Chapter 48

Lambert and his companions were a little distance away, while ten top adventurers from the city of Baraila’s premier guild, "Dancing Sword," were galloping through the "Forest of the Lost" on horseback.

"Dancing Sword" was a reputable guild, enjoying the trust of both the city’s lord, Count Mondo, and its residents.

The reason they had come to the forest was not the headless undead, the "Nightmare Steed."

Recently, there had been reports of a unicorn, a beautiful white horse with a single horn on its forehead, being sighted in this "Forest of the Lost."

The unicorn’s horn possessed the magical power to purify impurities and was highly valued as a key ingredient in powerful potions that could repel curses.

However, unicorns were highly cautious and not very numerous.

Moreover, unicorns themselves were extremely fierce creatures, making their horns extremely rare.

There was always a demand for them, so they were not something that could be found just lying around.

Therefore, a young noble lady, a distant relative of the ailing Count Mondo, had come to the city of Baraila from a distant land.

Normally, she would have sent a messenger to fetch it, but given the urgency of the situation, she had come to the city of Baraila herself.

The city of Baraila was a city where the adventurer guilds were well-developed, and most tasks could be handled by hiring adventurers.

Count Mondo himself had focused on the development of the adventurer guilds, so he had only a minimal standing army.

Therefore, he had issued high-paying requests to various guilds, but due to the "Nightmare Steed" incident, few guilds were willing to participate, and the preparation of the unicorn’s horn had been significantly delayed.

The guild "Dancing Sword" had finally managed to coordinate the schedules of its upper members and was now ready to set out to slay the unicorn.

"Leg, any reactions from the surroundings?"

A large man with a sword scar on his cheek and short red hair, mounted on the largest horse, shouted.

His name was Fand, and he had been appointed as the leader of this unicorn slaying mission by the guild master.

"Fand... so far, there are no signs of large monsters... As expected, other adventurers seem to be avoiding the area due to the 'Nightmare Steed.' Ah! I just detected a medium-sized monster within five hundred hains (approximately five hundred meters). Also... there are traces of a concealment spell. It’s probably just noise, but please be cautious."

Responding to him was a short boy named Leg, riding his horse alongside Fand’s.

His long bangs almost completely covered his eyes.

While controlling his horse with one hand, he had been holding a staff with the other, his eyes closed, but opened them when Fand called out and reported.

At the age of twelve, Leg had already demonstrated a natural talent for perception magic and had become one of the top perception mages in the city of Baraila, a city of adventurers.

Due to his talent, he had been forced to accompany his father on dangerous hunts since the age of eight, and by this age, he had gained considerable experience.

The reason "Dancing Sword" had taken on the unicorn slaying mission was largely due to their expectations of Leg’s abilities.

With Leg’s magic, they could avoid the "Nightmare Steed" and also search for the unicorn.

Additionally, Leg’s magic included a spell to confirm directions, ensuring they wouldn’t get lost in the "Forest of the Lost."

"If there were any brave enough to target us, they would have already gone to retrieve the horn. You’re just being too cautious."

The female adventurer Talmia laughed.

With her long golden hair and slender, delicate body, she seemed ill-suited for the adventurer’s life, especially since she disliked armor and preferred clothing that was difficult to move in.

However, she was actually the fourth strongest among the thirty members of "Dancing Sword."

Her agility and quick handling of custom-made dual-bladed knives were among the best in the top-tier adventurers.

Despite her preference for revealing clothing, which often left her with noticeable scratches and cuts on her arms, chest, and legs, this only added to her wild charm.

Based on Leg’s perception, they pursued a medium-sized monster and finally found the unicorn.

The unicorn was drinking water but caught sight of them from the corner of its eye, raised its head, and began to breathe heavily.

The horn extending from its forehead was longer than the unicorn’s head, making it one of the larger-horned unicorns.

"Wow, that’s a big one... If it charges, we won’t stand a chance. Surround it and shoot arrows! Leg, stay back. Fand, Talmia, and Merk will close in and attack!"

Fand gave precise instructions, spreading out the team to surround the unicorn and prevent it from escaping, gradually closing in.

The arrows didn’t penetrate the unicorn’s tough hide deeply, but they did inflict damage.

Eventually, an arrow hit the unicorn’s eye, causing it to rage and lower its head, charging at the weakest point in the encirclement, trying to break through.

At that moment, Talmia kicked her horse, leaped up, and spun in mid-air, slashing at the unicorn’s neck.

