The atmosphere was heavy. There was darkness on all side. The silence was setting on the mind of the troops. There was a clear sign of nervousness in them. The ones pulling the carts were skeptical about the power of the weapons the troops were carrying. One of them Called Halder whispered to a nearby soldier, "Hey, don't you think the lady is being too careless? She is going deeper and deeper inside the forest. At this rate we will face bigger and more dangerous monsters." The soldier named Epps replied putting his index finger on his mouth, "Shss. Don't talk much." He again whispered, "Monsters will hear us. And don't worry, the lady's weapons are far superior to any." There were other whispers from troops. It seemed they were getting light hearted. Seeing this condition, Erika couldn't help but cut in. She ordered the troops, "Silence. This is a very dangerous place. Don't be distracted or remove your eyes from the front sides and rear." The whispers died down. "Bang, bang" suddenly sounds of gunshots were heard from the scouts positions followed by a loud growl. Everyone stopped dead on their feets they all looked forward towards the source of the sound. "Epps go to the position and see if everything was okay." Erika ordered. "Ja wohl Frau Kommandant." Epps straightened up and gave a salute then left. The moments felt like hours. Everyone was nervous. The soldiers looked towards the way Epps went. They were all crouching. This made Erika nervous. "Shit, they are looking at one direction. This is a disaster the enemy could come from any direction. My troops will be easy pray if this continued." She thought in her mind. "Hey soldiers this is not how you stop. You are all looking at the same direction but the enemy can come from any direction. If you are not careful enough, you will die." Erika stopped for a second. "Sigh, alas these troops are inexperienced." She thought and gave her orders, "Until Epps returns, form a defensive circle around the carts and keep an eye around and up in the trees. Every soldier look only at one direction." Hearing this order, the troops acted immediately. They gathered close and formed a circle around the cart. Two soldiers kept eyes on the trees. They were clueless how much time passed in the darkness. Epps returned soon. "Report, Frau Kommandant a fox type monster was seen by the scouts and they opened fire on it. The monster is dead and the scouts are safe. We are clear to move ahead." Epps stood straight and gave a salute at the end of the report. "Fine, return to your previous post." Erika ordered. "Move." She ordered the group. Epps was serving as the runner between the main group and the scouts. "Bang, bang, bang " more gunfire were heard followed by a larger a growl. Epps went to the scout position and returned with the news, "This time it was a werewolf." As he was giving his report, more shots were heard. To Erika's horror, this the noise was louder. It came directly from the troops in the rear. Soldiers panicked. But no more monsters were observed. Erika felt weird. A chill ran down her spine. "I cannot panic here. If I panic the troops will lose moral." Erika shrugged her feelings off. "Keep moving." She ordered.
They kept moving forward. Her plan was in full go. To her surprise the dark forest was full of various rare materials, rubies and diamonds and fine quality steel. The carts were being slowly filled up by the troops who would pick valuables up on the go. "Only pick up the things that have high monetary value like rubies and diamonds." Erika ordered. Suddenly a murmur was heard from the trees above their head. They noticed something moving from one branch to another while gradually closing the distance between them. Bang, bang, bang. The two soldiers tasked with keeping an eye overheard fired. But they missed. They were inexperienced in firing straight above against a moving target. The murmur became louder and louder. The unknown shadow was about to land straight where Erika was. The sound of gunfire increased in intensity. The troops were trying to knock it out before it could reach them. But the monster seemed always ahead of them dodging every bullet. The soldiers flustered. They were shaking. "Shit it will land straight over the kommandant." One of them shouted. Erika was stunned. Emil couldn't help looking back hearing the shout. But he couldn't react in time. The monster was almost at its target. Erika looked up and was frozen still as if some mysterious power held her in her position. She could see the monster becoming large and larger. At that moment Bauer opened up. She fired her Mp40 at the monster. GROWWWWWL an earth shattering roar was heard across the forest echoing from the trees increasing in magnitude. The monster fell to the ground and died instantly. "Sigh, thank God, milady is safe." Suddenly life came