Chapter 50
－Emperas Kingdom, 4th Knight Order Commander's Perspective－
The forest was as quiet as before.
Every so often, the cry of a monster could be heard from somewhere.
Yes, the forest looked and sounded just as it had before.
And yet, I couldn't shake the unpleasant sensation clinging to my body.
We deployed the slave unit as an advance investigation party, with the 4th Knight Order behind them.
We slowly advanced into the forest.
How long had it been?
The discomfort continued, gradually changing into fear.
The farther we ventured into the forest, the more fear accumulated, building tension.
No matter how often I tried to calm myself, it did no good.
In all our investigations so far, we had encountered four monsters.
My subordinates were bombarding the fourth monster with excessive attacks.
Perhaps because of the tension, they were unable to coordinate and were merely attacking blindly.
There were too few monsters.
A place like this should have yielded around ten monsters.
More than anything, the four that had appeared were monsters created by our country in magic-stone experiments.
They had been altered to attack monsters, so they shouldn't attack people...
What was going on?
As I thought, was there something in the center of the forest?
The fourth monster was defeated.
I let out a breath.
Fatigue had built up, and my subordinates' tension began to ease.
That could prove fatal here.
"Take a break."
They might not even be able to rest after being told to, in a place where fear could be felt so keenly.
But that didn't mean we could leave the forest every time.
It couldn't be helped. We would rest here.
I instructed the slave unit to remain on watch.
They had been slaves since birth, and their faces showed no emotion.
Slaves didn't need hearts, after all. They probably didn't feel fear, either.
I envied them that now.
I looked around to check on the condition of my subordinates.
At that moment, a flash of light shot through the forest.
It was over in an instant, and I had no idea what had occurred.
It truly was instantaneous, with no warning whatsoever.
There was no way to defend against it.
Screams rose from all around.
That single instant struck us with even greater terror than before.
Nothing had happened to us. I looked at myself and my subordinates.
Not a single scratch, and no one had fallen.
Yet in that instant, our hearts began racing impossibly fast, and sweat trickled from my brow.
I gripped my weapon and looked around, but nothing happened.
While we were still in a panic, light spread from the earth up toward the sky.
A shout came from somewhere, followed by the sound of someone running away.
I hurriedly tried to call out and stop them, but no sound would come from my throat.
My legs wobbled, and I dropped to my knees, breathing heavily.
Calm down! Calm down!
Somehow, I forced strength into my legs and stood up.
Around me, some lay there with terror on their faces, while others crouched with their knees hugged to their chests.
I took a deep breath and ordered a retreat.
We had to get out of the forest.
We moved to a point a little way from the forest.
Our progress had been negligible, but now everyone ran out of the forest as if fleeing.
"Commander, the slave unit is missing."
Even after looking around, I couldn't see the slaves anywhere.
Magic stones had reinforced the slaves' marks, binding them tightly to the country.
Those slaves had escaped...
What was going on?