Chapter 89 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 26: The Sacred Forest (1)

Sanders hurried over and grabbed the shoulder of the one who looked like Frontier.

"What are you?!"

"Wha—!"

The one dressed like Frontier shrank back in surprise. Sanders looked at his face. It was a face he had never seen before. He wasn't a knight, and it was uncertain if he was even a soldier.

His dirty face seemed neglected, and a strange stench pierced the air despite the cold.

"Who are you?!"

"M-my name is Grobel..."

"Grobel? What affiliation do you have?"

"I-I'm just a prisoner, sir."

At Grobel's answer, Sanders felt a dizzying sensation.

A mere prisoner couldn't possibly be dressed as Frontier. This was part of Frontier's plan all along.

To change clothes when the time came and be ready to escape at any moment. The thick clothing he changed into mid-way was also part of this plan.

"I just did as I was told..."

"I know that! What was Frontier's purpose?!"

"I don't really know..."

With a whoosh, Sanders roughly threw Grobel's shoulder. It was just a way to vent his anger. Even so, his frustration didn't subside.

Thinking about it, Frontier was just an ordinary student. A half-grown kid who hadn't even become an adult, let alone a knight. It was a mistake to expect anything from such a child.

'It's fine. I've done well without him so far. The strategy doesn't change.'

Even as he thought this, the muscles in his jaw tightened, bulging. It was a nearly impossible, desperate battlefield, but Frontier's escape had split the word 'nearly' in two.

With a heart full of despair, Sanders shouted,

"Kill them! Don't let them set foot on this land of Tavon!!"

* * *

"What, what is it? What's happening?"

Cybel was flustered by the commotion on the wall.

Sanders was shouting at someone.

Aten also saw. She realized that the person on the wall, dressed like Frontier, was the same as the one Sanders was facing.

"...A fake."

"Huh?"

"It seems Frontier set up a fake wearing his clothes."

"...What?"

Cybel looked at the wall. Indeed, Frontier was nowhere to be seen.

"...So, Frontier isn't there?"

"Yes, probably."

Cybel and Aten were momentarily speechless at this absurd situation.

However, they didn't succumb to anger like Sanders. As they tried to understand the situation, they both realized something at the same time.

"...Cassian."

"You don't mean he borrowed it for this?"

They both looked in the same direction. It wasn't toward Tavon but toward the wall.

Strangely, they didn't think Frontier had escaped on Cassian. A more terrifying assumption came to mind.

"Could he have climbed over the wall?"

"To get to the outer territory."

They climbed up the wall. Sanders' warning about the danger was forgotten in this moment.

Aten used mana detection, and Cybel heightened her senses to the maximum to find Frontier.

—And, unfortunately, their assumption was correct.

They almost simultaneously spotted Frontier. He was riding Cassian, galloping toward the 'Sacred Forest.' Selena was also riding behind him.

Cybel's teeth ground together. She was so angry that she felt she might destroy the wall.

"You, you're really...! Frontier...!!"

Her voice trembled with rage. The aura was already surging around her body, even though the monsters hadn't even approached.

Swoosh—

Aten grabbed Cybel's wrist. Cybel was startled. Aten's body was usually cooler than others, but her hand was icy cold.

"...We need to protect the wall."

Aten's breath didn't even form mist in the bitter cold.

Her eyes, now transparent, looked like intricately carved ice.

Aten gets colder the angrier she is. Cybel realized this acutely.

"...Right."

Cybel agreed.

Frontier was despicable, but they had a mission to fulfill.

* * *

I clenched my teeth and galloped toward the Sacred Forest.

The wind from Cassian's speed hit me, and more wind chased the gap.

I clenched my teeth because I had never ridden a horse before. I was holding on to Cassian with all my might.

"So, I told you I can't ride a horse."

Selena, riding behind me, said calmly.

"You don't know where I'm going and you're giving me a horse!"

"Trust is lacking, trust is."

Of course.

We hadn't known each other for a month.

At first, Cassian just trotted a bit, and I almost flew off, but I managed to get the hang of it.

