Episode 316
Episode 107. Enchanted Forest (1)
Thanks to Mantu’s sacrifice, allied soldiers have not suffered a single small battle.
But people are so fragile that they could die just by moving. Naturally, there are overwhelmingly more ordinary and weak people in the world than strong people like sword masters.
More than a hundred people died while crossing the central desert. There were 97 soldiers and 4 officers.
In the case of soldiers, they were exposed to death at any time.
They were bitten by snakes or poisonous scorpions that came into the barracks while camping, or they died because they were innately weak and could not withstand the march, or they died because of aggravated chronic diseases.
In fact, it was nothing short of a miracle that only that number of casualties came out.
It would have been impossible without the careful management of the commanders and Cheryl’s dedication. As many as 50,000 people marched through the desert.
Some commanders and officers took lightly the deaths of soldiers.
They said that it was because their mental state was rotten and that it was because they lacked determination.
It was not the soldiers’ fault that they were killed by snakes or scorpions. It was the same as having a weak body by birth and having a chronic disease.
Yuma demoted all such commanders and officers to soldiers. They were also assigned to units from other countries, and measures were taken so that any sense of incongruity was not revealed among the soldiers.
Also, they did not inform the soldiers of the fact that they took the deaths of the soldiers lightly and fluttered their heads.
From the soldiers’ point of view, it was like a new recruit who was suddenly transferred.
“How did you come to our unit? Aren’t you from Kuzan?”
When the soldier asked this question, the officers were too shy to answer.
“Consider yourself fortunate that Sir Randell did not fall into your ears. If it was Sir, he would have cut his throat right there. Let’s see how good your mental state is.”
Yuma participated in the first battle as an infantryman. It was the Battle of Ahmad.
Even at the time, he was a sword master who was seen as a general infantryman, but he was able to fully experience what their joys and sorrows were.
Unlike knights and officers, soldiers were well aware that they were being treated as ‘expendables’.
Who would want to be brought to the battlefield? If it wasn’t an obligation, everyone would avoid it.
“This is not a war between the powerful to win territory. You are here to protect the world from demons, and you have the right to be treated accordingly. You are not expendable.”
Upon arriving at Gray Forest, Yuma gave a short speech to the soldiers. Because the soldiers who saw the gruesome sight of the gray forest were terrified.
A forest sacrificed to revive Mantu as an obedient killing machine.
Originally, the mysterious gray-colored trees were forming a dense forest, but the place was full of piled white bones.
Not a single gray tree that made the hearts of explorers in remote areas of the world flutter.
Instead, even under the stakes, human and animal bones were piled up like a mountain, so it was like looking at a rocky area.
“How long ago did you kill him to become such a white bone?”
“If it’s a black magic ritual, you can make it like this in just five minutes.”
When Randall spoke, Lois replied.
Yuma made Ballinan measure the magic of the gray forest.
The Gray Forest was the only place in the East where mana in its natural state was more abundant than in the West.
A forest full of magic.
It was another name for the gray forest.
Thanks to the long wars waged by the ancient mages on this land, the remaining magical power is strangely still not fading away.
Scholars have speculated that this is probably because the gray tree acts as a binding so that mana cannot escape.
On the other hand, the wizards claimed that the ancient seal was the cause, but it has not yet been clearly resolved. It was one of the ancient wonders of the world.
Also, the Gray Forest was the area that produced the most missing persons in the world.
Residual magic that has been passed down from ancient times has a very cloudy and impure nature, and travelers exposed to it suffer from hallucinations and hallucinations before disappearing.
It was the so-called Curse of the Gray Forest.
“…Hmm bro. something weird?
It’s not muddy magic that causes hallucinations, it’s full of pure magic.”
After measuring mana with the artifact, Ballinan said.
“I have heard of the gray forest. In fact, a nobleman I met in the East when I was younger went missing here. But now I don’t feel any muddy magic.”
“okay?”
“huh. It seems that the demons sacrificed the forest and a strange phenomenon occurred. Anyway, magic is very clean.
When Western wizards see the gray forest that has changed like this, they will burst into foam. to study.”
A forest full of white bones and magic.
It was a strange combination.
If it weren’t for the turbid magic that covered the forest, the soldiers wouldn’t suffer from hallucinations. Thanks to Ragatineau’s sacrifice, the Curse of the Gray Forest ended.
However, Yuma somehow felt uncomfortable and stopped the march.
I called Lois to ask about the phenomenon, but he didn’t know much either. The few wizards in the allied forces were the same.
‘I’ll have to look at it for at least a day before moving on. Sir Cahel is getting lost. I think that man would have figured out right away whether this forest is dangerous or not.’
If hallucinations were a problem because the Gray Forest was just as rumored, it would have been enough to have the Spirit Spirits set up a barrier and move.
However, in such a strange state, in another sense, he had to be more careful. It was unknown what the demons had planned.
