Luring the Enemy

"My king, all the obstacles have been cleared." By the time Wien returned to the Forest's core with the other Hollows, the Menos Grande Jekain had already killed the three remaining High-Level Hollows and was waiting there for Wien to return.

"Mm, well done," Wien praised him. "You fought beautifully in that last battle."

"My king, I..." Jekain's voice was apologetic.

"There's no need to blame yourself, Jekain." Wien shook his head.

"Becoming a Gillian and going to the Forest of Menos—that's your mission. You don't need to feel guilty about leaving now."

"Yes..." Hearing Wien's understanding words, Jekain sounded a little less burdened.

"Go on. I know you don't have much time left to stay here. Take the bodies of those three High-Level Hollows and devour them to recover the Spiritual Power you just spent.

"On your way out of the Forest, you may prey on any Hollow beasts you encounter. But remember, once you reach the Forest of Menos, never get involved in a melee, and don't approach an Adjuchas lightly. Make sure you gain as much as you can while taking as little damage as possible.

"I believe we'll meet again in the Inner Circle someday, in the form of Adjuchas, or even the higher Vasto Lorde! So until then, I order you not to die!"

"I will obey your command, my king!" Jekain bowed respectfully to Wien. That respect came entirely from his heart. If their initial cooperation to devour the Gillian had only been for the sake of each other's survival, then Jekain's admiration for Wien had now surpassed the bond they had forged through hardship. It was truly a subordinate's reverence for his leader.

"My king, I'm leaving. Please take care of yourself. I'll survive in the Inner Circle. No matter what it takes, I'll be waiting there for you."

With that, Jekain threw back his head and howled, then turned and left the area. Along the way, he used all his Spiritual Pressure to keep howling, intimidating the Hollow beasts on his route and doing the last little bit he could for Wien and the others.

After a long time, Jekain's howls vanished at the far end of the Forest. Wien's expression remained calm as he felt Jekain's Spiritual Pressure gradually recede into the distance.

As the sound faded away, Wien turned and began issuing orders to the seven Hollows behind him.

"Jis, Shuen, Inora, Falles, Feisilin'na, Kuroi, Ailian. Rest for a while and eat the bodies of those High-Level Hollows to recover your Spiritual Power. After a short rest, we'll have a big project to get busy with."

"My king, what about you?" Inora asked. "You should have first pick of the prey."

"I didn't expend much in this battle, so I don't need to eat. I want you to become Gillians first, so start building your strength. I need some time to think about what we'll be doing next."

After answering, Wien waved his hand and dismissed the Hollows. Seeing that he needed a quiet place, they respectfully withdrew, heading to different parts of the battlefield to clean it up.

Several hours later, the seven Hollows returned one after another to the high ground where Wien was. They stood before him and waited for his orders. Wien sat on the high ground, looking down at them. After a brief pause, he began to speak.

"Falles, you should have the highest Spiritual Pressure here now, right?"

"Yes, my king," Falles replied respectfully.

"Then you'll advance first." Wien nodded. "For the time being, the hunting plan will focus on you. We'll give you plenty of prey, and I hope you can advance as soon as possible."

"But, my king, I..." Falles trailed off.

"Falles, don't worry about becoming a mindless Gillian. Even if that happens, I'll lead everyone away safely and make sure you can leave this Forest and reach the Forest of Menos safely too."

"Yes..." Falles lowered his head respectfully. What Wien had just said was exactly what he had been worried about. If he really became a mindless Gillian, he would attack Wien and the others immediately, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. But Wien's words eased his worries somewhat.

"Mm, the order after that will be Ailian, Shuen, Kuroi, and Jis. As for Inora and Feisilin'na, I need you to stay by my side and assist me, so you'll go last. Any problem with that?"

"We'll obey all your commands, my king," Inora and Feisilin'na replied respectfully.

"Good. Next, Jis and Shuen, the two of you take to the air now and survey the distribution of Hollow beasts throughout the Forest. Each of you find several areas where they're densely concentrated.

"Falles and Inora, you two find a boulder and bring it back. The bigger, the better. Then find rocks about the size of a person—as many as possible.

"Kuroi, you're good at digging. Dig a pit more than fifteen meters deep here with me, and carve out a gently rising path.

"Ailian, use your Blade Armor to chop down a few large trees and bring them back. Feisilin'na, stay here with me and help Kuroi. Also, use your webs to set traps wherever I need them.

"Yes," they all answered at once, accepting their orders.

"Although we eliminated the greatest enemy in this Forest in the battle with Jekain, there are still other, slightly weaker forces watching us. Be careful not to fall into an enemy trap while you're working, especially Shuen and Jis, who'll be scouting from the air. Understood?" Wien reminded them again.

"We will obey your command, my king!"

"We will obey your command, my king!"

"Dismissed!"

At his command, the Hollows immediately set about their tasks, mindful of Wien's warning. They scattered to different parts of the Forest.

"My king, where should I dig?" Kuroi, who had stayed behind, asked.

"Oh, right under my feet." Wien pointed to the ground beneath him. "Right here at the edge of this Hill. Five meters across and fifteen meters deep."

"Yes."

The enormous undertaking took Wien and the others quite some time.

It wasn't that the Hollows worked too slowly. Rather, Wien needed to explain the purpose of each trap to them. This gave them knowledge and also made it easier for them to build traps on their own, without his supervision.

On the other hand, as their leader, Wien couldn't simply watch his subordinates work all the time. After Jis and the others returned from scouting, Wien went alone to several places where High-Level Hollows had gathered and began his own hunt.