Cassian also helped by being mindful of me even at high speed.

"Seems like I'm getting used to it...!"

I tied Penelope's cloth to the reins and held it.

It seemed to have a warming effect, as neither Cassian nor I felt the cold.

Cassian started following me well after lending me the cloth for a day.

Maybe he thought he could avoid the cold by pleasing me, or maybe my possession of such a cloth increased my value.

In any case, he followed my commands, allowing me to execute my plan.

—This plan is similar to the 'raid' in Consell.

While my allies defend against the attack, I strike the enemy boss.

The difference from last time is the difficulty. The time limit is much shorter, and the enemy I face is of a different caliber.

Moreover, I have almost no preparations for the wall and troops.

The only advice is about the ice wall, so there are many variables, and the probability of failure is high.

However, the reason I came to Tavon during the break is that there is a high return that justifies all these risks.

Squeal!

A strange sound interrupted my thoughts.

Glancing sideways, I saw a monster resembling a bat. It was a simple and straightforward creature, just a bat, but a huge one like a buffalo.

"Cassian!"

I pulled the reins and shouted, and Cassian amazingly understood and dodged the bat's teeth. He even showed me the bat in my field of vision.

Weaving, Black River

Grade - Rare

Sleb's terrifying dagger

I shattered Black River to create a dagger and threw it at the monster.

My throwing skill has improved to a mid-level, so it doesn't miss against most targets.

And a monster of that size can be hit with a mid-level throw.

Squeal!

The bat deflected the dagger with its wings as if it wasn't worth looking at.

Oh, well.

My throwing skill became useless.

Squeal—

The bat lunged at me again but fell to the ground on its own.

It repeatedly tried to get up, only to fall back down, and eventually trembled and became still.

"What, is it dead?"

Selena asked, surprised.

"No, not yet."

It won't die for 24 hours.

But this is a bitterly cold land, and it's stuck on the frozen ground.

Will it freeze to death first or become paralyzed first? I can't tell.

* * *

The closer we got to the Sacred Forest, the more monsters tried to stop us.

It was natural. The one controlling the monsters was inside the forest.

'Monsters can't enter the forest, so monsters and the forest are like oil and water, opposing each other.'

This was a common belief among humans.

There was no way the one controlling the monsters attacking Tavon was inside the forest. Everyone thought so. It was a psychological trap.

'...Of course.'

But as I reached this point, I realized.

The monsters' level was clearly lower. They had sent all the powerful ones to the wall.

The fact that humans didn't suspect the forest meant the enemy knew it too.

So, they neglected their own defenses. They fell into their own psychological trap.

"We can break through to the forest without much trouble."

"Well, most of it is me."

"Shut up."

I dismissed her, but Selena was right.

Selena, true to her role as a bodyguard, dealt with the other monsters that tried to stop us on the way to the forest.

It was truly amazing how everything that was hit by the needle-like, seemingly weak things fell.

Selena, having spent a few days with me, seemed to have a rough idea of my personality, and her annoying pretense was gradually disappearing.

Not all of it, but her politeness toward me had decreased by half, and the other half was filled with rudeness.

Ironically, this was better than when she was putting on airs to seduce me.

'Selena, the assassin from Manjot.'

Selena was sent from Manjot, and her superior was Hagley, so I couldn't trust her.

However, the mission to guard me was clearly real.

It was more about protecting my ability to interpret ancient languages than protecting me. But during this game, I hadn't found anyone on any continent with the ability to interpret ancient languages.

In other words, Frontier's ability was irreplaceable in that era. It had to be protected. This mission was probably more important than Selena's life.

"It's the forest."

Selena said.

There was a neatly paved path in the forest, as if inviting people.

"Indeed."

I led Cassian into the entrance.

* * *

As soon as we entered the forest, the monsters disappeared as if by magic.

The inside was filled with a refreshing aura.

"...I don't feel any demonic aura. Is the commander of the monsters really here?"

"Yes. It's a bit ambiguous to call it a commander, though."