Luna stopped shortly after exiting the woods. Every person in the opposite group still carried a weapon, and she was not so foolish as to walk up to them only to be attacked by an entire group. It was unlikely that this would happen, but still, Luna wanted to stay on the safe side. After a short moment, Hjalmarr sheathed his sword and began to walk in her direction. He appeared to be huge, and his armor set was quite fitting for a fantasy world noticed Luna.
"Would you do me the honor of giving me the name of our savior?" Luna noticed how big he truly was as he towered over her. She looked up and deep into his eyes. Hjalmarr was shifted into a trance but quickly regained his composure when Luna began to talk.
"It's Luna; you are quite lucky that I passed by and heard your battle, and with whom do I have the honor to speak?" she asked. Luckily for her, Hjalmarr didn't become suspicious after she shifted him into a trance, as he thought it was due to exhaustion.
"I am Hjalmarr, capitan of the Tank Knight Brigade. Undoubtedly, without you, our rookies would have died for sure."
Luna immediately noticed that the first person she saved and met after switching worlds was a high-ranking knight officer. So now it was essential to gather as much information as possible and get medicine for Jannet. But there was still one thing she didn't understand: why would he go into such dangerous territory when his men only consist of recruits? So she decided to ask.
"It is foolish to take rookies towards a battle without the necessary experience, so I believe you got surprised by the enemy?" she asked curiously.
"Indeed, this was supposed to be the first real experience for these rookies; contrary to our expectations, a whole army of mutated monsters is hiding here."
Luna was surprised that no one knew what the monsters were doing there. Hjalmarr noticed her surprise but was cut short in his thought as Luna continued.
"Are these monsters common here? I have never seen any with such characteristics and coordination." It was unusual for mindless beasts to operate with such coordination. It was a difficult task even for a knights brigade. The beasts would need a commander who organized their attack, but Luna didn't see one on the battlefield. If the commander operated from a distance, some form of distance communication would be required. But the core problem would remain: how does it get information in a forest from such a distance? She kept her thoughts to herself. Not only because she wanted to have the upper hand but also because she knew a knight captain would notice something like that.
"I have heard of such cursed creatures, but this would be a first for me too. This forest was supposed to be a safe location, but with the monster army slumbering in it, we must reassess the risk level for travelers. "Might I ask what a fine lady like you does in the forest?"
"I am looking for a medicine that can cure mana poison. My companion has a high fever, and I can't find a plant that could absorb the excess mana." She hung her head sadly. Hjalmarr hand went to his pocket, where a small leather pouch was hanging. With a jerk, he tore off his belt pouch and handed it to Luna.
"It's not much, but the remaining powder from the fairy flower should help your friend. Accept it as a gift of our gratitude." Luna took the pouch and bound it on her belt before she thanked him.
"I thank you ever so much. I can't leave my friend alone for a long time, or the fever might kill her. So I have to go back for now, unfortunately." Luna looked him in the eyes and smiled. Hjalmarr could have sworn he saw her eyes shining but dismissed it as his imagination due to his exhaustion. He wanted to say goodbye, but Luna had already vanished into the forest before he got the chance.
"Until we meet again." His last words were spoken into the blue atmosphere, but they never reached the ear of his savior.
Luna knew she didn't have much time, so she dashed to the cave as fast as she could. Many things slowed her down in the quest to find Mana absorbing plant. If she had to guess, the hour was already over, so it was about time to change Jannet's ties. The forest was green again, and no slime or muddy ground was hindering her. But the cave was still not in sight. She would have to run a couple of minutes before she made contact with their temporary home, where Jannet was lying. Luna didn't stop, even after she heard the howling of wolves to her left. She looked in that direction and immediately concluded that they were on the other side of the river, and would most likely not cross it. As she thought about the wolves, she became concerned and hoped that nothing entered the cave while she was gone.
