Chapter 235: Reinforcements Arrive, Into Battle (1/2)
Chapter 235: Reinforcements Arrive, Into Battle
The Southam Demon Forest, also known as the Devil Forest, was located beyond the southernmost tip of the Kingdom of Eiche and home to many ancient demonic beasts.
To get to the Southam Demon Forest, one had to travel through the Deerhorn Mountain Range and the territory of House Tully.
In a certain mountain of the Deerhorn Range, there was a spring. The water which gathered formed a river and flowed through the rest of the range into the Southam Demon Forest. On the two sides of this river, countless cherry tomatoes grew, causing this clear and slow-flowing river to be named the Cherry River.
These bright and vivid cherry tomatoes were delicious and could be sold in many of the southern cities at a high price. However, there was normally no one who came to pick them.
It was because these cherry tomatoes were also the favorite food of many large beasts. Thus, every year, many large monsters and beasts would accidently enter the Kingdom of Eiche while following the river upstream, causing enormous losses.
As a result, only two kinds of people normally entered the Southam Demon Forest. The first kind were those who braved risks in search of opportunities and great rewards by capturing baby beasts. The other kind entered in hopes of finding demonic crystals to use as jewelry or improvement materials.
Nonetheless, the number of arcane teams within the Southam Demon Forest was generally quite small, considering its vastness. The arcane teams of the Shadowfiend Corps which silently patrolled the edges of the forest also rarely went into the forest to hunt and train of their own volition.
But since the war had started ten days ago, the place had completely transformed!
……
“Ayrin, Stingham, Rinloran… are these really the members of an academy team which made it into the final four?”
At the entrance to the Shadowfiend Corps’ Shepherd’s Valley Outpost, a team of patrolling arcane masters was currently eyeing the arcane team which had been sent to be their reinforcements with expressions of disbelief.
“Are you suffering from indigestion or something? Even a pregnant lady wouldn’t have a belly as big as yours,” the captain of the patrol team, Caelan, a young man with short gray hair and a scar across his face, exclaimed as he observed Ayrin’s ballooning belly.
“Haha, it’s not like that. It’s because I ate too many cherry tomatoes. The ones over here are just too good,” Ayrin replied as he took another handful of cherry tomatoes out from the sack on his back and threw them into his mouth.
“Still eating like this?”
Several of the patrolling arcane masters felt like falling over from the shock as they watched Ayrin eat. Meanwhile, black lines covered Caelan’s face as he turned his head and looked at Rinloran, whose body was still half covered with bandages and splints. He asked, “What’s wrong with your arm and shoulder?”
Rinloran simply replied, “They shattered, and have yet to heal.”
“……”
Caelen turned his head once more as now looked at Stingham, who was constantly posing and combing his hair. He asked, “And you? What is wrong with you?”
“Eh?” Stingham blankly replied, “There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“If nothing is wrong with you, then why do you keep combing your hair?!” Caelan roared hoarsely. It seemed like he was on the verge of exploding.
“Because I’m handsome,” Stingham proudly replied. “Are you jealous?”
“This is our backup team?”
The expressions of the patrolling arcane masters all darkened they contemplated killing these newcomers and then committing suicide.
There was a child who seemed like he was about to explode from eating too much.
There was a child with a fractured arm and shoulder.
And then there was a child with the most ridiculous behavior they had ever seen.
Even if they were truly several of the main members of a team which had fought its way into the final four, they currently seemed mentally sick and physically disabled. Just what would they do here?!
“What’s wrong?”
A powerful voice rang out from within the valley.
Afterwards, a bald, almost two meter tall man wearing black metal plate armor lithely bounded out from within the valley.
“What a strong body and physical strength. He’s wearing that heavy metal plate armor like its ordinary clothes,” Ayrin thought to himself as his eyes abruptly lit up.
“Rui?”
The moment the bald man saw the silent Rui, who was covertly standing behind Ayrin, Stingham, and Rinloran, he immediately froze in place.
“Zorn, this is the backup team which the Office of Special Affairs has sent over.”
Caelan’s expression was extremely ugly as he continued, “But just what can this disabled team even do?”
“Idiot!”
Caelan had just finished speaking when Zorn immediately turned and powerfully reprimanded him.
“What?” Caelan and the three other patrolling arcane masters froze as they grasped at straws and tried to figure out what they had done wrong.
“Rui’s strength is equal to a high ranking arcane team all by himself.” Zorn looked at Rui with an expression of anticipation and joy as he continued, “There’s no way that an arcane team he presides over will be weak!”
“Who?”
The patrolling arcane masters’ eyes widened and became filled with shock as they observed Rui’s seemingly ordinary figure.
Zorn continued his explanation, “Of Holy Dawn’s Evil Six, the only one which has been memorable these last few years has been Liszt. However, this Rui was also formerly part of that group. Only, he doesn’t take on missions very often, and when he does, it’s always by himself.”
“He’s one of the Holy Dawn Evil Six?” Caelan and the other three were overjoyed as they exchanged looks with each other.
“What is it? Has the situation taken a turn for the worse?” Rui, who had been silent this entire time, suddenly asked as he looked at Zorn.
“Just come in and you all will see for yourselves.”
A strange expression flashed across Zorn’s face as he turned around and led them into the valley.
”What’s this stench?”
The moment Ayrin walked through the mouth of the valley, he was immediately assaulted by a strange smell.
“This?”
As Ayrin, Stingham, and Rinloran followed the small path through a dense thicket, a shocking scene appeared before them.