As dinner was served and night approached, the atmosphere in the forest became even more eerie.
Despite the exhaustion from daily battles, the mercenaries found it hard to fall asleep, disturbed by the occasional monstrous cries echoing from afar.
Only after lighting a bonfire and hanging lamps around them did they finally manage to get some rest.
However, Ghislain didn't lie down to sleep. He sat silently by the bonfire.
"Young master, aren't you going to sleep?" Belinda asked.
"I have something to confirm."
"What's that?"
"Monsters."
"Huh?"
Belinda frowned, and Ghislain replied quietly.
"The monsters that appeared relentlessly during the day haven't shown up at night. There must be a reason."
"Could it be…?"
Belinda quickly grasped what Ghislain was implying.
Just two days ago, the monsters had attacked both day and night. Yet, for the past two nights, there hadn't been a single monster attack.
"There must be a creature in this area that only hunts at night."
"Exactly. Other monsters are too afraid to move because of them."
Listening to their conversation, the surrounding mercenaries swallowed hard.
If it had been their first day, they would've scoffed, dismissing it as the ignorance of a young noble. But after witnessing Ghislain's abilities over the past five days, they felt his words held weight.
Whooosh…
As the darkness fully enveloped their surroundings, a chilling wind began to blow.
When Ghislain stood up, Gillian, Kaor, and Belinda followed suit, their faces tense.
[They watched us silently from within the darkness.]
"Young lord," Gillian called, and Ghislain nodded.
Something was lurking nearby.
Those with heightened senses could feel the suffocating stares.
Some of the mercenaries, sensing unease, stood up and scanned the surroundings.
Beyond the reach of their lamps, the darkness was impenetrable. But everyone could sense that something was there, lurking.
Threads of mana spun out from Ghislain, stretching into the dark, probing for numbers. His brows furrowed.
'That's unexpected.'
[There were about two hundred of them… they hounded us relentlessly until we were exhausted. Count Balzac pursued them alone, but he only managed to kill a dozen.]
The number Ghislain detected was well over three hundred. The information he had wasn't entirely accurate due to the different timing.
"Everyone, don't move."
The mercenaries gripped their weapons, anxiously scanning their surroundings.
Whoosh!
Something whipped through the air, snatching one of the hanging lamps and pulling it into the darkness, where it immediately dimmed.
In that brief moment, a human-like figure briefly appeared.
[They began to steal our light and obscure our vision.]
Whoosh! Whoosh!
More lashes came, snatching several lamps into the darkness.
[Later, we learned that these creatures could merge with darkness and shun light intensely.]
With the lamps disappearing, darkness spread rapidly.
Kaor, gritting his teeth, was about to charge forward with his Cerberus mercenaries.
The sensation of being hunted stirred his instincts.
However, Ghislain held him back, gazing calmly into the darkness.
Kaor growled, "What's the deal? If they're lurking, they can't be that strong. We should just go in and crush them to make sure they don't bother us again."
"This is as far as we go for tonight."
"As far as we go? What does that mean?"
At that moment, the ominous presence surrounding them began to dissipate slowly.
Hehehehe…
With eerie laughter, the creatures faded away entirely.
[They came to observe us every night. The soldiers couldn't rest, and we gradually lost our light.]
Sensing that the mysterious threat had withdrawn, the mercenaries moved to relight their lamps.
Ghislain shook his head.
"Leave the lamps as they are."
"Why? Isn't it better to keep things bright?"
[We regretted not dealing with them when we sensed them by the lake. By the time we realized, it was too late. We lost both day and night, with no time to rest. We were too deep in the forest and had lost our way.]
Ghislain spoke firmly to the mercenaries.
"To handle them here, we need to keep it this way."
The mercenaries looked baffled.
Did he really think they could take on these unknown creatures?
"What are they?" one of the mercenaries asked.
Ghislain muttered a single word in a low voice.
"Palor."
[Having lost their once-brilliant civilization and intellect, they had devolved into monsters, living in this forest as 'hunters of the darkness.' They were the descendants of the ancient Palor race…]
***
The group stopped clearing paths or moving forward.
They simply chopped down some trees a little ways from the lake, creating a clearing where they rested.
As the mercenaries took their breaks, Gillian approached Ghislain.
"Young lord, what's the plan?"
"I'm planning to deal with them before we move on. Otherwise, they'll keep trailing us."
"How can we capture creatures that only lurk in the shadows? They'll run as soon as we attack."
"Let's check it out tonight. Tell the mercenaries to prepare their bows and arrows."
"Hmm, understood."
Gillian nodded. If the creatures kept circling them, a barrage of arrows might be a worthwhile option.
Night fell again, and thankfully, there were no monster attacks during the day, possibly due to the presence of the Palors.
