If it hadn’t been for Ghislain, everyone would have died without even realizing what had happened to them.

Kaor, watching the mercenaries cheer, turned to Gillian and asked.

“Who the hell is that guy? They said he was a brat, but is he really some secret weapon of Ferdium?”

Kaor was deeply shocked to realize that Ghislain’s true abilities far surpassed what he had seen so far.

“I don’t know either. But one thing’s for sure: no one of his age is stronger than him.”

Gillian had also never seen Ghislain display such strength before. Even during the battles with monsters, Ghislain hadn’t been fighting at full strength.

This went beyond mere genius; it was clear he was hiding something.

Though Gillian's face showed awe and pride as he answered Kaor, not everyone was as excited and overjoyed.

“Move! Get out of the way!”

Belinda, alarmed, kicked and shoved the mercenaries aside as she rushed over to Ghislain.

“Young Master! Are you alright? No way, your skills have grown again! Are you really the same person?”

Belinda was the one who had seen Ghislain’s abilities the most and for the longest time.

In her eyes, Ghislain shouldn’t have been capable of handling the approaching Phalores to this extent. That’s why she had stepped in earlier.

But she couldn’t have imagined that Ghislain would once again exceed her expectations.

“I’m fine. The line collapsed at the start, but thanks to you, we bought enough time. Everyone did well, but first, let’s tend to the wounded.”

But Belinda wasn’t interested in compliments, frantically checking over Ghislain’s injuries instead.

“You should get treated first.”

“It’s not that serious.”

As Belinda said, Ghislain had sustained several wounds from fighting so fiercely.

Not only Ghislain but also Gillian and Kaor had cuts all over their bodies.

Although it had been a chaotic battle, it had been tough enough to wound even warriors of their skill level.

With the Phalores being both strong and fast, and their sheer numbers, the outcome was inevitable.

The mercenaries, watching Belinda fuss over Ghislain, exchanged glances and murmured amongst themselves.

They had only seen her as a maid, but now they were shocked to realize how strong she was.

“I knew something was up the moment she started throwing daggers and wrapping herself in mana.”

“Yeah, but that same person once asked me to cook her soup. You almost lost your head, too.”

As the tension of the battle eased, the mercenaries began to joke and chatter.

Clicking his tongue at their carelessness, Ghislain spoke.

“Take care of the wounded and gather the bodies in one place. The light spell will wear off soon, so hang the lanterns.”

Without hesitation, the surviving mercenaries immediately moved to follow Ghislain’s orders.

One of them was the muscle-bound Gordon.

“Phew, what disgusting creatures.”

As Gordon cleaned up the outer edge of the clearing, he grimaced at the sight of the Phalores’ corpses.

After several days of stress over these creatures, even his muscles might have shrunk.

‘I’ll have to work out harder when we get back.’

He casually tossed the dead Phalores' bodies into a pile.

Following the scattered corpses, Gordon wandered closer to the forest without thinking.

He had strayed a bit from the group and was near the dark, tree-filled forest.

For some reason, he glanced back toward the light.

The light from the magic spell was fading, and the glow from the spheres had dimmed considerably.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Gordon quickly grabbed a corpse by the leg.

He planned to throw it into the pile and return to the group.

At that moment, the Phalore he thought was dead suddenly opened its eyes.

“What?”

Startled by the unexpected sight, Gordon let out a stupid sound.

Screech!

In an instant, the Phalore’s tentacles shot out, wrapping around Gordon’s neck, arms, body, and legs.

“Aaaaaah!”

Everyone turned at the sound of his scream.

They saw Gordon being dragged into the darkness.

“Gordon!”

“Damn it! There was one still alive!”

“That idiot!”

The mercenaries rushed toward him, but they stopped short of the clearing.

None of them had the courage to enter the darkness of the forest.

“Wh-what do we do?”

“It’s over. He’s gone into the darkness; there’s no saving him now.”

“Damn shame. We just won, too.”

The forest was so dense that it was pitch black, impossible to see even a few steps ahead.

The Phalores were much harder to fight in the dark.

The only thing waiting for Gordon now was death.

As the mercenaries stood there, expressions of regret on their faces, Ghislain drew his sword once again.

Belinda and Gillian, noticing his intent, grabbed his arms and shouted.

“Young Master! Are you crazy?”

“My lord, you can’t! It’s too dangerous!”

Ghislain looked at the two of them in silence, then glanced around at the mercenaries.

The mercenaries wore bitter expressions but shook their heads.

This wasn’t the employer’s fault. Accidents could happen at any time.

Even a leader who fought on the front lines couldn’t be expected to prevent every mishap.

For mercenaries who sold their lives for money, this was just a risk they had to accept.

Kaor stepped in front of Ghislain and said matter-of-factly.

“Give it up. It’s already too late. Losing your life through your own mistake is just part of being a mercenary.”

As mercenaries, they tried to survive when they could, but when death was inevitable, they accepted it with grace.

Ghislain closed his eyes briefly and raised his head.

Dying in battle was something he accepted. It was a risk mercenaries had to live with.

But to let a comrade be dragged away in front of him while still alive—that was something the King of Mercenaries, one of the Continent’s Seven Strongest, could never accept.

Especially not when there was still a chance to save him.

With his eyes closed, Ghislain spoke in a low voice.

“I…”

The next words pierced the ears of everyone around him.

“I have never once given up on those who follow me.”

At this bold declaration, Belinda and Gillian looked at him with unease.

Ghislain slowly opened his eyes and looked at the two of them.

“Stay here and watch over the mercenaries. I’ll go alone.”

