A small group of three people was walking inside the forest. Their breath is a bit labored which indicates that they have been walking for a long time.

Edward How long will it take us to reach the Midnight Forest? asked a large man, supporting himself, with his spear.

Look who's tired now, I already warned you that you shouldn't have come here with us, not only are you tired but you've slowed us down too. Jack looked sullenly at Hal.

look at you, you little shit. You are drenched in sweat from head to toe and you are panting as if you will faint any moment. Hal said with a small smile on his face.

At least I'm not asking now and then how long will it take us to reach our destination. Jack said while thrusting his sword on the ground to support his body

Both of them stared at each other and took the stance of fighting.

Stop you two!!

How long will you two keep behaving like this? It's been seven days and you guys kept fighting like little kids. And it's not just once but you both kept fighting every day.

Edward your son started it. Hal said in his defense.

What I said was true. You have slowed us down. jack said

can you be quiet for a second

After listening to Edward, both of them stopped fighting.

After that, all three started walking again. Their feet started breaking the dry plant lying on the ground

After walking quietly for a while. Jack asked Edward "Father how long will it take us to reach our destination."

Hal smiled creepily at Jack's words and looked at him. It was as if he had just won a battle.

Edward as you told us we've been running in the woods for seven days straight. And we have been running almost all the time these past seven days without any rest. Hardly eating and drinking.And sleeping.

It is true but till we reach our destination we cannot stop and cannot take any break.

Hey!! are you not tired? We have been walking for seven days without rest.

Don't worry about me. Edward said while looking at hal face.

How can I not worry about you after seeing your face. We haven't rested. And you haven't rested properly for a while either.

Yes, father, you haven't slept properly in many days. You have been working tirelessly even before coming here. You should get some rest and then go.

Well!! Let's take a break for an hour then we'll be on again, and I believe we're not too far from the forest of the midnight moon.

Then all three of them looked for a place to rest and soon they found a good place. A big tree that stood out from the other trees was bigger than the surrounding trees. The ground around the tree was flat and The grass had softened the area.

Jack thrusted his sword on the ground and sat down near the root. While Hal sat down near the tree and leaned his back against the wall of the tree. And Edward lay down on the grass between them.

It's something I've been thinking about for a while. How did you know about it? About this forest and the Demon Lord's resurrection. Where did you learn about it?

Father, I was also wondering how you know so much about the Demon Lord and how to revive him but you never mentioned it to anyone, not even me.

Jack!

Father!

Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you, and Hal, make sure what I'm about to tell you stays between us.

Hmm. Hal nodded.

To be honest, when I first heard about the Demons lord, I didn't believe it myself.

Like you I also thought that the Demon Lord is a fiction fabricated by demons to give them peace of mind.

When I turned 16 my father told me that I am old enough to know the truth and I should know everything about the demon lord. And what is the duty of our family towards our lord?

What is it, father? Jack asked curiously.

We are the protector of the demon lord.

Protector? Does the Demon Lord need any protection when he is the strongest being in the world.

Yes, at least in the beginning.

Snores!! Snores!

What the.. hal?

Father, he fell asleep as soon as you started speaking. But you should ignore him. I want to know more.

I think we should stop talking and get some rest

But..

Get some rest I can see your eyes are getting heavy.

Fine! jack didn't think it good to ask more.

Soon Jack fell asleep too.

Can we really resurrect our lord? Sometimes a part of me doubts it. Tired Edward fell asleep thinking about the future.

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.

.

.

.

.

Yawn!!

I fell asleep.

Shit, it's almost evening. I fell asleep by accident and the sun is about to set soon and it will be dark.

Father and Hull are also sleeping. I should wake them up too, or else we won't be able to meet the dark elf before nightfall.

father!! As Jack reached out his hand to wake Edward, he felt a sharp gaze on him.

Is anyone watching me? He turned quickly to see if he could find anyone but he didn't see anyone

Looks like I haven't gotten enough rest." Jack shook off that feeling. And started calling Edward to wake him up.

father!! father!! Wake up!! We have to go before it gets dar.." But before he could wake him up, he heard some rustling.

Rustle!! Rustle!!

The slight sound of rustling leaves reached Jack's ears. He quickly turned to look again but still found no one.

Is it all my imagination or is someone really watching me?

Seeing a leaf falling from above, Jack's attention went towards it, but then an arrow came in front of him that tore that leaf.

Realizing that someone has attacked him, Jack immediately jumps back to cover some distance to grab his sword and then pulls out his sword buried in the ground.

The arrow came from above" Looking up he saw a pair of glowing eyes staring at him from among the thick foliage.

Jack was surrounded by the sound of footsteps coming from bushes.

But before Jack could think anything else another arrow came from above but Jack stopped it using his long sword as a shield.

Clank!! The sound of their collision echoes in the forest and Hal and Edward wake up.

Seeing the two awake, the enemy increased the number of arrows and the speed of the arrows to quickly deal with Jack. But Jack manages to avoid getting hit.

The enemy has increased the number of arrows and their speed.

But why now?

Clank!!

Another enemy came running out of the bushes and swung his sword at Jack. Jack jumps back slightly to distance himself from the new enemy.

But at that very moment, an arrow hit Jack's arm, when his body was in the air.

And the other enemy who was shorter than Jack was able to cover the distance between him and swing his sword again but Jack stopped it.

But the enemy continued his attacks and each blow of the sword became fiercer than the last. And arrows kept raining from above.

Shit! I have been completely outmatched against the two. And my body is not moving as I wanted because I have still not recovered from the previous battle that I have found.

If only I could take out the bow enemy somehow Then I can focus on him.

Seeing that jack has been struggling that much against the enemy Edward realizes something. And looked at Hal, and Hal looked back at Edward and nodded.

Hal loosened his body slightly and stepped one foot forward, then put his weight on it, then leaned his body back slightly and threw his spear with all his might toward the tree.

Swiss!!

The spear went straight toward the tree, ripping through the air and creating a whirlpool of air around it. and completely blew away one side of the tree, throwing the enemy into the air.

Jack and his opponent stop their fight for a moment and look up to see what happened.

A large part of the tree was completely blown away and the enemy who was hiding in the tree was blown away in the air. revealing her face. A dark-skinned elf with white hair with long pointed ears was sent flying.

Edward looked at hal in disbelief while hal grind and gave a thumbs up to Edward with a proud look on his face.

After seeing hal with that look. Edward put his palm on his face in disappointment.

Sis!!. shouted the enemy on the ground.

damn you. Cursing, he looked at the hal with a fearful look.

Don't look away I am your opponent. Jack threw his sword and then lunged at him. But the enemy reflected Jack's sword by his sword with a slight movement. And then with incredible speed went straight toward Hal, completely ignoring Jack.

You bastard.

Stop!! Ren.

The boy stopped his steps and looked behind him.

Rene are you alright?.

A woman wore a simple blouse and short pants with leather straps. Carrying a bow and arrow she slowly walked towards the boy, while stroking her hair and plucking some leaves from it.

I'm fine Ren and how many more times do I have to tell you that you shouldn't lose your cool easily.

Rene !! Rene !! Thank God you are fine. Ren ran towards Rene crying and hugged her. Rena put her hand on his head and started caressing him.

Rustle! rustle!

And in a short, while the sound of some more footsteps started coming from the bushes, then in a short while some more elf surrounded them from all sides.