Chapter 148 - Cataclysm (3)

The Imperial Army was also completely unable to understand what the Third Imperial Prince was thinking.

The foolish Imperial Prince was immensely satisfied with the minor achievement of using the dense trees of the sea of trees to block the Wyvern attacks. He acted as if all other matters were completely beneath his notice.

For the commanders of the Imperial Army, who believed it was most advantageous to escape the sea of trees as quickly as possible and occupy Dotrin, it was simply incomprehensible.

"Does His Highness even realize that we are the ones on an expedition! Dragging for time like this will bring no benefit to our forces!"

"The war will only end if we move forward; at this rate, we are just giving Dotrin time."

The commanders poured out their lamentations.

Rumors were even spreading that the Third Imperial Prince was too terrified of Dotrin's Wyverns targeting him to step out from beneath the dense trees.

And this was coming from a man who had built a human barricade utilizing the imperial family's Paladins, hundreds of knights, and even mages.

With such rumors spreading throughout the camp, the morale of the soldiers could not possibly be good.

They were utterly exhausted by the sweltering weather and the stifling life in the forest, and they were unable to sleep at night due to the occasional sound of Wyvern wings flapping and roaring.

Amidst all this, ominous rumors were also spreading.

People said they heard strange sounds in the forest. Someone on guard duty claimed to have seen a tree move. Another person reportedly encountered a bizarre entity that was neither beast nor human.

They were the kind of ghost stories one would expect in a sea of trees filled with massive, ancient trees of unknown age.

In reality, a unit that had gone out on reconnaissance had discovered a horrifyingly mangled beast, and they had also found a corpse completely dried up as if all the blood in its body had been drained.

Now, exhaustion was not the problem.

The intangible ghost stories turned into terror and spread like an epidemic.

The soldiers feared even going out on reconnaissance, and they began to avoid standing guard in the dead of night.

That day was no different.

Soldiers who had tried desperately to be excluded from the reconnaissance mission were pushed by the pressure of their commanders and separated from the main unit.

"Ugh. It really feels like someone is watching us."

They shuddered in disgust as they walked through the sunless forest.

"There's really nothing out there, right? It's all just baseless rumors, isn't it?"

When a small-framed soldier spoke with a trembling voice, a solidly built soldier beside him snorted.

"The main unit alone has fifty thousand men, and just the forces deployed for today's reconnaissance operation number two thousand. Even if there is something, it won't dare come out. It'd die if it did."

"Right? But why is it so creepy?"

"For a man, you sure are a coward."

The large soldier said that and strode through the forest.

Then, he spotted a bizarrely shaped tree and stopped.

"Oh. This really looks like a human face. It's obvious what those bastards who went on reconnaissance saw to get so startled."

Saying so, the soldier tapped the massive tree, which had creases resembling the face of a crying person.

"Hey, hey. Don't do that. That gives me a bad feeling for some reason."

The more the other soldier tried to stop him, the rougher he knocked on the tree.

"Dude. It's just a tree. What's so scary about this little thing."

The soldier even went as far as drawing his sword and scratching the tree here and there.

"See? Nothing happened, right? So don't be a cowar—"

The soldier, who had been speaking arrogantly, flinched and shut his mouth.

It felt as though something had touched his shoulder.

Rolling his eyes, the soldier freaked out upon seeing something white.

"Hiiiik!"

The large soldier fell flat on his butt.

In front of him, a droopy bush could be seen hanging between the branches of the massive tree.

The surrounding soldiers laughed hysterically and mocked him.

"You bastards. I just tripped over my own feet and fell."

The soldier got up with an awkward expression, making a lame excuse.

Then, he suddenly realized his comrades were staring at him with stiff faces.

"Behind you..."

"I'm not falling for it. You bastards. Who do you really take me for, a coward?"

"No, it's not that! Behind you!"

The soldier snorted.

But that only lasted a moment, as he completely froze at the bizarre chill.

The soldier's head turned with a creak.

The massive tree that had been a few steps away just moments ago was somehow right in front of his nose.

"Why is this here..."

SQUELCH.

Before the soldier could even finish speaking, a macabre sound was heard.

The soldier looked down at his chest with a blank face.

A single tree branch was piercing right through his chest.

"Huh?"

Letting out a dumbfounded sound, the soldier looked up at the tree.

The tree that had been making a crying face was now smiling, its mouth stretched wide open.

CRUNCH.

Dozens of tree branches pierced the soldier's body.

The soldier's feet were lifted off the ground.

Even though his entire body had been impaled like that, no blood flowed.

GLUG, GLUG.

The branches that penetrated his body were ravenously sucking up the soldier's blood.

The soldiers of the reconnaissance unit screamed and turned around.

But they could not escape.

The massive trees that had been sparsely distributed just moments ago were now densely packed together, surrounding them.

There wasn't the slightest gap to slip out through.

