Chapter 270 - Pursuit in the Forest (1/2)
Chapter 270: Pursuit in the Forest
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Girvent Forest
After watching Dorias leave with Dark Elf Prince Walter hanging from his mouth, Link cast a Traceless spell and snuck forward.
Perhaps due to the commotion from his previous fight with Walter, the battle sounds in the distance had disappeared. The forest had become silent again.
Link followed the direction the sound had come from and crept forward. After around 300 feet, Link saw the first corpse—an Undead Knight.
According to Gildern, these knights were practically impossible to kill. However, in battle, the other party seemed to have a solution against the Undead Knights. The corpse before Link now seemed to have been filled with some horrible power. The gray-white skin was riddled with holes like a sieve. Black blood flowed out of the holes and corroded the grass around him.
The blood was poisonous, so Link didn’t dare touch it. He carefully bypassed the body and continued forward. He tried to organize his thoughts about the relationships between everyone.
“Alloa betrayed the Dark Elves, so they wanted to capture her. That makes sense, but then what’s with these Undead Knights?”
Their armor had the Delonga Royalty’s emblem, so they were from the South. Could it be the Syndicate? But wasn’t the Shadow Stalker working with the Dark God? Why would a mistake like this happen?
If it was the Syndicate, it wouldn’t make any sense. While thinking, Link suddenly remembered what Skinorse had told him. He’d said that Wavier had become Demon God Tabinos’ slave and had created these Undead Knights.
“So these Undead Knights have nothing to do with the Syndicate and belong to Wavier himself?” Link wondered aloud. “Or more specifically, are they under Tabinos?”
Demon God Tabinos was not compatible with the Spider Queen Lolth that the Dark Elves worshipped. It was understandable if the believers of both sides fought over the Maiden of Truth.
However, this explanation also had uncertainties. How did Wavier get the information that Alloa had escaped from the North? Pondering hard, Link could only come to the hypothesis that Wavier had something to do with the Syndicate, but they were only close on the surface and had internal conflicts.
In order to capture the Maiden of Truth, the Dark Elves asked the Syndicate for help. In the process, they found Wavier, but the Dark Elves didn’t expect Wavier would break the alliance halfway through.
This was the only logical explanation Link could think of. Of course, this was only Link’s guess. As for the truth, he still had to see. He followed the signs of struggle and continued forward.
After around 650 feet, there was a clearing in the forest, but it was covered with corpses! This was probably the scene of the previous battle.
Link circled it, studying the traces in the area carefully.
“Eight Undead Knights, two Dark Elves…” he said to himself. “Hey, these are ghouls. Many footprints—Undead Knights, ghouls, this hoof print…Is it a demon?”
After investigating for five more minutes, Link discovered that three new people had joined the fight. One was a demon, and one was a Dark Elf Magician.
The last one was the most mysterious. The footprints indicated that he had existed, but he’d always stayed in the sideline, watching without participating. Link didn’t know what kind of power he had.
“This guy stood by the tree without releasing any aura. He seems similar to a common man but who exactly was he? Is he from the Dark Elves’ side or Delonga?”
Things were becoming more and more complicated; Link grew more cautious.
Investigating for a bit longer, Link confirmed that the enemy was still up ahead and he started pursuing.
There was another forest. The tall arbor blocked the sunlight, and the lush shrubbery practically blocked off all paths. The only path available had been created forcefully by someone. Here, the Undead Knights had abandoned their horses and went by foot.
From the prints, they had been here less than ten minutes ago.
Link observed carefully the entire way. His target was not the Undead Knights, ghouls, or the Dark Magician but the mysterious man who didn’t fight. This guy felt the most threatening, and Link had to be cautious of him.
The mysterious man was very prudent. He didn’t leave behind many traces, but they still existed. Link was detailed too. He never lost his target during this entire time.
After around two miles, he came across corpses again. There were three—two ghouls and one Undead Knight. Link glanced around and felt something was amiss.
Before, the Undead Knights had all seemed mutilated, but this corpse was better off. It had fallen mostly because his head had been chopped off. Link realized that the Undead Knight’s body still maintained its vibrant strength. If someone found his head and put it back, he would probably be able to stand up again after a period of time.
The ghouls’ corpses were much worse off. Two seemed to have exploded. Their internal organs, blood, and muscles were scattered on the ground, turning this place into a hell on earth.
After observing for ten seconds, Link concluded, “The mysterious man finally acted. His spell was…huh, it’s the Black Fire Beetle!”
Black Fire Beetle
Level-4 Dark Magic
Effect: Creates a beetle with very high penetrative abilities. The beetle contains extremely condensed black flames. Once inside the target’s body, it will either become parasitic or explode depending on the situation.
(Note: Boom! An exploding watermelon!)