If they were once Deas’s brothers-in-arms, that meant that this forest, just like the Great Liebe Forest, was also the site of a mass raising of undead of an unknown source. The obvious conclusion was that someone had cast these spells on purpose, but in the great forest, outside of the undead that suddenly appeared, there were no other oddities.
The undead that had appeared back then weren’t very strong, with one exception: Deas. In the end, Rare eliminated all of the other undead, and Deas, the only one with a sense of self left, swore to avenge his fallen kingdom and surrendered to Rare.
She wondered if there was another special undead like Deas here. If there were, she would really like to add them to her forces. It would be nice for Deas to have a colleague to work with, but mostly she wanted another sample of an undead that retained its ego to study.
<Say, Deas…>
<You are far too kind, Princess. It would certainly be ideal if the leader here would peacefully pledge loyalty to us, but it is otherwise unnecessary to be considerate of my station.>
<Eeeeeeehh, well, looking only at the end result, that may be true, but that wasn’t exactly where I was going with that. I still want to build up my army, and since there are rumors spreading that our forest might have an undead boss, it would be nice if I had some weaker undead soldiers at my disposal.>
It was a little awkward that obtaining more Knight’s Grudges was inversely related to her desired outcome. If she was unable to get an undead army but instead refilled her stock of Knight’s Grudges, then she could still create more skeletal soldiers with iron or something. However, the thought of having to pull more overtime chugging MP potions to do it really put a damper on Rare’s spirits. Plus she wouldn’t even be purely strengthening her troops, but purposely making weak ones. It would be a waste, in various ways.
<So basically, I’d really like to have this undead army if at all possible. Deas, would you get it for me?>
<…As you wish.>
After that, Deas’s troops switched from marching in a straight line to a much more strangely meandering route. Apparently they now avoided the enemy’s patrol lines. Any lookouts that couldn’t be evaded were quietly eliminated by the scouts. It would have been nice if Rare could have used [Necromantic Barrier] to put them all under her control, but if these undead were already under the control of another character, then they were not susceptible to either [Control] or [Subordinate]. Deas and the undead who appeared with him were considered “wild” undead, but Deas started with skills from the [Necromancy] tree as well as [Subordinate], so if left alone he would have taken control of all those undead and conquered the entire forest. She had been wondering why the Great Liebe Forest, the cradle for a raid boss, housed the two separate forces of Sugaru and Deas, but maybe one of them was supposed to end up as fodder for the other.
If that was what had happened in this forest, then the undead had won the power struggle. That meant that the leader had successfully become a full-fledged raid boss.
“Oh, this will be fun…”
This forest was quite expansive as well. It would take a fair amount of time to reach the center. Deas and the adamantite series wouldn’t get fatigued because of their races, but that didn’t hold true for Rare, Kerry, Marion, and Ginka. They would need to find a place to camp. Since they would stop earning XP as soon as Rare went to sleep (read: logged out), she wanted everyone else to avoid combat during that time as much as possible, but it could be unavoidable if her timing was bad. That said, the Great Liebe Forest was also constantly under assault by players, so there would naturally be squandered XP either way. Even though they had XP income from their farms, it was hard not to consider all that loss as a waste.
<In other words, if you could try not to get into fights while I’m not awake as much as possible, it would make me feel better.>
<It is possible if we aren’t ambushed, but…>
<Depending on the opponent, you may have no choice but to ignore my request. It’s just something to keep in mind.>
After that, Deas picked up the pace. They still remained cautious, but they were marching much more boldly now. Occasionally, they would run into an undead, and at first glance they appeared to be skeletal knights or something similar. It wasn’t that the scouts weren’t finding them, but rather that there were too many to assassinate so they purposely let them through. It generally only took one slice of an adamanknight’s sword to cut them down, and their corpses… weren’t they already corpses? Well, their remains were gathered up.
According to the map, the place where they set up camp that day was about a third of the way to the heart of the forest. Considering how large this forest was, it was definitely an unthinkable pace. It was largely due to the fact that they took nearly no breaks. By the way, while they did make camp, it wasn’t to pass the night; Rare typically only operated after sunset, so they were currently camping during the day.
“All right, I’m going to sleep for a bit. Let’s see, I’ll be up in just under five hours, so please guard this campsite until then. You can continue exploring, but if you come across any unknown monsters or materials, I would like to see them as well, so please wait before engaging or gathering them.”
