LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 64: The Knight Order and the Cursed Forest (Part 1)
Early the next morning, Theodric and his party arrived at a fork in the road that led to Scarletford.
At the entrance to the fork, several stakes had been driven into the ground, blocking the passage of carriages. However, people and horses could still pass between the stakes. But beyond that, the path had completely turned into overgrowth, making it impossible to discern where the road was.
“…It’s no different than marching through the forest now.”
“This will be quite the challenge, Sir Theodric.”
“Indeed. Honestly, what kind of deep-seated hatred would lead someone to block the only path through the Cursed Forest?”
Theodric frowned as he spoke.
“Indeed, it’s always like this with those lowly merchants…”
“Greedy scoundrels blinded by money. It can’t be helped. They’ll probably end up in hell after death.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, it’s time to move. This dense overgrowth is dangerous. Start cutting the grass!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Theodric’s command, the squires stepped forward.
“There may be horned rabbits lurking in the grass. If they stab you, it’ll be a serious injury. Be on your guard.”
“Yes, sir!”
The squires carefully approached the grass and began cutting it.
After advancing about 500 meters into the forest over the course of half a day, Theodric and his party encountered a large stag with impressive antlers. The animal’s muscular body and magnificent fur gave it an air of dignity.
“Huh? It’s a stag.”
“It’s huge. If we caught a stag like that at the hunting tournament…”
“We might win first place.”
The squires chatted casually, but were soon interrupted by Theodric’s shout from behind.
“What are you doing!? That’s a monster! Squires, fall back! We’ll handle it!”
“Huh?”
“That thing?”
Some of the squires froze in fear, others leaned forward to get a better look out of curiosity, and some panicked and fled. Their reactions varied.
“Fools! Retreat now!”
“Eek!”
With a sharp rebuke from Theodric, the squires finally withdrew behind the knights.
“That’s a Forest Deer! It’s coming! Brace yourselves!”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights, clad in full metal armor and wielding large shields, stepped forward. The Forest Deer charged at them with incredible speed.
*Clang!*
One of the knights caught the Forest Deer’s antlers with his shield.
“Ugh…”
The knight groaned from the impact.
“Now!”
“Yes, sir!”
At that moment, the other knights thrust their spears at the Forest Deer. Most of the spears were deflected by its tough hide, but one managed to pierce its abdomen.
*Kyuuuu!*
The Forest Deer let out a sharp, distinctive cry and lowered its head. The next moment, the knight who had stopped the charge was sent flying into the air.
Yes, the Forest Deer had struck him upward with its antlers.
“Don’t falter!”
At Theodric’s command, the knights continued to thrust their spears, but the Forest Deer skillfully dodged and gained distance.
“It’s coming again! Brace yourselves! Deflect it!”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights raised their shields once more. This time, a faint aura seemed to surround the Forest Deer.
*Kyuuuu!*
With another high-pitched cry, it charged again, this time much faster than before.
But the knights, having learned from the previous encounter, did not attempt to stop it head-on. Instead, they shifted their shields to deflect the blow, redirecting the impact.
Caught off guard, the Forest Deer stumbled and staggered through the line of knights. Awaiting it at the end of the line was Theodric, sword drawn.
“Spirit of fire, heed my call and dwell in my blade!”
Theodric’s sword ignited in a fiery glow, and then—
*Slash!*
In a blink, he delivered a swift strike to the Forest Deer’s neck.
*Kyuuu…*
The Forest Deer let out a weak cry before collapsing to the ground. The smell of roasted meat soon filled the air.
Ignoring the fallen creature, Theodric quickly issued commands.
“Take care of Sir Paul immediately. You, over there, carry the Forest Deer’s meat. It’s valuable food.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Everyone, check your equipment.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights moved swiftly to carry out their orders, while Theodric approached the knight who had been thrown by the Forest Deer.
“Sir Paul, are you alright?”
“…”
But Paul did not respond. He appeared to have lost consciousness.
The attendants began to remove Paul’s armor one piece at a time.
“…His complexion looks bad. How’s his wrist?”
“I’ll remove his gauntlet now.”
The gauntlet was quickly removed.
“No abnormalities. Let him rest for a while.”
“Yes, sir!”
With that, Theodric walked back to the other knights.
Meanwhile, in the mayor’s office, a young man entered.
“Mayor, I have a report.”
“Oh? About what? I’m quite busy right now, so keep it brief.”
“Yes, it’s about the emergency budget allocation for the gold dust reward.”
“Ah, that. What about it? Don’t tell me it’s disappeared again?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what?”
“Recently, it seems no rewards have been paid out at all.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“It appears that, just like before, almost no gold dust is being found.”
The mayor thought for a moment, then sighed and spoke.
“In other words, they’ve exhausted what had flowed down. More will likely come with the next heavy rain.”
“Do you really think so…?”
“Yes, that’s how it works.”
“And one more thing…”
“What now?”
“Yes. The river’s water level has been unusually low for this season. So far, it hasn’t affected agriculture, but…”
“It hasn’t rained much since the last storm. That’s likely the cause.”
“Do you really think so…?”
“Of course it is. Anything else?”
“No, that’s all.”
“Then get back to work quickly.”
“Yes, understood.”
The man left the office, and the mayor let out a heavy sigh, muttering to himself.
“Good grief. I wonder how much it’s going to cost to restore the road through the Cursed Forest, especially when we’re still dealing with the damage from the underground incident…”