Chapter 45: How many monsters were in the area?!

Chapter 45: How many monsters were in the area?!

[Sorry, guys this will be a bit rough!] I wrapped my arm around Saoris waist and had Tasianna grab one of my horns, before using [Air Walk] to jump through the air up to the trees.

Once we reached a branch, I released Saori. We looked down, noticing that the signals arent decreasing at all, in fact, they were increasing at an alarming rate.

Our attention was directed to a [Spiked Horn Doe], one of the more common and appetizing monsters, running past our location. Like Earths deer, these beasts were wary, triggered by even the slightest sounds due to their [Enhanced Auditory Sense], making it hard to close up to them without being detected.

However, from hunting these animals, I also knew that they could turn their heads around while they ran. Interestingly enough, they could keep their heads at a 90 degrees angle even during full acceleration, making them elusive against ambush hunters.

Still, these animals were cowards. Present them a monster that can overpower them easily and they will run away in a panic, ditching this trait of theirs as they tunnel vision into traversing the forest to escape.

We were all under the effects of [Stealth] and [Presence Killer] right now, and it just ran away as if it saw me or Saori in our monster form.

At that moment, anotherno, threefoursevent-twelveeighteen ran past us, completely overcome by fear.

What is going I was about to say something but then more monsters came running past us.

Hundreds of different animals, ranging from rabbits, boars, squirrels, and even some kobolds using monsters as mounts, shot past us in a frenzy akin to an army of fans chasing after a pop star.

I wish it were an exaggeration but the number of insect-type and bird-type monsters flying past our party caused the tree we were standing on to shake. My [Prediction] overwhelmed me with its annoying beeping, as I had to dodge all the incoming monsters.

Woah! failing to dodge one, I began to lose my balance from being tackled by a monster, but quickly recovered after I dug my sharp tail into the trees body.

Noticing that the storm of flyers wouldnt stop anytime soon, I cast [Sanctuary] around us. The bombardment of animals was blocked by my barrier, who rammed into it with a thud and then fell into the stream of monsters fleeing on the ground, tramped to never be seen again.

My barrier was perfectly blocking the monsoon, but it unfortunately still consumed my Mana and Stamina, while also not granting me any experience. Those verdammte monsters on the ground were stealing all my hard work!The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

[What is even happening here, has anything like this happened to you before, Hestia?] Saori asked me since I have been in this forest longer.

However, all I could do was shake my head, [Usually, I would cause this kinda event.]

Shouting with [Draconic Roar] or even burning down the forest has caused chaos to erupt inside the forest on multiple occasions. Normally, I would be the reason, but I never caused something at this scale.

Looking a bit further from our location, I was able to confirm that chaos was happening everywhere, right now.

Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! suddenly my ears picked up a roar.

[To our left, a massive monsters roar!] Saori shouted through [Telepathy], pointing at the origin of the voice.

From the direction that her finger was directed at, I was reminded that that was where we had our fight yesterday. The place that I burned down!

Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Two more roars, different in intensity and tone from the first, further thundered from the location. I could hear the echoing coming from atop the trees, so chances are high that the culprits could either climb well or fly.

But what really creeped me out was that the roars sounded so familiar, as if I had heard them before. Yet, they were still different. Their pitch, volume, and tone were all so much more different than the ones I knew. The huskiness and confidence they were emitting in their roars were totally different.

[Those voices are making my body tremble,] Tasianna said, as her shaking hands made my head vibrate due to holding onto my horn.

[Hestia?] once I turned my head to respond to Saoris call, I noticed that she was squinting her eyes with a deep frown, tensing up her ears to track the monsters voices. She then warily asked me, [Do you want them to be your source to reach max level?]

I didnt even hesitate, [No, we flee]

[Wakarimashita, Hestia Oujo-sama,] (I understand, Princess Hestia.) Saori briefly said before taking Tasianna from my head and putting her in her dress pocket. [We are moving, Miss Tasianna. Hang on tightly!]

