Chapter 213: The Thing Lurking Deep Within the Forest

Chapter 213: The Thing Lurking Deep Within the Forest

“Hyahhahahhahhaaa! I’ll annihilate the monsters!”

The young Elf warriors charged toward the appearing swarm of monsters.

“Cut, slash, cut, slashhhhhhh!!”

They dodged the monsters’ attacks by a paper-thin margin, and those who failed to dodge drank Elixirs to recover and charged again.

Then, they latched onto the monsters and steadily dismantled their bodies.

“Kugyaaaaah!!”

“We wonnnnnn!!”

“Hihihihihihihih!! It’s our victoryyyyy!!”

And so, the peace of the village was preserved today as well.

Recently, the Elves and Dwarves have been taking the initiative to fight, so we’ve been standing by in the rear and are a bit bored.

But for young warriors to become full-fledged and no longer lose their lives is a good thing in any era, isn’t it.

“Kyu kyuu!”

Amidst that, Mofu-mofu tried to leave the village with monster meat in its mouth, so I lifted its body and stopped it.

Then, I stared in the direction Mofu-mofu tried to leave towards.

“Hmm, it’s about time.”

◆

“Since the village’s defense system is in order, I think I’ll go explore the forest.”

After the battle, I had Sharaza-san gather the chiefs, and proposed that I step away from the village’s defense and go to the forest.

“Lord Rex, that is far too dangerous. The inside of the forest is a monster’s den, you know!”

“Umu. Thanks to you training the young ones, they’ve become incomparably stronger, but… no, whether I should straightforwardly say they became stronger is a bit… ah, no, that’s not it. I’m saying entering the forest is dangerous. In the past, warriors also tried to defeat monsters outside before reaching the village and met with terrible experiences.”

Not just Sharaza-san, but the chiefs also tried to stop me, saying going outside was dangerous.

“He is right. I understand His Majesty Honorary King Rex‘s feelings, but going outside the forest is far too dangerous. You should hole up in the village and intercept them until the monster attacks settle down.”

Putting that aside, I wonder if the Dwarf chief will stop calling me that.

“I understand what everyone wants to say. But I think I should investigate even factoring in that danger.”

“Investigate? Not subjugate?”

“Yes. Since coming here, I’ve been grasping the surrounding situation with search magic, and recently, the number of monsters prowling around the village has been increasing at an accelerating rate.”

“Is that true, Lord Rex!?”

“Yes. Right now they are merely prowling around without noticing the village, but if a monster that finds the village calls its companions and attacks all at once, it will become a massive attack incomparable to anything before.”

“What…!?”

Hearing that it would be a battle greater than before, the chiefs turned pale.

“Therefore, I’m thinking of going to find the ringleader sending the monsters.”

“Ringleader!? Don’t tell me, a Queen!?”

Hearing that, Sharaza-san guessed that my target was a Queen-type monster that was likely continuing to spawn monsters.

“Yes. I hear the monsters are aiming for the fruit of the World Tree, but even so, it’s concerning that all the monsters in the forest are aiming for this place.”

To begin with, the World Tree was even called the world’s largest weed.

If there were monsters that intentionally targeted the World Tree, we in my previous life would have joyfully cultivated those monsters.

“Monsters aren’t creatures with that much cooperativeness, which means there must be an existence commanding them to target the village.”

“Are you saying someone is manipulating the monsters!?”

For example, there are also existences called Monster Tamers who command monsters.

The possibility is probably high.

“Alternatively, it could be a case where there’s a boss with powerful strength among the monsters. Among monsters that form swarms, there are some that can issue commands with extremely strong coercive power. A swarm with that kind of monster acts as the boss’s puppets, disregarding losses.”

That type of monster is truly troublesome, you see.

Moreover, it’s exactly in those cases that the boss monster’s thinking is twisted.

Like aiming only for children, or spreading a disease just to aim for humans infected with that specific disease.

“But even so, it is too dangerous. Going out to investigate means you will be separated from the village by that distance, correct? In that case, wouldn’t it be safer to go on an expedition near the village and whittle down the monsters?”

The Dwarf King’s proposal is reasonable.

If we don’t know where the monster boss is, it’s better to whittle down the enemy numbers first.

But this time, I actually have a lead.

“About that, ever since coming here, Mofu-mofu has tried to go outside the forest many times. And always in the exact same direction.”

“The same direction? What on earth does that mean?”

“No matter which direction the monsters attack from, Mofu-mofu always tries to head out in the same direction. As if saying there’s something over there.”

“Are you saying that is the monster boss?”

“Probably.”

Yes, this is the first time Mofu-mofu has shown this kind of interest.

Even if we can’t find the monster boss, there’s a high possibility we can discover something.

“Fortunately, the young Elf warriors have gained confidence in their abilities, and the Dwarven craftsmen have reclaimed their lost techniques and can make better equipment. Also, with the food problem improved using the fertilizer catalyzed by Elixir, holing up should have become easier.”

“U-Umu, regarding that matter, we cannot thank you enough.”

“Therefore, now that the village’s defense system is in order, I judged that I should explore the monsters’ stronghold before the monster attacks intensify.”