<That may prove to be too difficult, so we shall quietly defend the campsite.>
“Well then, I will return to Liebe to sleep. What will you girls do? Would you like to come back for a bit with me?”
“Yes, Boss, we’ll accompany you.”
“Got it. I’ll head there first.”
Rare then used [Designate Coordinates] to lock onto Sugaru, then cast [Summon Caster]. Having returned to the queen’s chamber, next she used [Summon] on the rest of the girls.
“I’ve returned, Sugaru. And welcome back, Kerry, Marion, and Ginka.”
<Welcome home, Boss, as well as everyone else.>
“We’re home, Sugaru; long time no see.”
<It has been some time, Miss Marion.>
Like always, Rare settled herself deep into the throne then prepared to log out. Kerry and Marion also divested themselves of Yoroisaka’s younger sisters, then disappeared behind the partition in the corner of the room. Beds were set up there for Rare’s attendants to use for napping whenever it was time to rest. Ginka curled up at Rare’s feet on the giant bear pelt that was spread out there. As an ice wolf, she was comfortable sleeping on the floor.
“All right, I will see you all later. Good night.”
＊
The next night, Rare returned to Deas’s side at about the time she predicted and asked for an update on what happened during her absence.
“Well then, did you end up getting attacked during the day while we slept?”
<Yes. Our deepest apologies. We drove back an unknown monster that assaulted us.>
“There is nothing for you to apologize for. So something that wasn’t undead came out, huh. Which means that this forest is home to undead at night and some other kind of monster during the day?”
<That appears to be the case. What we fought was a tree monster, and we have stored its remains in the ‘inventory.’>
“Since it’s a plant-type monster, that would mean it’s active during the day because of photosynthesis…? If it’s going out of its way to attack others, is photosynthesis insufficient for its nutrition? Is it capable of ambulation due to the lower half of its body? If that’s the way it developed, that would mean its roots probably degenerated, so clearly it would be harder to absorb nutrients… There must have been a problem with its evolutionary direction, no doubt about it.”
But this was good news. There was no more magical plant than plant-type monsters. If they could catch one, they could try to start a big farm for them back in the Great Liebe Forest.
“Anyway, capture the next one you see. Do you think more will come?”
<I am not sure. The sun has not set just yet, so there could be more.>
“I see. Well, I’ll think on it more as we move. If undead don’t come out during the day, then that would be an opportunity to cover more distance. And if they’re going to attack a campsite, then there’s no reason to believe they wouldn’t also attack while we’re on the move.”
Perhaps Rare’s words tripped some kind of switch of fate. As soon as they set off, they got ambushed.
“Now I get it! They camouflage themselves as trees! That’s why they don’t get detected by our scouts!”
When Rare’s forces were camped in place, then the monsters had no choice but to move themselves, making them easy to detect. However, when Rare’s group was on the move, then the monsters only had to wait, meaning they wouldn’t be found out. Still, even in a situation where trees suddenly transformed into monsters to attack them, the adamantite soldiers under Deas’s command were calm and composed. Not that they could really be anything but calm and composed.
The soldiers must have been trying to show off to Rare. Even if they were hit, they wouldn’t take any damage, but an adamanknight purposely blocked a downswung branch with its shield, and an adamanmage attacked with [Lightning Magic]. That single strike tore through the plant monster, ripping it in half vertically, and the bifurcated tree fell to the ground. Elsewhere, Deas held his sword horizontally and cleaved through multiple plant monsters in a straight line. That was all it took to cut them all in half, instantly killing them. Considering that their fibers ran vertically, it would have been easier to cut them lengthwise, but this also must have been a show for Rare. Deas’s skill with the sword was one of his strengths, but cutting vertically was more efficient, so the truth was that choosing to pointlessly waste stamina by attacking horizontally was a misjudgment. This was complicated, honestly evaluating his performance.
In any case, the adamantite platoon consisted of 30 members. Even though they were completely surrounded, that posed no problem at all. The battle ended quickly; all that remained were pieces of wood scattered everywhere.
“Do these monsters… coexist with the undead? Or do they both share the same leader…?”
Whichever it was, they would find out eventually if they kept going. Rare’s group collected all the wood and marched forward.