back to Erika and the mysterious power holding her back was gone. "Thanks Bauer. You saved me today." She said calming down. She could see the soldiers in shock and shaking from this encounter. "Oh, no at this pace something terrible might happen." She thought. "Everyone remain in your posts and be on constant lookout. Don't drop your guard." She said calming herself. The soldiers returned to their posts. Its as if they suddenly got their senses back. At this moment two giant wolf like monsters came out from an undergrowth just near their position. The wolves tried to break into their position. The soldiers on that side tried to shoot but it was fast. The wolves as if they knew where to attack spectacularly jumped over the soldiers and went straight for Erika and Bauer. The soldiers were unable to react. They froze at this display of intelligence. It seemed as if they knew Erika was the main leader of the group and the most vulnerable among them. This time Erika was not as terrified as before. She firmed her grip on the gun and looked straight ahead towards the wolf that was coming straight for her. She pointed her gun at it and fired a volley. The other meanwhile tried to flank around and attack her from the side. The first wolf died within a second. The second one was almost on Erika. It was about to have it's claw on her. At that moment Erika turned to see its bright red eyes straight on her face. It was a scene so terrible that she couldn't describe. But fortunately Epps shot it on the back before it could harm her. Eika sighed a relief. Her uneasiness was growing. As if the gaze she felt before was intensifying.
The soldiers were on the edge. Even the slightest of sounds made them weary. They were wearing fast. If this was old times, they would have been dead by now. The ones with the carts were even more terrified. They didn't have any weapon except for the swords they brought with them. "This is weird." Said Hans, a soldier who had previous experience inside the forest. "I have never seen these monsters being so intelligent or acting like this." He whispered. Gunther, another experienced soldier beside him, shook his head, "I know right. This place is getting very creepy. Even the kommandant almost died at the hands of the wolf just now." Hans replied, "We have never entered into such deep parts before. I wonder how much further she wants to go." This type of conversation was increasing. And many soldiers were talking about it. Emil was also very nervous. He was worried about Erika who almost died just now. "Damn it. If she didn't insist on keeping the positions of every troop tight, I would have gone to see her." He was clearly flustered. But could understand that leaving the post would weaken the formation. Erika herself was afraid. She didn't talk much. But Bauer could clearly see that she was almost at tears. The two scouts returned to the group. "Report, there is a large clearing just ahead." They saluted and said while standing straight. The troops entered the open space.
Many took deep breaths. They were relieved from the monsters and the suffocating forest, that is for now. The space was full of various valuables like golds, diamonds, rubies and gems. But Erika couldn't ease. "Check out for poison and other traps or monsters hiding among the things." Erika couldn't rest easy. She felt that the stare from an unknown monster was getting closer and closer. She could feel that something was wrong. "Maybe these treasures are illusions?" She thought. But it seemed the soldiers were filling up the cart. Emil, Bauer and Eugen came to inquire about her condition. Bauer was the first to speak, "This is why we wanted you stay back milady." She was clearly worried. Eugen inquired, "Milady are you hurt somewhere did the wolf get to you?" "No I am fine." Erika replied. Emil was silent as if he was in deep thought. Suddenly Erika felt something. As if the previous gaze has turned into thousands of gazes and were about tear her apart. She quickly ordered, "Everyone into formations. Form a circle around the mound of wealths lying around and fix your bayonets." "What's wrong milady?" Asked Eugen. He was confused as to why she suddenly gave such an order. "Don't ask questions. Do as I say." She firmly replied. The troops left their work and got into positions. "Don't defend the entire clearing. Make sure that the enemy has to come out of the forest to get us." She said. Erika was running cold as if she saw something horrible. Even more horrible than the scene with the wolves before. As the troops got into positions, they realised, that this clearing was clearly a trap. Hundreds of bright red eyes emerged from the darkness of the forest. The soldiers shivered. Cold sweats ran down their body. It was clear that they have walked right into the traps the monsters had prepared for them.