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Chapter 52 Part 4 – The resurrected people of the forest, Wiskum. I’ve been locked-on as a sacrifice!?

Even Bradd, the son of the chief of the〈Lawless Crew〉, a tribe that resides in a village deep in the forest, apparently had never heard of the people of the forest, Wiskum. Before we knew it, the people from the〈Lawless Crew〉had gathered and nodded nervously at Bradd’s warning and braced themselves. It seemed that all of them were all right.

「…… Madam and young lady Scarlet, fortunately the two of you are all right. I am sorry. The vines had grown and twined themselves around the horses’ legs, and we were stuck. The two of you probably don’t believe me, however I’m not trying to make an excuse ……」

The Imperial Guards also rushed to the scene, while laboriously tearing off the vines from the brigandine body armor and horses.

「The people of the forest …… I see, the truth is stranger than a novel.」 「What a relief. We, the Imperial Guards, still have a chance to redeem ourselves.」 「If we return home in disgrace, we will receive the captain’s iron fist punishment.」

When they heard about the situation, they smiled fearlessly and formed a wall to protect me and my mother, raised their spears, and took up an attack stance. They were indeed the strongest knight order in Hydrangea. They are not intimidated at all by an unknown enemy. How dependable.

…… Eh? But everyone in the Imperial Guards said the vines blocked their way ……

!!!

「Mother!! Please tell us everything you know about the people of the forest, Wiskum!!」

My face turned pale and I shouted.

This was not good. If they manipulated the mistletoe with magic or something, it would still be fine. But if Wiskum, the people of the forest, were able to control any other plants, then …… since we are currently located deep in the forest. There are no places where plants do not grow. Which would mean that we are in the middle of an extremely dangerous zone!!

Mother answered as she flinched at my menacing look.

「T-The only other thing I know is …… that the wicked faction of the Wiskum liked human sacrifice. ……」

D-Doesn’t it seem like the people of the forest are too disturbing!?

「…… Don’t misunderstand. It doesn’t mean that any human sacrifice will do. What we want is a brave man as a sacrifice. We don’t want the head of a spotless child. If it’s not the head of an outstanding hero we would not do it. We have no taste for offering garbage to the spirits of the forest.」

The voice of a hoarse old woman echoed through the forest at night.
The horses that had their faces covered in green vines quickly stood in a line and made a way.

We gasped.

The sound of the cane hitting the ground rang.
A small woman wearing a robe with a green hood emerged from the darkness of the forest.
She wore the hood so low that we could not see her face at all.

Or rather, her entire face was covered with mistletoe and only her eyes and mouth were open. It was like a topiary in a garden, those trees or shrubs trimmed into the shape of animals. And it was made with extremely bad taste, with eyeballs stuck on it. On top of that, it was extremely eerie since the eyeballs move without blinking. The vines spilling out from the hood undulated like seaweed.

「Do you think I’m creepy? But, you know, when a human rots in the field, his body will eventually be covered with green like this. Then he will return to the forest. Man is nothing more than a simple monkey in front of the great forest.」

She’s saying something kind of nice, but why do I feel a tremendous sense of malice?

Bradd put his hand on my head to encourage me.

「Don’t worry, shorty. Your instincts are right. She’s a wicked person. Especially the jewel she’s wearing around her neck …… It gives off a tremendous evil vibe. Everyone, don’t look directly at it, or you’ll lose your soul.」

That person smiled happily as she shook the blue gemstone on her chest that looked as if it were a pair with my ruby pendant. The heart-shaped jewelry that was not suitable for a shape like that as it gave off a sinister vibe. It is certainly true that if you stare at it for a long time, you will feel dizzy.

「Uwahh, you were able to notice that. But then, people like you guys with a strong mental strength can’t be easily manipulated by this blue diamond, or mistletoe. I’m glad to see that both the people and the horses are superb. Besides, that girl’s ruby will repel my power. But for some reason, it seems to be asleep now.」

The old woman(?) strongly hit her cane against the ground.
Her eyes that were staring intently at me twisted into an eerie smile.

