Lord of the Sixth Forest.
Skain.
The reason he was able to rule the skies was probably because he mastered the powerful magic known as Wind Prison.
“Definitely strong.”
But with that strength came many limitations. It couldn’t be used anywhere but in vast open spaces, and obstacles were forbidden.
In other words, it was a spell that could only be used in the high sky.
Perhaps that was also why the wyverns settled in their sky nest.
There were other issues too.
Still, it was a valuable advantage to have when engaging in aerial magic battles.
“He really gave everything without holding back.”
The only reward left behind by Skain, who vanished along with Wind Prison.
Among the two rewards held in both hands—the shattered tablet and the wyvern’s internal organs—I immediately put the wyvern’s internal organs into my mouth.
Then, I descended onto the massive nest.
I was worried something might go wrong during the mana absorption, but having eaten something similar before, the Dragon Heart accepted it without any resistance.
I quickly digested the internal organs.
There wasn’t a drastic change in the Dragon Heart, but I could clearly feel the mana within it growing richer.
After finishing the internal organs, I lifted the tablet I held in my left hand.
[Fragmented Tablet of Time (Inactive)]
- When activated, the time axis between dimensions will distort.
- Time in the Dragon Lair flows faster.
- For every day that passes in reality, two days pass in the Dragon Lair world.
- The more pieces of the tablet that are gathered, the greater the distortion of the time axis.
To activate the tablet, I had to go to the Sanctuary.
I heard the location from the Hawk.
He was very suspicious, so he had nested in the Sanctuary, living there to watch and guard the place.
I walked into the nest directly ahead.
Inside the dome-shaped nest that resembled an igloo, I found a spacious area with a temple made of white pillars.
Entering it, I found a place to embed the tablet.
There was also a fountain here.
Water flowed from a hole in a wooden pillar into the fountain.
“There it is.”
On top of the wooden pillar where water came out, there was a gap where I could insert the tablet.
I fit the fragmented tablet piece into its matching slot.
I channeled the mana from the Dragon Heart into the tablet, which then glowed with a blue light.
[You have activated a Fragmented Tablet of Time piece.]
[You have become the True Lord of the Forest.]
[All stats in the Sixth Forest have doubled.]
[You have obtained the map of the Sixth Forest.]
[The time axis is distorted. From now on, time will flow differently between reality and the Dragon Lair.]
[Two tablets have been activated.]
[For every day that passes in reality, four days pass in the current world.]
Is it doubling again?
“This will be certain once I get the third tablet.”
I went over to the fountain and checked the map of the forest.
The map of the Sixth Forest.
Three allies were marked in blue, and thousands of neutral wyverns were concentrated near the nest.
Something felt off as I looked at the map.
“…What’s this?”
They had flown all the way from far away, aiming for the sky nest.
Since they were hunting the Five Great Sovereigns who ruled the skies, they would never have taken their eyes off the map.
They would have known something was going wrong from the start.
Yet they didn’t know we were coming.
If they had, they would have ordered the wyverns to block the route we would take to invade.
After a moment of thought:
“…Are my and the Guardians’ positions not visible to the other Lords?”
This conclusion came naturally.
Otherwise, Skain’s behavior was inexplicable.
To be sure, I had to enter another forest.
And just then, the perfect opportunity presented itself.
“The Fifth Forest.”
We had to claim that forest ruled by the Giants within today.
Only then could the Tablet War balance shift to a 3-on-3 scenario.
Anne had definitely said so.
The First Forest, ruled by the Orc Lord, would be left alone until the Unifier of the Six Forests appeared.
That meant the First Forest was incredibly strong.
But that was a problem for later.
Right now, the focus was on uniting the six forests.
If I could expand my influence up to the Fifth Forest, where the Giants lived,
Even if the Fourth, Third, and Second Forests formed an alliance, we could somewhat balance the power structure.
As long as we didn’t get overwhelmed, we could conquer them one by one.
“Let’s move immediately.”
I checked the map for any approaching Giants, but no enemies were moving at the moment.
I flew out of the nest.
Using Fly Magic, I arrived where wyverns, eagles, and hawks were gathered.
[You killed the Lord…]
[How could you betray your Lord!]
The wyverns knew nothing of the circumstances.
There was no time to explain everything to them one by one.
I released the mana within the Dragon Heart and used Dragon Fear.
Every wyvern that sensed my presence widened their eyes and trembled.
“From now on, I am the new Lord of the Forest. Those who follow me stay; those who don’t can leave. I won’t chase after you.”
One wyvern overcame its fear and spoke.
[…You accept us?]
“If you follow me, I will treat everyone equally.”
