Chapter 146 – Rock Garurumon
The Rock Shadow Beast which had its front paws on Carglise’s chest did not continue its attack, and it instead looked up at Brendel with its head that was formed with sharp jagged rocks. The latter nodded and the magical creature retreated instantly.
“That Rock Panther seems like it’s almost as strong as the Obsidian Panthers now. Why is it so strong all of a sudden?” Carglise rubbed his chest and asked.
Brendel nodded and agreed with the a.s.sessment. It was strong for an Iron-ranked monster because it was an Elemental Spirit. This meant that it could nullify half the damage from a physical attack. Its agility was also a tier higher than the older version. The overall prowess of this summon was actually higher than the Obsidian Panther, or it would not have taken down Carglise in a single swoop.
The Black Wolf was next. Since it was strengthened by the Earth Element, Carglise would not be a match against it. He got Kodan to test the creature. The results were easy to predict.
The Black Wolf was defeated.
Its offensive strength was slightly weaker than a Silver-ranker, but its defensive capabilities were high enough that it could shrug off Kodan’s normal strikes.
Brendel could not help but narrow his eyes in consideration. The summoned wolf was stronger than the normal Black Wolves found in this Dark Forest. There was the possibility where his Nest system could be upgraded if he found more equipment related to it.
[Hmmm. This new system is revamped as level 1. I wonder what are the conditions to generate the higher tiered Obsidian Panthers and Direwolves…… Calling this a Black Wolf feels weird, and it might confuse people.]
Carglise had the same idea: “My lord, is this really a Black Wolf?”
“Not really. I haven’t thought of naming it.” Brendel said.
“How about Elemental Rock Wolf?”
“I feel it resembles more like a Warg. Maybe a Wargling,” Kodan disagreed.
“What, no, what’s with your naming sense?” Brendel shook his head: “I’m calling it Weregarurumon!”
“Weregarurumon?” Everyone was stunned at the strange name.
[Yeah, if I get a Nest with the Metal Element in it, the wolf will become Metal Garurumon! A wonderful cla.s.sic!]
His fantasy was broken by one of Brendel’s men; he reported that there was a visitor who wanted to see him.
The youth sobered up and remembered that he was still embroiled in the Wolves of Calamity. It was not yet time to celebrate. The Nest system in the game required tons of materials, and this new system was likely to be the same. It was not as if he could conjure up two hundred wolves immediately.
He indicated to let the visitor approach and was surprised that it was not Wydall or Quinn, but Austin.
“Count Austin?” He was slightly surprised to see Austin’s slightly surly face.
The amba.s.sadors from Aouine followed the youth and the centaurs from a distance away, treating them as though they were free guards protecting them. They did not even thank him after the Warg was killed. Why would they come to him now?
“Lord Brendel, have you seen Lady Faena and the other two n.o.bles from Kirrlutz?” Austin asked.
[Faena who? Oh, he means that n.o.ble bitc……]
Brendel took a moment before he remembered who she was. His eyes lazily darted around to search for her presence while he asked: “Are they not here?”
“No,” Austin shook his head, “in truth, we had been searching through the camps ever since we reached this place, but we couldn’t find them at all.”
“Hmmm.” Brendel mused to himself. The bad-tempered brat was not with them? His eyes went briefly to everyone next to him, but they all shook their heads.
“No one knows? Ropar, have you and your men seen them, or discovered any strange presence that came to our camp?” He spoke in his mind.
But the Lizardman indicated that the Direwolf that came to their camp was the only strange event they saw.
[Theory number one. They did not leave the camp and are still here. Theory number two, they were in the camp and somehow got captured under the Centaurs and the Lizardmen’s watch. Theory number three, they were never here in the first place and somehow got separated from us when the fight started.]
Brendel sighed. He felt that he had seen enough deaths for today and decided to search for them. If his old teammates were here, they would have spurned on the idea to even let these people from Kirrlutz to tag along from the start.
