assistirfilmes Chapter 321: Chapter 320: Truly Dangerous Creatures (1)
Chapter 321: Chapter 320: Truly Dangerous Creatures (1)
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.
everyone grimace.
"Ugh, disgusting..."
"What is this? A monster like this exists?"
"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.]