[Vol. 8] Chapter 7: The Cold Wind
In this world, when a living creature dies, if their body isn’t properly taken care of, there’s a small chance it might turn into an undead. But if the person died with strong anger or regret, or if a large number of bodies are left together in one place, or if the area is already full of negative energy, then the chance of undead appearing becomes much higher.
Back during the [Battle of Hellwood], the soldiers of the local kingdom died trying to protect their land, filled with anger and unwillingness to give in. The soldiers from the empire also died far from home, carrying heavy regrets of their own.
So many corpses were left untreated and buried underground, and over time, all that resentment rose to the surface, making the whole area gloomy and cold, enough to make people feel a chill in their bones. That’s how it came to be known as the [Forest of Death].
Although the empire didn’t have enough people at the time and had to bury the dead in a hurry, after they took over the Valandia region, they did try to fix the problem. They sent priests from the temple several times to purify the resentment of the dead and try to make the forest safer.
Unfortunately, this only helped a little and didn’t solve the real problem. While it worked for a short time, the anger and resentment deep underground would always rise again, making the forest return to its dark, eerie state.
Some rumors say the forest is cursed by the dead. As long as the empire continues to rule Valandia, the negative energy will never go away. The official explanation from the empire after investigation was that, over the years, the strong resentment of the fallen soldiers had eaten into the natural magical energy lines beneath the land. Part of this natural energy had been turned into undead-like negative magic, so the anger would never stop flowing, making it impossible to fully cleanse.
After several failed attempts to fix it, and since Valandia wasn’t very rich or important to the empire’s leaders, they stopped trying. In the end, the dark energy in the area just made people feel uncomfortable, but didn’t cause any serious harm. It wasn’t turning people into undead or anything like that… so the empire decided to leave things as they were.
Resentment like this is the key ingredient for creating undead, especially strong ones. It’s considered a special kind of magic called undead magic. If the people from the [Sanctum of the Undead] really are trying to make some kind of powerful undead creature, they would definitely choose to use the [Forest of Death] to help them do it.
That much is certain. The only question is... did they come here on their own, or does the Austre Empire have something to do with this? If the empire is secretly trying to use them to attack the Holy Empire’s delegation, this kind of plan seems too sloppy and obvious…”
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, a cold wind blew through the camp from an unknown direction. The campfire in front of the girls flickered in the dim light. It might have come from the old graveyard nearby, or maybe from somewhere farther away. The strong resentment in the air seemed to drift in on the wind and quietly reached their camp. It felt as if something dark was watching them from the shadows.
“Uh… why does my back feel cold? It’s not even close to winter yet…”
“You idiot, don’t act so rude in front of the Master.”
From behind came the soft whispers of two maids and the sound of Mia shivering and rustling her clothes. But Violet, who understood very well what this strange change really meant, didn’t say anything. She simply stared at the gently flickering fire in front of her. Then, without turning her head, her eyes shifted slightly to the side, and a faint unreadable smile slowly formed on her lips.
“More and more little rats are showing up, huh~”
……………………………………………
The next day, the Holy Empire's delegation packed up and set out again, continuing as planned toward the border area. Around noon, they arrived at a place they had to pass through.
“So this is the so-called [Forest of Death]? Hmm... doesn’t seem all that impressive... other than the resentment in the air being a bit thicker than normal, it just looks like a regular forest. I don’t feel anything strange at all.”
Inside a carriage moving along a forest road, Miss Rene was lying on the soft cushions, sticking her curvy little bottom up in a very unladylike pose. Her figure showed clearly through her tight-fitting magic robe as she leaned out the window, curiously looking around. This earned a helpless sigh from her older sister sitting beside her.
“Don’t talk nonsense, okay? You’re already an angel. If even you could feel any real effects, normal creatures would probably turn into undead in no time. The Austre Empire would never have built a road through here for merchants to use if it were that dangerous. Use some common sense…”
“Wow… Sister, you sure know a lot!”
“Know your head, sit properly!”
Sister Leila, clearly teased on purpose, suddenly put on a serious face and gave her little sister’s springy behind a firm smack. Rene yelped and quickly turned around in surprise, mumbling something like, “Hmph, you’re only showing off in front of Lady Violet. Bad sister!” Her complaints made the priestess beside them smile in spite of herself, feeling a little warm inside.
The scene reminded her of the old days, traveling around with the two sisters. People say things change with time, but these two had been with her longer than anyone else since their arrival in this world, aside from Xiao Guang. Watching how far they’d come brought back memories and a sense of nostalgia.
Unfortunately, this warm moment didn’t last long before it was cut off by a sharp, urgent sound and the loud cry of a startled horse.
“Bzzzzzzzzzzzz!”
A buzzing noise, like magic being suddenly activated, rushed in from outside. Even without looking, Violet could tell from the intense surge of light element magic in the air that the Holy Knights were putting up holy barriers and blessing their weapons and shields with holy spells, getting ready for a fight.
“......”
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed all around, but Violet, who had already expected this trip wouldn’t be peaceful, wasn’t surprised. She simply exchanged a glance with the dragon girl beside her and the two sisters. Leila nodded and lifted the curtain, and together they got out of the carriage.
By now, the convoy had stopped moving because of some sudden development. The Holy Knights and combat-ready academy students had drawn their weapons and taken their positions, calmly but quickly. Orders were being given out clearly as everyone moved with discipline. In just seconds, they had already formed a solid, organized defensive formation.
The Holy Empire was famous for its elite forces, and this delegation, chosen to represent the Holy Empire in visiting Sainz, obviously didn’t include any weaklings. Even though the whole group, including guards, was only about five to six hundred people, their strength was enough that even ten times that number of regular soldiers might not stand a chance against them.