Vincent was able to use a trail-blazing stallion on his way to Evergreen Territory. The rendezvous point was in a small mining town called Little Rock, the final destination before having to cross uninhabited territory to the north. The Church of Light and supply convoy were waiting for the right conditions to travel to Northgard.

  The passage to Northgard passed between a small mountain range and the Emerald Forest. The path was the safest point of passage because the steep cliffs of the Valen Mountains to the west make attacks from that direction impossible. The same was for the opposite end of the forest in the Redwall territory, but ever since the Battle of Vernon Valley, the passage has been blocked.

  When Vincent arrived, he first reported to the Evergreen Ranger Corps branch office. All the towns and villages bordering the forest had stations and offices for troops to resupply before resuming their patrols, Little Rock was no different.

  “Cadet Vincent Silverlight, reporting in for duty.” Vincent saluted the officer in charge.

  “I’ve received your mission details.” The officer sputtered and handed over a folder with papers. “Please read over the details, then join up with the rest of the squad.”

  “Understood.” Vincent saluted and left. He quickly opened the mission brief and wasn’t surprised. They treated him like a greenhorn and didn’t expect him to do much. His mission was to follow the Forest Stalkers and provide support where he was needed. They were basically saying, “Stay out of our way, and do what you’re told.”

  While training with the Evergreen Ranger Corps, he heard a lot about the accomplishments of Forest Stalkers. They were the crème of the crop of the Evergreen Rangers. Any person picked out from the Forest Stalkers would be able to go toe to toe with a royal knight. If they fought in the forest, royal knights would only be toyed until they’ve died. Right now, five of these people were standing in front of Vincent, studying his every movement.

  “I’ve received the mission brief.” Vincent was the first to speak. He held up a file. “I’ll stay out of the way.”

  “…”

  Everyone only studied Vincent for a short while longer before resuming their gear check. Being experts in reconnaissance and marksmen, every Forest Stalker had a quiet and patient disposition. Since Vincent already understood his role, what do they need to say? They could save their energy and continued prepping.

  Vincent awkwardly stared at the busy individuals as they packed their gear and sharpened their tools. Finally, a woman off to the side giggled and strolled over. He had noticed her earlier when he came in; she was also a Forest Stalker, but she stood out because of her tanned skin and beautiful facial features.

  “We’ve already received our brief from General Aster, Vince. Can I call you that?” She asked.

  “Mm, that’s fine with me. And you are?” He shook her outstretched hand.

  “Yeriel. The others aren’t too good at babysitting, so I volunteered to look after you.” She giggled when Vincent frowned when he heard the word ‘babysitting’. “Don’t take it to heart, Vince. To us, you’re just like a newborn chick. We can’t entrust you with anything, so just follow us and see how we operate. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.”

  Vincent wasn’t convinced by her words, but since Yeriel took to the initiative to explain things, he didn’t make things too difficult for her. He didn’t have much to do since he’d already packed his gear before he came.

  “I’ll be in town restocking my supplies.” He made an excuse and left.

  After he left, one of the Forest Stalker asked Yeriel a question, “Do you think he won’t mess things up for us?”

  “That boy seems reliable. At least he listens to explanation and isn’t rash.” Earlier had been a sort of test by Yeriel to sound out Vincent and he had spectacularly passed.

  “I don’t know what General Aster is doing, letting a whelp join in such an important mission.” Another Forest Stalker spoke up. “But I don’t mind as long as he stays out of our way.”

  “Agreed.” Another echoed his opinion.

  They had just finished speaking of Vincent when a haughty person in a white robe entered. He had a broach on his robe indicating he was a bishop of the Church of Light.

  “The archbishop has sent me to confirm whether or not you are ready to depart.”

  “All our people have arrived. We will be ready at any moment.”

  “That’s good to hear. We depart in three days. Be ready by then.” Although the bishop was demanding, the Forest Stalkers also have their own pride. No one acted subserviently nor do they act arrogant. The church asked for Duke Evergreen’s assistance, so he sent his Forest Stalkers, but they answered to only the Duke and General Aster, not to the church.

  Vincent spent the next few days exploring the small town of Little Rock. The church had its own housing, so he wasn’t able to find the princess, but he didn’t mind it. From what he gathered, she would die if she didn’t perform the pilgrimage. Even if he rescued her, he would still have to bring her to the world tree. Then it was time to leave for the northern bastion of Eidolon.

