Chapter 201

Even a rotten fish is still a fish, and as expected of the strongest Spirit King, he was disgustingly powerful. Of course, in the face of a gang-up, there’s no such thing as a fair fight, and the tide of battle was flowing in our favor. In fact, I was even grateful that he was taking care of the more troublesome opponents for us.

Still, it’s not like he’s some kind of pervert, but scattering those tree root tentacles everywhere was annoying. Of course, on our side, we had two swordsmen who could easily cut through those roots.

However, the Spirit King of Wood seemed quite surprised when he saw Camellia’s swordsmanship.

“That swordsmanship of yours… who did you learn it from…? No, I think I know. Now the puzzle pieces are finally falling into place.”

If he’s going to figure it out on his own, why even bother talking?

“I don’t understand why you’re so full of complaints. How can you live properly if you’re filled with nothing but hatred?”

“You’re mistaken. I love flowers, trees, birds, and wild beasts. The only thing I despise is those damned humans.”

“Anyone would think you’ve been wronged by humans.”

“If it were just that, I could laugh it off. Even if they defiled me and tore my limbs apart, I could treat it as nothing.”

Is this woman seriously insane?

“That’s funny. With a personality like that, no wonder you’re holed up in this gloomy, uninhabited forest.”

“No one lives here… yes, that’s right. From now on, no one will live in this forest. All that’s left here are corpses.”

For a moment, my mouth went dry. Anyone would freeze seeing that expression. I knew that expression well. It was the same one I made whenever I thought of my first love.

“Hey…”

“Originally, I welcomed everyone who entered this forest. Elves, vampires, humans… anyone who came into this forest, regardless of age, gender, or status. Whether they were criminals or cursed with malice… I released their curses, made them swear never to commit crimes again, and embraced them.”

The Spirit King of Wood was angry at me. No, to be precise, she was furious at humanity.

“How can you be so greedy! You who claim to pursue honor as knights…! Just because there are mere escaped slaves, you set fire to the forest! Yes, the trees can grow back from the ashes. Even if you burned this entire forest, even if you burned my body, I could forgive that much.”

And what rose from the ground were… corpses. Preserved as if they had just died, the corpses were embedded in giant tree roots like dolls, maintaining their silence.

“The excuse that slaves escaped was clearly a lie. The Empire, was it? That pitiful human settlement. I heard their emperor or whatever wanted elf slaves, so they caused this tragedy. And the Carven family followed those orders and ravaged this forest.”

Come to think of it, when I asked Ares about this forest…

[So, instead of just calling it a forest, can you tell me its official name?]

[Haha… I was trying not to tell you because it’s a bit ominous.]

What, is it called something like “Werner’s Death Forest” or something?

[The name of the forest is… “The Coffin-Weaving Forest.”]

At first, I thought it was because many people went missing after entering the forest. But the reason it’s called the Coffin-Weaving Forest is because of that…

“They killed children, raped mothers in front of their children, and laughed while burning people alive! Isn’t that your true nature! I can’t stand the sight of you! Just seeing you makes me want to vomit! The sound of your footsteps echoing through the forest makes me want to burst my eardrums! Just smelling your stench makes me want to cut off my nose!”

When anger is poured out so directly, there’s nothing to say. As they say, the simplest things are the scariest. How do you respond to such primal rage?

I couldn’t say anything, and no words came to mind. Even if I had the perfect answer, it wouldn’t calm her anger. She’d just deny my response and say I was wrong. I understood that feeling better than anyone. She’s angry at humans, but…

“Let me ask you something. If you hate humans so much, why not just attack a human village? Why mope around in the forest alone? And why are you even managing the corpses of the humans you supposedly despise?”

Among the corpses were many ordinary humans, though most were blonde elves.

“You’re getting too cocky because your mother’s well-off. Do you think I can’t take your life if I’m prepared to die?”

At that, Airi, who had been hesitant to fight, suddenly changed her attitude.

“This bastard’s crossing the line now.”

I mean, it doesn’t seem like things will improve if you act like that… Oh, it’s not just Airi. The other women seem to have lost it too, huh? They were all radiating genuine killing intent.

“Dragon’s horn…”

“Now, now, let’s not go that far.”

As Sun Tzu, known in the English-speaking world as “The Grandchild,” once said, the greatest victory is winning without fighting. Of course, we did fight a little, but since no one died, it was manageable.

And our village chief, the strongest ninja, once said, “The art of the wind and thunder mouth is the ultimate technique for dealing with enemies.”

Taking the wisdom of these two sages, I boldly stepped forward. I released the faint magic energy I had wrapped around me and tucked the magic book Enok back into my pocket. After all, dialogue should be conducted unarmed.

“You’re looking down on me till the end. This is why I hate humans.”

A sharp, pointed tree root rose from the ground, aiming for my neck. Of course…

“Go ahead, stab me.”

The Spirit King of Wood couldn’t stab me. Despite her trembling hand, the tree root just stood there like an ordinary tree, unable to pierce my neck.

“You think you can’t kill me with magic…! I wouldn’t bat an eye even if you died!”

Wait, I could piece together the puzzle from what I’ve heard so far. I’ve met quite a few remnants of the Black Round Table on the way here, but none of them were killed by the Spirit King of Wood. The only ones who were killed by her were the summoned beings called by that fake Gawain, Damian’s snake monster.

Moreover, Agravain and Gallahad were just tied up by the tree roots like in some tentacle scene, unharmed.

If she’s like that even with those who came to kill her, there’s no way she could stab me. Of course, I did rely a bit on my mother’s influence.

“This is my last mercy. I’ll let you live, so leave quietly.”

It’s too late to leave quietly now. If you draw your sword, you have to cut something, and if you draw your magic, you have to take someone’s head.

“You couldn’t possibly handle the ones who came to kill me. You’d just dirty my garden with your filthy blood. Get lost.”

“Well then, why don’t you make a contract with my disciple and run away together?”

“…Then they’ll relentlessly chase you. Don’t spill useless blood on this land. It’s disgusting.”

Even though Airi asked for a contract, I wondered why she was so stubbornly refusing. But it seems this was the reason.

She must have treated spirits really well, even if they weren’t human.

“So stop with the pointless resistance and go back. I can handle them alone anyway. More importantly, you…”

That’s when it happened. A sharp, beautiful sword of light pierced the Spirit King of Wood’s chest from behind.

“Guh!”

“Say any more, and things will get difficult for me too. If you say something that could cause trouble, I’ll have to take appropriate measures.”

It was that bastard Lancelot.

“Guh… haa… haa… It’s been a while, you damn bastard… I don’t know how many years it’s been since you ran away after transferring the Spirit King’s authority and power to someone else.”

“…”

“I heard you killed the Spirit King of Light too. What the hell are you trying to do with all this…”

“I don’t want to answer you.”

Lancelot turned his gaze to me. He didn’t spare a single glance for his family, Camellia or Gallahad.

“Well, your skills have improved a bit, though still shabby. But unfortunately, the bar’s been raised too high today, so I can’t give you a passing grade.”

“What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden…”

“I killed the guy who called himself your son. He was quite the skilled one. If we fought head-on, I might have lost.”

For a moment, my mind went blank. And it seemed everyone else felt the same.

And then another voice came.

To me, it sounded like a voice coming through a speaker, but to Werner, it was the voice of his first love, so he could hear it clearly.

“You’ve had a rough time, huh? Well, with holy spears embedded all over your body, including your heart, you’re definitely 100% dead.”

My brain couldn’t process the current situation.