< Chapter 6 - The Witch's Forest #2 >
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The Witch’s Forest.
Its official name was Trefalgar Forest, and it was an area belonging to the Northern Viscounty located in the northwest of Langest.
‘There’s no one in particular who manages it.’
The forest was a more important place than you might imagine, as it was a place where you could get food and even firewood.
Because of this, most lords employed forest keepers to manage the forests within their domains, but Trefalgar Forest was little more than a half-abandoned forest.
‘Because a monster appears.’
Although beasts and monsters like bears and wild boars were equally dangerous, there was a clear difference between the two.
‘Honoring towards humanity.’
Most monsters hated humans.
It was more of an instinctive hostility than any particular reason.
Moreover, most monsters were smarter than common beasts.
Even goblins, the epitome of weak monsters that can be found anywhere on the continent, were known to be clever and use their brains to form groups, set traps, and launch surprise attacks.
It’s okay until the outskirts of Trefalgar Forest.
But it is dangerous to go deep into the place called the Witch’s Forest.
“Honestly, I don’t feel like it.”
Sir Seorn, a knight of the House of Hresvelg, frowned when he heard the story of going through the Witch’s Forest.
Now in his early thirties, he was the strongest and highest ranking knight in Lucas’s escort, and as they were heading to the County of Hresvelg, he was effectively leading the escort of three counties.
If he was against it, then it would be impossible for Lucas to go through the Witch’s Forest, no matter how much he wanted to.
Lucas was merely a subject of Sir Seorn’s escort, not his master, Count Hresvelg.
“Sir Seorn, but······.”
“Yes, I know. If the Fairy Queen said I had to stop by, then there must be a good reason.”
As Seorun Kyung spoke with a bitter smile, Lucas’ fidgety face brightened up a little.
“Sir Seorn, then······.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go through. But there’s a condition.”
“condition?”
“You should not stand in the lead. Basically, you should keep in mind that Your Majesty is the object of escort. Do you understand?”
“···okay.”
When Lucas reluctantly answered, Sir Seorn snickered and moved his face a little closer to continue speaking.
“And there is one more condition.”
“also?”
“Yes, please protect the daughter of the Count Chase family as a brave and honorable knight. Oh, and of course, you must not usurp Prince Yuder’s role too much. Do you understand?”
Lucas’ face brightened up immediately when she gave him a small wink at the end.
“Okay, I promise.”
“I will believe you, my lord.”
Sir Seorn patted Lucas on the shoulder as if he was talking to his younger brother, then straightened his lowered posture, and Lucas turned around with a bright smile before quickly running towards Uther and Cordelia who were standing over there.
“Even the way you run looks so cheerful.”
When Sir Silion, the blond knight and aide to Lord Seorn, frowned and spoke, Lord Seorn smiled bitterly and replied.
“You’re at that age.”
“Well, I killed my first person when I was fifteen, but my first time was even younger.”
“If you want to compete with misfortune, then I’m willing to do it.”
As Sir Seorn, a former mercenary, shrugged and turned to Sir Silion, she glanced away and continued speaking.
“I’m saying this because I’m worried.”
“I know, you may be speaking harshly, but I know you care for Master Lucas just like us.”
If Cordelia was the youngest child of the family loved by all of the Counts of Chase, Lucas was a childless young man who had finally appeared in the Hresvelg Counts’ house, who had not had any news of a child for a long time, and who was also born with incredible talent for the sword.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that there was no one among Hresvelgh’s people who did not cherish and love Lucas.
“Isn’t it nice to make friends your own age?”
“What if it becomes a sticky love triangle?”
“Well, our master is quite attractive.”
It was Sir Seoren who started talking nonsense, but from the beginning, they were knights from the County of Hresvelg, which was a gathering of similar people.
Silion also nodded with a serious face and looked at the three men and women of the Count’s family whom he liked brightly.
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As the journey that began with a brief visit to Langeste changed into a journey to the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Cailun, there were also significant changes in the composition of the escort team.
First of all, Maia, the exclusive maid of Yuder’s party, is missing.
“If possible, I would like to go together······.”
“No, go home, Maia. Your skin is already this rough.”
“Your Majesty, you too.”
Maia eventually gave in and returned to Count Bayer with Gale as per Uther’s wishes.
‘Because it’s too dangerous.’
It wasn’t just the Witch’s Forest.
Since they were planning to follow the flow of the main story, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the path ahead for the party was full of thorns.
It was difficult for Maia, who was not even a knight, to join.
‘Should I see the rest as numerical reinforcement?’
There are three knights from the Count Bayer family, and one servant to do various chores.
