The Immortal Genius Spear knight(24)
Jeez.
The lead herb gatherer entering the Bronzerian Forest furrowed his brow.
“Ugh, just eating moss and not doing anything useful.”
“Indeed. We need to go deeper to find valuable herbs.”
“But… isn’t this a restricted area?”
A restricted area in the Bronzerian Forest.
It was designated as such by the Erkal Defense Forces due to its numerous dangers.
Entering without permission could result in severe disciplinary action.
“Hehe, that’s why we brought mercenaries along. Don’t be afraid.”
The man who appeared to be the leader chuckled softly and turned around.
Six C-rank mercenaries.
Each of them was strong enough to easily defeat an Orc.
Among them, the mercenary leader was not only C-rank but was classified as B-rank in terms of skill.
The lead herb gatherer boasted,
“Do you know how much it cost to hire these guys? We won’t leave until we’ve made five times our investment, so hurry up.”
Since it was a restricted area, no one had ventured there.
Naturally, there were many rare herbs scattered around.
If they gathered these, they could make several times the request fee.
“……It’s humid.”
The mercenary leader surveyed the surroundings.
There didn’t seem to be any dangers that warranted the area being restricted…
“The Defense Forces are just like that. They make everything a restricted area in order to avoid any troublesome issues.”
A mercenary with a scar on his left cheek grinned.
Thanks to this, the request fee was quite lucrative.
The mercenary leader said with a stern expression,
“Still, be cautious. This is the Bronzerian Forest, after all.”
There was a reason for its notorious reputation.
The mercenary leader thought.
He then addressed the herb gatherers.
“We have six hours. After that, we’ll leave without looking back, so hurry up.”
“Hohoho, don’t worry! Everyone, get moving quickly!”
With protectors around, there was nothing to fear.
The herb gatherers quickly began searching and gathering herbs.
“Wow! There are indeed many high-quality ones.”
“Hoho, to think I’ve lived my entire life without coming here. How foolish.”
“Thanks to you, I’m enjoying such a luxury.”
“Just follow me from now on. Hehe.”
The lead herb gatherer’s words brought smiles to everyone’s faces.
But, at that moment.
“……?”
The sound of something rapidly approaching.
The mercenary leader drew his axe.
“Prepare for combat!”
At his shout, the mercenaries quickly drew their weapons.
Rustle!
And from behind the bushes emerged a monster.
“Red bear!”
A large beast with a red mane running from its forehead to its tailbone.
It was a fairly dangerous mid-level monster among bear-like creatures.
“I’ll strike before it charges.”
The mercenary leader said calmly.
The good news was that the Red bear was a solitary creature.
Although strong, a single one wouldn’t be a major threat to them.
At the leader’s command, the mercenaries quickly formed their formation.
They planned to finish it off swiftly.
But then.
“……Huh?”
“Captain, there’s something odd about it…”
A vicious Red bear would have attacked immediately upon seeing humans.
Yet, it seemed to be staggering, causing the mercenary’s brow to furrow.
Then he noticed the creature’s injuries.
‘……Was it fleeing?’
A Red bear?
But that question was short-lived.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
From beyond the bushes, a mysterious sound came.
The ground began to tremble as the sound drew closer.
And then.
Crack!
A thick tree was split in two, and a monster twice the size of the Red bear appeared.
It resembled a bear but there were distinct differences.
“What, what is that…”
“……Was there such a creature?”
It had a similar appearance to the Red bear, but its fur was entirely black and its eyes glowed with a violet hue.
As the herb gatherers faced it, their legs gave out.
They couldn’t even scream.
“Ugh… Ugh…!”
An overwhelming pressure made it hard to breathe.
“E-Everyone… Run away.”
The mercenary leader managed to utter a word with great effort.
“GRRAAAAARRRR!”
The roar of the unknown beast engulfed them in death.
* * *
“Gasp…… Gasp…… Gasp!”
“Catch that bastard……!”
The senior members of Neo-Calitz were climbing the steep mountain path with all their might.
Some carried logs on their shoulders, others on their backs.
It was hard to even walk without resting, let alone run, with the heavy logs pressing down on them.
So how was that bastard…
‘How is he running?’
The gap had already widened to twice its original size.
Seeing Damian running ahead, the seniors’ faces turned to despair.
‘No…… No…… No……!’
‘If we lose, we’ll die……!’
It was literally a matter of life and death.
They knew.
That Taron was a person who kept his word no matter what.
They had to win.
Yet…
‘Damn, what’s with that kid?!’
It’s true that they underestimated him because he’s thirteen.
But.
‘This is unbelievable!’
Even accounting for that, his level of performance was absurdly high.
Rustle!
Damian was dashing up the slope with a 30kg log on his back.
It was a storm-like run.
‘It’s more manageable… Than I thought.’
Damian lightly fiddled with the ring on his hand.
It was unusual because the weight of heavy objects became lighter in proportion to their size.
‘I’ll need to check its exact performance later.’