Once Tasianna said Ready!, Saori pulled me closer to her, then covered both me and Tasianna in a veil of shadows with [Shadow Armament].

[Shadow Armament (Full Body)] inflicted on [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko]

Once she located a shadow to teleport to, she pulled us into her shadow, inviting us to the world of shadows.

Swimming through the ocean of blackness, I heard a voice, [Dont let go, alright, Hestia?]

[As if I would,] tightening my arms around Saoris torso, I closed my eyes and let her do her thing.

I didnt like this place at all. Weirdly, I very much preferred creating my own darkness by closing my eyes, ignoring everything that happened in this world, hoping that it would end soon. This place was neither cold nor warm, it had no flowing wind but I could breathe, I can feel nothing with my skin, but we were moving as if we were swimming through water.

How can a place be this neutral? How it can be this indecisive? What is this place even? Who created it?

Haaaah, there are so many questions for this, what the hell.

["Good job. The easiest way to refocus and reset your mindset during a test. It works for most students and I believe as an Idol trainee, you should have known about this trick,] she said.

Breathing in once more, I was finally able to feel my heart pounding my chest up and down. Slight lightheadedness overcame me as my accelerated blood slowed down, returning my emotional and mental state back to zero.

[Yeahsorry, I got a bit ahead of myself guys,] softening my clutch on Saoris forearm, I showed her that my impatience disappeared.

["All is forgiven. We will talk about it after I find a place that we can rest. It also seems that the wyverns will not follow us, so we have probably escaped their search,"] once she said that, she jumped back into the tsunami of monsters, continuously jumping from one monster to the other, single-mindedly doing what she said she would.

[Amazing, Madam Saori!] Tasianna suddenly cried out. [I apologize for underestimating you. You determined and resolved Princess Hestias problem immediately. It seems I was the one that was arrogant and ignorant. I shall do my best to improve from now on]

[Ah, thank you, Miss Tasianna, but praising me that much will make me blush,] looking up, I could see Saori looking a bit troubled about the compliments. [You will have no problem with understanding her personality, but you must make sure to adapt a bit to her common sense.]

Tasianna groaned, [Urgh, I believe I know what you mean. I will try my best. A good maid should adapt herself to her mistress, not the other way around.]

What are they talking about?

I felt a bit left out from this conversation but Ive also no reason to join in. I stayed silent and instead just closed my eyes, enjoying the bumpy ride of being carried around, limply hanging my legs and tail around.

I think we will make a lot of progress moving towards the north Belzac mountains today, however, who knows where we will end up at. The stampede will probably last for a bit.

What a weird day.

With that, I drifted into sleep, entrusting myself to my two companions.

*******************

While our trio began moving towards the north of the forest, a different group in the south of the Belzac forest was advancing through its canyon.

Compared to Hestias party, the number of members in this one far surpassed her by the hundreds, filled with both humanoid and normal monsters.

They were all moving through the canyon, transporting a large caravan. The beasts of burden, monsters tamed by this large gathering, pulled wagons filled to the brim with weapons, armor, and barrels filled with rations out of a cave.

This cave laid underneath a large mountain separating the Belzac forest from what was behind it. Fortunately for this group, as they bypassed this precarious mountain range through an underway, they were able to avoid the aerial predators swarming its skies. No matter how massive this gathering of monsters was, they would have been helpless under the constant attacks of Avitor Peaks' flying hunters.

Steadily marching onwards, this army of monsters showed none of the discipline that a normal army should have, yet, they moved onwards despite this unstable harmony.

The humanoid monsters consisting out of the brown-furred kobolds, the blue and green-skinned goblins, and the greyish skinned orcs, rarely ever worked together but today they were walking side by side, united by a single cause and goal.

The bulky orcs clad in heavy metal armor were strutting around, carrying their large halberds and axes around, proudly displaying their strengths and equipment with pride. Despite their flamboyance, they were diligently guarding the caravan, warily watching for any foreign movements.