  The large convoy had over 300 men, about half were the Church of Light; the other half were the troops delivering supplies to Northgard. Vincent and the Forest Stalkers were broken off into three groups. Two were assigned to scout the road ahead. Two fell back behind the convoy to sweep for any dangers following the convoy and Vincent, and Yeriel were attached to the center of the convoy.

  “Fwee~!”

  “Kueee~!”

  Emet flew down and landed on Vincent’s outstretched arm. He gently brushed her beak. She had grown a lot in the last months, reaching nearly two meters in wingspan.

  “That bird looks so pretty. Does she have a name?” Yeriel’s eyes lit up.

  “Her name’s Emet. She’s a cross between a storm falcon and a thunder hawk,” replied Vincent. He watched as Yeriel brushed Emet in a familiar fashion.

  “Coooo~.”

  “She’s well trained.” Yeriel was impressed. “Did you use our method of training?” She was referring to the Evergreen Ranger Corps methods of training animal companions. They often used animals as scouts and guides, namely fowls, on patrols and missions.

  “Her training isn’t finished, but she’s a quick learner.”

  “Kuah!” It might be because Emet understood him because she happily beat her wings and took off.

  “I’ve always wanted to train my own bird, but I don’t have the time to look after one,” Yeriel complained. “I’m always sent on missions.”

  “Aren’t you assigned to a region? If you are, you can always have someone take care of a bird for you there and go see if from time to time.” Vincent began to make suggestions.

  “That may be so but…” Yeriel continued to speak. Like so, they both continued their conversations about training and various methods to train their companions.

  The start of the journey was uneventful. Everyone in the convoy was moving in an orderly fashion. The supplies were securely protected by the regular soldiers that have done a supply delivery many times in the past. With the added troops from the Church of Light and its priest, everyone felt confident and safe.

  “Did you know? The outer region of the forest is pretty safe, but as soon as you enter the inner region, you better be prepared to fight for your life.” Yeriel started teaching Vincent about the Emerald Forest.

  There were fewer monsters in the inner region, but each one of them has adapted to life in the forest and could kill and protect their own territory from invaders. The inner region was remarkably different from the outer region. It was eerily quiet, devoid of life.

  “Looks like Basil and Tom took care of some strays.” Yeriel happily chimed as she rode up to a pile of monster carcasses. They were verdant-tail wolves, an indigenous species that populated the forest. “Their meat is tough, but they can be used to supplement our rations.” Yeriel had a few soldiers drag the carcasses onto a supply wagon.

  “I guess all of you don’t waste anything?” Vincent was intrigued.

  “That’s right,” replied Yeriel. “Out here in the forest, we have to make use of everything we gather. It’s only respectful of the bounty the forest brings.”

  The Forest Stalkers were fanatics when it came to the forest. They lived 80% of their lives in the woods and would easily bump that number to 100% if they didn’t have to report to town for missions and tasks.

  The church was in a rush; thus the pace set for the convoy was quickened. Every second out in the field was an increasing chance that they would be raided by the dark elves hidden in the forest. The elven princess was their only method of controlling these wild and corrupt race. In the evening, the train stopped and set up camp with their backs to the wall-like cliffs of the Valen Mountains. They arranged their carts and wagons in a defensive formation to maximize their protection.

  Vincent, along with the Forest Stalkers, was assigned to be sentries. Like during the day, they would work in groups of two. The soldiers would also be sentries for the camp, but their detection skills were utterly atrocious compared to Forest Stalkers and Vincent.

  “Ever since I’ve unlocked [Inventory], my life has become easier,” Vincent mumbled as he practiced taking out a canteen of water and taking a swig. Space magic was a rarity, and not many mages had expertise in this circle of magic. Often times, the only mages that could use such types of magic were old and aged beyond their noon years.

  Some objects could store things in a pocket space, but such things were rare, and they were hardly large enough to make use of for items like furniture. However, Vincent’s [Inventory] was different. Right now he could access a space the size of 6m3. He stored the essentials like his food, tent equipment, and bedroll. He also stored the extra ammunition for his bow in [Inventory] and only kept a quiver on him. His only worry is that it might draw the attention of others if he took things out in midair, so he planned on buying a space bag when he had the opportunity.

