Chapter 4: Eyes in the Dark

“Judging by the state of things, they have already encountered the Hunter Rat King.”

After inspecting the battlefield, the muscular big brother tossed aside the arrowhead and looked at Mary.

“Your brother should still be with them, otherwise…”

“Otherwise, I would be looking at his corpse right now.”

Mary looked at the wretched scene of destruction surrounding them; the carriage had been smashed to pieces, crates were broken open on the ground, and clothes and items were scattered everywhere.

Not far away was an entire patch of trees snapped in half, and the grass and bushes were trampled beyond recognition.

Most prominent of all were the massive patches of blood staining the ground.

“There is no corpse of a Hunter Rat King, and no signs of cleanup or burning.”

“It seems it escaped.”

The big brother remounted his horse.

“Stay alert, everyone. If the Hunter Rat King isn’t dead, it’s very likely to summon a pack of Hunter Rats to protect it.”

“What comes next will be a hard battle.”

Those words were spoken too soon; it wasn’t just one hard battle, but several.

Mary could no longer remember how many magic beasts she had killed, only that her wood-cutting knife had eventually lost its edge and curled.

It was the muscular big brother who had thrown her a spare blade.

Having no time to admire how sharp and imposing the weapon was, Mary turned back and plunged into the swarm of magic beasts.

Beast blood splattered everywhere, and the world before her eyes seemed to turn a visceral shade of red.

There were too many magic beasts—an unnaturally high number.

“This makes no sense. Why hasn’t the Hunter Rat King summoned the pack to guard it closely, but instead they’re all coming to attack us?”

The muscular big brother once again brought out his cooled-down alchemical defense gear, and the same five mercenaries worked together to activate it, holding the beast tide outside their defensive line.

Watching the same scene unfold again, Mary did not just stand by this time; she gripped the still-sharp precious blade and joined the slaughter of the magic beasts.

The sooner this ended, the sooner they could get back on the road; Will was still waiting for her.

“The day is getting late.”

Mary still remembered the big brother saying that his alchemical gear had a four-hour cooldown; they had just used it once, meaning the next use would require another four-hour wait, and the safest period in the Misty Forest had already passed.

“Little girl, we can’t keep moving forward.”

The muscular big brother sheathed his long sword and stood behind Mary with his hands on his hips.

“I can tell, girl, that your skills aren’t just for show.”

“You must have encountered quite a few magic beasts in this forest usually, so you know very well how dangerous the Misty Forest is at night.”

Mary turned around and looked the muscular big brother straight in the eyes.

“Without the suppression of the harsh sun, magic beasts can even appear outside the forest on overcast or rainy days.”

“Most of them rest during the day and wake up at night to hunt.”

“Fortunately, they can’t leave the forest for too long.”

The big brother sighed.

“The deeper we go now, the more powerful the magic beasts we’ll encounter.”

“It will be dark soon. Everyone! Set up camp right where you are!”

The last sliver of sunlight vanished behind the canopy, and the light in the forest faded rapidly.

The established camp was lit with plenty of bonfires, the warm yellow glow soothing everyone’s nerves after a tense day.

“I’ve never tried lighting so many fires in the forest at night.”

Mary held the roasted meat given to her, eating each bite with great focus.

“Wild animals fear fire, and magic beasts are no different.”

The muscular big brother had a much more boisterous way of eating, opening his large mouth to finish a portion in two or three bites before grabbing another.

“But there are magic beasts that aren’t afraid of fire, so other preparations must be made. Look.”

Following the direction of his finger, Mary saw several long black rods standing around the camp; if not for a nearly transparent rope connecting each rod that emitted a faint shimmer, they would have been impossible to see.

Mary leaned in for a closer look and discovered that although the rods were only half a palm wide, fine inscriptions were carved onto their surfaces.

“Is this also alchemical defense gear?”

“This is high-grade stuff, rare and pricey. Ordinary people couldn’t buy this even if they wanted to!”

“Big brother, you’re really rich!”

“Hahaha, it’s alright, it’s alright! Your big brother is no ordinary man!”

The muscular big brother crossed his arms and laughed boisterously.

“Our boss is the strongest ace of the Monli Kingdom branch of the Adventurer’s Guild!” shouted Subordinate Number One.

“A giant who is both heroic and warm-hearted,” added Subordinate Number Two.

“The mercenary king known as the ‘Great Bear’!” exclaimed Subordinate Number Three.

“Boss Jack!” the three shouted in unison.

Standing behind the muscular big brother—Jack—the three waved their hands and struck a pose.

Jack continued to laugh loudly with his arms crossed.

After a day of flashing blades and flying flesh, Mary truly relaxed while basking in the firelight, eating meat, and watching them act like clowns.

“Don’t worry, girl. As long as we don’t step out ourselves, the magic beasts won’t get in.”

“Once dawn breaks, we’ll break camp and set out. We’ll make sure to find your brother as quickly as possible.”

Big Brother Jack, who finally had a name, thumped his chest muscles so hard they made a booming sound.

Mary’s scalp felt numb at the sound, and she nodded quickly, terrified that his heavy palm might land on her shoulder again.

She was already exhausted from the day’s work; if that thick bear-paw of a hand came down on her, she really wouldn’t be able to take it.

“Thank you, Big Brother. I’m going to rest first.”

Jack divided the team into three squads to take turns on night watch.

Those whose turn hadn’t come yet quickly found spots to squeeze in some sleep and recharge their energy.

The night grew deeper, and the voices in the camp gradually went silent.

