Chapter 95: The Beast of the Elderwood
The growl came again.
Low.
Deep.
Heavy enough to vibrate through the ground.
Every soldier in the camp woke instantly.
Weapons were drawn.
Shields lifted.
Torches were raised.
The peaceful camp from moments earlier disappeared.
Now there was only tension.
Kael stood at the edge of the camp, sword in hand.
Night Aura slowly gathered around his legs.
Darius moved beside him.
"How big?"
Grom remained in the tree above them.
"Big."
Walter looked toward the darkness.
"That’s not an answer."
Grom’s eyes narrowed.
"It’s bigger than the wagon."
Several soldiers swallowed.
Kael looked toward the small Forest Spirit Beast.
It remained between the trees.
Its blue eyes were fixed on something behind it.
Then the trees moved.
CRACK.
A massive branch snapped.
Another.
Then—
BOOM.
Something stepped into the moonlight.
The soldiers went silent.
The Elderwood Guardian
The creature stood nearly four meters tall.
Its body was covered in thick bark-like armor.
Four powerful legs supported its enormous frame.
Long antlers grew from its head.
Roots wrapped around parts of its body like living armor.
Its eyes glowed the same blue as the smaller creature.
Walter slowly lowered his weapon.
"That’s..."
Darius finished.
"A monster."
Kael shook his head.
"No."
He studied it carefully.
"The system didn’t identify it as one."
The creature stared at Kael.
The smaller Forest Spirit Beast moved toward it.
The larger creature lowered its head.
The small beast disappeared beneath its massive body.
It was protecting it.
Kael understood.
"You came because we freed it."
The guardian growled.
Kael lowered his sword slightly.
"We aren’t going to hurt it."
The creature continued staring.
Then one of the Imperial soldiers panicked.
He raised his bow.
"Fire!"
Kael turned.
"NO!"
Too late.
The arrow flew.
The guardian moved.
Far faster than something its size should have been capable of.
BOOM!
Its front leg slammed into the ground.
Roots exploded from beneath the soil.
CRACK!
The roots formed a wall.
The arrow shattered against it.
The guardian roared.
The forest shook.
Soldiers stumbled backward.
Kael’s expression hardened.
"Nobody attacks!"
The soldiers froze.
The guardian lowered itself.
It was preparing to charge.
Kael stepped forward.
"Wait."
Darius grabbed his shoulder.
"Kael."
"I’m handling this."
"That’s a four-meter monster."
Kael looked at him.
"No."
He looked toward the creature.
"It’s a guardian."
Kael slowly walked away from the camp.
His sword remained lowered.
The guardian watched every movement.
Kael stopped about thirty meters away.
"I don’t know what they did to your forest."
"I don’t know why you followed us."
"But I know you’re protecting that creature."
The guardian growled.
Kael continued.
"We’re not here to take it."
The creature’s eyes brightened.
The air changed.
Kael felt its pressure.
Powerful.
But controlled.
Then the system appeared.
Ancient Forest Guardian
Classification:
Guardian Beast
Intelligence:
High
Threat Level:
Severe
Territory:
Elderwood
Current State:
Defensive
Reason:
Protecting juveniles
Kael almost smiled.
"Juvenile."
So the smaller creature wasn’t simply a strange beast.
It was young.
The guardian wasn’t hunting them.
It was protecting its child.
The Soldier Who Fired
Kael turned his head.
"Who fired?"
The soldier stepped forward nervously.
"I did, Prince."
"Why?"
"It attacked the camp."
"No."
Kael’s voice became cold.
"It didn’t."
The soldier lowered his head.
"I thought—"
"You thought."
Kael looked directly at him.
"That’s not enough."
The soldier swallowed.
Kael turned toward the guardian.
Then back toward the soldier.
"Put your weapon down."
The soldier hesitated.
"Prince—"
"Now."
The bow slowly lowered.
The guardian watched.
Its posture relaxed slightly.
The smaller Forest Spirit Beast slowly stepped out from beneath the guardian.
It approached Kael.
The soldiers tensed.
Kael remained still.
The creature stopped in front of him.
It looked up.
Then touched Kael’s hand with its nose.
A faint blue light entered his palm.
Kael’s eyes widened.
The system appeared.
Temporary Blessing Received: Forest’s Recognition
Effect:
Improved perception within natural environments.
Duration:
Unknown
Additional effect:
Guardian hostility reduced.