Tree roots writhing like snakes snatched the soldiers' ankles. Skewer-like branches impaled the soldiers' bodies.

"This is a dream. Right. It's a dream... Hehe."

A soldier who had lost his mind collapsed and giggled.

A branch crept up and pierced the soldier's throat.

As if he couldn't even feel the pain, the soldier continued to laugh.

The soldier's laughter dried up. It soon turned into a deflating sound. Even that was soon no longer heard.

GLUG, GLUG.

A quiet breath, and only the sound of the greedy massive trees dining echoed out.

Similar events occurred all over the sea of trees.

One reconnaissance unit was ambushed by the trees, while another walked through the shaded forest only to be sucked straight into the darkness. And another unit was torn to pieces by some unknown beast that suddenly lunged at them, turning into corpses.

In this way, the entire forest threw a party using the reconnaissance units.

There were only about a dozen survivors.

"T-There are monsters in the forest!"

The terrified survivors reported the situation.

The commanders shouted and reprimanded the deranged soldiers. Meanwhile, they urgently dispatched knights to assess the situation.

The knights returned.

The faces of the brave knights were as pale as a sheet of white paper.

One of the knights suddenly held out something.

It was a completely dried-out tree branch that could be found anywhere.

Except for the fact that it was wriggling and moving.

"Things like this are everywhere."

The knights spoke in stiff voices.

The nobles of the command sought out the Third Imperial Prince.

And they reported.

"The forest has changed."

They said the entire forest was attacking the Imperial Army. That unknown monsters were everywhere.

With a deathly pale face, the Third Imperial Prince dismissed it, saying such trifling monsters could be dealt with by deploying knights and mages.

He then ordered one knight order and three mages to be dispatched to ascertain the situation in the forest.

"The night is deep. When day breaks, it would be best to add more troops and investigate the situation then."

Wandering the sea of trees in the dead of night was not an easy task, even for knights and mages. The commanders objected, but the Third Imperial Prince did not listen.

He looked as if he couldn't endure the fact that he was in the middle of monsters.

"The moon is full. Knights should be more than capable of completing the mission relying on the moonlight."

Claiming that today was a full moon and the forest wouldn't be that dark, the Third Imperial Prince drove the knights and mages into the dark forest.

And as soon as the knights left the main unit, the darkness of the sea of trees swallowed them whole.

AWOOOOOOOOO!

A wolf's howl could be heard from afar.

It was several times more macabre and ferocious than that of a normal wolf.

Just before dawn broke, the knights and mages who had entered the sea of trees on the reconnaissance mission returned.

However, the number of the reconnaissance unit, which had totaled one hundred and three, had severely dwindled. Thirty knights and all the mages had not returned at all.

The surviving knights were also in poor condition, scratched here and there with chunks of flesh gouged out.

"W-We were ambushed."

"By what, for god's sake!"

To the commanders' question, the knight replied incoherently.

"T-Things that were neither human nor wolf, bizarre things..."

At those words, one of the mages who had remained in the camp interjected and asked.

"By any chance, did the monsters' wounds heal rapidly even when slashed by swords?"

"That's right! I definitely slashed its chest, to the point where bone was visible. But after a little while, not even a scar remained."

At the knight's words, the mage let out a groan.

The commanders pressed the mage, asking if he knew something.

"I cannot be certain, but I have seen stories about such things in an ancient text before."

"If it's an ancient text..."

"It is a rare item that has reached the present day by being repeatedly transcribed from a Legacy over 400 years old."

"Boast about your precious book somewhere else, and just tell us what it is."

Under the commanders' badgering, the mage abruptly asked if anyone had an item made of silver. One of the nobles took out the silver brooch fastening his cloak and handed it over.

The mage called one of the injured knights and stood him in front.

He then pricked the knight's forearm with the pin of the silver brooch.

It was just a thin pin at best, nothing compared to the critical injuries he had already sustained. Not to mention, he was a knight with exceptional resistance to pain.

"Guaaaagh!"

Yet, the knight let out a terrible scream, unable to bear that tiny wound.

"Tsk. Making such a fuss over a small wound like this is exactly why our allied knights lose to the scums of Dotrin every time."

The Third Imperial Prince clicked his tongue. The knights' faces contorted.

However, neither the knights nor the commanders could argue against the Third Imperial Prince's absurd remark.

WHOOSH.

It was because the knight's forearm had unexpectedly caught on fire. The startled other knights rushed in to put out the flames, but the mage shouted in a sharp voice.

"Leave him be! He is already no longer human!"

The knights, who were already in a foul mood due to the Third Imperial Prince's remark, immediately confronted the mage with menacing expressions.

"Are you saying a knight who failed a mission isn't even human!"

"How can you act so cold-bloodedly when seeing an ally writhing in agony!"

Instead of replying to each of the knights' protests, the mage turned around and spoke to the Third Imperial Prince.