“Muu…”

Hearing my strategy, the chiefs closed their mouths as if deep in thought.

“…Very well. We entrust the role of exploring to find the monsters’ ringleader to you.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

Having obtained the chiefs’ approval, I decided to head to the forest immediately.

“W-Wait!”

However, the Elf chief called out to stop me.

“…………Please.”

With a voice that seemed squeezed out, yet desperate, the chief pleaded with me.

“Leave it to me!”

◆

“And so, I’ve decided to go look for the monsters’ stronghold.”

Leaving the assembly hall, I met up with everyone who was training with the Elves and conveyed our future policy.

“I see! Finally our turn! My arms are itching!”

“Recently we yielded the opportunities to be active to the Elves and it was boring, so this is perfect.”

I feel sorry that they’re motivated thinking it’s finally their turn, but I stopped everyone.

“No, I’m thinking of going on this mission with just me and Mofu-mofu.”

“Eh!? Why, Bro!?”

“That’s right. It seems we aren’t needed here right now, so in that case, wouldn’t it be better to go with you, Rex-san?”

Unconvinced, booing erupted from everyone.

“This exploration relies on Mofu-mofu’s senses, after all. We’ll follow Mofu-mofu, and once we find it, we’ll return temporarily, so numbers aren’t needed. Rather, it’s better to go with a small elite force so we can quickly escape and hide when found by monsters.”

“Ah, if that’s the case, it’s better if I don’t go.”

“I should probably pass too.”

Hearing my explanation, Norb-san and Mina-san gave up on participating.

“But if it’s us, we’d be fine, right! We can keep up with you too, Bro!”

“Wouldn’t it be impossible since you’re so noisy?”

“I am not!”

Liliera-san, Jairo-kun, and Meguri-san seem fully intent on coming along.

“No, there’s something I want Jairo-kun and the others to stay and do as well.”

“Something you want us to do?”

“Recently, the number of monsters prowling around the village has increased considerably. There will probably be a major offensive soon.”

” ” ” ” “!!” ” ” ” ” “

Hearing ‘major offensive’, everyone’s expressions changed.

“So I want everyone to stand by in the village for when the time comes.”

“I see. If that’s the case, it’s certainly better to leave fighting strength behind.”

“Yeah. This is something I absolutely can’t do alone.”

Right. In situations like this in my previous life, I could just leave it to the country’s knight orders.

Because they protected my back as their duty, I was able to fight alone without worry.

But the current me is an adventurer with no backing or authority.

The only things I can rely on are my own strength, and…

“I want to rely on all of you, my comrades.”

” “!!” “

Hearing my request, Jairo-kun and the others gasped.

“Me! Bro’s! Comrade! Bro is! Relying on me right now!!”

“R-Right. Rex-san is relying on me… H-Heheh, so he was relying on me that much.”

” “F-Fuhehehehehe.” “

“Nn. Leave it to me.”

Meguri-san gave me a thumbs-up and showed a smile, saying ‘leave it to me’.

“Yeah! Leave it to me, Bro!”

“That’s right! No matter how hundreds of monsters come, I’ll deal with them!”

And Jairo-kun and Liliera-san also took on the defense with faces full of spirit.

Yeah, if everyone is protecting it, I can depart with peace of mind too!

◆

“Well then, I’m off.”

“Be careful~!”

“Leave the village to us, Bro!!”

” ” ” ” “Please leave it to us, Master Rex!!” ” ” ” “

“Alright! Let’s go, Mofu-mofu!”

“Kyuu!!”

Seen off by everyone, Mofu-mofu and I left the village.

Then, we immediately encountered a swarm of monsters.

“As I thought, there’s a lot of them. It’s better to move while thinning their numbers so they don’t invade the village.”

“Gyuu!!”

Drawing my sword, I fired a restraining magic at the monsters.

“CHASE FREEZE PILLARS!!”

So as not to damage the forest, I fired a homing freezing magic, trapping the monster swarm in pillars of ice.

By doing this, the frozen monsters become obstacles, acting as a wall to protect the village.

“Gyuuuu!!”

Clad in wind through attribute enhancement, Mofu-mofu toyed with the monsters at high speed while slicing them apart.

“Kyuu, kyukyuu!!”

Perhaps because it could rampage wildly for the first time in a while, Mofu-mofu was overjoyed.

As expected, you have to let pets exercise freely outside regularly.

“Alright, let’s push straight through like this, Mofu-mofu!”

“Kyuu!!”

◆

“Kyuu!!”

As we advanced through the forest while defeating monsters, Mofu-mofu cried out as if saying, ‘This way!’.

And as I advanced while being prompted, there was a hole opening its mouth wide in a place hidden by the trees.

“Is this… an underground passage?”

On the large path continuing underground, there were numerous monster footprints, akin to carriage ruts.

Yeah, this is a hit.

Checking with search magic, the number of monsters was overwhelmingly large.

This must undoubtedly be the nest of the parent beast spawning the monsters.

“Good job, Mofu-mofu.”

“Kyufuun!”

When I praised Mofu-mofu for finding the underground passage, Mofu-mofu proudly puffed out its chest.

“Then, shall we go meet the boss face-to-face!”