[No matter how stupid that girl is, she has the Alchemist genius and that other suspicious-looking guy. How did they lose sight of hundreds of men and fail to join the camps?]
“My lord, perhaps you can ask Felaern?” Amandina suggested. The older Wild Elf sister was the most careful person amongst them, and perhaps she discovered something odd.
When Brendel contacted her through the Planewalker’s system, he got up in shock when she told him she had been searching for her younger sister ever since they set up camp as well.
[Dia’s missing? That should not be possible—]
Dia was one of his summons from the Planewalker’s system. There was no way for him to not know that she was gone.
But he was shocked when he realized he could not sense her. Even the Dark Forest did not prevent him from contacting Ciel or Felaern, why would it fail to work now!
=========== Faena’s POV =============
Faena and her two companions were pa.s.sing through the dense, th.o.r.n.y bushes in the Dark Forest. There were several times where she lost her footing and nearly crashed to the ground, but Rono managed to guard her dignity by catching her in time. However, the pretty dress she was wearing had been torn to pieces long ago.
She lowered her head to study her beggar-like appearance and could not help but feel anger in her heart.
[That lowly low-born b.a.s.t.a.r.d…… If it was not for you, how would we have ended up here? When that stupid wolf spewed out its mist, you didn’t notice we were separated? Impossible, you reacted to every situation as though you knew what was going to happen. You did it on purpose!]
She wanted him to appear in front of her so that she could run the youth through with her sword. But it was clear that he was not in front of her, and she did not possess the ability to do so. After gnashing her teeth for a while, she turned towards Elman and finally asked feebly: “Elman, how long more before we catch up with them?”
It was not the first time she raised this question.
Elman glanced at Rono and thought that it was a good opportunity to get rid of him, but he felt a little despondent in his situation and did not wish to do so. He was certain that Brendel and his men walked in the direction, and there was no reason why they could not catch up to him after walking for so long.
“I’m sure they intend to walk till it’s a little further ahead. I believe they want to get closer to the Wall of Flowers where there’s a Fire Seed. It makes it easier to set up camp there.” He shrugged and tried hard to convince himself.
He knew that that the Centaurs and Brendel’s men would have to rest soon, or he would not have chosen to follow them. He did consider finding a way back to Veronica but he did not have the courage to try and search for her. It was akin to finding a needle in the haystack, and there was no way for him to cut a b.l.o.o.d.y path out of the tens and thousands of wolves to reach her.
The thought of the endless sea of wolves moving in the Dark Forest made him pale. The danger within the Dark Forest was beyond his imagination, and he regretted the decision to accept this mission.
[No, it should be fine if I actually stick to Veronica. The true cause of this situation is because of this spoilt girl.]
“But you said that several times already.” Faena was a little displeased to hear that answer: “I’m reaching my limits to walk anymore.”
Elman could not help but feel annoyed at her whining voice. He took in a deep breath to calm himself: “You should ask that question to the little girl behind us. Didn’t she say that she was able to contact that youth?”
Faena blinked and turned to the girl who was following behind them at a short distance away. Dia moved with difficulty because of her height. She told them that she could contact Brendel, but she did not manage to succeed even once.
“It feels like there’s some kind of powerful Mana Distortion right now,” Rono said, “and in the first place, the Dark Forest isn’t a place where communication magic works well. Even the wizards that came with us had to rely on the artifact we brought in order to communicate with the outside world.”
“If that’s the case we should leave her behind. Bringing a child with us will slow us down.” Elman replied with a little impatience.
“Viscount Elman,” Faena creased her brows as she spoke, “how can you utter those words when you’re a Kirrlutz’s n.o.ble! Leaving a child behind?”
Elman was surprised and looked at Faena and Rono; both their faces had disapproval written on their faces. He changed his tone: “I apologize, that was a shameful display.”
Faena wanted to speak again, but she was interrupted by a voice that came out from nowhere—
“Hehe, the three of you still have the mood to quarrel when danger is right in front of your faces. How interesting.”
The abrupt voice echoed within the forest, causing the surroundings to suddenly turn silent.