For some reason, she was worried about Jannet. She radiated something that Luna felt extremely comfortable with. She first noticed it when they were stranded in the new world. She was immediately willing to help Jannet, although there was almost no benefit in doing so. Now that they were near this monster nest, she didn't even think about letting her down.
'Strange, it seems I have to investigate this.'
A smile flashed over Luna's face as the cave came into her vision. From a distance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. And the closer she got, the more relieved she felt. It was a taxing day, but before she could rest, she would have to give Jannet the medicine and change her calf wraps. When she entered the cave, she saw how Jannet gasped for air and was sweating like a waterfall. Her body temperature became too high, and a dry throat plagued her. Luna wasted no time and got one of the stone cups, put one-third of the fairy flower powder in it, and mixed it with water.
After preparing the medicine, Luna carefully brought Jannet into a sitting position and carefully poured water into her mouth. Unconsciously, she began to drink, most likely because her body lacked water so much. After she drank the last drop, Luna placed her on the bed again and began changing her calf wraps. They didn't have much water left after Luna used so much to care for Jannet. So her next task would be to revile the bucket as much as possible before she had to gather food for the night.
Luna carried plants from outside into the cave and began to drain the water from them. Water was flowing from the plant directly into the bucket. Several times Luna left the cave to gather new plants. She checked Jannet's condition every ten minutes until finally, she slept deeply and peacefully.
'Her condition does seem to be improving. I should gather something to eat before it gets dark. Fruits would be good as well. Maybe I can even find some apples.'
Luna scouted the area one last time before she left Jannet alone and gathered food for the night.
*** Hjalmarr
As Hjalmarr saw Luna vanishing in the withered forest, he turned around only to see his recruits on the ground. It was understandable. Even he was exhausted and wanted a comfortable bed to sleep in. But they had to leave the forest as soon as possible. He knew they had to be fast; no one knew when new hordes of monsters would appear.
"Time is up; we are moving towards the edge of the forest before more monsters appear." With loud groans, the recruits got up from their resting position. With faces painted red, they got up from the ground and slowly walked toward the edge of the forest. Hjalmarr was concerned. It was the first time he had seen something like that, and he was confident in his abilities, unlike Luna; he would normally storm the enemy lines and break their defense with his superior strength, but no matter how many corrupt beings he killed, new ones would take their place. He was overwhelmed due to the sheer number of enemies.
The aspiring knights also had it rough to see their friends fall in battle. With loud groaning, they dragged themself North-west towards Athylia.
Hjalmarr was yelling, "Move a little faster, or the snails will catch up with us." He had to push the rookies even though he was at his physical limit. They wouldn't make it through another conflict. They needed the remainder of the day to get there, but they eventually arrived in the city.
In the distance, they saw two enormous watchtowers looking down on them. It was amazing to see. The towers' imposing height terrorized anyone who dared to threaten the city. The primary line of defense was the wall that divided the city and connected the two towers. They were enchanted and would fend off nearly all attacks. The city gate was still open, and four guards with halberds kept watch. They immediately noticed Hjalmar, who approached the gate with around twenty recruits.
"Hjalmarr, you look banged up. Have the younglings misbehaved?" One guard burst out laughing. He had no idea that over 300 people went out hunting because it was just a shift change.
If Hjalmarr wasn't this exhausted, he would smash the man into the wall, breaking dozens of bricks in the process. He had to squint and take a deep breath to avoid going straight to the ceiling. It took him a moment before he calmed down again. His face lost all expression, and he walked past the guards into the city, followed by the recruits, who had their heads down. The news would spread around the city soon enough, so he saw no need to inform the city guard. The guard knew he'd messed up. Something terrible happened in the forest, but it was too late for him to apologize.
The recruits made their way toward the barracks, and most just fell into bed after the exhausting day and the emotional damage they received. Hjalmarr didn't have such luxury. He had to report the situation. So he set course to the palace, where the senior officers had a workroom.