The soldiers who had just crossed the desert also needed a break.
While the campsite was being set up, Yuma went to a secluded place at the beginning of the Gray Forest and sat down.
And I thought of Mantu.
A dead friend who allowed the allies to get here without shedding a drop of blood.
It was like sharpening a knife. As the war continued, Yuma’s hatred for the demons grew stronger.
‘How painful was it in that runaway demon?’
Jeka at the time of the Hale massacre must have been the same.
Yuma summoned Amula and put it down in front of him, staring at it blankly.
A Mar Liskan where Maron and Hwaan are sealed. Tejiz’s old name.
Yuma decided to seal the demonic sword there after the war.
It might be useful in the war against the underworld later, but it seemed more right to become a pure grandmaster like Duran.
My mind was dizzy.
Not only Mantu’s death, but also Maxor, who may have already been freed by the Western imperial family, and demons from the underworld who do not know when they will invade.
The problem to be solved is a mountain, but the body is one.
After Mantu’s death, Yuma couldn’t easily shake off the sticky feeling of melancholy.
‘It’s one month until High Mac…
I’ll make a deal with Amanjo and go back to the West to complete my work.’
He was about to stand up after summoning Aryeolla.
Yuma saw the movement of the white bones that retained the shape of a human body impaled on a stake. It was a slight movement of one finger.
Baekgol continued to move his fingers as if to come here and see.
A normal person would have the hairs all over their body standing up and shuddering.
A skeleton is suddenly moving in the middle of a gloomy forest with nothing but bones.
‘crazy. Did you move?’
But who is Yuma? Not even a skeleton, but something even more horrific than that, could not cool his walls.
Yuma stood up and strode forward as if approaching an ill-fated bastard.
“What is this again?”
shred!
It was the moment the skeleton was about to rattle its jaw joint.
Yuma violently pulled out the shoulder of the guy impaled on the stake and broke it.
Then he beat him to the floor and trampled on him three times. The naked sound of bones being crushed resounded in the dark forest.
“Are you also demons?”
Yuma asked as he lifted up his cracked skull.
Of course, the skeleton had no expression, but for some reason I felt a sense of fear.
chuck! The skeleton grabbed Yuma’s wrist with its unbroken arm.
At that point, Yuma couldn’t help but be startled. It was because his strength was considerable.
Of course, it wasn’t enough to pull out even one of Yuma’s downy hairs.
Yuma, displeased, tried to punch him and crushed his lower jaw.
Then the stretched out spine stretched limp. It seemed dead.
I don’t know if it’s okay to use the expression ‘dead’ to a guy who was already a skeleton.
‘I didn’t realize it when I first pulled out my shoulder, but it’s harder than I thought. Power is also strong. It would be too much for ordinary soldiers to fight one-on-one.’
dalgrak dalgrak!
While Yuma was examining the fallen pieces, the skeletons around him began to stand up one by one.
Even the pieces of wood scattered everywhere like broken tree branches rose into the air.
The bones that emerged were shaped like people or wolves.
The human skeletons held rusty swords, and the skeletons that turned into beasts had sharp fangs.
In an instant, hundreds of skeletons surrounded Yuma.
Yuma silently looked around at the bones lying on the floor and cursed in a low voice.
“These bastards… are the bones of dead people this time?”
It was Yuma who saw how Mantu had been ruined just a few days ago. Seeing the demons use this trick again made the top of my head spin.
Quick! Fast!
The skeletons surrounding Yuma with great vigour broke into a heap.
The rusty swords of the skeletons could not even scratch the Nightmare, nor did the fangs.
The monster had no fear, and the skeleton had no sense of pain. Even if you hit it hard enough to break it, the screams didn’t spread. The skeleton just creaked and shattered.
Yuma was worried about the psychological burden that soldiers who would break through the gray forest would experience.
Besides, there were too many numbers.
The awkwardly broken bones often floated back up to fit the shape.
it will be played Only the completely crushed bones were not taking shape again.
‘Is the fighting power of an orc?’
After destroying over 200 skeletons, Yuma was able to return to camp.
There was no blood on it, but white powder covered the nightmare.
The relatively intact skeleton he brought as a specimen was in Yuma’s hand.
“Yuma hyung, your mana suddenly swelled up like it was about to explode! Never heard of a case like this… Whoops! What is that!”
Seeing Yuma, Ballinan slammed his ass. He was surprised to see the skeleton writhing in Yuma’s hand.
The nearby soldiers also couldn’t hide their nervousness.
“Ballinan. It seems that magic power makes them move.”
Yuma threw the two skeletons to the floor and said. It was a humanoid skeleton and a wolf skeleton.
Comrades and commanders who were close by gathered toward Yuma.
“Prepare for battle starting with the units that are ready to camp. I guess I’ll have to fight these skeletons today.”
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