Chapter 68: 68

20 Pierce Through the Black Forest (5)

The wild thumping of his heart made Iron stare blankly at one spot.

Although there wasn’t an illusion like the one in the case of the phoenix in Winter Mountains, he felt that the path in the forest was much clearer than before.

He looked at the path strangely as if it was beckoning him to walk through it.

“Major Iron! Major!”

One of the rangers called out to Iron when he saw him staring blankly somewhere. Then, a Ghost suddenly rushed up to him.

“Iron! Wake up!”

Slap!

Iron quickly came back to his senses after being slapped by one of the Ghosts but his stare went blank just as fast.

“Senior?”

“What’s wrong?”

Billie Brandt looked at Iron anxiously.

“Keuk!”

The Ghosts all rushed up to him when Iron suddenly grabbed his chest in pain.

“What’s wrong with Iron?”

“I don’t know either. He was just staring blankly before suddenly grabbing his chest…”

Carl Gustav also looked at Iron worriedly.

“Wi… tch…”

Iron spoke up while suppressing his groan. He felt that he was stabbed by something.

Iron had felt a strange energy when they entered the Black Forest. However, unlike the cozy energy from before this was a strange stabbing energy. Only then was he able to realize that this was the witch’s energy that mixed in with the cozy energy that was synchronizing with him.

“The witch’s power? Is it sorcery?!”

“Is it because you’re not yet at 5th Stage?”

“I don’t think that’s it. If that’s it then the rangers should also feel it too!”

“So why…?”

Billie Brandt replied anxiously. He was telling Carl Gustav that his words were completely preposterous.

“Is it because of the divine beast?”

“The possibility is high.”

The Ghosts looked at Iron worriedly.

If his condition was because of magic then no potion would work on him. They needed magic or relics to help stabilize the mind and the spirit but they wouldn’t be able to get an item like that in their current situation. They were wearing magic tools that could block mental magic since there was a witch but if it was already broken through then it was meaningless for them to try something else.

“Hoo… hoo…”

Iron breathed deeply despite his pained expression as he tried to stabilize his pounding heart. He felt like his head would burst the stronger the synchronization became. Fortunately, he was able to use his divine power to forcefully cut off the synchronization and stabilize his mind.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes.”

The sudden pain made Iron space out for a moment. But he shook his head as he stared at the Ghosts before answering Carl Gustav.

“I think… there’s a divine beast here.”

“A divine beast?”

“…Yes.”

Iron stared blankly at the path that he was staring at before.

“If it’s a divine beast then… is it Two Moons?”

“I think so.”

Iron called out to Owl after hearing Carl Gustav’s words.

‘Owl… Is that right? The thing that’s here is you?’

Owl did not answer Iron’s question. However, he could instinctively feel that he was correct.

He knew that it did not make sense for Owl to fail to completely recover over the time that they had spent together. In addition, their synchronization rate was getting faster the further they went inside the Black Forest. There was also Owl’s lingering mana and the amiable and cozy energy that made his heart pound wildly.

Taking all of these into account, Iron thought that there was a high probability that Owl had left something here in the Black Forest. And the witch was using it to open a dimensional crack.

So what would happen if I intercept the medium with Owl?

Perhaps, just like in the Winter Mountains, the dimensional crack would be incomplete.

“Explain more.”

Hearing Lintel pressing for more details, Iron nodded his head.

“Just like when they tried to open a dimensional crack with the power of phoenix in the Winter Mountains, there’s a high possibility that they’re doing something similar in this place.”

“Then, they must be using Two Moons as the medium?”

“That’s what I believe to be the case.”

Iron nodded his head at Carl Gustav’s words.

“I can guess since Owl, the divine beast that I signed a contract with, is Two Moons. And since our synchronization is getting stronger while the power that I attract is getting stronger…”

“There’s something that Two Moons had left behind in the Black Forest.”

“Yes.”

“Then, what will happen if we take it out?”

“I think it will bring the same results with the Winter Mountains.”

Carl Gustav and the rest of the Ghosts remained silent when they heard Iron’s words. The same was true for the rangers nearby.

“But why did you suddenly get hurt?”

“A force, presumably the witch’s mana, interfered with our synchronization.”

“That’s possible?”

The divine beast’s contractor’s power was something special. It was something that an ordinary mana could not interfere with. Even the spiritualists could not interfere with the divine beast and its contractor’s synchronization.

If the witch was powerful enough to intervene then it meant that the power of the witch was far beyond that of an ordinary witch.

“I’m going nuts.”

“Hooo… The commander is here but I still feel uneasy?”

Despite the continuous firing of bullets and bombs, as well as attacks from the numerous troops on the outskirts of the Black Forest, only the knights, rangers and Ghosts had entered inside.

The experienced knights were only able to break through right after the outskirts of the Black Forest, anywhere further than that was still an obstacle to be breached. And if they assumed that most of the rangers that entered the forest ahead were all incapacitated and in bad condition, this only left the Ghosts. They were now the only people left who had the power to actually enter and attack the center of the forest.

“If she’s a witch that has a power that can use and interfere with the divine beast, should we assume that she’s a witch above the master level?”

“Do you think so?”

“The problem is, is it possible for us to go with just our power alone?”

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Their biggest problem was whether they could enter the center of the forest after this place had been turned into the witch’s domain or not. They knew that this was completely different from their operation in the Winter Mountains. After all, all they needed to do back then was to go to where the phoenix was. This was an extremely difficult operation that needed all of the power that they could have. And since the witch’s power was concentrated in the center, they needed to move there without losing any energy and power.

