Martai was bordered by a coniferous forest to the north, plains and the Border Guard to the west, the Eastern Kingdom’s territory to the east, and another fairly large forest to the south.
That forest was called the ‘Grateful Forest’.
“Why is it called the Grateful Forest?”
Torres wondered as he tried to familiarize himself with the terrain around his newly established domain.
A soldier, a former ranger, walked alongside him and answered.
Five more members of the Border Guard followed behind them.
“Because we’re grateful.”
Just before Torres could crumple his face in annoyance, thinking the soldier was mocking him, the soldier continued.
“Have you been to the coniferous forest up north? It’s uninhabitable. Even rangers don’t venture in there. Do you know its nickname? The Cliff Forest.”
Torres had heard of it. It was famous.The northern part of Martai, the coniferous forest, marked the boundary of the continent.
It’s called the Cliff Forest because entering it is akin to falling off a cliff to your death.
“But to the south, there’s a forest abundant with fruits and animals. People who lived nearby long ago were so grateful for it that they named it the Grateful Forest.”
Grateful Forest.
Was the name unique or mundane?
Without giving it much thought, Torres continued to familiarize himself with the terrain and patrolled.
It was during this patrol that it happened.
A piercing shriek, not quite a horse’s whinny, filled the air. It was laced with malice and murderous intent, sending chills down their spines. It was the cry of a beast.
“What is that?”
Torres saw a horse at the edge of the Grateful Forest.
It was no ordinary horse. How could a horse’s fangs grow so prominently?
“Is that a beast?”
Torres asked.
“Seems like it.” replied the soldier.
Horses are herbivores, and it’s rare for a herbivore to become a beast. But it wasn’t unheard of.
Torres frowned, then relaxed and gestured.
Was there only one? Or were there more behind it?
Had it not noticed them yet?
Maybe not.
“A horse beast, that’s rare.” commented the former ranger.
“Are there any forest rangers inside the forest?”
Martai had deployed ranger units in the surrounding forests. Forest rangers were scouts who operated in the forest.
This continent was constantly plagued by the threats of beasts and monsters. Regular patrols were a necessity.
“Yes, there are.”
The soldier answered again.
He had a habit of breaking his sentences into pieces.
“It’s not unheard of for beasts and monsters to appear in the Grateful Forest, but this area is generally considered a safe zone with few beast sightings.” ʀΆŊỖʙÊŜ
As he spoke, the soldier’s mouth went dry, and he swallowed before continuing.
“A squad-sized unit enters on a rotating basis.”
“Even now?”
“Yes, even now.”
Behind the horse beast, more monsters appeared.
They were human-faced dogs. Between their jaws were torn flesh and red bloodstains.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
Torres commanded promptly and decisively.
What had happened to the ranger unit inside the forest? Were they annihilated?
At the very least, he assumed they had been ambushed and incapacitated, and he withdrew accordingly.
Had they been overwhelmed by just those numbers?
Or had it been a surprise attack?
There had to be some reason.
The horse beast and human-faced dogs, more than ten beasts in total, did not attack.
Torres found that puzzling as well.
“Do the beasts around here usually just drool at the sight of humans?”
“Huh?”
Zimmer had assigned him this idiot soldier, and Torres was eager to see Zimmer’s face as soon as possible.
This soldier couldn’t understand anything in one go.
“Ah, no. That’s not it. There was nothing unusual on the previous patrols. We didn’t find any traces of such a group.”
That was strange. How could rangers, who operated in the Grateful Forest, not find any traces, only for a dozen beasts to suddenly appear?
And what was with the mix of horse beasts and human-faced dogs?
It was all very peculiar.
A few of the monsters that had been watching started to approach slowly.
Without waiting, Torres stepped forward.
“Kill them all.”
Several human-faced dogs charged at them. The horse beast retreated.
It wasn’t a difficult fight.
Torres and his companions killed three or four human-faced dogs, while the horse beast watched for a moment before fleeing deeper into the forest.
It was too dangerous to go further, so they stopped there.
Torres wiped his blood-stained sword on the hide of a human-faced dog and spoke.
“We need to report this.”
Torres returned and reported to the former Border Guard Commander, who was now the Lord of the Castle. The lord, predicting there might be more beast packs, placed a request with the Border Guard city.
The request was beneficial in many ways, so it wasn’t something that had to be handled internally.
Besides, the Border Guard had many other tasks besides dealing with beasts.
The internal security of the domain wasn’t fully established either.
