Chapter 109
－Emperas Kingdom: Captain of the Fifth Knight Order's POV－
I check on my knights as they head toward the forest.
There isn't a trace of fear on any of their faces; instead, they brim with motivation.
There will be no problems.
Although they are the king's knights, the other orders are full of cowards.
They panic at the slightest change in the forest. It's pathetic.
And they have the gall to call themselves knight orders.
As fellow knights, I've lost count of how many times I've nearly beaten them senseless.
If not for the vice-captain beside me, I might have killed the other knights before the king.
"Is something the matter?"
The vice-captain beside me is the one I trust most.
The vice-captain is always calm and understands my actions.
You could say the vice-captain covers for me.
"No. I was just thinking that it's finally time."
"That's right. Go on a rampage."
The vice-captain really does understand me.
A laugh escapes my throat.
To think they would oppose our king—it's the height of folly.
I don't know what kind of scumbags they are,
but they will learn what it means to make an enemy of the strongest nation, Emperas.
I'll make them regret from the bottom of their hearts that they are still alive.
I'm looking forward to it.
"Any problems with the preparations?"
"There won't be a problem as long as we use slaves."
"I see."
"The magicians seemed puzzled. Shall I explain?"
"Tch. You should be able to figure it out if you think about it, you useless fools."
After seeing their previous attacks, I realized that the ancient magic stones were getting in the way.
Then all we have to do is use a method that doesn't rely on those magic stones.
The ancient magic stones are certainly powerful.
But there are countless attack spells besides those.
I'm a little uneasy because we don't have any high-ranking magicians...
But if we use living slaves, apparently we can draw out more power than a high-ranking magician, so there shouldn't be a problem.
I don't know what is in the forest, but there will be no problem.
The king saved me and gave me strength.
Therefore, it is only natural that I devote this life to the king.
If anyone dares stand in the king's way, I'll cut them down, whoever they are.
The King of the Forest?
So what? It's merely a relic from the past, making a noisy fuss now.
I will surely line up the heads of my enemies before His Majesty.
Whatever they may be.
...
The forest begins to come into view in the distance.
...Is it really different from the forest I saw before?
But it's nothing special.
It isn't even serious enough to be a problem. What was that guy from the Fourth Knight Order so afraid of?
At the forest entrance, the vice-captain gathers the members of the order and gives them a rough explanation of what lies ahead.
The magicians seem to be getting ready.
The forest is still protected by layer upon layer of barriers.
We can't advance deeper until we break through them, though there's no problem near the forest entrance.
What a hassle.
If they are magicians recognized by the king, they should deal with something like that right away.
I hear the vice-captain say that they will burn the forest.
A slight stir runs through the order's members.
But the disturbance soon fades, and their fighting spirit swells.
As expected of the knights I handpicked.
The slaves appear to have arrived.
After learning from several failures, we gathered only slaves five years old or younger.
They're worthless trash that hasn't even undergone combat training.
Even if their slave marks are affected and they escape, they'll merely be food in the forest.
Their minds have also been addled with powerful drugs.
Whatever is in the forest may be reacting to their voices, after all.
That should take care of any problems with the slaves.
They can escape without a problem, as long as they aren't noticed.
When I suggested this to the king, they were prepared right away without any trouble.
We can produce as many such pieces of trash as we like, so two hundred is no problem.
No, even as trash, they can be of use to the king. What an honor.
...
After entering the forest, we deploy a magic circle in the first fairly wide clearing we see, one that will burn a broad area of the forest.
If we use all the slaves, the forest within sight will burn easily.
To destroy the barriers at the same time, we deploy a second magic circle in another fairly wide clearing we find.
I look forward to seeing how many barriers will be shattered when we add the extra trash.