Word quickly got around how few of the recruits had returned from the expedition. Citizens had seen the expeditions group in the morning, and other barracks noted the absence of friends and colleagues. Some of the surviving recruits gave a brief account of what had happened. Word spread like wildfire that the expedition had failed terribly, but only a few knew the truth.
Hjalmarr had to dress before he visited the palace formally. When he finally reached the palace, several people were already waiting for him. Among them was the commander of the knightly order. Captains from other knight units were already in the room. They were all upset, and no one seemed to notice Hjalmarr's exhaustion. "What the hell did you do that only 20 recruits came back?" yelled a tall man. He was the captain of the Archer Brigade.
"I'd like to ask who scouted this damned area?" exclaimed Hjalmarr in an angry voice. Today was a nightmare, and nothing went as it should.
"That was me, obviously," said the captain of the Archer Brigade, Neo.
"You bloody bastard!" Shouted Hjalmarr. He was about to attack this foolish guy who was not competent enough to scout an area for rookies to train.
"Now calm down, Hjalmarr," said the commander in a loud tone. "First, would you tell us what happened?" All eyes focused on him; it was clear that everyone was concerned. Everyone wanted to know what had taken place.
"The day started as planned; Neo had given the ok for the western part of the forest, so we set off. The newcomers were already excited to start their first training expedition and reached the forest without any problems. The recruits wiped out two small groups of goblins when suddenly, a group of mutated goblins came out of the bushes."
Hjalmarr didn't think much of it; it's normal for wild animals to have Mana mutations. After that group was also wiped out, they planned to go deeper into the forest and reach the mark Neo gave them.
"But out of nowhere, Goblins, lizards, slimes, and wolves flocked to us. I've never seen anything like it. There were several thousand. They flooded the whole forest. I immediately ordered a formation, as it would be impossible to outrun the wolves. But 300 against several thousand was not a fight that could be won. They circled our formation. Because the way to the city was cut off, we had no choice but to remain in the same position."
Hjalmarr's hands were clenched into fists. You could see with your naked eye how tough it was for him to handle the situation. If he was alone, he might have started to cry already.
"As we continued our battle, plants started to wither in front of our eyes, and new monsters emerged from the ground. At first, only small plants and trees were affected, but eventually, the entire area withered away. The newcomers were falling like apples from the tree. I knew the recruits wouldn't last forever, but the number of monsters hardly decreased even as we slowly moved toward the edge of the forest. Time passed, and after almost an hour, we lost our strength.
"It was at this time that help came. A tremendous storm of arrows destroyed the monster's position and saved the day. I have never seen such a monster army nor a spell of such magnitude. But a black-haired young woman saved my ass and the surviving recruits. Without her, I wouldn't be standing in front of you to make this report. Whatever was in this forest could pose a threat to this kingdom. I've never seen monsters act in such a coordinated manner." The destroyed forest was also a big concern for Hjalmarr, who took a while to narrate the entire story. Something was killing the forest, and if that infection spread toward the city, the fields of wheat and vegetables would become unusable.
"That is indeed concerning," said the commander, Sighsten. He sighed as he realized he had more work to do. The threat posed by the forest's infection was significant. The only issue was that Athylia was unable to assemble its full military to deal with this threat. What he found so annoying was the lack of information Hjalmarr could provide. It was not enough to judge the situation.
"We need to stop the infection before it reaches the city. Should our fields wither, much of our population will starve. We also have a problem with the mountains in the east. Neo, I want you to investigate the infection. Mark it on the map, so we can keep an eye on how fast it spreads. I will inform the king and ask him to send a messenger to the elves. The forest will be made inaccessible to the citizens until we find out what's going on there."
Neo took a punitive stance and saluted.
"Understood; I'll be on my way with my brigade in the morning," said Neo with a formal voice. It was clear that if what Hjalmarr said was true, the situation had to be immediately controlled.
"The rest awaits further instructions." Sighsten was still puzzled about the entire situation. Sighsten knew for a fact that Neo scouted the area, so he was concerned that such an army could invade them, and no one noticed something.