There were rumors that the so-called Eastern Mercenary King was displeased with Martai’s complete transition to Naurillia.
Some soldiers from the east had actually deserted during the night.
“It’s probably best to just let them go.”
This was Zimmer’s advice. Letting them go was wise since they were easterners. They would inevitably become a threat.
Resilient and stubborn, they were.
This was something an explorer once said about the eastern nomads.
Afterward, Torres busied himself with other matters. The Border Guard would take care of the monsters in the southern Grateful Forest.
The lord of Martai and Marcus, the Battalion Commander of the Border Guard, likely wanted the two domains to interact more naturally, hence the redistribution of tasks.
Torres then spent two days racking his brains with Zimmer to form a security force for the domain.
During this time, they received reports from rangers assigned to new patrols who had observed the Grateful Forest.
“It doesn’t seem like a large-scale colony has been established.”
That was a relief.
‘But why was the ranger squad wiped out? Another desertion?’
It could be desertion. Who knows.
A few days later, a small force from the Border Guard arrived for the request.
There were no more than ten of them.
One of them looked familiar.
Among them was a beastwoman with golden eyes, part of one of Encrid’s companies, once known as the Black Blade Bandits.
Martai’s forces could handle the extermination, but this was the first step in fostering interaction between the two domains.
“I look forward to working with you.”
Torres spoke to them, and the newcomers nodded.
The soldier who had the habit of breaking his sentences stepped forward to guide them again.
The beastwoman led the group as they set out to carry out the request.
‘Instead of hiring mercenaries, they used Border Guard soldiers.’
In winter, beasts run rampant.
As they continue to deal with the troublesome beasts and monsters, the two territories will naturally come together under one banner.
By spring, even if the Mercenary King acts up, Martai will have the strength to hold its own.
Torres wasn’t worried.
Border Guard soldiers are of high quality. They wouldn’t be defeated by mere horse beasts or human-faced dogs.
Especially with the beastwoman here.
There shouldn’t be any problems.
“Hey, where did you learn that?”
Rem asked.
Dunbachel replied that she learned it by watching and stealing from others while working as a mercenary.
No one in her hometown taught her anything.
The cursed transformation and the combination of golden eyes were enough for everyone to reject her.
As she twitched his cat-like nose and tied her long white hair back, Rem laughed heartily and raised his fist.
“Begin.”
What was the beginning? The start of violence, the start of a beating.
The day that began with a beating ended with a beating. No, it ended.
Was this a memory, or was it torment caused by psychological trauma?
Dunbachel rubbed her arms as if hugging herself as she walked, feeling a sudden chill.
“Cold?”
A soldier behind her asked.
“No.”
The beastwoman shook her head.
Cold wasn’t a sensitive issue for beastmen. Their body temperature was higher than humans’, and they were warm-blooded.
Beastmen were generally more susceptible to heat than cold. In other words, they were strong against the cold.
Their fur was thicker and grew more abundantly than that of humans.
The soldier didn’t ask any more questions after that.
As Dunbachel headed toward the place where the beasts were said to appear, she fell into thought.
Specifically, she reflected on the way Rem had taught her.
Had it been helpful?
She wanted to say no, but she couldn’t.
“Is this really teaching?”
She had asked.
“Is there any other way to describe it, you idiot beast? What do you think I’m doing right now?”
“Punching and kicking.”
At the honest answer, the brutish barbarian grinned widely.
“How have you survived this long with such little awareness?”
She was beaten again. After two days of beatings, she thought she might die if this continued.
To survive, Dunbachel had crawled and clung to Encrid, desperately longing for life.
She realized for the first time how intense her desire to live was.
‘What must I do to survive?’
Her body reacted before her mind.
Her body learned from being beaten countless times. Dunbachel stole and learned Rem’s movements.
“Now we can have a conversation.”
Rem had said, smiling.
That was the correct answer.
“Steal and learn on your own. If you don’t want to die, that’s what you’ll have to do.”
Anyone who saw the barbarian’s eyes at that moment would have felt their bladder quiver. Dunbachel was no exception.
Rem, with a face that seemed both excited and irritated by whatever was happening, beat Dunbachel again.
What must I do to survive?
Steal and learn.
Dunbachel did just that. It took a week to forget what she had learned as a mercenary and another week to steal and master new skills.
“I have a question.”
Around that time, Dunbachel initiated a conversation.
No matter what Rem said, she wanted to clear her doubts.
“You seem to teach the Independent Company Commander kindly?”