In the end, all they could do was relieve their fatigue and refill their consumed mana while trying to ponder deeply about their next actions in their makeshift base.

Then…

“We’ll pierce through.”

“Yes? That’s impossible.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Carl Gustav was silent for a long time. He only opened his mouth to finally tell them his decision that was made after thinking about things thoroughly. But Lintel and Billie Brandt immediately opposed it.

“Listen to the sound.”

The Ghosts immediately focused and used their mana to listen to the sounds.

“Can you hear the sound of bombs?”

Although it was faint, they could still tell that it was the sound of bombs.

“Chances are high that the sound of bombs is coming from the center. Our operation was designed in a way that we would follow the sound of bombs if ever we found ourselves disoriented in the forest.”

“Ah…”

“This is enough evidence that the operation is still ongoing. Besides, the number of trees in the surrounding area has also decreased.”

Everyone looked around upon hearing Carl Gustav’s words. They found out that the number of ghost trees in the surrounding area had truly decreased.

“There are probably rangers or knights that are active in the nearby area.”

All of them nodded with determination after hearing Carl Gustav’s words.

Their colleagues continued to move according to their plans. Even if they were in the worst case scenario, they couldn’t just waste their time here. They wanted to answer their comrades’ trust and fulfill their duties as a soldier. And the Ghosts were the strongest force that entered the Black Forest so they had a higher burden than anybody else. They needed to do this.

“We’re moving. Iron, can you guide us?”

“Yes.”

“Good. From now on, I will change our operation with my authority. The operation name is ‘Two Moons’.”

The eyes of all of the Ghosts shone with determination when they heard the name of the operation. Seeing that their will was firm, Carl turned around.

“Will you be joining us?”

Hearing Carl’s question, all of the rangers stood up. Their representative stepped forward and spoke with determination.

“It’s our honor to join you.”

Carl shook hands with the ranger as they both smiled at each other.

“From now on, we will be breaking through the Black Forest. Fire a flare whenever we pass through a certain area. Use all the flares that everyone carries.”

Carl spread a map after giving his order to fire a flare to announce the location that they passed by on their way to the center.

“In fact, this map might be useless now. There’s a high probability that this forest has changed since it has already become the witches’ realm.”

Then, Carl tapped on the place where he believed was their current location.

“But it’s still possible to roughly point out our current location. This is where we have to go from this point on.”

It was a short distance that would take less than two days if they were on foot. But it would only take hours for talented people like them who were at the 4th Stage on average. However, they still were not sure how long it would take considering the forest’s topography as well as this place being the witches’ realm.

“Let’s take this punk to where Two Moons is. Alright?”

“Yes, sir!”

When Carl placed his hand on Iron’s head, all of the Ghosts answered loudly. The rangers couldn’t help but smile when they saw the scene.

“Please don’t leave us out either.”

“Of course.”

Carl smiled as he tucked the map in his belt.

“The sound of bombing is coming from over there. It’s on the opposite side from where we fought earlier so that’s likely where the center is.”

Carl pulled out his sword.

“Let’s break through in one go!”

“Yes, sir!”

Carl moved forward as soon as the Ghosts answered.

―Kyaaaaa!

“Lintel.”

A specter appeared as soon as the Ghosts began to move. Lintel immediately dashed forward and cut off the specter. Then, the ghost trees broke free of the ground and blocked their way.

“We’ll be in charge of this.”

The Ghosts moved quickly along the path as the rangers fired arrows and bullets coated with mana and non-attributed mana towards the specters and ghost trees. Then, the pumpkin dolls and straw dolls that they faced earlier became huge and blocked them once again. The rangers also pulled the dolls’ attention as they paved the way for the Ghosts to move forward.

Since the rangers, who were twice the number of Ghosts, put their all into blocking the specters, ghost trees and dolls, the Ghosts were able to move forward while conserving their strength. Even though they were the only ones that remained, they were still thankful that they were able to save their strength for a bit later.

However, the Ghosts were forced to stop again not long after.

There was another enemy that blocked their path.

Seeing this familiar figure, the Ghosts’ expressions all hardened. This was the enemy that they had already grown sick and tired of fighting against in the Winter Mountains.

“Void insect…”

Iron gritted his teeth as he stared at the countless void insects that appeared in front of them.

“The dimensional crack has already been opened.”

“I think they’re in the process of making this place their territory.”

Iron sighed after hearing Carl Gustav’s solemn words.

“But I can’t see any dimensional cracks nearby?”

“We can say that this place has already been controlled by the dimensional crack’s contaminated mana.”

“That means…”

“The dimensional gate will more likely grow. It’s highly likely that high-ranked monsters will appear.”

As Iron spoke about the possibility, he thought of the bastards that would come out after the void insects. The second most troublesome in terms of population and were placed right next to the bugs… Just like piranhas on earth, they swarm together and gnaw on their enemies like crazy dogs.

“If the dimensional fish comes out… we have no choice but to sweep them away with a large army.”

“Dimensional fish…”

Carl Gustav was also aware of this being.

They were creatures that were so scary that not even a master could survive in their territory. There would be no end to them no matter how much you killed them. If hell had angler fish, then the void had the dimensional fish.

“Do you want to stop?”

Carl’s mouth shut as he fell in deep thought after hearing Iron’s question. But he looked at Iron not long after as he spoke solemnly.

“No. We should move forward.”

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