"Here it is!"

Her quick three strikes severed the unicorn’s neck.

The unicorn glared at Talmia with blood-red eyes and tried to kick her with its hind legs.

Taking advantage of this, Fand, who had approached from the side, struck the unicorn’s neck with his large axe.

The axe embedded itself in the unicorn’s neck.

Although the unicorn’s hide was very tough and thick, preventing a complete severing, Fand managed to break its neck.

The unicorn fell to the ground.

"Thought it would be tougher. I heard unicorns were stubborn, but we didn’t need to be so cautious, did we?"

"Looks like I didn’t get to do much."

Tork sheathed his sword with a wry smile.

"I was too strong, hahaha. After all, it’s just a medium-sized monster. We increased the number of people mainly for caution on the way. We shouldn’t rely too much on Leg; if something happens to him, we could all be wiped out. But, this will certainly raise our reputation again!"

Fand dismounted and ruffled Leg’s hair playfully.

Usually, Leg would frown and shake him off, but today he let it happen.

"What’s wrong, Leg?"

"...It’s not just noise. Something is approaching rapidly and is now very close."

"What?"

Fand quickly understood what Leg meant.

He had pretended to dismiss it but had kept it in mind.

Leg had detected traces of a concealment spell, indicating that someone was hiding nearby.

A strange light flashed through the forest.

"Everyone, get down!"

Fand shouted and thrust his axe forward, deflecting the incoming needles.

The others reacted to Fand’s voice and immediately hit the ground, avoiding the needles.

"Hey, hey, hey. You guys are too reactive. I thought at least half of you would be hit."

A man emerged from the darkness of the forest.

His face was painted white with red patterns, and he wore a white and purple striped outfit, giving him a suspicious appearance.

His eyes, painted with exaggeratedly large pupils, were hidden by his raised eyelids, revealing cruel, white eyes.

"You... you’re Crown, the sub-guild master of the 'Carnival of Carnage'!"

Fand glared at him with disgust.

The "Carnival of Carnage" was one of the underground guilds, operating without a fixed base and moving around to take on requests.

Most of its members were former legitimate guild members or thugs, but the upper echelons of the guild were trained in unique combat techniques, making them not to be underestimated.

Additionally, the "Carnival of Carnage" had a large number of members.

Many adventurers who had been expelled from legitimate guilds for breaking rules and thugs who had lost their jobs were recruited, making it a natural consequence.

Since they were originally just thugs, they were expendable, and their numbers were said to exceed a hundred.

To command such a large number of members, the "Carnival of Carnage" had three sub-masters, each operating semi-independently.

Crown was the man’s name in the "Carnival of Carnage," and he was more active in public than the other sub-masters, making him widely known for his notorious reputation.

However, he could easily blend into a crowd when his distinctive makeup was removed, and no one knew his true identity.

The leaders of the "Carnival of Carnage" all concealed their identities with makeup and eccentric behavior.

"So... you thought that by tracking us, you could avoid the 'Nightmare Steed' and easily reach the unicorn, didn’t you?"

"Seems like you’re as cheap as the rumors say. Since your surprise attack failed, why don’t you just disappear?"

Hearing Fand and Talmia’s voices, Crown exaggeratedly bent his long legs and cupped his ear.

"Huh? What did you say? You’re way off the mark! First, we’re not that cheap. Second, all of you are going to die here!"

He clapped his hands loudly and called out to his surroundings.

"Come on out, everyone! You’re exposed anyway. Let’s get to work! Kill the men, rape and kill the women! Keep the kids; you can dig them if you want."

Crown let out a high-pitched, grating laugh.

Men wearing masks with painted faces emerged from the depths of the forest.

Their unusual presence made even the horses they rode seem unsettling to Fand and his companions.

They wielded a variety of weapons—needles, bows, swords, and clubs—lacking any uniformity.

"What...?"

Fand was shocked by their numbers.

Crown’s subordinates numbered forty, four times the number of "Dancing Sword" present.

This was a number that even large guilds rarely mobilized, and it was the "Carnival of Carnage’s" greatest strength.

Fand quickly looked around.

They were completely surrounded, with no way to escape.

"Surprised? I tracked you, and the rest kept their distance, following me. Then, while you were busy, they surrounded you. Now, let’s give the audience a taste of the 'Carnival of Carnage’s' performance! Today’s act is the upside-down hanging experience corner."

Crown stuck out his tongue and shouted.

The masked men attacked all at once.