Lord of the Forest.
The strongest being in a forest, one whose skills would rank among the best even beyond its borders.
And someone strong enough to completely subdue such an existence.
Who could it be?
There was absurdly little information on the Black Order, so no one immediately came to mind, but one thing did occur to me.
When I looked at the information on the priest earlier—
There was the note: “Follows the Bishop of Greed.”
The High Priest of the Black Order.
Or perhaps a bishop under him.
It was clear these people had subdued the giants and were now occupying the Fifth Forest.
And the reason for their occupation was the chimeras visible inside.
Why?
Why would those with enough power to capture a Lord of the Forest be creating chimeras?
I needed an answer.
I studied the presences beyond the wall, gauging their power. The researchers were nothing special in rank.
But the priests and black knights were quite capable.
A direct confrontation wouldn’t guarantee victory; their strength was nothing to take lightly.
Especially—
The chimeras inside those plastic tanks.
All SS rank, and with three of them on par with a Lord of the Forest, we were at a severe disadvantage.
I needed someone who knew about them well.
Whether a giant imprisoned here or one hiding outside—surely there were giants resisting the Black Order.
It seemed best to find them, secure solid information on the Black Order, and enlist their help to settle things.
“Today’s experiment will have Specimen No. 1 fight against an elite of the Giant Tribe. Go to the prison and prepare them.”
“Yes, understood.”
Those in black hoods walked out in a group. I used teleportation to quickly put some distance between us.
I hid behind a massive stalagmite and watched the situation.
Three figures emerged from beyond the wall, removing their masks and shaking sweat from their hair.
Then, lighting their lanterns, they began walking.
“If today’s experiment succeeds, maybe we can finally leave this hellhole.”
“When I get back, I want a nice, strong pint of black beer.”
“I heard there are elves somewhere in the forest. I’d love to get my hands on a damn beautiful elf slave.”
“Not much longer now.”
I followed after the chuckling fools, using Silence Magic to muffle all sound.
Moving as far behind the stalagmites as possible.
When there was nowhere to hide, I’d cast the Apostle Tracking Magic, widen the distance, then tail them carefully.
The enormous passageways formed a labyrinth.
As I followed the Black Order members who clearly knew their way around, a huge prison—clearly of their own making—came into view.
A true iron-barred prison.
Inside, dozens of giants crouched, huddled together.
And—
In front of the prison stood giants who appeared to be traitors, guarding the entrance.
“Who do we take?”
“That one. The most insolent.”
“He always glared at us whenever we came, didn’t he?”
“Let’s go with him, then.”
The trio picked a giant, joined hands, and began chanting.
At the sound of their spell, the giants’ eyes turned vacant.
Thud!
The chosen giant stood up and approached the bars. One of the traitor giants unlocked the door himself.
Creak!
The mind-controlled giant opened the gate and stepped out.
Mind Control.
They weren’t strong enough alone, so the three of them worked together to control a giant.
Thud!
Thud!
After watching the chosen giant exit, the traitors locked the gate again and moved off with the mind-controlled giant.
I stayed hidden nearby, waiting for them to disappear.
When they were out of sight and earshot, the giants in the prison were released from Mind Control.
All at once.
[This time… Rona got dragged off.]
[Grr!]
【Uwaaaaaaah!】
Several giants rushed to the bars, pounding them with their fists.
The sturdy prison didn’t budge.
It took the giants’ strength head-on, without so much as a scratch.
[And you call yourselves the great Giant Tribe?!]
[You traitorous bastards!]
[Did Rona ever treat you badly? Huh?!]
The traitors sneered back.
[Yeah, right.]
[All he ever did was complain. ‘Don’t do this, do that.’]
[Should’ve picked the right side. Looks like you’re up next, huh?】
Kuhuhuhuhu.
Even in this situation, one figure sat quietly inside the prison.
I used the Gold Dragon’s Eye (SS).
It showed that this was someone the Lord of the Forest cared for deeply.
I used telepathy with him.
[If you need help, blink once.]
Buan, who had his eyes closed, slowly opened them. Then, closing them again, he sent me the signal I had specified.
[If you speak in your mind, you’ll be able to communicate with me.]
[Who… are you?]
[I’m the new Lord who claimed the Seventh and Sixth Forests.]
[Lord of the Forest? If a Lord who rules two forests is here, are you after the Fifth Forest?]
[That’s right. But when I arrived, I found uninvited guests—and Zeit barely hanging on.]
[The Lord… is still alive?!]
[For now.]
At my words, Buan opened his eyes.
[But how do I know you’re a Lord of the Forest? The ones I know aren’t so weak as to sneak around like this.]
[I’ll prove it.]
Drawing mana from the Dragon Heart, I cast a spell on the two giants before me.
“Sleep.”
Powerful mana flowed into their heads, putting them straight to sleep.
It required delicate mana control.
The giants slumped to the floor. As the other giants in the cell started to grow agitated at the sight—
Buan calmed and quieted them down.
