“I assume you’ve heard that roar earlier, as I imagine most of the people near here must have. That’s not the sound a dryad would produce, as much of their language is performed telepathically or through whispers, and I doubt any of them have the vocal capabilities to release such an outcry.”

Being quite confident in regards to whether or not this was the work of dryads, the only things they had in common with all that was going on around here was the fact that both this creature they were dealing with now and the dryads were tied to nature. Controlling roots and trees for offense and defense, the whole puppetry angle was not something he had ever seen before, though he had seen how they used magical means of befuddling the mind to make loggers attack one another. So in the sense that whatever this thing was checked the box of using natural means of attacking and being capable of controlling the minds of others, or at least the woodland creatures likely living around it, there was a very solid chance that they were a related species. In a way, it made him almost anxious to meet it, what with his level of respect towards nature.

Feeling like respecting nature was a subject that was just lost on humanity as a whole, he felt only the elves respected nature in the sense that they built either around or with nature in mind, while the dwarves built so far underground or along the side of mountain ranges that they couldn’t injure it even if they wanted to. Hell, even the witches lived within the trees of their forests. It just went to show that humans did not respect the planet, that they only cared about their own greed and expanding their holdings without any kind of regard for the things that existed there long before they had moved in. Truth be told, there were times where he just wanted to point his sword towards society and go about destroying whatever he could, giving the place back to nature and establishing some clear boundaries that were not to be built upon under any given circumstances.

“I was actually, though it just proved what I already knew. The scarecrows were just that, dressed up stacks of hay with gardening tools, no threat whatsoever. It was the creature controlling them with a system of roots that was the real threat.”

Though it was something Jun had more than likely already figured out on his own, it was still something he wished to point out if for no reason other than to show that he had also noticed. Since people often took Griswold as a less than intelligent person, mostly because they did not understand half of the things he spoke of when he bothered speaking at all, he imagined it might come as a relief to Jun. For as they ventured into what was left of the forest, which was still a good chunk but nothing like it used to be before, Griswold could sense life all around him. Going further than just seeing leaves on trees and flowers on the ground, it was clear that there was an abundance of it, and that it had been clustered here. Seeing the animals around ranging from hares to deer, from crows to wolves and even a bear, they were all watching them with eerily clear eyes, as if someone was watching through them.

Not seeing the need in telling Jun that this was all far from normal as the animals that were used to eating one another were now just standing next to one another or in one another’s vicinity like they were neighbours, it was not long before they reached the most peculiar looking tree Griswold had ever seen. Well, second to the talking one with a face. Covered in bones and the like, he noticed there was a logging axe sticking into it. When a truly large and imposing creature walked out from behind the tree that seemed more like a totem than anything else, it looked at them through what seemed like the hollow eyes of the deer skull it wore as a headpiece. Not having the faintest clue as to what this being was aside from the fact that he could not sense its presence at all, Jun claiming this thing was scary was an understatement. But when it spoke to them, Griswold knew exactly what it wanted.

“I understand you, woodland spirit, it seems the humans have taken much from you. Is there a way we can resolve this without having to shed blood?”

Not moving nor flinching, the large creature just continued standing there, almost looking like a lifeless statue. When suddenly its hand moved, sounding like the creaking of branches in the wind as it pointed towards the axe that was stuck inside of the totem tree. Clearly wanting them to either remove it or to point out that the people who had logged down this much of the forest had also put it there as a means of taunting the creature, the whole thing was quite infuriating even to Griswold. There was no doubt about the fact that the people responsible for this had brought the fury of this creature upon themselves by destroying its home and even going into the heart of what was left to stick a weapon into what was undoubtedly important to it. Looking towards Jun for a moment with a look that made it clear that he was no longer on the side of the humans in this, his gaze went back to the creature as it spoke.

“Put under… their home… take back… was stolen from…”

Reaching to grab the axe, it removed it from the totemic tree, which seemed to have the bark restored the moment it did. Holding the axe in front of it, the steel head of the axe rusted so fast that it deteriorated entirely, falling to the ground like snippets of what it once was while the handle began to warp and churn. Picking the small skull of a bird from the tree and placing it in its hand with the handle, the two separate objects turned into a single one. A new totem. Holding out the large hand, or rather the large three digited claw, Griswold reached out to take the totem from it. Sensing no hostility towards them from the being as he could not even sense that the creature was standing in front of them if it weren’t for the fact that his eyes could see it. It crossed its arms in front of its chest before sinking into the ground and disappearing.

