The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 321: Chapter 320: Truly Dangerous Creatures (1)



"Hm..."

Ghislain crossed his arms, deep in thought. Many people claimed to sense a foreboding

presence in the Forest of Demonic Beasts, but much of that could be attributed to its dark and oppressive environment.

He had never heard the kind of sounds Lumina described, nor was there any mention of such phenomena in the records he had reviewed in his previous life.

Of course, no elves had been included in the expedition in his previous life, so perhaps even they wouldn't have known. After all, elves were the only race capable of hearing the sounds of nature.

'Is there really something here?'

It could have been a misunderstanding on Lumina's part, but Ghislain couldn't dismiss her words lightly.

This place was undoubtedly different. The energy here was far richer than elsewhere. That's why rare resources abounded, and the monsters, influenced by that energy, grew larger and stronger.

The unique energy of the Forest of Demonic Beasts had been one of the leading theories in his previous life. There was no other explanation.

"The forest wants to become one with her?'

He wasn't sure what that meant, but it was clear that the forest held some secret.

"There were parts of the map I saw in my previous life that were left unexplored, weren't there?'

The Duchy had successfully developed the Forest of Demonic Beasts. But even after most of the forest was revealed, the central area remained blacked out on the map.

At the time, he had dismissed it as undeveloped land. His purpose back then was not the forest's development but the destruction of the Duchy.

Even after returning to this point in time, he hadn't given much thought to that area. He assumed it could be developed later when funds were needed.

But Lumina's words brought that map back to mind, leaving him uneasy.

'It wasn't undeveloped land... was it deliberately concealed?'

There had always been one unsettling fact. The Duchy had an obsessive focus on the Forest of Demonic Beasts.

Initially, the Duchy hadn't known about the rich resources in the forest. Yet they began a massive campaign to develop it.

This suggested they were after something else. It wasn't simply about territorial expansion or resource acquisition.

Even in his past life, Ghislain had been unable to determine what the Duchy was after. Most participants in the development efforts didn't know why they were there either.

'Harold only managed the Perdium, never fully exploiting it.'

Even though they could have destroyed it, they only maintained control to keep others from taking it. After the Duke's rebellion succeeded, they swiftly discarded the Perdium.

Immediately afterward, they began developing the Forest of Demonic Beasts in a rush.

'It's certain. There's something in this forest that I don't know.'

And it might be connected to what Lumina mentioned.

Ghislain had spent many years as a mercenary. As such, he had a habit of never ignoring suspicious signs.

Even seemingly useless clues were obsessively noted. It was a matter of survival.

"Let me know if you hear strange sounds again or notice anything suspicious. Tell the other elves they're free to speak up too."

"Understood."

The Forest of Demonic Beasts was unpredictable. Even the smallest sign couldn't be dismissed lightly.

Even if Lumina's words and the Duke's goals were unrelated, it was better to keep the possibility in mind than to disregard it entirely.

'Whatever's here, I'll uncover it eventually.'

After all, Ghislain's goal was to raze the entire Forest of Demonic Beasts and claim the land.

The group resumed securing the area after dealing with the ogres.

Everyone was more alert and tense than before. No one knew when or where dangerous monsters might appear.

Hearing Lumina's concerns, the elves began sharing anything they found suspicious with Ghislain.

Most were trivial observations, but there were occasional valuable insights.

"There seems to be a group of monsters over there."

"There are monsters hiding between the trees."

"There's strong energy gathering in this area-it might be a rare herb."

Elves' senses became particularly acute in forests. Unlike how mana-users' sensitivity to magic power increased, elves were attuned to the forest's flow and sounds, providing valuable information.

Naturally, the elves were the first to detect monsters hiding at a distance.

People were increasingly amazed by the elves' abilities. Ghislain was no exception. While he had anticipated their skills, their performance exceeded his expectations.

Galbarik, however, grumbled as he watched the elves.

"What is this racial bias... It's unfair... At least let them look ugly..."

In the forest, elves were unmatched in their natural abilities. Dwarves, who had a long- standing rivalry with elves, couldn't help feeling bitter.

Regardless of the dwarves' sulking, Ghislain was very pleased with the situation.

"This is great. I didn't expect the elves to be this helpful."

No matter how much information Ghislain had from his past life, it wasn't complete. He only knew the locations of major resources and the territories of powerful monsters.

Unrecorded details, such as wandering monsters, were beyond his knowledge. And since the timeline of development was different, even the monsters' territories could vary.

The elves made it easier to avoid danger and discover resources he hadn't known about. The only downside was Ascon's constant complaints.

"This place is awful... The energy here is disgusting... This whole place is cursed. I hate it."

"What is it now?"

"I just hate being here. Let me go back to the estate. I'm too old for this nonsense-damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Unable to contain his frustration, Ascon spewed curses, only to be restrained by Belinda, who bent his limbs and gagged him before dragging him away.