Rested and rejuvenated, the mercenaries stood ready with bows, watching the darkness intently.
Hehehehe…
An ominous presence filled the air as they felt those suffocating gazes surrounding them.
In the tense standoff, Ghislain shouted, "Fire!"
Whoosh!
Over a hundred arrows shot out in all directions.
Standing in a circle, the mercenaries each fired arrows without hesitation.
But…
Hehehehe…
The only response was eerie laughter, as if mocking them.
The mercenaries were startled.
"What the—none of them hit? That's impossible!"
They could feel the creatures all around, hidden in the darkness, deliberately exuding hostility that even those with dull senses could feel.
Despite the horde of monsters surrounding them, not a single arrow found its mark.
"What kind of monsters are these…?"
"Not a single one was hit out of all those arrows?"
The mercenaries backed away, gripped by fear.
Gillian, irritated by the response, clenched his lips, raising mana.
He intended to infuse mana into his arrows for a more powerful shot.
Ghislain grabbed Gillian's arm to stop him.
"No. Don't use mana yet."
"Young lord?"
"It'll only make things worse. We have to keep mana hidden."
"What do you mean…?"
"I'll explain soon. Clearly, attacks won't work."
[The Palors, merged with the darkness, could evade all physical attacks. Only Count Balzac and knights capable of using mana could harm them. This was both a blessing and a curse on the ancient race…]
Whoosh!
One by one, the lamps continued to vanish.
With each lamp that disappeared, the darkness deepened, and the mercenaries huddled close in fear.
Ghislain simply watched the lamps disappear without reacting.
[The Palors first eliminate surrounding light. But they overlook that weapons infused with mana can emit their own light.]
If mana is channeled into a weapon, it will emit light. Although it's possible to keep it dim, most people wouldn't do so.
To harm the Palors, they'd need to use mana. In the dark, the creatures could dodge easily, but once illuminated, they would no longer be invincible.
If those who could wield mana attacked, they might inflict some damage on the Palors.
But Ghislain inwardly shook his head.
'That would only make things more complicated.'
[Count Balzac, one of the kingdom's mightiest warriors, trusted his power too much. When the Palors found they couldn't face him, they began abducting soldiers.]
More than half of the lamps from the first night had disappeared.
The mercenaries, left in darkness, were visibly panicking.
Hehehehe…
The Palors let out satisfied laughs before vanishing.
Their hunting method was to gradually break down their prey's spirit, instilling fear.
"Everyone, gather around. I'll explain."
Once the Palors had retreated, Ghislain gathered the mercenaries and shared his knowledge.
They were horrified.
Creatures that couldn't be harmed without light? None of them had ever heard of such a monster.
But after seeing the arrows miss, they had no choice but to believe.
"Then shouldn't we put up more lamps and torches everywhere?"
"They'd only buy us a bit of time. Eventually, all the lights will be stolen."
"What about this, then?"
Belinda drew a dagger, channeling a blue glow into it.
If she could sense them, she'd be able to attack even without fully seeing them, as the light would reveal part of their form upon contact.
"As expected, Belinda is clever."
Ghislain praised her, and she raised her chin proudly.
"I'm a graduate of the Royal Academy."
"You're a good liar. But don't use mana."
"How did you know I was lying? And why can't we use mana?"
"They'll change their tactics if we do."
[We found traces of the abducted soldiers, who had been eaten alive. Enraged, Count Balzac obliterated an entire area when the Palors appeared, but they, having learned of his power, hid in the darkness before he could expose them. Eventually, we could only watch as more soldiers were taken.]
If the Palors started abducting and evading instead of engaging in a fight, they'd be doomed.
There weren't enough mana users, nor did they have the numbers to fight off a protracted threat.
The more Ghislain explained, the paler the mercenaries' faces grew.
They had already started facing stronger monsters the deeper they ventured into the forest, which meant more casualties.
Thinking of nightly abduction attempts by creatures like the Palors left them mentally overwhelmed.
"So… what should we do? Haven't they marked us as prey? Shouldn't we turn back now?"
One mercenary voiced his anxiety, but Ghislain firmly shook his head.
"We fight here."
[With our limited numbers, there was no effective strategy. We could have won in a direct fight, but the Palors avoided open combat. Ultimately, we failed again, and only with the arrival of a royal mage, Sir Alois, and his team of mages could we eradicate them.]
Even the elite teams in his past life, stronger than these mercenaries, had failed multiple times to conquer the Forest of Demonic Beasts.
It wasn't due to a lack of ability but rather a lack of knowledge.
Moreover, the Palors were unusually intelligent for monsters.
But Ghislain was different.
'I'll kill them all here before they catch on.'
He had both information and a carefully prepared plan.
Everything was going as he had anticipated.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]