If they were once Deas’s brothers-in-arms, that meant that this forest, just like the Great Liebe Forest, was also the site of a mass raising of undead of an unknown source. The obvious conclusion was that someone had cast these spells on purpose, but in the great forest, outside of the undead that suddenly appeared, there were no other oddities.
The undead that had appeared back then weren’t very strong, with one exception: Deas. In the end, Rare eliminated all of the other undead, and Deas, the only one with a sense of self left, swore to avenge his fallen kingdom and surrendered to Rare.
She wondered if there was another special undead like Deas here. If there were, she would really like to add them to her forces. It would be nice for Deas to have a colleague to work with, but mostly she wanted another sample of an undead that retained its ego to study.
<Say, Deas…>
<You are far too kind, Princess. It would certainly be ideal if the leader here would peacefully pledge loyalty to us, but it is otherwise unnecessary to be considerate of my station.>
<Eeeeeeehh, well, looking only at the end result, that may be true, but that wasn’t exactly where I was going with that. I still want to build up my army, and since there are rumors spreading that our forest might have an undead boss, it would be nice if I had some weaker undead soldiers at my disposal.>
It was a little awkward that obtaining more Knight’s Grudges was inversely related to her desired outcome. If she was unable to get an undead army but instead refilled her stock of Knight’s Grudges, then she could still create more skeletal soldiers with iron or something. However, the thought of having to pull more overtime chugging MP potions to do it really put a damper on Rare’s spirits. Plus she wouldn’t even be purely strengthening her troops, but purposely making weak ones. It would be a waste, in various ways.
<So basically, I’d really like to have this undead army if at all possible. Deas, would you get it for me?>
<…As you wish.>
After that, Deas’s troops switched from marching in a straight line to a much more strangely meandering route. Apparently they now avoided the enemy’s patrol lines. Any lookouts that couldn’t be evaded were quietly eliminated by the scouts. It would have been nice if Rare could have used [Necromantic Barrier] to put them all under her control, but if these undead were already under the control of another character, then they were not susceptible to either [Control] or [Subordinate]. Deas and the undead who appeared with him were considered “wild” undead, but Deas started with skills from the [Necromancy] tree as well as [Subordinate], so if left alone he would have taken control of all those undead and conquered the entire forest. She had been wondering why the Great Liebe Forest, the cradle for a raid boss, housed the two separate forces of Sugaru and Deas, but maybe one of them was supposed to end up as fodder for the other.
If that was what had happened in this forest, then the undead had won the power struggle. That meant that the leader had successfully become a full-fledged raid boss.
“Oh, this will be fun…”
This forest was quite expansive as well. It would take a fair amount of time to reach the center. Deas and the adamantite series wouldn’t get fatigued because of their races, but that didn’t hold true for Rare, Kerry, Marion, and Ginka. They would need to find a place to camp. Since they would stop earning XP as soon as Rare went to sleep (read: logged out), she wanted everyone else to avoid combat during that time as much as possible, but it could be unavoidable if her timing was bad. That said, the Great Liebe Forest was also constantly under assault by players, so there would naturally be squandered XP either way. Even though they had XP income from their farms, it was hard not to consider all that loss as a waste.
<In other words, if you could try not to get into fights while I’m not awake as much as possible, it would make me feel better.>
<It is possible if we aren’t ambushed, but…>
<Depending on the opponent, you may have no choice but to ignore my request. It’s just something to keep in mind.>
After that, Deas picked up the pace. They still remained cautious, but they were marching much more boldly now. Occasionally, they would run into an undead, and at first glance they appeared to be skeletal knights or something similar. It wasn’t that the scouts weren’t finding them, but rather that there were too many to assassinate so they purposely let them through. It generally only took one slice of an adamanknight’s sword to cut them down, and their corpses… weren’t they already corpses? Well, their remains were gathered up.
According to the map, the place where they set up camp that day was about a third of the way to the heart of the forest. Considering how large this forest was, it was definitely an unthinkable pace. It was largely due to the fact that they took nearly no breaks. By the way, while they did make camp, it wasn’t to pass the night; Rare typically only operated after sunset, so they were currently camping during the day.
“All right, I’m going to sleep for a bit. Let’s see, I’ll be up in just under five hours, so please guard this campsite until then. You can continue exploring, but if you come across any unknown monsters or materials, I would like to see them as well, so please wait before engaging or gathering them.”
