Chapter 65 - 61: Delivering a Buffet

Chapter 65: Chapter 61: Delivering a Buffet

The last question Lian asked Father Simo was about the technique for hiding a heretic’s aura.

Simo had a "Heretic" entry. As a Priest of the Church who prayed to his deity every day, how did he avoid attracting the notice and revulsion of the God of Tiger?

This was a skill Lian was eager to learn, as he, too, had been tainted by a heretic’s aura. In that respect, Father Simo was a veteran.

After the two had opened up and talked for two hours, they had struck a new deal.

Simo would teach Lian how to hide his heretic aura. In return, Lian would keep Simo’s secret, agree not to threaten him with the Succubus again, and lend a hand whenever he needed help.

Provided it didn’t violate Lian’s own principles.

If Simo wanted to make a new deal, they would negotiate the terms separately.

They were now partners in a transaction, bound by the secrets they held over each other, though the leverage wasn’t exactly equal.

Simo only knew that Lian was tainted by a heretic’s aura. Lian, on the other hand, knew that Simo was not only a heretic within the Church but also kept a Succubus, whom he had disguised as a Nun to keep by his side.

Despite this information disparity, it didn’t hinder their friendly interactions.

"Lord Lian, you could simply come find me at the Church after the campaign is over. I can have Sally help you then."

Father Simo was only able to hide his heretic aura because he relied on the Succubus, Sally.

Sister Sally was also on horseback at the head of the column. She smiled as she looked at Lian, Sophie, and the large fish tank in Sophie’s arms.

"Lord Lian, that problem is actually quite simple to solve. You just need to get a Succubus of your own."

Sally winked at Lian and spoke in a voice only he could hear.

Lian asked, pleasantly surprised, "Where can I adopt one?"

"The black market sells young Succubi. The price is around twenty million gold."

"That’s too expensive. I think I’ll just stick with having Miss Sally help me."

Lian wasn’t about to spend tens of millions of gold on a Succubus. He was far from financially independent and had to pinch every penny.

’So, it’s better to just freeload off Father Simo’s Pet.’

"If you’re lucky enough, you might even run into a wild Succubus. It’s not impossible."

Lian nodded, ending his conversation with Sally for the time being.

Sophie hadn’t watched their interaction at all. She was completely focused on observing her goldfish.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 95, 96, 97, 98."

"Sophie, what are you doing?"

"Two of them died," Sophie said, dejected.

"It’s okay. That’s normal," Lian consoled her. "From the moment a flower blooms, it’s destined to wilt. From the moment a life begins, it’s destined to end. But we have to learn to cherish the present. At least you still have ninety-eight of them."

Sophie bit her lip and gave a slight nod.

The army passed through the village and entered the Bone Forest.

The deep Bone Forest was like a sanctuary for Ghosts, forgotten at the edge of the world.

The trees were withered, their branches interlocked. Even standing motionless, they resembled menacing monsters.

The deeper they went, the colder it became, and the louder the wind howled.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse branches, casting dappled patterns on the pale ground, but it failed to dispel the oppressive, bone-chilling cold.

White bones paved a winding path across the ground, each one seemingly holding the tragic story of one of the territory’s people. Hoofbeats produced a crunching sound as they stepped on the bones, a grim accompaniment for the marching army.

The air was filled with the faint smell of dust and an indescribable stillness.

Occasionally, a low howl would echo from some unknown corner, stirring a nameless panic in the hearts of the men.

The wind whistled through the forest, but with no leaves to rustle, there was only the mournful cry of the wind itself, like the call of lost souls.

In the depths of the shadows, the silhouettes of some creatures could be seen. Their eyes reflected a deep, faint light, but whenever someone tried to get a better look, they would vanish, leaving behind only a trail of uneven footprints as proof they had ever been there.

"What was that?" a Guard asked nervously.

"Just some Faceless Monkeys that live on the Tree Monsters. Don’t make a fuss," Captain Cobb said.

The column immediately quieted down.

"Lord Lian, the area where the Tree Monsters are most active is just ahead," Cobb said to Lian.

Lian nodded slightly and took out a map. He had already divided the entire Bone Forest into twenty sectors.

Sectors 1 through 5 were the Tree Monsters’ domain. To drive them into other sectors and force them to fight other monsters for territory—igniting an internal war within the Bone Forest—they first had to instill fear in the Tree Monsters, making them too afraid to attack human forces again.

Lian drew a circle on the first square of the map with his pen, then turned to Sophie, who was holding her fish tank.

"Sophie, surround this area."

Lian’s strategy was to tackle the forest one sector at a time.

Sophie placed the fish tank back in the carriage. With a light-footed leap, she jumped to the top of the tallest tree to correlate the area Lian had circled on the map with the actual terrain of the Bone Forest.

A moment later, Sophie returned to the ground.

She placed her hands on the ground. An ice wall erupted from the earth, extending rapidly and spreading forward until it completely enclosed Sector 1, forming a sealed-off area.

The Guards were all stunned by the scene before them.

This was the Power of Sophie, the Guardian Witch of the Green Shade Territory.

The ice wall was thirty meters high and stretched as far as the eye could see. It was nothing short of a miracle.

"Is it really alright for the Ice Witch to use her Magic Power like this?" Cobb asked with concern.

He was afraid Sophie would lose control prematurely, which would be an absolute disaster for the Green Shade Territory.

Lian looked at Sophie. "How many more times can you use a spell of that magnitude?"

Sophie held out one finger.

She could only use a large-scale ice wall spell like that one more time, as the consumption of Magic Power was immense.

Lian smiled at Cobb and said, "See? Our Witch is fine. She says she can do this all day."

Cobb: ?

Sophie: ?

Seeing Lian’s confident expression, Cobb once again marveled at the Witch’s tremendous power.

’On second thought,’ Sophie mused, ’once I get an Out-of-Control Entry, I’ll just have Lian help me clear it. In that case, I really *can* use this Magic indefinitely.’

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE—

Within the area enclosed by the ice wall, the Tree Monsters sensed the presence of humans.

They began to rapidly close in.

A cackling laughter carried on the wind. The Tree Monsters didn’t seem to realize that danger was upon them; they thought someone had just delivered an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The Guards swallowed nervously and formed up in neat ranks, their attention fixed on the forest ahead.

The number of trees in the forest seemed to have multiplied. A closer look revealed that the new, mobile ones were monsters hiding amongst the real trees.

Their trunks bore something like a human face, only its features were twisted into a grotesque knot.

Bulging eyes rolled about wildly. Their soft, slender branches whipped through the air, as if trying to snatch any living thing that passed by.

Tattered pieces of clothing hung from their boughs, like sheets of silent, flayed skin.

Bizarre-looking monkeys clung to the Tree Monsters’ bodies. Their fur resembled tree bark, allowing them to blend in almost perfectly.

The monkeys bared their fangs and let out a cackling laugh at the humans.

The sound threw Lian back to his very first day after crossing over into this Otherworld.

’So that’s what it was. The cold, sinister laughter from that day didn’t come from the Tree Monsters, but from these monkeys.’