REFDL 16

He knew it already. To the people of the castle, they were nothing more than convenient hoes, digging up medicinal herbs for them from the cursed Sea of Trees.

This time, dispatching the investigation team was likely driven more by concern over disruptions to the herb supply than by worry for the hoe’s safety.

There was no need to weigh the options. Hunting a single Pensilta dragon required a dedicated catapult, skilled knights, professional hunters, and a mage.

In urgent cases, knights alone might attempt the hunt, but…

‘The damage would be immense.’

And the knights’ master would never tolerate that.

An old, borrowed hoe. A gleaming, precious sword of one’s own.

No scales were needed to weigh the two.

“Unless the monster flies to the castle and wreaks havoc, it won’t move before then.”

“…I wish it would just fly straight to the castle.”

Silence fell after that lament.

It wasn’t a wolf, it was a dragon. Dragons could freely traverse the layers of the Sea of Trees, and if they wished, they could even emerge outside the Sea of Trees entirely.

The reason there were no wild dragons outside was simply because they hadn’t come out.

There was no solution.

Even those who had been planning resistance if it had only been a young harpy now slumped their shoulders. Defeatism spread, but the village chief remained silent. Truthfully, this wasn’t defeatism so much as a prediction of an inevitable future.

One of the herb gatherers spoke cautiously.

“Should we… leave?”

“……”

No one dared speak rashly.

The people of the Forest Village all had their own stories. They could leave if they wanted to… but doing so would mean each must be prepared to face their own story again.

And the village chief’s story was particularly special among them.

‘No.’

He could never leave the Forest Village. …His reason was slightly different from the others.

Clutching his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white, he thought of his daughter.

Rotol.

His precious Rotol, whom he wouldn’t trade for his life.

Thud.

“…?!

Rotol appeared before his eyes.

‘Was I seeing things because I missed her so much?’

No.

“What is it, Rotol?”

“No. That thing…!”

“……”

The wooden window above the door, left open for ventilation.

Rotol had fallen from there.

Landing perfectly in front of the village chief with a perfect technique, Rotol rolled once and jumped to her feet. Her follow-through was flawless.

She’d been taught well… The village chief snapped back to his senses.

“Rotol.”

The village chief called Rotol’s name, it almost sounded like he was growling. Scolding her for mistakes was common. But he had never gotten angry. This was the first time.

Rotol flinched but didn’t back down.

“No!”

“If you did something wrong, you should admit it and apologize first. I saw you jump out the window just now…”

“That’s not it! The dragon didn’t do that!”

Rotol shouted, her face flushed with excitement.

“The bite marks. I saw them too. But that wasn’t a bite meant to kill. If it had been, it wouldn’t have ended with such cute little marks!”

“…Enough.”

“The other men were found dead far away! Mirim’s father was discovered right in front of the village! They went together!”

“Rotol!!”

The village chief roared like a lion and jumped to his feet. His chair flew backward and crashed to the floor. Rotol didn’t back down.

“How could Uncle have made it back to the village in that state!”

“……!”

“He didn’t come here. The dragon carried him!”

Rotol, her tiny hands clenched tight, shouted.

“That dragon is my friend!”

“…….”

The village chief suddenly thought.

His daughter’s hands, once as soft as cotton flowers, seemed to have grown a little larger.

It wasn’t something he should have been thinking about in that situation.

Squeak.

The door to the village hall creaked open. Mirim, still wide-eyed, and Odan, who hadn’t forgotten to bow politely even in this chaos, ran in and stood beside Rotol.

“Rotol is right.”

“He’s our friend. Please believe us!”

“…….”

The three told the adults everything that had happened so far.

* * *

The children were locked in the village chief’s house.

“Waaah!”

The elders were assigned to watch over them.

They felt sorry for the children wailing pitifully. But the village men, including the chief, were so fierce that they couldn’t even go inside to check.

The meeting continued late into the night.

Time passed without reaching any concrete conclusion. Just as the moon, which hadn’t been seen in ages, soared high into the sky, someone burst into the village hall, gasping for breath.

“Chief, Chief!!”

It was the village guard on duty.