Though all of the animals were still around them, watching their every move, they stopped standing around like statues, going about their separate ways while still keeping their eyes on the intruders and not letting them do as they pleased. Showing the totem to Jun, it was time for them to talk about what was going to need to happen.

1182

For as hard as it was to believe that they had just witnessed a nature spirit and had lived to tell the tale, even getting away entirely unscathed, it made him wonder as to what they were supposed to be doing next. As this totem he was holding was brimming with natural mana, and would likely need to be buried somewhere near the farm for the being to take back their land and restore the forest that had been chopped down, he knew that the totem had made Liston’s wife sick. At least that was what supposedly happened, as the two could have been entirely unrelated and they’d never know about it. Wondering how the man was going to be taking the news once they returned to the farm, there was no doubt in his mind that they would certainly be meeting with some sort of resistance as these people were not known for taking bad news well.

More than that, he had seen how these people acted before, being willing to annex new territory without having to think twice about it, as more land meant more money. But whenever they had to give some of it back for whatever reason, it was not a subject worth discussion as it was simply not going to happen. Unfortunately for Liston, the man was going to have to listen to them once they made it back to the farm. Because at the end of the day, he was more than just a single person that had been adopted in what almost felt like hero status among the people of the forsaken region. He was a magic knight, and the way he looked at that job meant more than just catering to high society and following the law to the point where his job would have been restricted. His job was to look after the wellbeing of the country, and sometimes that meant looking at the wellbeing of the land itself rather than that of one wealthy individual.

So as they left the forest behind and began setting foot on the farmland again, it turned out that Liston had wasted no time in rounding up his men and waiting for them to return. Making it likely to believe that they would have been welcomed back with open arms if they had done so while carrying the head of the woodland spirit, Griswold could sense that there was more going on here. It went to show that Liston had known damned well what was going on here, what they had been dealing with this entire time and what he had done to trigger the creature’s ire. More than that, but he had willingly sent them in to fight against enemies that he knew about, potentially getting the both of them killed against such a highly unconventional enemy. That alone was a punishable offense, and one Griswold was more than willing to mete out.

When Griswold was about to speak up to the man, he was rather shocked to learn that the man was not interested in speaking to them at all, saying it was pointless to do so while instructing his men to take care of them. This went to show how sheltered a life the man had been living, because if he believed a bunch of loggers and hunters were going to take him doing so easily, he was sorely mistaken. Besides, given the steps the man had taken were grounds for capital punishment, which allowed Griswold to put them all to death right here if he felt so obliged. But seeing as how he wanted to step away from the idea some people had down south that he was nothing more than a person who wanted to kill nobles and anyone affiliated with them, he wished to at the very least try to bring them in alive.

“I see, that is most unfortunate. I had been wanting to speak to you about returning a portion of your yet unused lands to be returned to the forest, especially since you willingly put the life of a mercenary and a magic knight in danger by refusing to share the details and your involvement with the case. But by adding attempted murder to the list, you just forfeited all of your holdings, and your freedom.”

Preparing to go about and kick some teeth in, Jun told Griswold that he could be the one to take down the former magic knight himself as he would be capable of taking down the men Liston had surrounded himself with. Nodding in agreement, he held himself back from going straight towards his own target. Feeling like it was informative to witness how the guy fought, it was clear to see from the start that his weapon was a magical one that utilized light, capable of creating blades he used to pin several of these men in the feet and reduce whatever mobility they might have had to some degree. A clever move, one he could attribute to hunters of beasts and men alike. The other spell however was one that came from himself rather than himself, one he called “Flauros”. Not having the faintest clue as to what it meant aside from sounding like flourish, its effects became clear soon enough.