Three knights from the Chase Counts’ house, including Dahlia.
Five knights of the Count Hresvelg family, and two knights-in-waiting.
Usually, one knight was compared to ten infantrymen, so in terms of combat power, it was a powerful escort force of over a hundred infantrymen.
“We plan to use the carriage until near the Northern Territory, and then walk from Trefalgar Forest. We will send the carriage separately to the Northern Territory.”
“After our adventure, I must pay my respects to the Viscount Northern.”
“Yes, I stopped by when I came here. He is a kind and nice person.”
There was no northern lord who would sit still as the children of the twelve northern families passed by.
Of course, the children of the twelve families also had to meet the lord out of courtesy, unless it was really urgent.
‘It’s blatantly emphasizing adventure.’
Cordelia, who was quietly watching Uther, who was agreeing with Lucas, who was explaining the schedule with a bright face, narrowed her eyes.
Should I say that my suspicions about Outboxer009’s profession are growing deeper day by day?
‘Well, I’m an accomplice now.’
Cordelia pursed her lips once, then smiled brightly and began providing support.
“It’s a little scary because monsters might appear… but I feel reassured because I know that Prince Yuder and Prince Lucas are here.”
“Hahaha, don’t worry. I won’t let you touch Miss Cordelia even a single finger.”
‘Well, didn’t you see Cordelia fight Minos?’
Of course, even then, Cordelia only provided support from the rear.
After swallowing a few doubts, Yuder took a deep breath and began to talk about what he really needed to say.
“Prince Lucas, it is very important to gather information before going on an adventure. We need to know where we are going, what kind of place it is, what kind of enemies we will encounter, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.”
As much as he had tried hard to coax Lucas, Yuder felt a sense of responsibility towards him.
Even though he was a genius with the sword, he was still a young and naive boy of sixteen.
“Well, that’s how I learned it too.”
A similar passage appeared in the Biltwein Heroes Chronicles.
Uther turned to Cordelia and continued speaking.
“A poor witch’s soul is sealed in the Witch’s Forest. The evil beings are oppressing her soul. The Fairy Queen would like us to free her.”
“That kind of anecdote······.”
Lucas let out a natural exclamation of admiration, as if he was being sucked into a story that seemed like it came straight out of a heroic tale.
And the story now turned out to be absolutely true.
While listening to Uther’s story, Cordelia thought back for a moment to her own – Cordelia’s main story.
‘So, I was definitely kidnapped and ran away······.’
Taking advantage of a gap in the Devil’s Hand’s surveillance, Cordelia desperately escapes and ends up wandering through Trefalgar Forest.
Pursued by the monsters that inhabit the forest as well as the pursuers of the Devil’s Hand, Cordelia comes close to death several times, and when both her body and mind are at their limits, she hears the witch’s voice.
‘You were definitely Asmodeus’ lackey, weren’t you?’
Asmodeus, the overlord of lust and one of the five great demons residing in Hell.
As one of the great enemies of the entire Heroes series, he was the greatest of the great demons and could only be faced in Heroes 3.
Anyway, to summarize, it was as follows.
The witch’s soul is sealed, and the seal is guarded by the ‘White-Eyed Demon’, an underling of Asmodeus.
‘Unseal the seal according to the guidance of the witch’s spirit, and the liberated witch’s spirit deals with the demon. After everything is over, Cordelia gains the witch’s power from the witch’s spirit.’
Although she wasn’t at the level of having memorized every word like Uther, Cordelia also had a good grasp of the game’s story.
‘But you still have to be careful.’
In any case, the battle with the monsters itself was unavoidable, and since this was reality and not a game, there were many variables that could have arisen.
Cordelia clenched her fists as she watched Lucas listening to Uther’s story with the aforementioned expression on his face.
‘I will protect you, sister.’
It was Cordelia who felt as much responsibility towards Lucas as Yuder.
“Really, I’m looking forward to it.”
Lucas smiled innocently, and Uther and Cordelia looked at each other, exchanging glances that were a mixture of guilt and responsibility.
&
The journey to Trefalgar Forest was smooth, and nothing much had changed after entering the Witch’s Forest.
“Uh… It’s a little… different from what I imagined.”
As Lucas spoke in a small voice, Uther and Cordelia exchanged bitter smiles.
Because the thrilling adventure Lucas imagined and the current situation couldn’t be the same.
‘There are eleven knights.’
If you include the bell ringer, there are a whopping fourteen.
Whether it’s a beast or a monster, it’s natural that they have a basic head.
It was rare for a man to be so foolish and reckless as to rush in first when fourteen armed men were advancing with their lives in full force.
