glared at Damon with distinctly challenging eyes.
“What mission is it this time? Surely you haven’t called us out for nothing again like before?”
“Don’t worry. This time, you’ll get to have a proper fight.”
After speaking, Damon turned his head.
“By the way, Grand Priest. Is it true that there are a considerable number of undead around the portal?”
Shrekheimer silently nodded.
“Yes. We believe the demons, Dark Shades, and other monsters from the Demon Realm have returned, but the undead—ghouls, wights, and the like—were unable to go back to the Demon Realm and were roaming around the portal. They weren’t particularly powerful, but there were quite a lot of them. That is precisely why we could not enter five hundred years ago. It seemed they were barely sustaining themselves on the dark mana leaking from the portal.”
“Were there any others besides them?”
Shrekheimer hesitated for a moment, but before long he revealed the truth.
“In fact, there seemed to be several Death Knights around the portal as well.
“I only saw them from a distance, so I cannot be certain…”
Damon looked intrigued.
“That should be interesting. They must certainly have been granted life by Naidelhark.
“I wonder how they will respond if they come into contact with the mana of Naidelhark that I wield.
“Of course, we’ll have to deal with them while keeping the possibility of hostility in mind.”
Helbertron, who had been listening, spoke up.
“Do not worry about such trifling creatures. We are the strongest Death Knights in existence.
“At the very least, among the undead, there is no one who can match us.”
“Tsk, tsk. That damned pride of yours…”
Clicking his tongue, Damon quietly began to redeploy their forces.
First, he placed Olivier and the other Sentinels in the middle of the party.
As expected, Olivier protested fiercely.
“Are you disregarding our fighting strength? The Sentinels of the Luminous tribe are by no means weak.”
Damon dismissed the protest without so much as twitching an eyebrow.
“That’s pointless obstinacy. At least when it comes to fighting at close quarters, archers can die and come back to life a hundred times and still never match swordsmen. So it would be better for you to faithfully provide supporting fire from the rear.”
“We cannot do that. We have discovered our own methods of fighting.
“And we have no desire to be protected by the likes of Death Knights.”
Damon looked at Olivier, who continued to be stubborn, then turned his head without another word.
“Then fight as you please. We’ll get through the forest in our own way.”
Damon positioned the Death Knights at the outer edge of the party. He entrusted the rear to Winslot.
“Then we move. The elves will follow on their own, so don’t worry about them and go in.”
The party swept one worried glance over the Sentinels, then moved forward.
With swords drawn and shields held firm, they charged into the Forest of Death.
Olivier, who had been watching them with a displeased expression, hurriedly sprang after them.
‘He truly is impossible to figure out.’
The Sentinels who had been standing still began to follow in silence.
Before long, the Forest of Death attempted a counterattack. The man-eating trees, which had refrained from attacking the party for a while as if trying to probe them, began their assault all at once.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Countless vines of the man-eating trees shot toward the party at the same time. It was as though dozens, hundreds of pythons were lunging in at once. But they aimed only at living creatures. In other words, they paid no attention at all to the Death Knights and Winslot, who were guarding the perimeter. That was the fatal mistake the man-eating trees made.
Flash.
Chilling sword light flashed again and again in midair, and the tree vines that came rushing in were cut off wholesale and tumbled to the ground. The Death Knights had swung their swords as if there were no need to think, severing the vines. The Death Blades dwelling on their swords sliced through the tough vines of the man-eating trees as easily as cutting radishes.
Kieeeee!
Black sap spurted from the cut surfaces. The man-eating trees whose vines had been severed screamed like living creatures. But they did not seem inclined to give up the prey that had come their way at last. Even as they were cut down again and again, they continued stretching out their vines to snatch the party. At last, several vines broke through the Death Knights’ defensive screen and surged toward the group. But there was not a single person among them who would be taken easily.
“Haaah!”
With a thunderous shout, sword light filled the space. The vines of the man-eating trees that had barely managed to break through were struck by longswords wreathed in Aura Blade and torn to shreds. Within the dim Forest of Death, where sunlight did not enter, a sudden symphony of Aura Blades and Death Blades rang out. The party members’ Aura Blades, emitting bluish light, ripped apart the darkness, and behind them, the Death Blades with their dark sheen mercilessly cut down the vines of the man-eating trees that reached toward them. Watching this, Damon silently rearranged his mana.