Walking ahead and behind the caravan was an assortment of small kobolds armed with bow and arrows, while others rode on wolf mounts and some drove the carriages forward. Compared to the orcs, the size difference between these two races could be likened to a human adult and human child, where the orcs were the former and the kobolds were the latter.

A bit taller than the kobolds, the green-skinned goblins were marching in a formation dedicated to guarding the kobold archers and orc warriors, encircling them. Their outfits consisted of a mix-and-match between chainmail, leather armor, and simple linen, however, they all carried spears double their sizes.

Compared to the other two, the goblins were rowdier and harder to control, causing squabbles and fights whenever you left them to their own devices for even a single second. However, none of these troubles lasted for long, as the blue-skinned goblins repeatedly ended each quarrel with haste.

Sitting in the carriages, these goblins wore magically enchanted robes with sturdy chainmail underneath them, carrying around rune-etched staffs. Their faces were adorned with piercings, ritualistic tattoos, and their ears carried bone ornaments. If they were not diffusing a fight among their goblin brethren, they were instead organizing the objects in the carriage, making sure that no kobold, goblin, or orc stole anything.

While goblins are naturally belligerent and greedy beings, this was mostly caused by their lack of intelligence. The blue-skinned ones, their shamans and mages, on the other hand, were crafty enough to understand that survival and strength didnt come from causing problemsat least when the gains are too little to risk it.

In front of this massive army rode a chariot, pulled by two monsters resembling oxen. A giant, hulking beast fully equipped in armor fit for the elite warriors of a king sat on it. The creature was an indomitable ogre.

These humanoid monsters had the same base rank as a troll, but they were nothing compared to them. While trolls had a sturdy body and great regeneration due to their racial skill [Troll Regeneration], ogres were hunks of muscles able to carry and swing weapons that a normal human would never be able to.

This giant of a monster stood up from his chariot and held a hand up. At that moment, every single member of this army stopped moving, freezing their movements either from admiration or fear.

We have now passed Avitor Peaks hidden underground pathway, the ogre turned around and spoke, his voice thundered, even reaching those at the very tail of this army of hundreds. As you know, we are the first battalion to have come. Our duty is to make contact with our troll allies at the designated spot, deliver the caravan of supplies, and establish the camp for the rest of the army that will come soon. HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR!?

This bellowing command made all kobolds, goblins, and orcs respond. The orcs shouted with all their might YES, SIR!, while the cowardly goblins shakily shouted Y-YEAH!, making sure not to wet themselves. The kobolds, on the other hand, responded using their animalistic voices, roaring GRAAAAAH!, instead of using any of the established languages.

In their own ways, the whole army made sure to respond to the commanding ogres order with resounding strength.

"GOOD! Now, shamans!" he pointed at the congregation of blue-skinned goblins, forcing them all to stand up straight. "Prepare a ritual to honor our ancestor father and mother. We will pray and rest, for now, HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR!"

This time, every single member fervently yelled YES! with no hesitation. None of the monsters would show anything but fervor, especially the zealous goblins.

No monster in this army wouldnt know the importance of this event. Besides a much-desired rest, they could also not allow themselves to miss this chance to be a bit closer to their gods.

Prepare yourself to honor our mighty ancestor father, Marsven, the God of Darkness, and our beloved ancestor mother, Edna, the Goddess of Monsters and Fertility, stepping down from his chariot, the massive hulk walked towards his commanding army, even towering the large orcs. Then we will march! We will march towards our glory. For all of you should know that our future battles will be worthy to be etched in history! Our 300 men battalion will be the foundation for our revenge! A war that we will win for our glory! All humans will know our wrath and strength!

Bringing up his massive axe, the ogre was ready to end his speech, FOR THE GLORY OF HIS MAJESTY, THE OGRE KING! FOR THE HONOR OF MARSVEN AND EDNA!

FOR THE GLORY OF HIS MAJESTY, THE OGRE KING! FOR THE HONOR OF MARSVEN AND EDNA!