Very occasionally, unlucky or stupid forest goblin-like creatures would show up, but they would be quickly slaughtered.
‘It’s peaceful.’
In the original Cordelia story, the forest was nothing but hell.
Cordelia was a wreck, running away while exhausted and injured.
Even a single goblin could threaten your life, so you couldn’t help but feel tense to the point where your heart would shrink at the slightest sound or the slightest glimpse of a shadow.
But now.
“Ugh··· ugh······.”
Uder unconsciously opened his eyes wide at the sight of Cordelia fidgeting and clenching her fists, and whispered in her ear.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Does it hurt somewhere?”
Cordelia frowned at Uther’s question and answered in the same whisper.
“Something, something is missing.”
It was an extremely ambiguous explanation, but Yuder understood.
‘It’s just frustration.’
It must be annoying to just watch the hunter come to the hunting grounds and hunt.
‘Well, it’s a bit new, but I guess this guy isn’t normal either.’
“What, what are you thinking about? Did you have a strange thought?”
“No, not really. Just stay still.”
“huh?”
“Stay still.”
As Cordelia paused, tilting her head, Uther untied the rope he was wearing around his waist, wrapped it around Cordelia’s waist, and held the end tightly.
“What are you doing?”
“If it suddenly jumps out, I’ll catch it. It can’t bite just anyone.”
“Should I ask you first?”
It was when Cordelia growled like a dog.
“Prince Yuder? What’s wrong? Why is there something on Miss Cordelia’s waist······.”
“The fog is getting thicker. If your vision is blocked, you might get lost, so we’re keeping you connected like this. If it’s okay, would you like to join us, Prince Lucas?”
“Oh… I see. Yes, I will tie it up too.”
As Lucas nodded and approached, Yuder quickly tied the rope around his own waist and handed the remaining string to Lucas.
And Cordelia, who was quietly watching the scene, thought.
‘Is it true?’
The reason for tying the string.
I think I’ve heard stories about people tying ropes to each other when climbing places like Seolsan Mountain.
In the original, Cordelia was alone, but not anymore.
‘The fog is really thick.’
At first, the fog had only reached around my ankles, but it had now risen up to my waist.
And then finally the fog rose overhead.
“for a moment.”
When Yuder, who was in the middle, suddenly stopped, not only Lucas, who was ahead, but even Cordelia had no choice but to stop.
Cordelia, who had been walking behind him without thinking and bumped her forehead against Uther’s back, asked while caressing her forehead.
“why?”
“The soil has changed.”
“what?”
That was it. Instead of answering, Uder sat down and touched the dirt, then looked back and forth between Lucas and Cordelia, who had come closer, and explained.
“The soil is different. It smells different, the particle size is different, and the composition is different from the soil in Trefalgar Forest.”
Lucas blinked at the sudden story, and Cordelia did the same, crouching down and feeling the dirt, but she couldn’t find anything.
To begin with, I didn’t even know what the soil in Trefalgar Forest was like.
“Dahlia! Jun!”
Yuder suddenly shouted loudly, but there was no answer.
Lucas, who was startled, also called out the names of Seilun and Silion, but it was the same.
And Cordelia realized.
‘I lost my mind.’
I hadn’t thought about the escort knights until Uther shouted.
I just walked without thinking even though they weren’t in my sight.
‘Barrier.’
An independent space, just like the dungeon book.
The story fit together.
Knights who suddenly disappeared.
The composition of the soil is completely different.
If they hadn’t tied each other with rope, Lucas, as well as Uther and Cordelia, would have scattered.
Cordelia quickly looked back at Uther, and he nodded.
‘The boundary is right.’
It was similar to the original, but different.
In the original, Cordelia was alone and wandering through the forest, so she couldn’t even tell if there was a barrier or not.
But they weren’t a group. They were moving straight toward their destination without wandering around the forest.
That’s where the difference comes from.
And perhaps the butterfly effect of stopping the devil’s hand.
“Prince Yuder? Miss Cordelia?”
When Lucas asked with a nervous face, Yuder took a deep breath and stood up.
Since he had already entered the barrier, he untied the rope that was tying his waist and spoke to Lucas.
“Prince Lucas.”
“Yes, Prince Yude.”
“It seems like the real adventure has begun.”
A true adventure where the outcome and process are unknown.
Lucas’ face showed tension and anxiety, along with an unmistakable thrill and anticipation, all at the same time, while Uther and Cordelia looked at each other.
We prepared for battle with a sense of concern and responsibility.
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< Chapter 6 - The Witch's Forest #2 > End