Outside the camp, pairs of green eyes lit up without warning, staring greedily at the figures moving or sleeping within.

However, hindered by the deterrent of the inscriptions on the rods, not a single magic beast dared to cross the line.

More and more magic beasts gathered outside the camp, and the humans inside began to notice the congregating swarm.

When Mary was woken up, it was still pitch black.

The bonfire beside her had dimmed, so Jack reached out to add more wood, and the flames flickered and roared back to life.

“It looks like we’ll have to stretch our muscles with these brutes before we break camp.”

Jack grabbed his long blade from the side, looking eager for the fight.

“Wait, there don’t seem to be any Hunter Rats among these magic beasts.”

Mary gripped her sword tightly as the magic beasts outside, perhaps sensing the humans’ fighting intent, began to grow restless.

“In the Hunter Rat pack we first encountered, there were quite a few other types of magic beasts mixed in; I thought it was strange at the time.”

“The Hunter Rat King met the elite team and fought them, yet it didn’t call the pack to attack alongside it; instead, it uncharacteristically drove away its own kind.”

“The various mixed magic beasts were simply the ones caught up in the displacement when the Hunter Rat pack was driven away.”

Mary swallowed hard.

“That is why we encountered so many separate Hunter Rat packs.”

“Perhaps it wanted to monopolize some emerging heavenly treasure, or maybe it felt threatened—giving birth? Injured? Regardless, it refused to let other creatures stay near it.”

“In short, Hunter Rats are naturally social. The more separate packs we encounter, the closer we are to the King that wants to be alone.”

Jack listened intently, his eyes constantly fixed on the agitated beasts outside.

“Then what does the absence of Hunter Rats now mean? Has the King run far away? Is our direction wrong?”

“No, it actually means the Hunter Rat King is even closer to us. Listen!”

Jack wished he could stick his ears on top of his head as he listened carefully.

Poured into his ears were the breathing of his subordinates, the clashing of weapons, and the low growls from the throats of the distant magic beasts.

But besides all that, there was something else…

BOOM!!!

It was the explosion of a fire spell cast by a mage!

There were no mages in their own squad; the only ones who could be carrying a mage were the elite team that had gone ahead yesterday and fought a fierce battle with the King!

“Even when it was attacked before, the Hunter Rat King didn’t summon the pack to protect itself; that means it didn’t think the elite team posed a fatal threat.”

Mary continued her analysis.

“Although there was a lot of blood and scattered items at the site, we didn’t find a single corpse from either side.”

“This indicates that once the King realized the elite team could actually inflict fatal damage, it immediately broke off the fight and fled.”

“A beast that understands how to judge the situation and preserve its strength… truly worthy of being the King of the Near-Forest.”

Jack seemed to understand Mary’s implication.

“So, the fact that there are no Hunter Rats among these brutes surrounding us means the King has summoned them all to itself. It feels threatened now.”

“Exactly. It must be the elite team; they’ve caught up with the King and forced it to change its original plan.”

They couldn’t let the swarm of magic beasts before them go, and they certainly couldn’t let them escape to interfere with the elite team’s attempt to kill the Hunter Rat King.

Mary took a deep breath.

“Big Brother, these magic beasts before us are likely the biggest problem we need to solve before we see the Hunter Rat King.”

She settled into a fighting stance.

“The experts are dealing with the Hunter Rat King. These bottom-feeders are for us to handle! Boys!”

“Sir!”

“Kill!”

Accompanied by battle cries, Mary bypassed everyone and was the first to charge out of the camp.

Immediately, an impatient magic beast lunged at her.

Mary ducked, swung her blade, and instantly disemboweled the creature, spilling its entrails and blood across the ground.

She flicked the blade and held it horizontally across her body, blocking the claws of another magic beast lunging at her.

Behind her, Jack neatly decapitated it with a single stroke.

There was no time for thanks; as soon as one magic beast was killed, another immediately took its place.

Mary was seeing red; she couldn’t remember how many times she had swung her blade or how many magic beasts she had slain.

She only felt the hilt becoming slippery, soaked in blood.

She had no choice but to bite off a piece of her hem, kicking away an approaching magic beast while hurriedly binding her hand and the hilt together to prevent the blade from slipping out of her grasp.

They fought until the sky was fully bright.

With most of the magic beasts either dead or wounded, some finally regained a measure of sanity, terrified by the mountain of corpses and sea of blood.

Those with tails tucked them, and those with ears flattened them against their heads as they tried to flee.

A familiar light curtain flared up, and several magic beasts that had just turned to run couldn’t stop in time and slammed into it.

The light curtain curved and retracted, forming a cylinder.

As the pressure suddenly dropped, everyone recognized the signal that the battle was over and accelerated their attacks in unison.

Finally, the last magic beast collapsed with a whimper and breathed its last.

Big Brother Jack panted, leaning on his long blade.

He wanted to step forward to deliver a final blow, but his legs gave way, and he sat on the ground, completely exhausted.

Mary was in no better shape; her face was so smeared with blood that she could barely see.

The others couldn’t hold on either, and a large group of them collapsed right where they stood, gasping for breath and utterly spent.

Fortunately, though they were all injured, no one had lost their life.

“Phew, ha… I’ll just, I’ll just rest for a moment.”

Jack straightened his back.

“Brothers! Once everyone has caught their breath, we’re going to help the elite team kill the Hunter Rat King!”

“And then, we’re bringing our sister’s little brother back!”

“Yes! Bring him back!”

Mary lay on the ground facing the piercing sunlight and shouted with all her might.

“Will, your brothers and sisters are coming to get you!”