  Vincent and Yeriel were part of the last watch, just before dawn. When it was his turn to go on watch, Basil and Tom came back to the tent and woke him and Yeriel up, and then took their spots. Vincent groggily sat up and followed Yeriel as she chewed on jerky to rouse herself.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Want one?” She handed him a piece.

  “How can I stand on ceremony?” Vincent graciously accepted.

  Unlike regular sentries, Evergreen Rangers liked to wait up in trees; it was safer, and they were less likely to be spotted. They both found a tree about 200 meters out from the camp and climbed up. Vincent was situated 50 meters away from Yeriel; they were in view of one another. He gave her the okay signal, and they both sat back and waited.

  From time to time, Vincent could see Emet fly down from above the treetops. He also had his ears trained to pick up any noise, since it’s already autumn, there were dry leaves on the grass below; anything that happened to walk nearby would reveal themselves just from the sound.

  The job as a sentry was a dull duty, but it was also important. With Yeriel and Emet to also help keep watch, he began to meditate. He closed his eyes and felt the wild mana in his surroundings. The forest felt different from the city. The mana was pure like untouched snow. When he breathed in, he felt his cells become energized, and this left a tingling sensation on his skin. Although the wild mana in the forest was refreshing, he could also feel an ominous presence coming from the northeast, in the direction of the world tree. He blanched when he thought of the corrupt world tree and the dark elves. Dark mana felt drastically different from the elemental mana.

  Just as he was paying attention to the ominous presence of dark mana, he also noticed brown specks coming from underneath him. Out of curiosity, he opened his eyes and looked down, but saw nothing. The brown bits only appeared when he used his mana sense. This startling realization caused a cold breeze to whip past him. It was only now that he realized he could hear a faint rumbling sound. This unnatural sound alerted him, and he threw a rock in Yeriel’s direction.

  *Thunk!*

  The pebble drew her gaze, and she looked over at him in confusion.

  Vincent pointed down below him and gestured to listen. Yeriel was puzzled and closed her eyes and tilted her head down. She listened for only a few seconds and shot upwards like she was just stung by a bee.

  “Shit.” He could see her lips cursing. She reached into her quiver and took out an arrow with a firework attached to the tip. She lit it and shot it up into the sky.

  *FWEEEE~!*

  The firework whistled as it shot up into the air, leaving a trail of red smoke. The camp began to rattle with increasing urgency as the clanging of metal woke up everyone inside the camp. Yeriel also looked concerned and took out what seemed to be a flute.

  “FWEEEE!” She blew hard into the flute for a full minute. At the end of the minute, the rumbling grew worse as the ground began to bulge. Vincent watched as a few ugly and wrinkled heads popped out of the earth, their guttural groans were hauntingly terrifying.

  “Cave trolls!” Vincent’s iris constricted, and he hastily raised his bow and took out an arrow and lit it. He shot it at the troll nearest to his position.

  “UAAAAGGGHHH!” The troll went up in flames like a barbeque grill and kerosene. His guttural moans became shrieks are he began rolling on the ground, trying to stop the fire that clung to him like glue.

  Yeriel also began firing fire arrows down at the intruders. The men on the ground also heard the commotion and started to move in their direction, but as soon as they walked away, more trolls crawled out of the earth.

  Limbs and screams filled the forest as the sentries were ambushed from below. They didn’t stand a chance as the trolls’ numbers rose.

  “H-how can this b-be?!” A solder stuttered as he faced a group of trolls.

  “GRAAAUUUU!” They roared and sung down their club-like fists, smashing the soldier into a meaty paste. They proceeded to the other soldiers.

  Men began to flee in fear. They ran off into the forest. Others ran back to camp. The smart ones climbed trees. As soon as the sentries abandoned their posts, snarls and growls started coming out from deeper in the forest. Vincent and Yeriel, who were both busily dealing with the trolls, shifted their attention to the noise.

  From further in the forest, kobolds started bounding forward. The sinister look in their eyes drowned the deserting soldiers in fear as they were quickly overwhelmed by the tide of monsters. Vincent also swore and called out to Yeriel.

  “What do we do?!” He watched as Yeriel stopped shooting at the burning trolls and started shooting at the kobolds.

  “We get the hell out of here.” She threw a smoke bomb down and leaped down; someone with her athletic ability wouldn’t be hurt by the fall.

  Unlike trolls, kobolds could use weapons. They weren’t safe up in the trees. Their only option was to retreat back to camp but to do so, they would have to weave through the staggering numbers of trolls with kobolds chasing them from the rear. Vincent was slightly panicked as he slid down his tree. He watched as Yeriel started running, trying to keep close to her tail as she ran.