Of course, Wien couldn't take on dozens of High-Level Hollows alone. Although his Spiritual Pressure had become comparable to a Gillian's after he devoured the Menos Grande's mask, he hadn't truly advanced yet. Three to five at once was his limit.

Bang!

With a Shatter Slash, Wien severed a Mutant Hollow's long horn. He stepped back several paces, tore the masks from the Hollows he had just killed, and withdrew without continuing to fight the Mutant Hollow.

The Mutant Hollow roared in pain, spewing the bitterest curses from its mouth, but Wien paid it no heed. Leaving a bleak figure behind him, he retreated toward the center of the Forest.

By now, Wien had ambushed three small groups. Each time, there had been no more than five, and each time, he had left survivors.

Of course he couldn't kill them all. Otherwise, wouldn't the traps he had set at the core be pointless? Going back and forth, Wien had been at this for nearly a week. Dozens of small groups of Hollows had fallen victim to him.

Thus, after roughly ten days, the Hollows in the Forest began to grow restless. Waves of clamorous Spiritual Pressure carried their grievances deep into the core.

"That should be enough." One day, Wien and the other Hollows had eaten the masks they had just hunted and were taking a short rest when howls came from around the Forest. Sensing the hostility in the howls and Spiritual Pressure, Wien's lips curved slightly upward. "Get ready for battle."

"Yes," the seven Hollows under Wien answered in unison. They had been preparing for this day for a long time.

"My king, please take your seat." Inora used his tentacles to bring over a chair carved and polished from the Forest's trees. Though crudely made and entirely lacking in beauty, it was enough to show Wien's position as their leader.

Wien was surprised, but he quickly accepted it. After all, commanding from a chair had far more presence than sitting on a little mound of dirt.

"Let's begin." Seated in the chair, Wien waved his hand, signaling that everything could start, as though waiting for a performance.

"Screee!!!"

At Wien's command, the seven Hollows released their Spiritual Pressure at once, directing it at the steadily approaching enemies.

The next moment, the Spiritual Pressure outside the Forest shifted instantly from probing to attacking. Figures darted out one after another and began charging toward the center of the Forest.

Why had they suddenly rushed out? Because they had numbers on their side. Believing the Spiritual Pressure at the Forest's center wasn't enough to oppose them, they charged madly toward their prey.

But they didn't know that countless deadly traps lay beside that enormous temptation.

"My king, the Ordinary Hollows are too numerous to count. There are roughly several hundred Elite Hollows, but only twenty-two have reached the level of High-Level Hollows," Inora reported from Wien's side.

"Mm, about as many as expected." Wien nodded, calculating how many survivors he had left recently and how many could have joined forces. "Feisilin'na, prepare to activate the first stage of the traps."

"Yes, my king." Feisilin'na accepted the order. Soon, a pale silver Spiritual Pressure slowly rose from her body.

"Ready..." Wien said, sensing the positions of the clamorous Spiritual Pressures around them. "Now!"

Hum... boom!!!

A flash of silver passed through Feisilin'na's eyes. Clouds of dust rose across several thousand meters, accompanied by the anguished howls of countless Hollow beasts.

First-stage trap: pitfalls.

They were the dozens of pits Kuroi had dug on Wien's orders. They were filled with countless sharp wooden stakes, all cut from trees outside the Forest's center and sharpened.

After the pitfalls were prepared, Wien had Feisilin'na spin webs over them and reinforce them with Spiritual Power so they could bear more weight. Then a thick layer of earth and wood was spread over the top.

The enemies wouldn't fall in as soon as they stepped onto it. But once Feisilin'na removed the Spiritual Pressure attached to the webs, the fragile strands couldn't possibly support the weight of a dozen or even dozens of Hollow beasts, and the pitfall traps collapsed.

The sharp wooden stakes pierced the bodies falling from above, one after another. Only some of the Hollow beasts with hard shells survived by luck.

"A little under half the Ordinary and Elite Hollows are dead or wounded. The Spiritual Pressures of the High-Level Hollows haven't changed," Inora reported.

"Mm, as expected. Let them come a little closer." Wien nodded.

Before long, the Hollows that had escaped the pitfalls charged toward Wien again. At a distance of about a thousand meters, Wien could already make out the figures of some enormous Hollow beasts.

"Prepare the second stage." Seeing that they were close enough, Wien immediately ordered, "Fire!"

Boom! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!

Heavy rushes of air swept overhead from behind, and rocks larger than a person shot out from behind Wien.

Second stage: stone throwing.

Using the only tools available in the Forest—trees and rocks—along with Feisilin'na's webs, Wien had made simple lever-powered stone throwers.

They had pushed enormous boulders onto a stretch of high ground and had Kuroi dig out the terrain below. At Wien's command, the boulders were pushed down from the high ground, smashing into one end of a wooden beam and launching the stones on the other end through the principle of leverage.

After some simple calculations, the stone throwers had been positioned optimally. Once launched, the rocks landed roughly a thousand meters in front of Wien.

The pivots of the levers were bound with Feisilin'na's silk, enough to withstand the impact—but only once.

The rocks flew, and the Hollow beasts that had survived the pitfalls were struck again. Some that took direct hits were smashed into bloody pulp.

"Nearly half the Ordinary and Elite Hollows have been killed or wounded. Three High-Level Hollow Spiritual Pressures have disappeared."

"Tsk, tsk. Sure enough, it wasn't all that effective." Wien shook his head. After all, the materials were crude. Wiping out so much cannon fodder this way was already the most these contraptions could accomplish.

"Never mind. We're retreating!" Wien slapped the chair, and the flimsy wooden seat beneath him shattered. Then he set off, leading the Hollows as they darted north through the Forest.