Was that some kind of trigger?
Dunbachel didn’t know. It was a big misunderstanding. She was just curious, that was all.
“What the f***?”
That was the beginning. Without an answer, Rem picked up an axe. Dunbachel had to draw her scimitar.
Bang!
It was fortunate she didn’t die from the first blow.
“That human!”
As they fought, Rem spoke. How he managed to talk so well while moving his body so much was beyond her.
Dunbachel could barely catch her breath, yet Rem kept mocking her without pause.
“No matter how much I explain it!”
“No matter how many demonstrations I give, he doesn’t improve!”
“He just doesn’t improve.”
The last part was said so close that their breaths mingled.
Surprisingly, his breath didn’t smell bad. Beastmen had a keen sense of smell, so she would have noticed.
“So, was that your complaint? If you have a problem with it, then roll around every day like the Commander.”
It was a misunderstanding from the beginning. She was just curious, not complaining.
The brutish barbarian didn’t seem to want to listen to any explanation and just pressed the attack as if he’d caught her in the act.
At the end of her reverie, the soldier’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“We’ve arrived. This is the Grateful Forest, and the reason for its name is…”
Ignoring the rambling soldier, Dunbachel stepped forward. Unintentionally, her left eyebrow twitched. The raised eyebrow quivered slightly.
Her beastly instincts were issuing a warning.
“Didn’t you say there were a dozen horse beasts and human-faced dogs?”
Dunbachel asked.
“Yes, that’s why it’s called the Grateful Forest… Uh, yes.”
The guide, whose speech was interrupted, tilted his head in confusion.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
Dunbachel spoke, her golden eyes scanning beyond the forest.
Her vision could pierce the darkness. This was a combination of battlefield experience and the innate intuition of a beastwoman.
Dunbachel sensed danger.
Among the various races, the Giants were the strongest in terms of brute strength.
The Fairies were the most sensitive.
The Frogs possessed exceptional talent and one outstanding ability.
The beastman had a superior physical constitution.
“You idiot, you’re not even using half of your body’s capabilities.”
She had learned by watching human mercenaries fight. She thought that was the right way to move.
Though a brutish barbarian, his teachings weren’t in vain.
“Don’t limit your physical abilities when you fight.”
Not a rigid sword technique based on a fixed stance, but fighting wildly, trusting in your body’s physical abilities.
That was Rem’s advice.
Even if she didn’t go as far as going berserk, it was indeed correct to move while controlling her body within those limits.
Since Rem had pushed her so hard, Dunbachel herself thought her skills had significantly improved.
It was time to test those skills.
Growl.
One horse beast and a pack of human-faced dogs?
Not even close.
She saw the numbers creeping out from one side of the forest.
There were at least over twenty horse beasts, and the number of human-faced dogs was too many to count.
The interior of the forest was dotted with dozens of glowing red eyes.
“Hey, go and request reinforcements.”
Dunbachel said to the guide soldier.
“Huh?”
Does this guy never understand anything the first time?
Whack!
Dunbachel didn’t hesitate. She struck the soldier on the back of his head.
“Ugh!”
The guide, bent over from the blow, raised his head with his hand on the spot where he had been hit. His eyes showed disbelief.
So what?
“Run if you don’t want to die.”
Dunbachel found herself talking like Rem, but this was no time to dwell on it.
The soldier, holding his head, started running.
The soldiers grew tense as the mission to exterminate beasts suddenly turned into a life-and-death battle.
“Damn, what the hell is this all of a sudden?”
“What are we supposed to do when they don’t even assess the situation properly before assigning a mission?”
Dunbachel cracked her neck from side to side.
If these were all the beasts present, there was no danger.
She judged that it was time to show her newfound confidence.
“Want to live? Don’t want to die? Then you have to fight back.”
Rem’s voice echoed faintly in her mind.
As much as she hated to admit it, sparring with Rem, enduring trials with that barbarian, had given Dunbachel a burning desire.
A desire for life that bloomed and flared up, separate from reproduction.
That desire ignited her eyes.
Ting.
Dunbachel drew her scimitar.
“Don’t come in front of me or beside me.”
With those words, the beastwoman charged forward. Dirt and gravel kicked up beneath her feet. Her body blurred, leaving afterimages.
Two horse beasts on the opposite side reacted simultaneously.
Neigh!
Their short, beastly cries rang out as they charged with tremendous speed, their primary strength being their ability to run.
Soon, Dunbachel and the two beasts crossed paths, becoming a blur of motion.
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