[We welcome our new Lord.]
One wyvern bowed respectfully, and gradually others lowered their heads, swearing allegiance.
“I’ll leave the cleanup to you. Lead the wyverns and form a combat unit. We’re going to war with the Fifth Forest soon.”
I gave orders to the eagles and hawks as well.
[Understood.]
[Yes, sir!]
Then I turned my head to look at the Wyvern King.
He looked very hopeful.
As a fellow wyvern, it was obvious he wanted to lead here.
[What should I do?]
“Bus Driver.”
Before leaving the sky nest, I had received information from one of Skain’s loyal followers.
- The Giants have made a deal and handed over internal organs.
- Two have already been delivered, and Skain was supposed to take the remaining three.
Why the Giants, who should be in the Fifth Forest, were in the Sixth Forest was a question instantly answered, but it raised another question.
Why had the Giants formed an alliance?
To find out, I used telepathy to communicate with Anne and briefly shared what I knew.
She told me what she knew in response.
[Since only the first to unify the forests can gain everything from the Tablet War, subordination doesn’t hold much meaning. There’s no need to form alliances.]
[There’s no case of alliances at all?]
[Lords only form alliances for one reason: to unite against a Lord who rules two forests.]
But I was the only one who ruled two forests.
If someone else ruled two forests, I would have received a message as well.
[Then why did they join hands?]
[It seems like a temporary alliance for trade. I don’t know why the Giants need internal organs.]
[The Giants don’t need internal organs?!]
[No. Giants can’t use mana. Instead, their physical abilities are extremely strong.]
They certainly were strong.
The Giants’ natural hides were so tough that dozens of Elves and Goblins had to cling together just to create an opening.
They were so physically formidable that it took the combined effort of all of them to kill just one.
[This feels fishy.]
[It’s not certain, but a third force might be involved.]
[A third force?]
[Yes. There’s a chance they approached from outside the forest.]
Outside the forest?
[Humans?]
[Humans, Demonkind, Beastkin who left the forest—there are many types. But it seems like humans are behind this.]
[Why?]
[I recently uncovered traces of Redoc while sorting through his remnants. He had contact with a black mage.]
The half-blood Lord who betrayed Anne and ruled the Seventh Forest.
Redoc, the werewolf.
Thinking of his name reminded me of something.
[Redoc once sent his subordinates to trample Praira’s hometown and steal the elixir.]
[A Thousand-Year-Old Mandragora is almost as potent as internal organs. It’s something a black mage would covet.]
[Who are the black mages?]
[They belong to an organization called the Black Order and worship the Demon God.]
[So they’re the ones who made a deal with the Giants?]
[That’s highly likely. They’ve done similar things in the past.]
[Similar things?]
[Yes. They once invaded this forest to seize control. The Lords of the Forest all joined forces and barely repelled them.]
Are they trying to retake this forest by allying with the Giants?
[Do you know why they want the forest?]
[No, the records only say they invaded, were defeated, and left.]
[Understood. If you find out more during your investigations, let me know. I’ll share what I learn while dealing with the Giants.]
[Understood.]
I ended telepathic communication with Anne.
If the Black Order traded with the Giants, I could get information through them.
[Master, we’ve arrived at the Fifth Forest.]
At the wyvern’s words, I raised my head and looked straight ahead.
The pure white clouds parted, revealing the landscape of the Fifth Forest at a glance.
Though not as large as the trees in the sky nest,
Overall, the trees were larger than those in a typical forest. Maybe three to four times bigger than those in the Seventh Forest.
Because the trees were so big,
The gaps between them were wide.
The Giants moving between the trees were clearly visible. They were weaker than the ones we met earlier.
“Avoid the Giants as much as possible and move inward.”
[Yes, understood!]
Using detection magic, I tracked the Giants’ locations and moved deeper into the forest.
The first thing to do was to find the Giants’ residence and identify the Lord of the Fifth Forest.
Flying freely over the vast forest, I detected someone approaching through detection magic.
“Hide for a moment.”
Thud!
Thud!
The ground shook as I concealed myself among the leaves. Moments later, something massive rushed past.
A wild boar.
A huge wild boar with impressive tusks barreled through the forest.
Since Giants lived here, even the animals were huge.
“Let’s move again.”
[0411.]
After flying around for some time, I acquired geographical information about the Fifth Forest.
And I found the Giants’ stronghold.
There was a village of Giants beneath a tall stone mountain in the center of the forest.
‘Looks like my location isn’t visible on the tablet’s map.’
If they had seen it, they wouldn’t have been unaware of my presence in the forest.
That made clearing the other forests much easier.
“First, let’s find the Lord of the Forest.”