Chapter 10: The Cursed Lands and the Girl Part 2

I had an early breakfast and asked the innkeeper for a packed lunch before heading to the cursed lands.

A high wall separated the cursed Lands from the city, and I needed a mercenary badge to pass through the gate. Of course, I already had the mercenary badge, so I easily passed through the gate.

"….…."

The cursed lands were exactly that—cursed. As soon as I stepped outside the walls, the wind that blew carried a mix of death's scent. Was that all? The sky was dark as if covered in storm clouds, and the ground was stained black like tar.

"This…"

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I stopped as I was overwhelmed by a surge of disgust and repulsion.

As a druid, I could instinctively sense the curse permeating this land.

I looked around.

The cursed lands were once called the "blessed forest". Beyond this "blessed forest" used to lie…. the prosperous holy nation of Aurora.

But that was a story from long ago.

Now, it was neither a forest nor anything of the sort. The trees that once formed the forest had all become withered due to the curse and were spewing out poison. Because of these cursed trees, the land had become uninhabitable even for monsters.

Since fire would not ignite properly unless it was made by holy oil, it was impossible to burn the entire forest. Moreover, there was no woodcutter who could endure the toxic fumes to cut them all down.

Thus, these undead trees remained where they were.

Now, it's just a resting place for the dead…

After using the skills of [Wooden Skin] to increase my defense and [Feather Walk] to speed up my movement, I ventured deeper into the forest.

Contrary to the infamous reputation of the cursed lands, I found no monsters at the entrance. Only faint ghosts occasionally drifted between the dead trees.

The profitable undead, those with physical bodies like skeletons or zombies, could only be found deeper inside. The ones near the entrance had already been swept away by other hunters.

I chose a rough path less traveled by people and started to go deeper into the cursed lands while swiftly dealing with any annoying ghostly monsters that appeared.

After a few hours of venturing in,

-Clank.

-Thud.

-Clank.

-Thud.

The sound of armor clanking and colliding echoed hollowly.

When I turned my attention to the source of the sound, I saw corpses wearing armor and holding swords walking not far away from me.

Zombies.

There were six of them in total.

Their equipment didn't look very worn which made it obvious…

"Tch…"

They must have been hunters who came here and were killed by monsters.

Naturally, if you're attacked by the undead, you become one of them. And so their numbers endlessly swell.

That's precisely why the undead are both feared and powerful.

-Clank. Clank. Clank.

They were moving slowly but steadily and were clearly targeting me.

I watched them with ease.

Yes, come closer.

As they drew closer, the totems hanging around my neck glowed ever stronger.

The undead-specialized totems reacted intensely upon encountering the undead.

Blue light and a slight vibration.

That alone made the zombies hesitate momentarily.

It seems I've crafted the totems quite well, haven't I?

I took out my bow and nocked an arrow before pulling back the string.

For starters, let's go with the [Magic Arrow].

The zombies were slow but not immobile, so it was crucial to restrict their movement first.

If I was unlucky and got caught by them, I'd share their fate.

– Ping!

Releasing the drawn string, the arrow shot out swiftly.

– Ssssssh!

– Thud!

Each arrow took down two of them.

– Ssssssh!

– Thud!

– Grrrrr!

And from each arrow that hit its target, vines quickly grew and they started entangling the zombies' ankles.

– Ssssssh!

– Thump!

After landing the third arrow, I took out a specially crafted one.

This arrow was lethal to the undead as it was made of silverwood and engraved with forest magic to banish the unholy which enhanced its power.

This feels good.

The arrow and totems that were hanging around my neck were trembling gently as if they were resonating with each other.

I carefully drew the arrow back.

The tightly drawn bowstring seemed to vibrate as if begging to be released.

The moment the zombies aligned in a row.

– Snap!

I let go of the bowstring.

– Thwack!!!!

The arrow, shrouded in a swarm of soft light, flew swiftly before piercing through six zombies in one go and embedding itself in a tree beyond.

– Thump!

– Thump!

One by one, the creatures fell down. Or rather "shattered" would be a more fitting description.

Thanks to the arrow's precise trajectory, avoiding the armor and piercing their necks, their heads rolled on the ground.

I should gather and sell these armors.

Upon closer inspection, they were quite decent armor. They'd fetch a good price.

For now, I moved past the fallen creatures and retrieved the arrow from the tree.

I stayed up all night engraving this spell.

Of course, the arrow was meant to be used again. I had prepared it in advance for such purposes.

Despite having penetrated six zombies, the arrow was surprisingly clean.

The purification ritual was worth the effort.

The rotten flesh and blood had probably all turned to dust and disappeared.

It was easier than I thought, which was a good thing.

I put the silverwood arrow back into my quiver and turned to collect the zombies' armor.

"....."

But there, as if to guard the zombies, stood a girl blocking my way.

I looked at the girl without panic. She was armed, but she was covered in wounds and was painfully skinny.

How is she even alive?

