TCIWTFY - Part 2 Chapter 98

The pitch-black forest.

The expedition team was overwhelmed by the towering trees that reached endlessly into the sky.

It was as dark as night during the day, and every time a man on horseback exhaled, the sounds of unidentifiable things followed from not far away.

Medea remembered the time, a long time ago, when she had first set foot in this forest.

There was a time when she held her young son in her arms and tried to walk as if nothing had happened.

However, even though the terrain was more rugged and rough now than then, she was not afraid.

Maybe it's because she doesn't feel as alone as she did then.

"Have you seen my slashing? Have you seen my incredible reflexes that hit the mark even from the corner of your eye?"

Tom shouted triumphantly over the falling hobgoblin's corpse.

The Pitch Black Forest did not welcome the strangers who had come in after a long time. Just a moment ago, they had encountered a group of hobgoblins.

Hobgoblins were superior beings, much larger and stronger than goblins.

"If it were a continent, I would only be able to see it when a wave occurs, but here, the only thing that catches my eye is a hobgoblin!"

However, no one was surprised, perhaps because those passing through this forest had been through so many hardships.

Tom's voice was also quite bright.

"Maybe I was actually suited for this? Isn't it much more fun than just being cool and using swordsmanship?"

He felt a free joy in swinging her sword as she pleased, drawing various trajectories.

"Tom, let's go that way. If you lose your mind and blood splashes on Her Highness..."

Die. Between the words that Neril swallowed.

Rustle.

A silver trail cut cleanly through the hobgoblin, and long, outstretched legs kicked the blood-spurting corpse.

None of it could reach Medea.

Neril stayed by Medea's side like a hunting dog guarding a lamb.

"Ha, I see why it's called the Pitch-Black Forest. It must be my imagination that they're all clinging to me and blocking my view."

Meanwhile, Gallo, who was walking at the front of the group, kept grumbling.

Yet, he did not miss a single one of the winged bat demons approaching him with the twin axes he held on both sides.

Crunch, rustling.

As he walked between the falling demons, who had been cut in two in the blink of an eye, grumbling, Gallo looked like a giant iron ball made of human flesh.

Tom exclaimed in admiration.

"Wow, the fake Facade head wasn't something learned by working for it either..."

"You little punk, what are you talking about?"

"No. I'm just a regular loafer. I think you're just a face for public appearances."

"Well, I won't deny that I definitely stand out in terms of looks."

"... Where do you get the confidence to truly think that way, even after seeing your 

boss's face?"

"What the heck, you little brat?"

Gallo and Tom bickered incessantly.

However, perhaps because they had quite similar personalities, they were the two who became close friends the fastest among Medea and Cesare's subordinates.

Tom was the only one who responded to Gallo's constant nonsense, and so was the other way around.

On the other hand, Terence, with a tired expression, was wearing a robe pulled down low.

As a wizard from the Magic Tower, he was dynamic even in the forest and rarely left his work to the subordinates of Gallo or Cesare.

Occasionally, when his turn came, he would take out a long, sharp, and delicate sword, seemingly to prevent the blood and dirt of the demons from splashing as much as possible.

Terence's standards for cleanliness were quite unusual, so much so that he would put a cleansing spell on his robes every night before going to bed.

"Brother, what's the use of continuing to cast cleansing magic in a forest full of demons? That's why the dark circles under your eyes are getting darker."

Gallo shook his head, pointing to the darkened area under Terence's eyes, as if he was tired of being a neat freak.

"Shut up. I'm self-sufficient. And I've had these eyes since I was born."

Terence's pockets were full of small magic stones he had extracted from the corpses of hobgoblins.

Cleansing magic isn't a particularly expensive spell, so it's unlikely that Terence will get dirty again until the expedition is over.

"How on earth can you survive a continental war when you can't even get magic stones?"

"All of you,stop."

At that moment, the group stops at Medea's command. No demons were emerging, and the path before them was ordinary.

"Your Highness?"

"Why are you like that? Nothing..."

Gallo shut his mouth at Medea's gaze. It was because he realized that her green eyes were looking somewhere other than him.

Bam.

Medea got off her horse and stamped her feet.

Again, thump, thump.

A slow, regular beat shook the ground faintly. Medea suddenly took something out and sprinkled it over the area.

That is the item that she obtained from the village...

Neriel recognized the scattered grey lime dust, but the rest of the party was just bewildered.

"Why is her Highness acting like that..."

"Shh..."