「How convenient, It’s a sacrifice festival tonight. There will be a great variety of men and women. There will even be a girl with rare red eyes and red hair. And surprisingly she has the same features as the detestable True Emperor ……!! This is a rare find. Okay, you will be the main dish of the sacrifice. I am sure the great forest will be pleased ……」

…… Somehow this person is a bit similar to the master of the demon dogs.
But the words of the green old woman, who was about to jump, were interrupted by the sharp sound of a bowstring.

「…… I will not allow anyone to harm my daughter, even if they are a god. As for the sacrifice, you yourself can be the sacrifice.」

Mother’s beautiful eyebrows were raised as she rolled up her skirt, took out the shortbow she had hidden inside, and fired six shots in rapid succession at the old woman. Mother is really ruthless at times like this.

It can be seen from her face that she thought, 「The other party is an enemy. In that case, there is no need to confirm her identity and I just have to finish her off.」
It’s a bad, quick shot.

「…… This type of person gets on my nerves. Let’s kill her.」

Ah, half of the reason is because of that ……

The old green woman laughed outright after quickly evading the arrows almost simultaneously as it was fired.

「…… Ohh, your beautiful face looks so scary. This one is just a powerless woman. Moreover, I am outnumbered. I guess I’ll ask for help. Come, the new family of the forest!」

Six figures jumped out to protect the old woman.
Each person deflected an arrow with their swords.

We were shocked. Even though it was shot with a shortbow, they defended against mother’s arrow at close range!! But it was not until I learned who they were that I was truly taken aback.

Seeing their faces that were half-covered in mistletoe just like the horses, the imperial guards let out a grunt of surprise.

「…… These people are the subordinates of Countess Rosenthal whom we had half-killed. They weren’t this skilled before ……」

「…… Ah, so you didn’t mean to kill them earlier.」

I remembered the bloody spear that the imperial guards had shown to me as a testimony to the subjugation.

「That’s rude, we are knights. We will not kill unless necessary. We’ve beaten them up and tied them to a tree in the forest. Someone will find them in the morning.」

「You know, there are wolves in this forest. The smell of blood probably attracted them and so these people didn’t get to see the sunrise ……」

Without reacting to our exchange, Countess Rosenthal’s assassins looked at us expressionlessly.

They were smiling with their teeth bared, but their eyes were like jadeite and were devoid of any sense of will. They had completely turned into robots that moved according to the will of the old woman. Their inflexible yet strangely fast movements were closer to the image of an insect rather than a human being.

Oh, no. I’m not good with these kinds of things ……

「…… Are you surprised? My mistletoe pushes the potential of living things to the limit. Until their vitality is exhausted. In the first place they were just garbage. Their only use is to be used as a fertilizer for the forest. They are probably also happy that they have entered the realm of an expert, even if only temporarily. Even if they lose their human heart.」

The green old woman was talkative.
Devoid of any sense of human ethics, her claim was horribly unpleasant.

「I knew this old woman was not a good person. How can a person be happy if they have lost the most important thing in life? Even though she’s old, I really want to hit her.」

Bradd spat out, as if he were speaking for me.

「You’re just barking uselessly. I wonder how far your big talk will get you. The darkness of the forest is much deeper than you think.」

The old woman sneered.

「…… Well, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am called the Witch of Doom. It’s an old, old name, and not everyone knows it. Ah, you guys don’t need to introduce yourselves. Soon you’ll be crying your eyes out because your body and neck are separated anyway.」

The old woman’s eyeballs spinned around in her face covered with green vines.
Her right eye and left eye were rotating in opposite directions.

Hiee, so nasty ……!!

「Now, enough chattering. Humans, you shall be an offering to the dark, great forest …… Do it, you guys. Except for the head, I don’t mind if you cut off everything else.」

Under the shadows of the dark forest illuminated with moonlight, the old woman waved her staff and commanded sharply. Countess Rosenthal’s former assassins and the former horses of our family’s carriage leapt like locusts and rushed to attack us.