Chapter 153 : Forest of Silence

The rumors about the Supreme King I had seen on the Anonymous Bulletin Board were almost like ghost stories.

He had eight arms.

He was a monster with seven eyes.

No, actually, she was a beautiful woman.

The Supreme King’s true identity was Cain.

None of them were rumors that were easy to believe, but this time, there was a newly learned fact about the Supreme King.

The Supreme King was someone prepared to sacrifice anyone—enemy or ally alike—for the sake of his own goal.

The magic circle installed throughout the underground waterway of Hanover meant exactly that.

‘Maybe similar magic circles are installed across the entire Eastern Union.’

Just how many people lived within the Eastern Union?

If every single human there were offered as sacrifices, what kind of magic would be completed?

Even I, who knew almost everything about magic and contracts, could not dare to fathom it.

It was magic on such an absurdly massive scale that I could not help but think deeply about the person known as the Supreme King who had committed such an act.

‘He said he would open the sky.’

Suppose opening the sky succeeded by offering such an enormous sacrifice as the price.

Then what in the world would happen afterward?

If I thought about it simply based on what Bare had said before, the players would finally be able to return to Earth.

But what if not?

What if some other side effect or phenomenon occurred that even the Supreme King had not anticipated?

No, even if the magic activated without any side effects at all, just how many people would be able to return to Earth?

One person?

Ten people?

A hundred people?

I already knew that the number of players who had entered this world easily exceeded several hundred, so I knew that returning to Earth with such a small number was impossible.

‘All of them would be difficult.’

No matter how many humans were offered the price of a contract, I doubted whether such a thing was even possible.

‘For now, I guess I have no choice but to meet the Supreme King as soon as possible.’

If I met the Supreme King, I would find out.

Whether I had to kill the Supreme King or not.

Once that was decided, whether it was possible or impossible was not a particularly important problem for me.

“What are you thinking so hard about? Is there some kind of problem?”

“There is a problem.”

“What? What is it?”

“First, let’s get out of here. Staying here any longer won’t do us any good.”

Perhaps realizing that I was serious, Conlan nodded with a heavy expression.

“What’s going on?”

Alicia asked.

“There seem to be more reasons to stop this war than I thought.”

“Reasons to stop it?”

“Yes. It feels like something more insane than expected is happening.”

“What on earth is going on…….”

Normally, I wouldn’t have felt the need to explain any further, but for some reason, this time, I felt Alicia needed to know as well.

“It seems that someone called the Supreme King has installed human sacrifice magic circles throughout the underground waterways of Hanover. The same goes for the Mülhen Granary Zone.”

“W-What! Is that true?”

“Yes. There’s a high chance that similar things are installed in other cities within the Eastern Union as well.”

Alicia’s expression darkened rapidly.

“Those who will receive the curse of the gods…….”

I had momentarily forgotten, but Alicia was a former Inquisitor of the Punishment Order.

Naturally, her hostility toward mages was considerable, and the mere fact that such magic circles existed was more than enough to draw out her anger.

“Then how about informing the Punishment Order of this fact? The Inquisitors of the Punishment Order would never overlook something like this.”

“It’s not a bad idea, but once an all-out war between the Empire and the Eastern Union breaks out, the Punishment Order, which is based in the Empire, will inevitably have to step in anyway. There’s no need to risk being subjected to an inquisition by the Punishment Order.”

“I see…….”

“As it is, I don’t really want to get entangled with the Punishment Order.”

The Punishment Order was a far more dangerous religion than it appeared on the surface.

There was no need to unnecessarily make my existence known there or attract strange attention.

“Then what are we going to do?”

“For now, I plan to meet the Supreme King.”

“So that’s what this journey was for.”

“Yes. It’s impressive that you followed without asking any questions.”

“Because it’s where Bell is going.”

After saying that, Alicia grew embarrassed on her own and lowered her head deeply.

That 모습 was somehow so absurd that I stared blankly for a moment before turning my gaze away.

“Then let’s go.”

As we carefully stepped out of the underground waterway, intense sunlight that we hadn’t seen in a while greeted us.

“Ugh…… so bright.”

“Stop dawdling and move quickly. What if someone sees us?”

“Alright.”

Hanover, being a military city, was governed by the army.

Because of that, it was very common to see soldiers on the streets, and their presence was more than enough to make the Special Task Force members, who were illegal intruders, tense.

“Big guy, don’t get nervous.”

“W-Who says I’m nervous?”

“Who else would it be but you? Walking around all stuff like that makes you look suspicious to anyone.”

“Hmph, you worry about yourself. It looks like you’ve had cold sweat running down your forehead for a while now.”

“That’s sweet because it’s hot. Hanover’s climate is definitely much hotter than Winter Castle.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course.”

Albino said shamelessly, but Conlan laughed loudly as if he didn’t believe him.

“If we’re going to Biarritz, we should head for either the East Gate or the South Gate. Which way?”

“At this hour, the East Gate will be crowded, so let’s go to the South Gate.”

Because of the underground economy and shady forces operating through the underground waterways, Hanover often had people of unclear identity.

As a result, no matter how sharp-eyed Hanover’s soldiers were, they couldn’t immediately tell if outsiders had snuck in.

