Upon hearing the news that everyone from the girls dorm and Ceres-mama went to the South to help, we immediately went to the South. We asked the knight coaching a Kiryu to hitch us a ride and he gave it to us.
Then, flying overhead, we reached the South of the kingdom, the Great Forest, and I knew it was abnormal at a single glance. The image of the great forest, which Chloe-oneesama told me about, was a place like a jungle, where green grows lushly and countless living things thrive, but what’s spreading beneath my eyes were a bewitching forest turned purple, making an eerie atmosphere. I don’t think living things, let alone monsters, could live in that place.
I see the girls dorm residents, and the knights scattered at the border between the forest and plains, but there are a few monsters coming out of the forest. But, I feel every monster attacking filled with dread and bloodlust.
「It’s almost like they’re running away from the forest.」
Lina, who was watching the scene unfold, mumbled, but that seems to be correct. A massive group of monsters pour out of the great forest fleeing from the place that turned to a forest of death, looking for a safe place.
「Weird」
「The forest? It certainly looks weird…」
「No. It changed too quick. There should still be enough mana」
Sphie-oneesama shows where the other girls had defeated several monsters swapping place with the reserve knights. The girls who stepped back went straight into the forest. Are they feeling unsteady or is that my imagination?
「Besides, the trees of the forest gets knocked down easily. The trees must be monsters too」
Sophie-oneesama points to a horizontal mark carved into the battlefield and the scattered fallen trees.
「True. I also heard that the trees in the great forest has incredible vitality and reproduction」 They say that those within the range of the world tree’s mana grow big from fallen logs in one night.
The reason the forest doesn’t disappear even when countless monsters rampage. That’s the abnormal recovery speed of the plants. It seems that their propagation power has been lost from the purple forest below. In any case, something weird happened to the world tree.
「Oh, there~ Something’s moving~」
「Huh?」
Mira points at the deep part of the forest. Besides the members building the defense line, was someone in the forest?
「Hmm~ There’s a weird guy there~?」
I try to focus on the shadows flickering between the treetops, but they’re too far and too fast to see clearly. Mira-chan says that they’re in human form.
「Perhaps, the people on the ground haven’t noticed yet, so should we tell them?」
We asked the knight operating the Kiryu’s vehicle, and head toward the forest instead of the fortress. Since the crest of the great lord of North is in the body, it probably won’t be attacked. When we stepped down closest to the shadow of the forest, a knight with a sun-darkened face looked up at us and raised a voice of joy.
「The great lord of North has send rescue! Thank you」
It seems like a misunderstanding, but there’s no time to correct it. I feel the silhouette of a person in a forest approaching, speeding up. Perhaps it witnessed us landing hee. It’s coming straight at us.
「Something’s approaching from the forest! Careful! It’s coming fast!」
「T-This manaー」
The knight looked at the forest and braced himself.
Gusha!!! Zushaaaaaa!!!
The figure leaped out of the forest, delivered a kick into his face, landed, and stopped while scattering a cloud of dust. The kicked knight flew several meters away That looks painful.
「Mu? I finally made it to the lizard’s nest. I saw an unpleasant face and I couldn’t help but kick. Oh well」
Gold hair and deep green eyes. A fair skin around the age of 20. She’s a woman with brilliant beauty and sharp intellect, covering her ample breast and crotch with a thin bikini-like cloth, carrying a bow and quiver on her shoulders.
「Is she an elf?」
「Mu? There’s another male?」
You could mistake her as a horny woman, but she’s an elf. The length of her ear is about twice than of a normal human. The elf beauty frowned when she looked at me. Her mana wavered, then her hand reached out towards the bow.
I filled my entire body with Mana, Lina-chan and the girls also got wary of her, preparing to attack anytime.
「Oops. This wasn’t the time for that」
However, she erased the dangerous atmosphere and ordered me with an arrogant and insolent demeanor.
「Hey, you there. I’ll let you off the hook. In exchange, you’ll be mine to command. I’m adding you to my subordinates」
「Yikes」
I can’t help but be shocked. No matter how beautiful she is, I’m not gonna be happy because she orders me like that.
But, she’s an elf. The self-proclaimed ruler of the forests.
These are the Amazoness, a group of female fighters born directly from the world tree, forming a “female only” society.
Since they grew up in a special environment, they generally view men as enemies, and they’re incompatible with a kingdom where men hold the upper hand, and where most the lords and knights are men.
Well, a Kiryu male would try to take the elf woman if they defeat her, causing various trouble so you can’t really say that the elf is to blame.
Personally, I feel like it’s highly likely that the male Kiryu caused trouble. Look, there were examples at the dwarf tribes.
Well, with that happening, the elf queen “Lilith” and I had the worst encounter