<That may prove to be too difficult, so we shall quietly defend the campsite.>
“Well then, I will return to Liebe to sleep. What will you girls do? Would you like to come back for a bit with me?”
“Yes, Boss, we’ll accompany you.”
“Got it. I’ll head there first.”
Rare then used [Designate Coordinates] to lock onto Sugaru, then cast [Summon Caster]. Having returned to the queen’s chamber, next she used [Summon] on the rest of the girls.
“I’ve returned, Sugaru. And welcome back, Kerry, Marion, and Ginka.”
<Welcome home, Boss, as well as everyone else.>
“We’re home, Sugaru; long time no see.”
<It has been some time, Miss Marion.>
Like always, Rare settled herself deep into the throne then prepared to log out. Kerry and Marion also divested themselves of Yoroisaka’s younger sisters, then disappeared behind the partition in the corner of the room. Beds were set up there for Rare’s attendants to use for napping whenever it was time to rest. Ginka curled up at Rare’s feet on the giant bear pelt that was spread out there. As an ice wolf, she was comfortable sleeping on the floor.
“All right, I will see you all later. Good night.”
＊
The next night, Rare returned to Deas’s side at about the time she predicted and asked for an update on what happened during her absence.
“Well then, did you end up getting attacked during the day while we slept?”
<Yes. Our deepest apologies. We drove back an unknown monster that assaulted us.>
“There is nothing for you to apologize for. So something that wasn’t undead came out, huh. Which means that this forest is home to undead at night and some other kind of monster during the day?”
<That appears to be the case. What we fought was a tree monster, and we have stored its remains in the ‘inventory.’>
“Since it’s a plant-type monster, that would mean it’s active during the day because of photosynthesis…? If it’s going out of its way to attack others, is photosynthesis insufficient for its nutrition? Is it capable of ambulation due to the lower half of its body? If that’s the way it developed, that would mean its roots probably degenerated, so clearly it would be harder to absorb nutrients… There must have been a problem with its evolutionary direction, no doubt about it.”
But this was good news. There was no more magical plant than plant-type monsters. If they could catch one, they could try to start a big farm for them back in the Great Liebe Forest.
“Anyway, capture the next one you see. Do you think more will come?”
<I am not sure. The sun has not set just yet, so there could be more.>
“I see. Well, I’ll think on it more as we move. If undead don’t come out during the day, then that would be an opportunity to cover more distance. And if they’re going to attack a campsite, then there’s no reason to believe they wouldn’t also attack while we’re on the move.”
Perhaps Rare’s words tripped some kind of switch of fate. As soon as they set off, they got ambushed.
“Now I get it! They camouflage themselves as trees! That’s why they don’t get detected by our scouts!”
When Rare’s forces were camped in place, then the monsters had no choice but to move themselves, making them easy to detect. However, when Rare’s group was on the move, then the monsters only had to wait, meaning they wouldn’t be found out. Still, even in a situation where trees suddenly transformed into monsters to attack them, the adamantite soldiers under Deas’s command were calm and composed. Not that they could really be anything but calm and composed.
The soldiers must have been trying to show off to Rare. Even if they were hit, they wouldn’t take any damage, but an adamanknight purposely blocked a downswung branch with its shield, and an adamanmage attacked with [Lightning Magic]. That single strike tore through the plant monster, ripping it in half vertically, and the bifurcated tree fell to the ground. Elsewhere, Deas held his sword horizontally and cleaved through multiple plant monsters in a straight line. That was all it took to cut them all in half, instantly killing them. Considering that their fibers ran vertically, it would have been easier to cut them lengthwise, but this also must have been a show for Rare. Deas’s skill with the sword was one of his strengths, but cutting vertically was more efficient, so the truth was that choosing to pointlessly waste stamina by attacking horizontally was a misjudgment. This was complicated, honestly evaluating his performance.
In any case, the adamantite platoon consisted of 30 members. Even though they were completely surrounded, that posed no problem at all. The battle ended quickly; all that remained were pieces of wood scattered everywhere.
“Do these monsters… coexist with the undead? Or do they both share the same leader…?”
Whichever it was, they would find out eventually if they kept going. Rare’s group collected all the wood and marched forward.