Belinda’s face twisted in frustration.

‘I knew it! Ever since he was a child, he’s never listened once!’

She swiftly drew a dagger she had already coated with poison.

She didn’t want to hurt him, but unless she knocked this reckless fool out, he’d run off without thinking.

“My lord, stop this now. You know what happens when I get angry, don’t you?”

Her tone had changed. It was a sign that Belinda, who rarely got truly angry, was genuinely upset.

Ghislain, fully aware of this, merely shrugged at her.

Whoosh!

And before she could even react, he darted into the dark forest.

“My lord? Hey! Where are you going?”

Fuming, Belinda stamped her feet before turning to Gillian.

“You stay here and guard them!”

She threw those words over her shoulder as she chased after Ghislain.

“You stay and guard them,” Gillian said to Kaor, his face expressionless, before following Belinda.

Kaor, left staring at the empty spot where they had disappeared, scratched his head in frustration.

“Damn it, they’re all treating me like I’m some kind of joke now. Who the hell do they think they’re ordering around? Damn it.”

Ever since meeting Ghislain, his pride had taken quite a beating.

“Damn it! This is such crap! Should I just cut them all down?”

Kicking a random stone out of frustration, Kaor glared at the mercenaries.

“What are you staring at? Keep cleaning up. We’ll wait. Anyone who slacks off will lose their heads.”

Kaor was still a terrifying madman to the mercenaries.

Frightened, they nodded and quickly got back to work.

Kaor sat down, chewing on some jerky, licking his lips.

“Damn, what a shame.”

He would’ve liked to follow them; it seemed like it would be fun. But if he left, there’d be no one to lead the mercenaries.

Meanwhile, Ghislain was running at an incredible speed, pursuing Gordon’s trail.

Chasing a Phalore, which moved as one with the darkness, wasn’t an easy task. It disappeared entirely from view.

At close range, he could at least sense its movement, but as the distance grew, even that became impossible.

That’s why Count Balzac, who had earned the title of Master, had struggled so much against the Phalores in his previous life.

But this time, things were a little different.

Gordon was caught by the Phalore, and as a human, he couldn’t merge with the darkness.

― Aaaaaah!

Gordon's faint scream echoed from afar.

Chasing after the sound, Ghislain infused his voice with mana and shouted loudly.

“Gordon! Keep shouting! I’m coming to get you!”

His voice was so loud it made the forest tremble.

It was enough for his voice to reach Gordon for sure.

Normally, shouting so loudly in the Forest of Beasts was forbidden.

It could awaken other monsters or alert them to your presence, causing them to come after you.

However, this was Phalore territory, and it was nighttime.

The monsters wouldn’t know yet that most of the Phalores had already been killed, so they wouldn't move easily.

― Save me! Please!

Hearing Ghislain’s shout, Gordon kept screaming until his throat felt like it would tear.

As Ghislain pursued the sound and narrowed down the direction, he suddenly realized that Gordon's voice had stopped.

‘Either his mouth is covered...’

Ghislain gritted his teeth and unleashed even more mana.

‘...or he's already dead.’

But he wouldn’t give up until he saw Gordon’s corpse with his own eyes.

Sssss!

Ghislain pulled a Light Scroll from his coat and ripped it open, flooding the area with light.

He quickly scanned the ground for any traces, determined the direction, and sprinted madly forward.

‘Hang in there, Gordon!’

Just as Ghislain expected, Gordon’s mouth had been covered by a Phalore tentacle.

Sensing someone pursuing them, the Phalore had assumed the screams were the cause and immediately silenced him.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

Gordon had also heard Ghislain’s shout.

He desperately tried to scream again, hoping it would help Ghislain find him, but the clever monster had sealed his mouth.

‘Damn it! If I can’t breathe properly, I’ll lose muscle mass.’

Tears welled up in Gordon’s eyes as he struggled, but it was no use.

‘Am I going to die like this?’

In this dark forest, it would be impossible for anyone to find his trail.

Gordon began to lose hope.

‘Come to think of it, the boss said he’d teach me to read and write.’

If they had made it back safely after this expedition, maybe he could have learned to read.

Though, of course, he would’ve refused, because he’d need to focus on training.

‘So this is it. This is how it ends.’

Everyone must have thought he was dead by now, or they had failed to find him and given up on the chase.

It seemed his guess was right, as Ghislain’s voice could no longer be heard.

Contrary to Gordon’s resignation, Ghislain was still chasing after him.

However, his speed was slowing down.

Without Gordon’s voice to guide him, it was impossible to pinpoint the direction.

Chasing after something that left no proper traces, in complete darkness, was challenging even for someone with Ghislain’s experience.

“Young Master!”

“My lord!”

While Ghislain’s pace had slowed, Belinda and Gillian caught up to him.

“Search for traces! Check the ground, check everything around!”

At his urgent command, Belinda and Gillian immediately began looking for any signs.

Though both of them were skilled in tracking, the traces were becoming increasingly harder to find.

In the end, they couldn’t even determine the right direction anymore.

“Young Master, let’s go back. If we keep wandering through the forest, it’ll be too dangerous.”

“Belinda is right. He’s likely already dead.”

Despite their attempts to persuade him, Ghislain didn’t move.

Even in that moment, his senses were on full alert, scanning the surroundings.

If he could hear even the faintest sound, it would be enough.

Just as Ghislain stood there, unable to bring himself to leave, a sound—Gordon's—reached all of their ears.

“―!”

Without hesitation, the three of them shot off in the direction of the sound like lightning.