Completely masking his mana signature as copies of himself started forming across what would soon become a battlefield, Griswold narrowed his eyes a bit. Thanks to his own Ki, he was still very much capable of following where the guy went, even if his mana had been muffled to keep people from accurately tracking him. A useful trick to be sure. Using it to more elegantly maneuver the fight in spite of having to take on superior numbers, the men not knowing which one of them the real one was made it quite difficult to pin him down. Especially for those that did not possess any magical prowess that was in any way noteworthy would face quite some difficulty with this means of attack. Beginning to walk past the men and the illusions as they began taking one another out, Griswold made his way over to Liston himself.

Due to whatever leg injury he had sustained, it was not very likely that he was going to run away from Griswold, so he himself made no attempts at rushing over to him either. As the hired muscles were felled in battle around him, it did not take a very long time before the farmer had realized the error in his ways. So as the fight continued, Griswold showed the man the totem he had been given. As Liston’s eyes widened, likely because he knew quite well what this all meant, the black knight was not about to let the man talk over him as he began a plea bargain. That said, it was also the only bargain he was going to be able to strike here, as further resistance would lead to the man getting beaten up and imprisoned, or maybe even killed if he were to take things too far. But it was up to him from this point forward.

“This totem will reclaim the land you have annexed for the sake of expanding your farmland, but that will be it. If you’re clever, you will lay down your weapons for the sake of your wife, who might still be able to make a life here. Do the right thing, as I will give you this chance but once.”

At this point in time, it was almost funny to think how much this man was living in a world of his own creation, one far removed from reality. Because while it was true that the black bulls were indeed considered as somewhat of a non-squad along with the green mantis for dealing with outcasts, rejects and former criminals, that did not mean they were a joke. At the end of the day, it was easier to take on those that showed a lot of promise, had been groomed for the job for their entire lives and were prodigies in the art of magic, simply because one could have greater expectations of them. It was harder to take on people that had been chewed out by society and had no real promise, and to see if maybe they could be turned into something that might benefit society as a whole.

But that was just how Griswold perceived it, as he did not believe Charles or Malcolm to be weak or a joke. And to say this kind of stuff to his face, as a person who encountered the woodland spirit and lived, and was in the company of the very same guy who had more or less eviscerated all of his henchmen, it showed that he wasn’t all that clever to begin with. Safe to say, he was a stain on the reputation of the crimson lions, and one he would not mind wiping away in a not so gentle manner. Similar to how Jun had more or less been putting Liston’s men down, that was how he wanted to put the farmer into the ground too, though he was smarter than that. He couldn’t go around just putting people to death all willy nilly because they looked at him wrong or because they said stuff he did not like as a means of provoking him.

Especially with some of the words Sol had been speaking to him and how he felt like that had been pushing him to a point where he wanted to eject the guy out of the dungeon they had been in with a swift and forceful kick. But on the other hand, there were things he had been right about, such as how Griswold’s actions made it seem like he had it out for every single noble in the country. And while Liston had done plenty of things that should give credence to any magic squad and judge in the country that he had deserved the death that had been bestowed upon him, he wanted to go and do things in a different way. So when his offer to get his wife and have her take over the farm while he got sent to prison had been taken by the idiot as a threat, the attack coming at them in the form of crystal magic seemed both unprovoked and needless.

“Fine, but you’ll get to tell her yourself how you’re the reason you lost your lands.”

With that, he used what speed he had at his disposal to move around the crystals, charging his body with solar mana as he charged at the man from the side. Channelling all of that mana into a single fist, he punched the man right in the stomach, launching him towards the house and into the upstairs bedroom. Due to his mana skin, the man would more than likely have survived the initial blow, while blowing through the wooden wall would have certainly rendered him unconscious. With that much of a ruckus being caused, it seemed likely to assume that the lady of the house would have gone to check up on him and care for him, probably not knowing much about what her husband was doing in his free time, and how easy killing seemed to come to him. That said though, there was really no way of knowing how much she knew and in which ways she was involved in all of this.

“Alright… with that out of the way, I’m gonna go bury this totem somewhere in the field so our woodland friend will be able to work his magic and reclaim some of the land that had been taken from it. While I do that, I would much appreciate it if you checked in on the house and its inhabitants.”