“……?!”

Everyone had the same thought.

Had the dragon attacked?!

“Outside…!”

Crash!

Led by the village chief, everyone in the hall rushed outside.

To cut to the chase, it wasn’t a dragon.

Monsters don’t carry torches.

“…!!”

But the situation was still dire. The village chief swallowed dryly.

‘Why… how…!’

Torches swayed in the Sea of Trees. They were growing in number and drawing ever closer.

Despair arrived with the flames.

It was Denos’s army.

* * *

While the Forest Village folk were still harvesting cotton flowers.

Kaelus had approached near the Forest Village on Denos’ side.

The man’s expression grew grave. So did the knights’. The distance was much closer than they’d anticipated.

‘Not a single proper monster.’

It was obvious. The entire 10km stretch north was the Sea of Trees, and this area was only 10km wide, like a trickle. Given the environmental conditions, the monster species native to this side had to be much weaker.

‘And the strongest thing here is a baby griffon…’

Assuming they moved an army, the only thing blocking them was the rugged terrain of the forest.

Kaelus’s mind raced.

‘Upon returning, we must first redeploy the troops here. Send some mages to set up alarm spells in the forest and establish a proper border…’

“Captain.”

Nitan whispered, pointing his chin forward.

It was the Forest Village on Denos’ side. As promised, the knights had completely silenced their movements.

Even in the dead of night, the Forest Village was bright.

…Very bright.

One knight groaned. Another knight covered his mouth and scolded him. Nitan understood both of them. What they saw was that shocking.

“Hey! Careful carrying that! If even one sack tears, you’ll get a beating!”

“Is this all the camp has? Hmm, seems a bit short-handed…”

” Are you kidding me? We’re missing siege weapon parts and no one noticed?! Get the men in charge here immediately!”

It was serious.

Chaotic, yet a proper fortification was being built. The number of soldiers wasn’t large yet, but…

‘They gather in an instant.’

‘Damn it. They even have a Knum.’

‘These bastards are really committed…’

The knights groaned as if it were contagious.

Even the knight who had initially silenced his comrade lowered his hand and joined in.

Kaelus didn’t say a word. He didn’t react, didn’t even blink, he simply took in Denos’s camp.

‘Fortunately, they’re still in the construction phase.’

Meaning they hadn’t been building the fortifications for long. But it was clear Denos’s side was preparing for war. And that they planned to cross via the Sea of Trees if necessary.

‘Good thing we discovered this in time.’

He forced himself to think positively and raised his hand to signal.

Or he was about to raise his hand.

“What about the scouts?”

“Not yet.”

“Tsk. Recall them all.”

“But, sir….”

Thud!

“Nothing’s come up for days! Even that hunter who lived here said all the monsters fled when we arrived. As soon as they join us, assign them wherever manpower is needed!“

”Yes… yes!“

Against the backdrop of this pathetic exchange, the knights’ gazes turned toward the darkness of the forest.

Startled by Denos’ military movements, they noticed the approaching presence far too late.

“……”

“……”

The closest knight lunged at the scout like lightning.

It was already too late.

Trembling, the scout clenched the whistle in his teeth and blew with all his might.

Piiiiii

“……Capture them!”

The First Knight Division fled without looking back. Their fatal mistake was being too close to the fortifications. Denos’ knights immediately charged in to join the pursuit.

“There are too many! We’ll be surrounded if this continues!”

“……Head north.”

The further north they went, the wider the Sea of Trees became. Naturally, the quality of the monsters encountered grew more vicious.

But there was no other choice.

No matter how superior the First Knight Division was compared to other knights, they couldn’t win against a large army.

“First, we shake off the pursuit.”

Kaelus changed direction. The dark, pathless forest posed no obstacle to him.

“Captain, seeing you like this, you really do look like an elf……”

“You’re crazy. You’re joking now? …But honestly, I do feel that way.”

“Right?”

Kaelus, who had been advancing silently until now, slowly turned around. His expression conveyed a warning: follow quietly if you don’t want to be left behind.

“……”

“……”

The night and the forest favored no one.

Kaelus threw himself into the shadows of the forest.