After quickly crossing Hanover like that, we headed straight for the South Gate.

“Halt. Show your identification.”

“Here it is.”

I had already prepared fake ID cards, so there was no real difficulty.

There was no separate identity verification system or database in this world anyway, so as long as it looked convincing on the surface, it was fine.

“Alright, you may pass.”

Hanover was quite strict about people entering the city, but comparatively lax when it came to those leaving.

Thanks to that, we were able to exit Hanover fairly easily.

“……It feels like we got out way too easily.”

“That just means Bell planned things carefully. Not because you’re anything special, big guy.”

“Who asked you?”

Conlan laughed heartily as always.

***

After leaving Hanover’s South Gate, we soon came upon a fork in the road.

The southern road and the eastern road.

It was a moment of choice.

“You said we’re going to Biarritz. Which road are you thinking of taking?”

From Hanover to Biarritz, there was a long detour route and a straight route.

The detour was longer but safer, with well-maintained roads, while the straight route was practically nonexistent and dangerous.

Naturally, with time being short, my choice was already decided.

“We’re going toward the Forest of Silence.”

Conlan cut in with an urgent voice.

“Wait, we’re passing through the Forest of Silence? Are you serious? There are rumors that orcs show up there.”

The Forest of Silence bordered the Eastern Mountains, and rumors about orcs in the Eastern Mountains were far from baseless.

I myself had seen them a few times before.

“Yes.”

“Hah…… I trust your judgment, but wouldn’t it be better to just take the eastern road? There’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”

“We need to hurry.”

“Gnh. Is that so? It’s true that going through the Forest of Silence is faster, but it still worries me.”

Albino snorted.

“Worrying so much doesn’t suit a big guy like you. Try having some boldness.”

“I’m already bold enough. I’m not someone who can die in a place like this.”

“As if anyone is.”

“Enough chatter. We’re going through the Forest of Silence.”

For this journey, the opinions of the Special Task Force members were unnecessary.

They had followed me of their own accord to begin with, and I didn’t have the time to listen to their complaints one by one.

As soon as we headed south from the fork, a vast forest spread out before us.

“The Forest of Silence.”

Albino muttered quietly, swallowing.

The Forest of Silence was surrounded by ghost-story-like rumors among the people of the Empire, so it was only natural that it was hard to step into.

“Let’s move.”

“……You seem pretty familiar with the Forest of Silence, judging by how boldly you’re entering.”

I nodded at Albino’s words.

“I know about as much as anyone.”

“Then you know the rumors about orcs too. Are there really orcs in the Forest of Silence?”

“Sometimes orcs come down from the Eastern Mountains. But there’s no need to worry too much.”

“……There really are orcs?”

“Yes. If we’re lucky, we might see one.”

“……Isn’t that bad luck?”

Albino said, unable to hide his genuine disbelief.

“Enough pointless talk. Let’s hurry.”

“Y-Yeah.”

True to its name, the Forest of Silence was extremely quiet.

So much so that it felt like we were the only ones left in this world.

“Creepy as hell. Feels like something’s going to pop out any second.”

“Stop talking nonsense and keep walking.”

At the moment when Conlan and Albino were exchanging words as usual—

Rustle.

A sound came from deeper within the Forest of Silence.

“W-What is it?”

Soon, beyond the bushes, a familiar green silhouette revealed itself.

[Hiss…….]

“O-Orc!”

Conlan shouted, almost screaming.

I didn’t know what orcs meant to Conlan, who was from Bernhardt, but I had no intention of shrinking back just because one appeared.

[Activating ‘Weapon Summon (??)’.]

[‘Lv.2’ weapon is being summoned.]

[Summoning weapon, ‘B686 Double Barrel Shotgun’.]

As the double barrel shotgun appeared in my grasp amid a blue halo of light, Conlan let out a shocked cry.

“What are you doing—”

What am I doing?

Clack-

I aimed the muzzle of the double barrel shotgun at the orc.

Recently, I had figured out how to create a silencer effect using Demonic energy and Spirit Magic, so the gunshot problem that had been holding me back until now was largely resolved.

‘Lion.’

[Yes.]

Spirit Magic.

Silent Demonic Bullet.

Swoooooosh!!!───

The 70mm 12 gauge shotgun shell, wrapped in Demonic energy, instantly blew the orc’s head apart.

“How did you take down an orc in one hit……!”

Albino exclaimed in shock.

The reason they had such a distorted view of orcs was because the image of orcs passed down within the Empire was extremely exaggerated.

While there were strong orcs, there were also weak ones.

The orc here was one of the weak ones.

In terms of level, it was probably around level 3 or 4 at most.

Of course, even that was a serious threat to ordinary soldiers, but not to me.

‘That aside…….’

I examined the orc’s corpse.

‘It’s not a ranger-type.’

Orcs had roles assigned according to their duties, and this one wasn’t the ranger-type that usually appeared in the Forest of Silence.

A standard individual with weak combat ability.

What did it mean for such an orc to appear in the Forest of Silence beneath the Eastern Mountains?

‘Something must be happening in the Eastern Mountains too.’

It seemed I had even more reason to hurry.

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