"The ancient text says that there is a terrible plague that spreads only under the full moon, and that those suffering from this disease will catch on fire if a silver object touches their body."

The Third Imperial Prince freaked out at the mention of a plague.

"A plague! W-What kind of disease is that!"

"This disease, called the Fever of the Full Moon, is..."

The knight, who had been incessantly screaming in pain, abruptly stopped his screaming.

GRRR.

What leaked through his teeth instead of a scream was an ugly growl like that of a beast.

"In other words, it is also known as the Curse of the Lycanthrope."

As soon as the mage finished speaking, the knight's body contorted and began to shed its human form.

And he soon transformed into something that was neither human nor wolf.

The horrified knights aimed their swords at the thing that was once their comrade but had now become a monster.

But before the knights could even thrust their swords, and before that bizarre form could even be completed...

The knight became wedged inside the armor surrounding his body and died twisting this way and that.

That was just the beginning.

"Kehk!"

At that moment, the knights of the reconnaissance unit who had returned alive began to mutate one after another.

And most of them, trapped inside their armor like that first knight, died vomiting blood with twisted bodies.

"Most succumb to the curse and die. However, if there are some who are lucky enough to overcome the curse..."

Amidst the horrific scene unfolding, the mage's somewhat excited voice lacked any sense of reality to a sickening degree.

The mage raised a finger and pointed at a knight.

RIP.

The sturdy straps fastening the iron armor tore away, and the armor plummeted to the ground. Soon after, the monster that had cast off everything it had worn during its human days let out a long howl.

AWOOOOOOOOO!

It was a beast and a human at the same time, while being neither human nor beast.

"They become half-human, half-beast (半人半獸) like that."

As soon as the mage finished speaking, the Third Imperial Prince shrieked as if having a seizure.

"K-Kill it immediately! I said kill it!"

A Paladin stepped forward and struck off the monster's head in an instant.

TWITCH.

Seeing the monster's body continuing to tremble for a long time even after its head was blown off, everyone shuddered.

"W-What. It's nothing special."

Even amid all this, the Third Imperial Prince put on a brave front.

But the Third Imperial Prince's bravado did not last long.

AWOOOOOOOOO!

AWOOOO!

As if answering the roar of the half-human, half-beast that had just died, the howling of wolves could be heard.

From the entire forest, from every direction.

It was as if the forest itself was howling.

The knights gripped their swords and glared in all directions. Terrified, the Third Imperial Prince hid behind the Paladins.

Seeing them, the mage, who had been about to recite the final passage of the ancient text, flinched and shut his mouth.

「The malignant deities of the full moon are warriors who serve the Lord of Plagues, so if you see them, beware of their king.」

If he were to mention the Lord of Plagues right now, the terrified Third Imperial Prince would undoubtedly push the knights and mages out, demanding they bring back that king's head immediately. And there was a high probability that he himself would be included among the mages driven into the sea of trees.

The mage kept his mouth tightly shut.

Because he didn't want to die because of a foolish imperial prince.

* * *

One of the Azure Sky Knights who had gone out on reconnaissance returned and reported that a commotion had broken out where the Imperial Army's main unit was located.

Regarding this, Dotrin's command staff debated heatedly.

Some speculated that internal strife had broken out among the loosely unified imperial princes, while others guessed that the completely exhausted imperial soldiers were attempting to desert. Still others said that surviving Dotrin knights and soldiers might be fighting there.

Whatever it was, it was clear that something was happening inside the sea of trees.

One hasty commander proposed a large-scale surprise attack.

The Commander pondered seriously.

But in the end, he could not make a decision.

It was because just as some unknown event had befallen the Imperial Army, something had also happened to the Dotrin Kingdom's army.

The first to notice the anomaly were the Wyverns.

The Wyverns that had been flying high above the sea of trees landed on the ground all at once. The Wyverns that were just flapping their wings to take off folded them back and lowered their bodies.

No matter how hard the Wyvern Riders tried to move them, they wouldn't budge.

The Wyverns glared into the air with their bodies pressed flat against the ground. Then, they cried out sharply, *KYAAK, KYAAK*.

It was an intimidating posture, as if they were on the verge of a battle.

Just as the Wyvern Riders, who had tried coaxing and soothing them, were finding themselves deeply troubled by this sudden disturbance...

AAAAAAAAAH.

Something let out a long cry.

Too clear to be called a roar, and too mighty to be called anything else.

The Wyvern Riders looked up at the sky with stiffened faces.

A massive lifeform was flying above their heads.

Its outstretched neck was arrogant, and its raised chin was as elegant as a noble lady's.

Its beautiful fuselage, covered in brilliant scales as if embedded with tens of thousands of rubies, was so resplendent it seemed out of this world,

and its membranous wings were more graceful than the meticulously embroidered sails of a massive warship crafted by master artisans.

Like the king of the world.

It was a massive Fire Dragon (火龍).