Magical Beasts and Overlords

"I don't know. This land is far too unfamiliar to us, and that is all the information I possess."

Under Aurelian's gaze, Jeanne's pretty, smiling face flushed slightly, likely out of shyness.

"I see. It seems the only way to find the answer is to locate the Child of Frost ourselves."

The group had already entered the depths of the Spruce Forest, where sheets of ice, white as paper, had congealed upon the bare earth.

The eerie temperature dropped even further.

Fortunately, sparse light still filtered down through the gaps in the canopy above.

Light and darkness combined in a strange, unsettling union, forming a bizarre tableau.

The rapid drop in temperature within the depths of the Spruce Forest was truly beyond the expectations of Aurelian and Master.

Because they were not wearing heavy armor or thick clothing, their movements began to slow due to the unnatural chill.

The magic power within their bodies could not ward off the strange, biting cold of this place.

"Stop here and start a fire to warm yourselves. We cannot handle dangerous magical beasts in this physical state."

Aurelian commanded. As the leader of this expedition, he naturally had to make the optimal decision; otherwise, coming here would be nothing more than a death sentence.

Five fires were lit using gathered firewood and quickly grew in size.

Aurelian, Jeanne, and Master sat in a circle, the flames roaring before them to raise their body temperatures.

"We have reached the depths of the Spruce Forest, and the level of danger is rising sharply—this bizarre temperature is proof of that. But I fear that if we continue to push inward, even more dangerous situations will arise, so all plans must be rearranged."

Aurelian's expression turned solemn as he spoke to the two beside him.

"My Lord, rest assured. Even if we encounter danger, I and your knights will stand before you. That is the duty of a knight."

"No, Master. Such sacrifices are meaningless. You and those knights must all return in one piece."

Aurelian shook his head, strongly disapproving of Master's sentiment.

After all, every knight by his side was a precious asset; how could he allow them to be lost here? If that were to happen, his heart would bleed.

"This... My Lord, you really are quite different."

Master was at a loss for how to respond. These words from Aurelian truly overturned his perception of him.

Did nobles not love using their knights as cannon fodder?

After all, nobles were arrogant; they would never deign to enter the fray themselves, even if they were far stronger than the knights under their command.

"Thank you for the compliment. I also believe I am quite different from those parasitic nobles."

Aurelian accepted Master's words with shameless ease.

Master twitched the corner of his mouth, giving up on arguing with Aurelian.

Just as Aurelian and Master were chatting, Jeanne, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly sharpened her gaze, her hand gripping the hilt of the cruciform sword at her side.

Jeanne's movement naturally caught the attention of the other two, as their minds had been on high alert the entire time.

"What is it, Jeanne?" Aurelian asked hurriedly.

Jeanne did not answer; she merely cast her gaze in one direction.

Aurelian and Master followed her line of sight toward the direction from which they had come.

Beyond the towering spruce trees, there were low shrubs and grass, but apart from those, there was nothing.

"It is too quiet here."

Jeanne said, her tone cold and devoid of inflection.

Quiet?

Aurelian suddenly realized it. Yes, since arriving here, everything had been far too quiet, as if they were the only living things left in the world.

In such a vast forest, even if wild beasts were scarce, there should at least be some signs of life, such as the chirping of birds or the buzzing of insects.

It was as if everything had been frozen, or as if everything had gone into hiding, waiting for the prey to step deeper and deeper until they were hooked.

"Something is playing the hunter, and we are the prey?"

"My Lord, should we leave? What if some Overlord is lurking here?"

Master asked from the side, his eyes filled with gravity.

Once a magical beast reached the Lower Rank, people called them Overlords. They could gather the beasts and weaker magical beasts around them to form packs, and powerful Overlords could even trigger beast tides like a flood.

Magical beasts of the same rank were far stronger than puny humans due to their innate racial advantages, but the world inevitably produced monsters or geniuses capable of fighting a magical beast of the same rank alone. For instance, Aurelian's sister, Fiona, possessed the terrifying strength to challenge a Source Gathering Rank beast even before she had reached the Lower Rank of magic power.

"It's too late," Jeanne said in a low voice. She had already drawn the silver cruciform longsword from her side, the blade emitting a metallic, vibrating hum that chilled the heart.

Low, guttural growls erupted as pairs of red eyes emerged in the dark woods, surrounding Aurelian and his party.

"Damn it! It's an ambush! Everyone, mount your horses and prepare for battle!!"

Seeing this scene, Master roared at the knights who were still warming themselves by the fire. The knights scrambled to their feet, drawing their longswords one after another as an aura of slaughter spread.

They were the elite knights of the kingdom; obedience had long since become an instinct.

"Darwin, lead four men to guard the front! Thomas, take four men to the left! Tom, you do the same and head to the right! Russell, stay with the remaining men to protect the Lord's safety!"

Master skillfully assigned the tasks to his adjutant, then turned to look at Aurelian; after all, the final decision rested with the Duke.

He had four knight squads under his command, with Darwin serving as the captain of the first squad and his adjutant, while Thomas, Tom, and Russell were the captains of the other three squads.

"Have we surrounded our prey? Then let's see if these monsters have the teeth to bite back. Master, command the knights' formation well; I have heard that the Star Knights are the most adept at hunting monsters."

"No problem, My Lord. This is the honor of the Star Knights," Master guaranteed.

Accompanied by low growls, streaks of flickering black shadows darted about, lunging fiercely at the knights in the front.

Flesh collided with metal as the silver-clad knight raised the shield on his left arm to block the strike. The black shadow was knocked to the ground by the impact, and the knight beside him had already drawn his longsword, severing the shadow's head.

The process was fluid and seamless, as if it had been repeated ten thousand times.

The full appearance of the black shadow was finally revealed: a wolf with a pitch-black body, sharp fangs and claws, and blood-red eyes, though now its head was separated from its body.