Chapter 32: The Dark Forest (2)

Reynold quickly dashed out toward the commotion. He turned the light back on and shone it toward the voice.

Footsteps were heard, and the shuffled rustle became more apparent. They were coming their way.

Thinking on his feet, he stopped and looked around him. Cecilia shot him a confused look.

"This way!" he shouted, his voice could be heard by the people coming towards them.

The item suddenly flashed, and a bright light illuminated the dark woods. Everyone at the scene could see it, including the beast.

Panic ran through Cecilia's eyes, but he paid no attention to them.

Seeing one of the knights running closer to him, he gestured to follow and started to sprint.

A loud roar could be heard following them.

"Trust me and follow the light!" he commanded.

It wasn't long before they reached a clearing in the forest. The tall trees loomed over them as the knights appeared one by one, Reynold quickly did a count.

"Are there any more coming?" he asked a random knight beside him.

"No… the others are still left injured-"

A roar cut him mid-sentence.

"Surround the area!" Reynold yelled.

The knights quickly followed through, creating space between them.

"No matter what, don't let the beast past the clearing!"

The knights shouted in response, switching to a defensive stance.

Reynold turned toward Cecilia and asked, "Can you climb a tree?"

Her mouth flattened in response.

Reynold's face remained dead-panned and spoke, "Ask one of the knights for help. If the beast gets past the clearing, I will attract further from the path. You will guide the knights back to our carriage and ask for assistance."

Cecilia complied with his arrangement and picked a shorter tree to climb.

It didn't take long before the beats appeared. Reynold made sure it could see the light flickering from where they were.

Cecilia saw this and watched on top of a tree, he was going to take the beast on his own.

Reynold drew out a sword from his pocket. This specific type of clothing had the ability to store many objects inside. It did have a size limit, but these things could be worked around. Women's clothing, unfortunately, didn't have pockets like these. They instead have purses, which could store bigger objects inside.

In the dark forest, the blade shone under the moonlight. It slowly lightened and started to produce a light that covered the blade. This was his mana.

Plunging toward the beast, he slashed and it hollered, careful not to get bitten. The beast seemed to retreat for a moment before shooting out a beam of light. Reynold defended it with a slash and shortened the distance between them. One attack after another, as an outsider, Cecilia marveled at his display of swordsmanship.

She saw how both man and beast exchanged their blows. Seeing the beast trying to avoid the sword, she understood why he stopped for a moment before.

'He was looking for a clearing. With a clearing, decisive movements were easier to manage. Without the obstacles such as trees and bushes, he had more places to maneuver. He already had thoughts of fighting the thing.'

As he was about to deliver a heavy blow, he seemed to stop for a split second, as if a bit startled. This allowed the beast to give a hefty blow back. Reynold frowned at his injury.

The attack didn't hinder him though, quickly finishing off the beast with a clean cut.

The knights that occasionally helped Reynold came in to inspect the body. One of them came over to help her off the tree.

An older-looking man came over to Reynold and bowed, speaking, "Thank you, young master, for saving us from trouble."

"There is no need."

"We seemed to have caused you much trouble."

"Not to worry. If you were injured, the consequences would have been greater."

—

After questioning the knights, Reynold split them up into two groups.

His group would be tasked with carrying back the wounded soldiers left behind in the forest.

Cecilia's group was to guide the knights back towards the carriage.

Having satisfied everyone involved, Cecilia and a group of knights made their way towards the carriage.

There were a few knights at her rear, some at the back, and the rest at her side. They all surrounded their rescuer, enclosing her inside to keep her safe. Since they just fought a beast, they all became more wary, worrying about each rustle.

Although Cecilia appreciated their efforts, they smoothly returned without an issue.

Spotting them, Arisanna waved toward them and hurried over, her eyes scanning the crowd for injuries.

"Did you encounter any trouble heading back?" she questioned.

"No, we all made it out in one piece," Cecillia reassured her. "The young master and a group of knights are going back to carry the injured back here."

"I see," Arisanna nodded.

An older figure came up from behind Arisanna and gazed toward the group of knights. In response, they kneeled in his presence.

One of them, presumably their vice-leader, spoke out, "We are in deep gratitude towards the Blanchette household."

He made a sound of acknowledgment, "We will help anyone in need of it, so no need to kneel."

Thus, they all stood up and gave a slight bow of gratitude.

"Your masters are still at the path waiting for your return. I believe a portion of you should return quickly to reassure and confirm their safety."

The vice-leader nodded and gave another bow before turning towards his group to deliberate elsewhere.

During this brief exchange, Cecilia couldn't help but thought, 'I forgot how famous these people are.'

'If they were placed in the modern world, would they be considered a rich family that owns a business or just celebrities in general?'

She gave it genuine thought before concluding, 'I read too much.'

Seeing the knights to their own devices, the former Grand Duke retired back into his carriage to update his wife.

Arisanna turned towards Cecilia and quietly asked, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No, not quite," she responded. "Since we were attacked by the beast, it wasn't right to go off on my own."

Arisanna hummed in response.

"Is one of their groups here in the forest?" she questioned.

"A very small one that operates as communications. You all should investigate it well."

Arisanna nodded, "Seems so."

It was quiet for a bit before Arisanna spoke once more, "The forest is vast, covering around the North, do you perhaps believe there is more than just one hidden base?"

Cecilia deliberated on it, "Potentially yes. To be quite frank, I only know the forests along this path contain a base for communications. The matter of how many bases are stationed at the North, I can't tell."

This was true. In the novel, the author never specifies how many bases they had. The scenes where they raided the bases only include the main ones. However, the location wasn't described in too much detail.

That is why the information she can give is limited, relying on the findings of the people rather than the novel.

This does not dispel the value of her information, as there is more to this incident than the location of the bases.

"Huh," Arisanna sounded.

Cecilia smiled, "I can tell you, however, there is a main base that stores everything. There are sub-main bases around each part of the empire. Then, there are small bases scattered around."

Arisanna gave a small "hm" and nodded.

"Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"Not really, I still want to know how you got the information but don't really know it in full detail."

Cecilia shrugged in response.

Arisanna gave a smile, "It's alright. I believe we can figure out the kinks before doing something big. It really depends on the other side."

Cecilia nodded.

"We should head back soon, we might cause a lot of people to worry otherwise."

"Are we splitting up into groups?"

"Potentially, yes. I think you and Mother should head back first. We will most likely check the perimeters of this area, perhaps investigating a little. We will have to relay information to Mother and send a team to this location."

"Are you taking action right away?"

"It's better to be prepared early than scramming to make progress before a major event happens."

"Alright, I presume you will be busy soon," Cecilia chuckled.

"Work first then rest later. It feels better to accomplish something significant before crashing," Arisanna also chuckled.