I could easily kill a brat wielding a pathetic sword. But it wasn't out of pity that I didn't do it.

It was pure curiosity.

"How dare you harm Reinhardt's vassals!"

Reinhardt?

That name sounds familiar…

-In this update, the <Revenge of Silver Lion Reinhardt>…

Suddenly, memories from my days living as "Kang Tae-oh" surfaced.

Of course, if it's Reinhardt, it can only be one thing.

The <Silver Lion Reinhardt>!

…But could such a young girl be Reinhardt?

I pondered deeply, trying to recall my memories.

The Reinhardt family had been ruling the northern part of the Barak Empire, which bordered the cursed lands.

That was until they were falsely accused of treason.

Grand Duke Reinhardt, who was considered to be a thorn in the side of the politically astute central nobles, was executed by the emperor after being framed for treason. His heirs and vassals were then exiled to the cursed lands.

The Reinhardt family, once protectors of the nation from these cursed lands, were brutally abandoned. And just when everyone began to forget the name Reinhardt…

Someone calling themselves the Silver Lion emerged, leading an army of the undead to attack the empire.

This was the story of the <Revenge of the Silver Lion Reinhardt>.

Ahaa…

In the game, the true identity of "Silver Lion Reinhardt" was never revealed.

They only appeared in the game as a mysterious and powerful figure, always wearing silver armor and a helmet adorned with a lion with their only discernible feature being the silver hair.

I looked back and forth between the armor the girl was wearing and the armor worn by the zombies.

They were covered in mud and difficult to recognize, but upon closer inspection, they were adorned with elaborate golden lions.

No wonder they looked familiar…

They were the belongings of the Reinhardt family.

So this girl is supposed to be the <Silver Lion Reinhardt>?

The Reinhardt family had the "Golden Lion" as their crest, but the girl before me didn't have golden hair. Instead, her hair was a shining silver and it was almost translucent.

It seemed her hair had turned white after she lost her entire family and vassals while wandering the cursed lands.

"That's a zombie. It's no longer a vassal of Reinhardt or anything else."

"No!"

"Once you breathe your last in these lands, nothing can return to how it was before."

"Nooo!"

She still hadn't fully grasped the situation.

-Swoosh!

While looking at the girl, I drew a dagger from my waist and plunged it deep into the skull of a zombie rolling at my feet.

"No, stop!"

"It's fine. This is a zombie."

My original plan was to disassemble the zombie corpses and sell the by-products…

But it became awkward to do so with a related party present.

So the only respectful thing to do was to clean up neatly.

"If you truly cared for them, you should have ended their lives sooner."

I said in a scolding way to the girl who was trembling and holding a sword as I pulled the dagger from the motionless zombie's skull.

Black, sticky blood dripped very slowly from the dagger.

"Yo-you bastard!!!"

The girl charged at me with her sword in hand.

-Swish!

But even without using my [Feather Walk] skill, she was considerably slower than I was.

We faced off several times like this.

The girl's skills were good enough for a kid her age and even when compared to adults, but they were woefully inadequate against me.

I can definitely sense her talent, though.

After all, it was because of this that she had been able to survive in these cursed lands, rule over the undead, and return as the true Grand Duke of Death, the <Silver Lion Reinhardt>.

Wait a moment…

I casually parried the girl's attacks with little effort. It was almost pitiful to see how, despite her abilities, she was unable to use her full power because she was consumed by anger and fear.

"Yaaaaahhh!"

-Thump!

But I couldn't just let myself lose on purpose. After effortlessly dodging what seemed like her final, desperate strike, I knocked her down. She lay there, glaring up at me with a resentful expression on her face.

"Kill me!"

"Well, well…"

I clicked my tongue and looked down at the girl.

Well… at least she has a commendable spirit.

I spoke while firmly stepping on her shoulder to ensure she couldn't get up again.

"Are you sure I can really kill you?"

"....."

"Then, who will avenge Grand Duke Reinhardt?"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up."

-Crack!

The sound of her shoulder dislocating filled the air. Well, I could easily fix that later. For now, let's continue.

"Aaaaagh!"

"Listen closely."

I continued speaking, regardless of whether the girl writhed in pain or not. If she couldn't bear this much, I planned to leave her behind.

"Do you think the Grand Duke, his family, and his retainers saved you just to watch you cry over some zombies?"

"..."

"I don't think so."

"...Hic..."

"If you truly want to avenge them, then stop doing stupid things like this."

"Hic, Hic, Father..."

Finally, the girl began to cry like a child.

I removed my foot that had been pressing down on her shoulder, stepped back, and placed my hand on her dirt-covered shoulder. Then I used [Heal Wound] and quickly adjusted her slumped shoulder. Although it was clear that she was in pain, the girl did not scream like before.

"For the sake of those people."

"..."

"Survive, at least."

That was an advice given with sincerity.

From someone who had the same plight, that is… as someone in this world "who must survive".

"Live on."

I murmured as if speaking to myself.