To earn their trust, I stepped out from behind the stalagmite and stood before the bars.
“Is this enough to convince you?”
[Human?]
[What’s your game this time?]
[Quiet.]
The giants, burning with anger at the presence of a human, began to stir, but Buan turned to face me.
Gazing straight at me with both eyes, he spoke.
【Can you prove you’re a Lord of the Forest, not a member of the Black Order?】
“Anne, come forth.”
Shuaaak!
With a burst of white light, Anne appeared.
A beautiful woman wearing a long witch’s hat.
She looked worn around the eyes, perhaps from late-night research.
[Did you call for me?]
“The giants don’t believe I’m a Lord of the Forest, so I called you.”
[Buan, it’s been a while.]
[Lord of the Seventh Forest…….]
[He is now the new Lord of the Forest. As Queen of the Witches, I swear on my race that you can trust him.】
Buan’s eyes trembled slightly at Anne’s words.
There was a lot behind that reaction.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
“You should go back now. There may be a war soon, so get the others ready.”
[Understood.]
After sending Anne away, I looked back at Buan.
“Do you need help?”
[I do.]
“Come with me. I’ll help you.”
[Fine. If you can defeat those bastards, I’ll follow you.]
“Suspicious giant, aren’t you? Fine.”
I picked up a heavy key nearby. Expectation shone in the giants’ eyes—they could sense freedom was close.
“We should make a plan before I open the door. Judging by your faces, things could get out of control.”
[I agree.]
“First, tell me how the Black Order came to rule this place.”
Buan began calmly.
[They implanted something in our necks. Through it, they control our minds, turning us into puppets.]
“They implanted something?”
Freeing the giants wouldn’t be the end of it.
We had to fight the Black Order together, but if any of them turned back into enemies mid-fight, it would be disastrous.
I glanced down at the giants lying on the floor.
I walked over and climbed onto one’s back to examine the spot at the nape of the neck.
There, something like a blue shell was attached.
Strong mana radiated from it.
I leaned in close to examine it.
[Using Gold Dragon’s Eye (SS).]
[Giant Tribe Exclusive Mind Control Shell (S)]
-An item crafted using the bark of the Holhol Tree, which has strong hypnotic effects.
-Allows powerful Mind Control, limited to the Giant Tribe.
-Once attached, it does not come off easily.
-Will fall off if subjected to a strong impact.
It was clear that the Black Order had targeted the giants from the start.
“Have you ever tried to force it off?”
[Giants can’t remove it. The moment you grab it, a spell on the shell activates.]
“What kind of spell?”
[You just lose all strength.]
I gathered mana at my fingertips and formed a handspan-sized Dragon Fang Spiral Spear.
Fwoosh!
The quickly fired Dragon Fang Spiral Spear bit into the shell. But it couldn’t chew through, vanishing instantly.
A Magic Circle was inscribed on the shell.
I read the activated spell in the blink of an eye. It was the same as the Dispel Magic I knew—it canceled out and dissipated magic.
But something was added to it.
Seeing that, I thought of a solution.
“Summon Spirit King.”
With a flash of yellow light, the Lightning Spirit King appeared in the form of a snake.
“Wow, I thought you’d forgotten about me.”
“I didn’t forget. Just hadn’t had the right opportunity.”
“So why’d you call me?”
“Give that shell a strong shock, just once.”
No sooner had I finished than the Lightning Spirit King struck with Lightning Strike.
From a cloudless sky, light flashed and struck with lightning speed.
Flash!
Kwagagagagang!
A sound like the air tearing tried to burst throughout the cave, but I quelled it with Silence Magic.
I checked the giant’s neck in front of me.
The shell was charred black.
I nudged it with my foot, and the shell fell off easily.
“How’s that? Satisfied?”
“Good!”
Giving a thumbs-up to the Lightning Spirit King, I turned to the giants.
“Hit each of the giants in there with a shot just like that.”
“Roger.”
The Lightning Spirit King flew swiftly into the prison and fired off Lightning Strikes.
[Gahh!]
[Gyaaaaah!]
[W-Wait! Uwaaaaaah!]
As the giants fell one by one, I continued my conversation with Buan.
“Mind Control’s dealt with. Tell me about the Black Order’s remaining forces.”
[They don’t have many left. After subduing us, they all left the forest.]
“So everyone left inside is all that’s left? No reinforcements from outside?”
[I can’t say for sure, but for now, if we handle those inside, we can take care of the rest ourselves.]
“Do you know what’s in there?”
Buan nodded with a bitter look.
[They’re trying to create special beings—a fusion of giant and human.]
“It’s nearly complete.”
[We have to stop them before they succeed. We’ll take the front lines. I’d like you to support us from behind.]
“Won’t the giants here be too few?”
[The ones here are the elite among the Giant Tribe. The most loyal to the Lord. If your firepower is strong, we can take the vanguard ourselves.]
Confident, Buan nodded.
“Let’s start right away.”