Volume 4 Chapter 19 The Forest King
When he was young, he once felt true "fear."
Gálu, who was born with immense power, had been the Forest King, commanding various monsters.
All the monsters were born to become his subordinates.
And they were born to make him the Demon Lord.
Confident in his own strength, Gálu could only envision a future where he became the Demon Lord.
However, in front of Gálu appeared the Dragon King Dorane, proclaimed to be the oldest and most terrifying Demon Lord, and Gálu's understanding was completely turned upside down.
'The Forest King, huh? I came expecting something, but you're just a mere "beast."'
The first time he faced Dorane, Gálu felt the emotion of "fear" at that very moment.
The overwhelming presence and intimidation.
The stark difference in power made a strong impression simply by witnessing it.
He was a being that could be truly called the embodiment of violence, a creature beyond the framework of monsters.
To claim he was born to become the Demon Lord was nothing short of arrogance.
The absolute power that resided in Dragon King Dorane made Gálu feel such humility.
'I might allow you to bark in your little sandbox. You can call yourself the Forest King as you like. However, if you do anything boring, I'll cut off your head immediately. Remember that.'
In the face of such Dragon King Dorane, Gálu was astonishingly overwhelmed.
Embarrassingly, he even felt diminished.
And, humiliatingly, he found himself feeling admiration as well.
He wants to become a being that can instill fear and despair in others, just like Dorane.
He want to rise above the realm of monsters and reign as the pinnacle of all beings.
He want to be an overwhelming presence, one that can be called the symbol of fear.
Since that day, the Forest King Gálu, charmed by the Dragon King Dorane, has led the Forest King's Army into battle, carrying within him both the fear etched into his body and a single belief.
'I will definitely etch my name as the symbol of fear...!'
While reminiscing about nostalgic dreams, Gálu was forcibly awakened by a voice from outside.
"Sir Gálu! The Cursed Funeral Trees we planted at various locations are being cut down one after another!"
"Huh?"
Gálu, who had been sleeping on the altar of the ruins, opened his eyes upon hearing the panicked voice of his subordinate.
He sat up and looked towards the source of the voice, seeing a female monster of the catfolk species standing at the entrance of the ruins square.
She seemed to be in a hurry, but in contrast, Gálu yawned lazily and asked the female monster.
"Sorry, I was groggy and didn't catch that. Could you say it again?"
"The Cursed Funeral Trees we planted at various locations are being 'cut down' one after another!"
"Cursed Funeral Trees...?"
Slowly, Gálu's drowsy mind began to clear, and the words of the female monster started to sink in.
And then, he belatedly understood the urgency of the situation.
"Wait? The Cursed Funeral Trees are being cut down? Is that really true?"
"Yes! Destruction of the Cursed Funeral Trees has already been confirmed at multiple locations. The monsters of the Forest King's Army and the Spirit King's Army that were on guard have reportedly been defeated."
"...Oh, they sure are quick on the uptake, aren't they?"
It was only 3 days ago that the infusion of magical power into the Cursed Funeral Trees was completed.
And just the other day, they finished planting the saplings, allowing the Forest King's Army and Spirit King's Army to finally take a breather.
Yet, here they are already detecting the placement of the Funeral Trees and starting to destroy them...
While they were in the process of planting the saplings, they had several encounters with the kingdom's soldiers, so they must be aware of the sapling placement, but their response seems way too fast.
During those encounters, they did manage to thin out their ranks a bit, so there shouldn't be any spare troops on their side.
"Was it the soldiers from the army who attacked?"
"No. According to the report from those guarding the Funeral Trees... it was just 4 adventurers."
"Haha! Just 4 people? And they were adventurers at that, they've got some real guts!"
Gálu couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Instead of soldiers from the army, it was a messenger bestowed with Command, and to top it off, they were rootless adventurers.
He doubted the possibility of a rescue army from another country, but he never expected that there would be a capable individual among the adventurers who could subdue our monsters.
Moreover, there are only 4 of them.
Gálu couldn't suppress a smirk.
Judging that their power is significantly above that of the kingdom's soldiers, Gálu easily got up from the altar where he had been sitting.
"Where are you going?"
"It's obvious. I'm going to greet them. I've been bored out of my mind."
It wouldn't be amusing for him to have the cursed funeral trees destroyed any further.
His plans for invading the human territory would also be greatly disrupted.
...That's one thing, but more than anything, Gálu decided to head towards the culprit, following the pounding of his heart and pure fighting spirit.
The power that had been trapped by boredom was bubbling up from within.
Just as he was about to leap out of the ruins driven by impulse, Gálu realized something just before doing so.
"Hmm? By the way, where's Vamph? Where did that guy go?"
"He went to carry out the cursing work on the last Cursed Funeral Tree."
"Wait, he...?"
Gálu furrowed his brow for a moment in confusion.
The cursing work should have basically been done by the subordinate monsters.
Vamph tends to dislike minor tasks that might seem like mere chores, prioritizing his own time above all.
Why would he take the initiative to do the cursing work himself?
"...Hmm, well, I guess it's fine. It's more reliable for that guy to pour his curse power than anyone else."
The other monsters in the Spirit King's Army had been working tirelessly on curse casting until just 3 days ago, so only Vamph is in perfect condition to start the task.
Gálu concluded this was a decision made with that in mind.
Once he finished confirming that, Gálu finally burst out of the ruins.
He then began to climb the massive tree standing behind the ruins base using the hands and feet of a beast.
"Here we go!"
As he swiftly ascended to the top of the tree that easily exceeded a hundred meters, he was greeted by a vast expanse of clear blue sky and the green of the forest.
Feeling the refreshing breeze caress his whole body, Gálu took a deep breath and gently licked his lips with his tongue.
"Haha! What's going on here?"
From what he has heard, the destruction of the curse burial tree was supposedly being carried out by 4 adventurers.
However, for some reason, the smell of humans was wafting in from "all around."
There are just too many traces of that smell.
It definitely doesn't seem like just 4 people are responsible for this.
At the very least, it seems that "close to ten" have intruded into the invasion zone.
Gálu moved his nose again, this time sniffing more precisely for the smells in the invasion zone.
"...The presence of the 4 people is in '2 places.' Now, which one is the right one?"
One in the "eastern" part of the Rain Great Forest, and one in the "central" part.
The presence of the 4 people can be felt from these two locations.
It's likely that one of them is involved in destructive activities against the cursed tree, and they're probably the "correct" adventurer party.
There's also a possibility that both parties are working together, but reports from his subordinates say there are 4 adventurers.
In that case, one of them has intruded into the invasion zone for a different purpose, the "incorrect" adventurer party.
"...Alright, this way!"
Gálu took aim at the eastern adventurer party, crouching down low.
He concentrated immense power into his legs, causing his veins to bulge prominently.
In an instant, he kicked the tip of the tree with enough force to nearly break it.
The explosive power he had built up propelled Gálu like a bullet.
"Haha!"
He zipped across the sky above the Storm Great Forest at high speed, entering the Rain Great Forest territory in an instant.
Continuing with that momentum, he flowed eastward, charging straight towards the source of the scent.
*Boom!!!*
With a tremendous sound and shock, kicking up dust, Gálu landed at the target location.
That spot was near a river flowing through the forest.
Gálu scanned the surroundings and visually confirmed that there were 4 humans nearby.
As Gálu's gaze met that of the 4 humans, he sensed their presence and determination, unable to suppress a sigh.
"Tch, they're the wrong ones."
The woman with gray hair and sunburnt skin, who seemed to be the leader of the adventurer party, glared at Gálu with evident hostility.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)