While he would soon follow up on him and check the house out himself, and by that he meant the wife in order to see how they were going to work this all out, he believed Jun would be capable enough of taking care of things in his stead for the time being. Right now, burying the totem and seeing through on his word to the woodland spirit came first.

795 (3228)

Wandering the to find the best possible spot for him to bury the totem, he began thinking about the people that were living here. Aside from Liston, there was still his wife and the people they employed to look after the farmland, people that would come to be out of work once they were to leave the place. It was sad to see how some people were so tucked away inside of a little box of greed that they could not seem to make room for anything else in there. Because if the man had just stopped being an asshole for five seconds, he might have been able to see that the amount of land they’d end up giving back to the forest dwellers and their woodland spirit was but a fraction of the totality that was his farm. Short-sightedness and greed were often the folly of man, which was just proven to be true yet again this day.

Finding a nice place in the center of the field that was to be returned, sitting right in the light shone down by the moon, he began digging a hole with his hands. Digging to the point where he could stick his arm in up to his elbow, the black knight imagined it had gotten deep enough for the totem to fully disappear into it. Sticking it all the way at the bottom, he tossed the earth back where it had come from before stomping the place flat with his boot. With that, he had at the very least managed to do what had been promised to the nature spirit, as well as bringing back to nature some of what had been stolen by humanity. In more ways than one, that felt like a major win to him, as it was not common for people to do such a thing willingly.

Turning his gaze towards what remained of the forest, he saw a rather miraculous sight. With his eagle eyes, he saw the woodland spirit standing among the trees, barely standing out due to how well it’s natural body blended in with its surroundings. While it just stood there motionless, it was as if it radiated some sort of gratitude, though it was more than that. For as he looked down at the ground, which had been reduced to nothing but tillable soil ready to be seeded, small green saplings were already beginning to break the surface of the earth and moving up towards the moon ever so gradually. As this happened at an unnatural speed, one might imagine trees to spring up in a matter of days, though it was likely not going to be anywhere near that fast. Still, it was good to see that the work they had done mattered.

With that handled, he began making his way over to the family home on the farm, hoping to hear that Jun had taken care of business there. Because for however much it was worth, he did not want to chase anyone away from this place at all, which was why he had tried to reason with the farmer not once but twice, only for his words to fall upon deaf ears every damn time. And now, the only thing he could realistically do was to follow through upon his words and see to it that he was taken away from this place. So when Jun made his way out of the building and greeted him outside, Griswold was informed of the fact that things had been handled before he made his way out of the scene. Finding it somewhat odd that the guy had known to be here in spite of not being a magic knight, he decided not to make too much out of it.

“Good luck on the trail.”

As Jun left, Griswold pondered whether he should do the same or if he should do what he had in mind, deciding upon the latter after a moment of contemplation. Entering the place to see that everyone was still alive, the only reason he came in was because he still had something to say to the both of them. Going off of where the man had entered the building after some forceful coercion, he found the two in the room. Glad to see that his punch hadn’t actually ended up killing the man, he turned his attention to the both of them as there was a rather beaten mood in the room. Believing that it might aid him in strengthening his words enough for it to actually reach them this time, he let his voice spell out what was going to be happening.

“Even though you put our lives at risk because of your own greed, even though you were the one that had your goons attack us before you yourself attacked us, I want to give you a chance to get out of here. Take whatever belongings and money you can carry, and get out of here before I report your crimes to the knights. It won’t be the same life as you’ve grown accustomed to here, but it’ll be a life outside of prison that you can spend together. I suggest you get packing.”

With that, he nodded once before turning around and making his way out of the building. Not looking back even once, not even to see whether the forest spirit was still there, Griswold made his way straight back to the nearest township. Believing he had done the right thing in allowing these people a chance to maybe make a life for themselves somewhere else before reporting it at the squad, he was sure that if he heard of the man causing trouble again, that he’d be able to find him and drag him to an uncomfortable prison cell in no time at all. But for the sake of his wife, they at least had a chance. And after all that Liston had done to them, that was more than he deserved. But at least now, no one would look at him and call him a heartless monster that was out to ruin the lives of nobles.

[End of Mission Chain]