It seemed that the weight reduction was proportional.
Swish.
With some spare time, Damian glanced back.
Unlike the other seniors who had already collapsed, one person was still pursuing him.
‘……As expected.’
“Huff…… Huff…… Huff……!”
It felt like blood was coming up his throat.
Dianal, while exhaling heavily, did not stop his legs.
‘That monster of a kid.’
From the moment he first saw him, he knew something was off. But this…
‘He’s way beyond expectations……?’
First place in the training camp.
Even so, he thought it was just at the training camp level.
Dianal was not lacking in stamina either.
But.
‘……He’s on a whole different level.’
Having already reached the top, Damian put down the log he was carrying.
“First place.”
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Damian looked at the soldiers below.
Even for Damian, who handled magic, it wasn’t an easy feat.
But there was one major difference between him and the others.
It was his concentration.
Damian’s intense focus regardless of the task was one of the reasons he survived on the battlefield.
He ran with only the goal in mind, discarding all other thoughts.
That made a huge difference and created this impossible gap.
“……”
Taron looked at Damian.
Then he looked at the other soldiers.
He had anticipated that they might lose due to the relaxed tension, but.
‘……To think Dianal also would lose.’
The new recruit’s skill was far beyond expectations.
Even if nothing else, he had to be acknowledged for his stamina.
However,
“A promise is a promise.”
Taron’s eyes turned grim.
The soldiers around him swallowed hard.
It had been a long time since they had seen Taron like this.
“All of you……”
Taron began to speak to the soldiers.
But then.
“Captain!”
Someone shouted.
Taron furrowed his brow and turned his head.
“There, over there……!”
A red flag was being raised at the base.
* * *
A red flag indicated a Level 1 emergency.
Seeing the red flag, Taron’s expression changed.
Back at the base, Taron asked the administrative soldier.
“What’s going on?”
“There have been casualties in the forest. The information received says that herb gatherers have died.”
“Location?”
“Well, it’s…… a restricted area.”
Taron’s facial muscles twitched at the administrative soldier’s words.
The Vice-captain, Aaron, frowned.
“Damn it! They should never have gone there!”
“Extent of the damage?”
“Currently, it’s the five herb gatherers…… But they didn’t go in recklessly. They had six mercenaries with them.”
If they had taken on a task in the Bronzerian Forest, the mercenaries wouldn’t have been weaklings.
The fact that all six mercenaries died meant.
“Huff, Aaron. How many can be deployed immediately, excluding the injured?”
“Excluding those with minor injuries, just over thirty. Including them…… about seventy in total. However, some of those classified as minor injuries are actually quite severely hurt.
The situation was not good.
They had just completed a mission a few days ago.
‘……The intervals are getting shorter.’
Taron’s forehead furrowed deeply.
Something must be changing in the forest.
But he quickly made a decision.
“Exclude the severely injured and assemble about fifty. Any information on the monsters?”
“None so far.”
“Idiots, what have you been doing all this time?”
Aaron swore angrily.
When Taron glared at him, Aaron hurried off to assemble the troops.
Taron also gathered his gear and moved outside the barracks.
Rat-tat-tat!
There were no words.
Only a suffocating air that weighed heavily on his chest.
But then.
“We will also go.”
Damian said to Taron.
Taron firmly replied,
“No, stay here.”
Even though Damian’s training results were impressive, real combat was a different story.
But Damian was persistent.
“I will act as a porter from a distance. As you can see, I’m strong and fit. So is Kyle.”
“I can do it!”
Kyle shouted, puffing out his chest.
Taron looked at the two with a piercing gaze.
Though it was embarrassing, they needed every hand they could get right now.
Taron, pondering, bit his lip.
“Alright, I grant permission. But you are strictly forbidden from combat. Carry reserve equipment and stay at the rear.”
“Understood!”
“Dianal! Leave the reserve equipment to these two. Everyone, move quickly!”
“Yes!”
The troops moved in an orderly fashion and were soon lined up outside the barracks.
Once everyone was lined up, Taron spoke.
“There will be no punishment for the training, as previously discussed. Focus solely on the mission.”
Discussing punishment during a mission could lower concentration.
Right now, they had to be fully focused on the operation.
Taron continued.
“As always, consider all possible scenarios when deployed on a mission. Avoid dangerous situations as much as possible.”
It seemed like there was a silent response.
Taron gave his final instructions.
“Everyone, return safely.”
“Yes, understood!”
With a resounding reply, the cool atmosphere pressed down on their shoulders.
Among them, Damian heightened his concentration.
Bronzerian Forest…….’
If his prediction was correct, at this time……
Damian recalled the words Dianal had told him in the past.
Unorganized information swirled in his mind.
But soon, Damian gathered his thoughts and tightly gripped his bag.
‘There’s no choice but to see for myself.’
That was the reason he was heading into the Bronzerian Forest as a porter.
And.
“We depart.”
It was his first real combat mission.