Kael looked at the creature.
"You can give blessings?"
The small beast tilted its head.
Then it turned.
It walked toward the forest.
The guardian followed.
But before disappearing...
The enormous creature looked back at Kael.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Then it turned away.
The forest swallowed them.
Silence
Nobody moved.
Walter finally broke the silence.
"So..."
He looked at Kael.
"We’re not fighting?"
Kael sheathed his sword.
"Apparently not."
Walter laughed.
"I was starting to think every day of this expedition was going to end with us fighting something enormous."
Darius smiled.
"Don’t say that."
Walter looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because every time you say something like that..."
A roar echoed from somewhere deep within the forest.
Walter slowly closed his mouth.
"...Right."
The Morning After
The next morning...
The soldiers found something unusual.
The forest road was completely clear.
The trees that had blocked the route had moved.
Not violently.
They had simply shifted aside.
The path toward the western highway was open.
Colonel Gareth stared at it.
"That wasn’t there yesterday."
Kael nodded.
"I know."
Gareth looked toward the forest.
"Do you think the guardian did it?"
"Probably."
Gareth remained quiet.
Then he smiled slightly.
"Interesting."
Kael looked at him.
"What’s interesting?"
"We spent weeks trying to understand why the forest was dangerous."
"We never considered that the forest might have been protecting itself."
Kael looked toward the trees.
"That’s the problem."
Gareth nodded.
"We don’t understand the creatures living in these territories."
"And when people don’t understand something..."
"They fear it."
Kael finished.
"And attack it."
Before the expedition continued, Kael gathered the Black Dragons.
Fifty soldiers stood before him.
Kael looked at them.
"Last night, someone fired without orders."
The soldier who had fired stepped forward.
Kael looked at him.
"You made a mistake."
"Yes, Commander."
"You could have started a battle."
"Yes, Commander."
"You could have gotten someone killed."
The soldier lowered his head.
"Yes, Commander."
Kael paused.
Then he said,
"Learn from it."
The soldier looked up.
Kael continued.
"An Imperial soldier doesn’t fight because something looks frightening."
"You fight because there’s a reason."
"You observe."
"You think."
"Then you act."
Darius watched quietly.
Kael wasn’t simply teaching them how to fight.
He was teaching them how to make decisions.
As the soldiers packed their equipment, Colonel Gareth approached Kael.
"You handled that well."
Kael looked toward the forest.
"I almost made it worse."
"But you didn’t."
Gareth paused.
"Your idea from last night..."
"The specialized groups."
Kael looked at him.
"I’ve been thinking about it."
Gareth continued.
"Not an army."
"Smaller teams."
"People with different skills."
"Trackers."
"Healers."
"Explorers."
"Monster hunters."
"Scouts."
Kael listened.
Gareth smiled.
"I think the Empire could use something like that."
Kael nodded.
"But not yet."
"Why?"
"We don’t know enough."
Gareth agreed.
"Then perhaps your expedition is going to become more useful than we expected."
Kael smiled faintly.
"Maybe."
The expedition finally left the Elderwood.
The road ahead was clear.
The capital was now only a few days away.
But the journey had changed Kael.
He had entered the expedition believing he was simply helping the Empire investigate a monster problem.
Instead, he had learned something much bigger.
The Empire didn’t understand its own wilderness.
It didn’t understand its monsters.
It didn’t understand the ancient ruins scattered across its territory.
And it certainly didn’t understand what was awakening beneath its lands.
Kael looked toward the road.
His hand rested briefly against the container holding the mysterious egg.
Nothing happened.
No pulse.
No glow.
Just silence.
But Kael had learned not to trust silence anymore.
That evening, the expedition made camp beside a large lake.
The soldiers prepared dinner.
The villagers rested.
The officers discussed tomorrow’s route.
For the first time in days...
Kael relaxed.
He sat beside the lake.
Then something appeared beneath the water.
A shadow.
Huge.
Kael slowly opened his eyes.
The shadow moved beneath the surface.
Once.
Then again.
Kael stood.
Darius noticed.
"What is it?"
Kael stared into the dark water.
"I don’t know."
The shadow disappeared.
Then—
BOOM!
Something struck the underside of the lake.
Water exploded upward.
Soldiers shouted.
Horses panicked.
The entire camp erupted into chaos.
Kael grabbed his sword.
The lake began to boil.
And beneath the surface...
Two enormous eyes opened.