With Ascon incapacitated, the Fenris forces' list of injured soldiers grew by one.

Despite the minor inconvenience, the elves' assistance made the development progress

smooth and steady.

Ghislain kept checking the map, gauging their position.

Compared to his last visit, the development was proceeding far more efficiently and quickly.

When the elves detected danger, the knights and soldiers prepared for combat. Ghislain

directed the strategy and oversaw the battles.

With no one letting their guard down, even combat felt manageable. Most beasts and monsters retreated at the sight of their large forces.

'We're getting close.'

This didn't mean they were near the Runestone resource site. That was still far off. Ghislain

had something else in mind.

[The Forest of Demonic Beasts was truly perilous. The vanguard failed repeatedly. But that was simply due to a lack of information. Once the monsters were identified, we were never caught off guard again. No matter how strong they were, our elite knights and soldiers could

always handle them.]

'Of course.' Ghislain nodded as he recalled the records he had read in his past life.

Even with fewer troops than the Duke's forces, he was advancing through the forest.

In that era, the Duke's troops were far superior in individual skill and strength. Yet, despite greater numbers and power, the Duke's forces hadn't cleared the forest as

efficiently. They had clung to using vanguards and scout teams, claiming to preserve their

main forces.

[Viscount Josef didn't care about the vanguard's deaths. He obsessively conserved key forces. Occasionally, Count Balzac joined the vanguard out of frustration.]

[...As the vanguard repeatedly failed and perished, they gradually pieced together information about the Forest of Demonic Beasts. Then, one day, we encountered a monster

unlike anything we had ever seen.]

"What is this?"

A knight patrolling the outskirts brought back the corpse of a monster. Half its body had been

torn apart, likely by another creature.

The monster was grotesque. Its body was half the size of an adult human, with an upper half resembling red-skinned flesh and a lower half resembling a spider.

Its hands were equipped with mole-like claws that seemed perfect for digging or as weapons.

While its upper body structure was vaguely humanoid, it was far from human. Its general anatomy was the only resemblance, as its appearance was horrifying.

Its "mouth" was surrounded by tentacle-like appendages, its eyes had atrophied to barely visible traces, and its skull extended backward. Antennae-like structures jutted out from its

head.

There was no way to identify what kind of creature it was. The revolting corpse made

everyone grimace.

"Ugh, disgusting..."

"What is this? A monster like this exists?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"This forest really has everything, doesn't it?"

Since it was a monster no one had ever seen before, the group gathered around, murmuring in

curiosity.

However, they weren't particularly afraid. Compared to the massive creatures they had

encountered in the forest, this one was relatively small-about the size of a large dog.

For a wild beast, this size would be threatening to humans. But to those accustomed to the

giant creatures of the forest, it seemed unimpressive. The grotesqueness, however, was undoubtedly top-tier.

[Compared to other monsters in the Forest of Demonic Beasts, these creatures were significantly weaker. Two or three armed soldiers could easily handle them, and even a single

soldier could manage with minor injuries. We couldn't understand why such weak creatures

lived in the inner forest.]

Recalling the records from his past life, Ghislain approached the corpse and spoke. "These creatures are called Greggs. Judging by this one, it seems to have been separated from

its group and killed."

[We gave them a name in the ancient language and spent several days observing their habitat

just in case.]

[Indeed, their habitat had a sizable population. Like other monsters, they were territorial and attacked any intruders. Several would swarm their target, kill it, and share the carcass. They occasionally hunted in packs.]

At Ghislain's words, the others tilted their heads.

"Greggs? I've never heard of them."

"Yes, they're very dangerous."

No one asked how he knew. They were accustomed to their lord knowing everything.

[Their hunting success rate was abysmal. More often than not, they dragged back the remains of other creatures. Sometimes, they dug into the ground with their sturdy claws to store leftover corpses. Despite their terrifying appearance, they were, in truth, pitifully weak

monsters.]

"These creatures live in packs. Don't underestimate them just because they're individually

weak."

[However, there was one puzzling aspect. Occasionally, stronger monsters would appear, kill

and eat them, but never claim their territory, even though the area was spacious and ideal.]

"Should we prepare for them?" Gillian asked.

Ghislain nodded.

"Yes, I was planning to prepare a little further ahead, but since we've found this corpse, we'll

do it here." [Even after observing them for days, nothing changed. The stronger monsters would kill and eat the Greggs but leave their habitat untouched. We concluded that the Greggs were merely a

food source for the forest's more powerful monsters. The other monsters allowed them to

live and reproduce to maintain a convenient supply of prey.]

"What should we do?"

"We need to prepare more thoroughly than before."

"Just give the order."

[Once we reached a conclusion, we decided to exterminate them. It wasn't going to be

difficult-Greggs were small, weak, and insignificant monsters.] Ghislain spoke firmly.

"We're building a fortress here. A large, solid one."

[But that... would turn out to be one of the gravest mistakes we ever made in the Forest of

Demonic Beasts.]

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