“We’ll need to open a path first.”
Mana with the attribute of air was rearranged violently, but what formed was not Magic Missile.
What manifested was Wind Cutter, blades of wind spinning at terrifying speed.
A total of more than ten Wind Cutters whirled fiercely and shot forward.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The Wind Cutters mercilessly sliced through the trunks of the man-eating trees to which the vines were attached.
Shrekheimer, who had been watching, joined in as well. He, too, cast Wind Cutter and focused on opening a path.
A clear path was carved through the Forest of Death, where no path at all had seemed to exist.
Even after being cut by the Wind Cutters, the tree trunks did not die easily. As proof, the vines attached to the trunks continued to wriggle. The path created where the Wind Cutters had passed was packed with severed vines and tree trunks. This time, Damon rearranged mana imbued with the energy of fire.
“We’ll have to roast them properly.”
What shot out after the rearrangement was complete was the most basic of spells: Fireball.
Though the man-eating trees did not catch fire easily, the severed trunks, having been cut away from the main bodies, could not endure for long and were engulfed in flames.
Kiiiiik!
Within the fiercely burning flames, the tree trunks screamed and thrashed violently, but they could not withstand it for long and burned up. However, the fire did not spread to the living man-eating trees.
It burned only the severed vines and trunks. Just learning that fact was enough to pass through the Forest of Death, and a look of triumph appeared on Damon’s face.
“Good. There won’t be any problem opening a path.”
He ran forward and deployed Wind Cutter once more. He intended to carve a path straight through the middle of the Forest of Death. Once again, dozens of man-eating trees were cut down by the Wind Cutters.
When the Fireball Shrekheimer fired in succession exploded, the severed trunks caught fire.
Whoosh!
The attacks of the man-eating trees that had been rushing toward the party had lost momentum in the face of fierce resistance.
Thanks to the party’s efforts, severed vines and trunks were piled thickly over a clearing of roughly fifty square meters. Having made the path, Damon hurriedly called the party.
“Everyone, come this way.”
Once the party left the clearing, Damon rearranged his mana without a second thought.
Fwoooosh!
In the place where the party had been forming a defensive line just moments before, Flame Strike, a high-circle fire spell, erupted. The scattered trunks of the man-eating trees burst into flame all at once. Perhaps terrified by the horrifying sight, the man-eating trees no longer attacked. Seeing the vines of the man-eating trees rapidly retreat, Damon burst into a satisfied laugh.
“Kekeke. Insolent things. You should know who you’re messing with before you try it.”
The severed vines and trunks of the man-eating trees burned for about ten minutes before turning to ash. However, the Sentinels who had been following still had not appeared. It seemed they had been held up by the man-eating trees’ attack. Shrekheimer shook his head worriedly.
“Wouldn’t it be better to help the elves?”
But Damon cut him off as if that was out of the question.
“There’s no need. I’m thinking of taking this chance to see just how well elves can fight.”
He was about to turn away, but stopped and looked at Kasim.
Though he had said that, it seemed the elves were still on his mind.
“Captain. If you stay in the clearing, the man-eating trees won’t attack any further.
“So you remain here and wait for the elves.
“I’ll continue opening the path with the Grand Priest. When you meet the elves, have them follow us.”
Kasim nodded readily.
“I will do so.”
Just then, Mitchell approached with an awkward expression.
“I’m sorry, but may I stay behind as well?”
Damon looked at Mitchell with a sly smile.
“Looks like you’re worried about the elf lady. Do as you like. Heh heh.
“Seeing you throw caution to the wind, youth really is a fine thing.”
Mitchell scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
“Th-thank you.”
“Then we’ll go open the path.”
Leaving Kasim and Mitchell behind, Damon placed the Death Knights at the front and began to advance.
It was a relatively simple yet brutal strategy: knock down the trees blocking the way with magic, then burn them to create a path. Since Wind Cutter and Fireball were relatively low-level spells, there was no reason to run out of mana. Soon, a huge road began to open through the Forest of Death. Perhaps before long, Arcadia’s great army would march down that very road.