  A troll approached them from the side and swiped at them. Yeriel sped up, and the swipe missed her, but Vincent wasn’t so lucky. The smoke had obstructed his view, and by the time he noticed it, the troll’s arm was inches from his face.

  “Guh!” Vincent rolled forward, barely dodging in time. This maneuver though, caused him to slow down. He watched as Yeriel got further ahead and felt his heart rate increase as he redoubled his efforts. He looked around as he ran, making sure to pay attention to any attacks. He could hear the sounds of the kobolds getting closer. He might’ve even heard the kobolds’ breathing, but he didn’t want to turn around to check.

  Seeing that he was pretty much left to fare on his own, he began to despair. A few of the trolls were still rolling on the ground in pain as the fires on their body burnt out. He saw this and felt some inspiration.

  “Flame.” A ball of fire came to life in his palm. “Wind.” A small vortex formed in front of him. The whirlwind and the flame by itself wouldn’t be able to harm anything, but when combined…

  *WOOSH!*

  The vortex erupted spewed out a tongue of fire as he ran past. The dry leaves that had gathered in the vortex went up in flames. The flaming leaves shot everywhere. The ones that made contact with trolls immediately lit them up like a bonfire. The fire began to grow out of control as more and more leaves went up in flames. He heard the yelps and growls of pain behind him grow further away as he ran towards camp.

  “Make way!” Vincent cried out as he broke out from the forest and onto the road. The soldiers were stunned, they didn’t expect another survivor to escape from the ambush. Only Yeriel and Vincent made it out; the sentries had all been either killed by trolls or crushed under the kobold charge. Vincent ran into the camp of the soldiers and leaned against a wagon to catch his breath.

  “Good job, Vince. You made it too.” Yeriel patted his back. Vincent glared at her coldly. She had left him to die. He now knew her true nature. She may seem friendly but she was cold-hearted. He was just about to reply to her when a person yelled.

  “Prepare for the attack!!!”

  The growls and snarls from the forest grew closer. However, just when he thought they would burst out from the burning forest edge, the sound stopped. The other soldiers also relaxed a little. They may have thought the monsters retreated, but then a low rumble was heard. Vincent had heard this sound before.

  *Boom!*

  The earth exploded.

  “GRAAUUUUUU!!!” A hairy and matted beast shot out from the ground.

  “Attack! Attack!” The commander yelled as men ran forward to engage the beast.

  *Boom! Boom! Boom!*

  Much to their surprise, more and more trolls started crawling out from the ground around them, throwing them into chaos. Vincent and Yeriel didn’t have time to warn them. The monsters were using the same tactics from earlier!

  “Fall back! Don’t overextend!” The commander began to pull the soldiers into a defensive formation. The priests and mages in the back also began chanting. Vincent could feel a dam of mana build up in the mages.

  Out in the tree line, kobolds ran out one after another, their battle cries unsettling the soldiers.

  “What are you doing just standing there? Shoot them!” Yeriel shouted as she shot fire arrows one after another at the trolls. The other Forest Stalkers were doing the same thing. Their priority was incapacitating the trolls until the soldiers have dealt with the kobolds.

  More than 30 trolls were involved in the attack. As one after another troll went up in flames, the morale of the soldiers picked up.

  “Fire!” The commander ordered the archers to start shooting into the enemy line. Kobolds one after another fell to the rain of arrows.

  “Fire blast!” A mage shouted as a stream of flame shot over at a large group of trolls, blowing them back and setting them on fire.

  “Maintain the formation.” The kobolds crashed into the soldiers as the fighting ensued. Kobolds were armed but unarmored; they only had their natural tough fur as protection. Their boon was that they were agile and fast; if a man wasn’t careful, a kobold could latch on to his neck and tear out his throat.

  “Agh!” A soldier let out a fatal cry and fell down.

  “Damnit!” The soldier’s companion cursed and slew the kobold, only to be shot by the kobold archers hidden in the tree line.

  “Vincent, change targets. You and I will target their archers!” Yeriel shouted and shot a well-placed arrow into the tree line, eliciting a yelp.

  “Understood.” Vincent shot his last fire arrow and started focusing on the archers. However, he also began to hear a strange sound from behind him.

