Chapter 4 - Outisder (2)

Ggyuk!

After celebrating his victory, Hwid returned to his small form and cuddled up against Jade.

Even though it was now older, it still liked being in Jade's arms.

"This guy."

Hwid was cuddled up against Jade with blood all over, so Jade wiped the stains off with his sleeve.

He knew exactly what Hwid had wanted.

Grrrrr, Grrrrr,

As he had thought, Hwid closed its eyes in bliss and began to purr.

It was savoring Jade's touch.

-Huh?

-What is it?

-I think there are humans nearby.

"Humans?", asked Jade with surprise.

The Great Forest wasn't a place for normal humans to venture into.

As there were monsters like Dire Wolves, one had to have a decent amount of skill to be able to come into the forest.

-Yeah. Let's go! Aren't you curious to find out what kind of humans they are?

Celestine's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

However, Elestra's face was unusual as well.

-I don't think it'll be bad to go. It's not like we have to run into them even if we go.

-Our Jade is quite skilled!

"Let's go.", murmured Jade as he was unable to do anything when Celestine and Elestra became like this.

He honestly lived quite far from other humans, and as his clothes were beginning to wear out, he had to at least go into human territory once in a while.

As for the location, he had long since decided on the place.

-Let's go see, let's go see!

"Alright."

-Yes!!!!

With Jade's approval, Celestine danced around wildly in the air with excitement.

And, seeing this, Hwid also followed suit.

-It mustn't get influenced by her.

"Do your best to watch it for me Elestra."

-Aren't you giving me quite the burden?

"That's how much I trust you."

-Although that makes me happy, why do I feel like I'm on the losing end?

Elestra made a queer expression.

She was happy, yet strangely not.

"What losing end. With our relations.h.i.+p?"

-That's true.

"Let's go."

Jade kicked off the ground as he told the two that were flying around as always.

And, as he did, Jade silently split through the forest.

His speed was light and fast and wasn't far off from an elf's speed and dexterity.

Watching all of this, Elestra made a look of admiration.

'I thought his growth had slowed down.'

Because Jade had grown so quickly these past few years, Elestra had thought Jade was at a standstill.

And it was normal to think that as Jade had absorbed the Gold Drake's heart and attained a high level through body change.

However, Jade was still growing much quicker than normal.

'Maybe he was born with the talent.'

She knew about Jade's ability to read an object's memories and emotions, because he was exploring the Great Forest every day for that specific reason.

But she now thought that skill was much greater than normal.

-There they are! There's a girl with them too! She's considerably beautiful?

As Elestra was lost in her thoughts, the group reached their destination and could see the humans fighting against two Orcs.

"They're Crimson Orcs."

-Was this their territory? I could've sworn it was a bit further in.

"Maybe they want to expand. They can't grow inwards, so they're aiming for the outer parts of the forest. Or, they could have rushed over here after smelling the humans."

-The monsters living in the forest love humans for some reason. I wonder if it's because they don't get to eat them often. But there are plenty of food to eat in the forest.

Gyuu?

As Celestine clicked her tongue, Hwid watched within Jade's arms and tilted its head.

It was surprised to see humans gathered together that looked similar to Jade.

-It seems like they're in the midst of running away. They're not in great condition. Not only that, but two of them don't even know how to fight properly.

"They still have a Master with them. Although his injury seems to be severe."

-That old guy?

"Yeah."

Caressing the top of Hwid's head, Jade stared at the old knight that was swinging a sword around at the front of the group.

His face was pale, but his blade was still fierce and doing better than even the younger knights.

However, there were too many Orcs.

-It looks like they have a story to tell.

Elestra's eyes wandered to the center of the group, where a boy and a girl were standing.

They appeared to be siblings, but seeing as how bad their situation currently was, they both had stiff expressions.

"Gnome."

Having seen this, Jade quickly summoned Gnome.

It was better to use Sylph if he wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation, but he decided to go with Gnome because of the old knight.

No matter how sensitive the old knight was to mana, Jade believed he wouldn't be able to focus on the ground while he was fighting for his life.

-Me too! I want to hear them too!

Celestine approached Jade as she knew what he was planning to do.

And, even Elestra came and took a spot right next to her.

Rustle.

Unable to do anything about the two spirits, Jade summoned another Gnome and connected it to the first.

"Ugh! Leader! There are too many Orcs!"

"We must break through like this! We need to keep them as far apart as possible from Baron Leon's main party!"

"This might be Orc territory, so wouldn't it be better to take a slight detour?"

"We don't have the time to do that! We must break through!"

The old knight spoke firmly.

He had the same thoughts as the other knights, but decisions had to be made based off the situation.

They did not have the ability to turn back.

"Everyone is exhausted, sir!"

"Keuk!"

Furthermore, none of their armors were maintained properly and were full of dents and blood. The armor helplessly became crushed by the Orcs' glaives.

Also, there wasn't a single knight out of the eight people that did not have an injury.

They each had small and big wounds all over their body.

The old knight having it the worst.

"I, I will fight as well!"

"What are you talking about!"

The n.o.ble looking person inside the circle flatly yelled out as his body was shaking.

Although he had never fought with a monster before, he was a boy who had received some training with the sword.

Of course, he normally didn't like to fight, but the situation right now called for action.

However, the older looking female firmly grabbed the boy's shoulders.

"I must help them!

"I'm sorry to say this, but you will only be a burden if you go out there! Just hold still for now!"

"B, but!"

The boy bit his lip as his sister strongly dissuaded him.

He was struggling to just sit there and be protected, but his sister's words weren't wrong.

As he had no experience with real battles, he would just become a burden to the other knights.

"Please do not worry! We will handle this swiftly!"

"Lord Heinze!"

Even though he was heavily injured, the old knight continued to fight at the fore front. He looked as if the lady of virtue was going to appear at any moment.

The girl did not cry or make a sound as she knew exactly what state the old knight was in.

It was all in order to show a strong front in front of her little brother.

"Th, there are more Orcs coming!"

"Wh, what?"

The girl's face became pale.

A few dozen orcs could be seen in the distance with a cloud of dust rising up into the air.

"s.h.i.+t!"

"Is this why they call this place the Forest of Monsters….."

"I heard this place wasn't for the like of humans…."

Same as the n.o.ble girl, the knights' faces also became pale.

They were already struggling with the Orcs in front of them, but if 50 more of them were to join…

"Get a hold of yourselves!"

At that moment, Heinze, the old night scolded the knights.

He was the only one who had not given up.

Oong oong oong!

At the same time, a Master's symbolic attack 'Aura Blade" surged forth.

The color of the Aura Blade was as white as the old knight's hair, as it lit up the sky and instantly tore apart the nearby Orcs.

"Cough!"

Blood spurted out from Heinze's mouth.

The already injured organs became more damaged as the old knight overused his mana.

However, he didn't stop swinging his sword.

'I must do whatever I can to open up a path!'

Even if he and the knights were to die here, he had to save the two kids no matter what.

That's why Heinze clenched his jaw.

'Even if I die, I will die in the realm of the Kingdom of Arhan!'

The Orcs that were rus.h.i.+ng forward momentarily flinched, as they felt the murderous intent exuding from Heinze.

Even though they were known to be fearless, they were currently frozen stiff.

Completed - Chapter 4 (2)