At that moment, the ground gave way. At the same time, several thin, huge raccoons shot up onto the road.

"Heeheeheung-! Heeheeheung!"

The surprised horses retreated.

"It's a sand squirrel!"

The expedition team quickly rushed in after discovering the hidden predators.

The sand squirrel was a beast that had the habit of hiding in sand swamps and pouncing on its prey.

They were so long and huge that each one could easily carry two carriages.

Hundreds of sharp legs moved in unison, making a squeaking sound as if scraping skin.

"Gallo, the shell is thick, so don't aim for the front, aim for the joints."

"Yes? Yes!"

He thought, "How could Her Highness the Princess do that..?" but Gallo's body moved first.

A moment later, the expedition team stood beside a mountain of sand dunes filled with the corpses of the squirrels.

"It is as Her Highness the Princess said. These guys' shells are as hard as iron."

When Alpha hit the civet, a loud thud was heard instead.

All of the dead sand raccoons had their delicate joints cut or pierced.

If they had continued on this path, they would have fallen into that quicksand, and would have been stuck in that steel shell, helpless and becoming food for them.

'But really, I didn't feel anything special.'

Having been on numerous battlefields, Gallo prided himself on having an intuition for sensing danger that was second to none.

How could he have been so unaware?

Even Tom's face became chills to the point where he lost his sense of humor. This place was truly dangerous.

Its notoriety as the Forest of Death was no exaggeration.

"The pitch-black forest isn't just dangerous to demons. With the human presence gone, the forest itself has become easy prey for predators. Like a giant trap."

At that moment, a calm voice rang out to comfort the surprised people.

"But the older the trap, the more its structure doesn't change. If you know that, it's not hard to avoid, so don't be too nervous."

Although he knew that Medea's words were meant as a gesture of kindness to comfort the group, Gallo's expression only grew more confused.

'Then how does Your Highness know about this trap?'

Then, suddenly, he realized.

It's been several days since he came into this forest.

"You're hurt. Apply this to neutralize the poison, or your skin will rot."

Give the crushed herb to Beta who was scratched by the shadow rat's claws.

"This is not the way, you have to go a little further north."

"Make sure the horses only eat grass with patterns like this."

"Soak a stick in the water before you scoop it up. If nothing happens, you can drink it."

While they were busy adjusting to the unfamiliar forest environment, the real leader of the group underwater was none other than Princess Medea.

"..."

Isn't it strange?

How does a young Princess who has never left Valdina know the Pitch Black Forest so well?

This land of death does not match her fragile and beautiful appearance at all.

She seemed to know where and what would appear.

'As if she had experienced it herself.'

Neril also came to mind.

"Gallo, the shell is thick, so don't aim for the front, aim for the joints."

"Attack the stomach below the chest! That's the weak point!"

Last time, it was she, Medea, who had told him the weakness of the bat demon that appeared in the Strait of Valdina.

"...Your Highness."

Medea glanced at the quicksand, as if she didn't feel the unresolved confusion and questioning stares.

"We need to go to higher ground. It's dangerous to stay here any longer."

Then he bent down to check the veins of the leaves of the bush, then turned around.

"There's no time. The sun will set soon."

There was no hesitation in the steps she took on the unfamiliar road.

As if she knew a shortcut.

***

The stew was bubbling away.

Crackle, crackle.

There was the crackling sound of a campfire.

"..."

Today's dinner duty was Neril and Gamma.

But Neriel was also lost in thought, and almost threw the unwashed dirt carrots into the pot, but Gamma barely noticed and stopped her.

"Please eat."

Among the expedition members gathered for dinner, the only sound was the quiet, unusual for the usual, slurping of stew.

Medea also knew that it was her who was the cause, but she pretended not to know and played with her spoon.

What was she going to say?

She can't tell them the truth, so how can they believe her?

She's already been through this whole expedition in her past life, died miserably, and been resurrected?

"Have you ever experienced the power of God? Have you ever seen a horizon somewhere that no one can see or experience?"

Medea let out a hollow laugh as she recalled the words of the old man she had met in the Swamp of Gluttony Village.

'Yes, it must be the power of God that gave me a second life.'

A Miracle granted by the goddess who took pity on her.

But the goddess' favor ended there. She did not forgive anyone who attempted to harm her Saintess.

If she looks at it, Medea is trying to punish her by making herself a sacrifice for the oracle for targeting Rachel.

Medea swallowed her laughter again.

Without noticing the golden gaze glancing at her in silent self-mockery.

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