  *Clink Clink*

  Vincent’s sharp ears picked up the clicking sound, it stood out from all the fighting because it sounded like metals tapping on glass.

  *Fwip!*

  *Fwip!*

  Then he started hearing sounds like a zipper being zipped. Out of curiosity, he turned around to look behind him and froze. All the hairs on his body stood on end as a burning sensation crept all over his chest.

  “BEHIND US!!!” He shouted in a frenzy and dived down, barely dodging a spray of web.

  Parallel to the cliff wall, man-sized spiders with metallic carapaces were crawling. There were also wriggling masses of webbed humans stuck to the wall. He watched as a priest was abducted and attached to the wall. A spider then crawled over and sunk its teeth into the webbed man, who began to seize up and finally died.

  The commander also heard Vincent’s shout and turned to look. His expression fell when he saw the spiders. They were already struggling in the front lines, but now their backline was being threatened. He felt a headache coming along. Just as he was about to send some men to the back, a Forest Stalker spoke up.

  “We’ll handle them, you focus on the front.” The Forest Stalkers finished setting all the trolls on fire, they turned their attention to the spiders on the wall. Everyone began firing armor-piercing arrows at the large targets. The spiders proved to be a slippery target. When arrows came close to them, they spat out a ball of web, stopping the arrow. The only things they could do was distract the spiders, allowing for the mages to chant their spells.

  “Icicle lance!”

  “Wind Blade!”

  “Fire Blast!”

  Spells, one after another, shot out at the spiders. Without support from the mages and archers, the soldiers also began to lose their ground. The trolls also began to recover after the fire burnt away all their hair; they were now enraged from the pain.

  “GRAAAAHHHH!” A troll angrily tore through the ranks of the soldiers. The kobolds made use of the opening and pierced into the center of the formation.

  “Are you almost finished dealing with the spiders?!” The commander asked the mages.

  “Almost done!” A mage replied.

  Vincent watched as the spells bombarded the cliff wall. There were only a dozen or so spiders, so after about half of them died to magic spells, they retreated. The Forest Stalkers began to snipe down the kobolds in the tree line. The archers also reinforced the soldiers in the front line with focused fire.

  Vincent also calmed down after the spiders retreated and started shooting down the kobold archers. He kept his attention divided to their backs, just in case the spiders came back.

  With the added support of the backline, the kobolds started dying in droves. The convoy’s only problem were the trolls. Each troll was easily twice the size of a man and their strength was unimaginable. Each time a troll attacked, a soldier would fall.

  The fighting continued until daylight. The sun started rising over the horizon. As the sun rose, the trolls began to groan in pain. They were inherently weak to sunlight due to their sensitive eyes. As their vision went away, they became easier to kill.

  “They are weak! Now’s our chance!” The commander charged into the struggling trolls, slaying a troll by himself. He felt satisfied after being able to avenge his fallen men.

  Meanwhile, Forest Stalkers continued to shoot at the weak spots with pinpoint accuracy. They didn’t shoot frequently, but every arrow would either kill or incapacitate their target long enough for the frontline soldiers to land the killing blow.

  *Boom!*

  A fire pillar erupted, killing the final troll. The rest have either fled or have been killed. The kobolds have long abandoned the troll and retreated back into the forest. When the smoke from the fires have cleared, the commander felt a sense of loss. He looked over the battlefield and saw bodies of both men and monsters, many of them were breathing their last.

  “Go. Save as many as you can.” The Archbishop commanded his priests. Throughout the whole fighting, he had been inside his tent, guarding the elven princess along with the church’s elites.

  The commander of the supply convoy didn’t have authority over the church, so he even if he was angry at the church, he couldn’t say anything.

  “Much appreciated, Your Grace.” He saluted. Any help right now is better than nothing. He watched as the priests ran forward and started healing the injured. The ones that were beyond saving, they could only say their last rites.

  Vincent also watched the devastation on the battlefield. His fingers trembling from firing so many arrows. In his year of training and field exercises, he has never suffered so many losses on his side. This was a real battlefield. He felt sick to his stomach and dry gagged. Once he was feeling better, a Forest Stalker came up to him.

  “Name’s Locke. Commander of the 5th squad. You did well, Kid.” He shook Vincent’s hand. “Commander Basache called everyone to debrief in his tent. Let’s go.”

  “Understood.” Vincent felt a bit of pride, being acknowledged by a Forest Stalker wasn’t a simple feat.