How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Rest

Carriages laden with sacks of wheat rolled into the reed forest in a long procession.

The familiar scent of wheat stirred everyone's anticipation, but it wasn’t the right mont to start cooking.

I glanced up at the initial "D," which signified Demtoer, before quickly calling for Heinz.

"Move the people imdiately. Sir Lochter should have everything prepared."

"Understood."

Heinz promptly gathered the soldiers and rushed toward the crowd.

The reed forest beca bustling in an instant.

One by one, people erged from the reeds in an orderly line.

Through the long procession, Lochter approached the carriages.

The carriage carrying him started moving again.

Behind it, Heinz led the people forward.

For so reason, their faces were bright, and their steps felt light.

It seed the ssage that they would soon have a full al had been delivered effectively.

Rather than alarming them with urgency, using their hunger to guide them was a better way to keep them moving without panic.

Besides, I did intend to let them eat inside the forest.

Whether they’d be able to digest it properly was another matter.

Beyond the gates, the horizon was filled with an ashen forest.

We had reached the Ghost Forest.

I glanced behind us, but contrary to my concerns, no mage appeared.

The signal flare had been fired, but since we were at the outskirts of Hel Gri, it seed to be taking ti.

"If it were Veluga, he might be here already."

I scanned the sky anxiously, but nothing unusual happened up to the forest’s edge.

It seed we would be able to enter safely.

"Let’s go in imdiately."

"No ti to rest, huh? No ti at all..."

Karl grumbled as he tended to his wounds.

The others were treating the injured, and Lily lay with her head resting on a sack, looking sowhat exhausted.

Only Keros was burying his nose into a pouch of at, drooling.

"Isn't the forest dangerous?"

"It’s less dangerous than here."

"This is the Ghost Forest. Can you guarantee all these people will be safe?"

At Lochter’s question, everyone in the carriage turned to look at .

Their eyes held a desperate plea.

It was obvious what they wanted.

"You all want to rest, don’t you?"

"Do you even need to ask? Just one day—no, even a few hours would be enough. I just want to close my eyes in peace. At this point, even the Experint Prison is starting to feel nostalgic."

"That bad?"

"That bad?! At least in prison, they let us sleep!"

Karl shook his head, exasperated.

Ever since we t Lochter, we had been relentlessly pursued.

We escaped Blyer, fought, returned to Blyer, fought again—it was an endless cycle.

It had been so long since we properly rested that we could barely rember the last ti.

After barely escaping Kal's grasp, now we had a mage chasing us.

An unbroken chain of tension.

We desperately needed rest.

Not just —Lochter and everyone else felt the sa way.

ntally and physically, we were at our limits.

We needed respite.

"I feel the sa way…"

Though I had regained consciousness, it was only thanks to Reto’s intervention.

Unlike , Reto could observe his surroundings through his heart as a dium.

Since the situation was urgent, he had woken before my recovery was complete.

While my mind was clear, my body was still in a poor state from the earlier battle.

Fighting now was out of the question.

[You need rest.]

"Never thought I’d hear Reto talk about resting."

[Even training requires both impact and rest. Your body is overheated from overuse of Burst Strike. If you push it any further, it’ll break. You need ti to adapt.]

If even Reto was saying that, then we really had been pushing ourselves too hard.

Ever since we left Beneta, we had been running nonstop just to survive.

Rest.

The word alone made a certain place suddenly co to mind.

Just a mont ago, I had intended to push through the forest imdiately and head straight for Elletor Fortress.

"It’s not a short journey anyway."

Both my comrades and I needed a place to recover, even if only briefly.

And in the Ordor Forest, such a place existed.

I reached out and grabbed Keros by the scruff of his neck.

The beast, who had been burying his snout in a pouch of at, whined and tried to bite .

Blood stained his muzzle.

He must have been starving.

I shoved a chunk of raw at infused with Sacred Power into his mouth.

His eyes widened in shock.

Chomp, chomp, chomp.

"Open the way to the Witch’s Garden."

The Witch’s Garden.

As soon as I ntioned the na, Keros, who had been chewing frantically, abruptly froze.

His gaze flicked toward Lily, as if seeking permission.

Her voice ca from behind .

"Do you even know what you’re talking about?"

"It’s the place where witches take their strolls, isn’t it?"

"If the garden is damaged, the witches will be furious."

"We won’t damage it—we just need to borrow it for a while."

Lily stared at for a long mont before shrugging and resting her head back on the sack.

It was her way of saying, Do whatever you want—I don’t care.

From the start, she had thought entering the forest was a suicidal act.

But if Arthur claid he had a way, she would just trust him and stay quiet.

This wasn’t sothing she could solve anyway.

"Woof!"

"Oh? You’re saying you never agreed to this?"

I shoved another chunk of raw at into Keros' mouth.

He gagged and spat it out.

Disgusting!

It was just normal at.

Then I seasoned it with Sacred Power and shoved it back in.

Keros' eyes widened as he chewed.

Delicious.

I waved the tasteless at in one hand and the seasoned at in the other.

"Your choice?"

Chomp!

Keros bit down—on my entire hand, at and all.

Then, he nodded.

Simple-minded as always.

As I tad the beast with divine seasoning, Karl sneaked up beside .

"That power… It’s your ability, isn’t it?"

"It’s Sacred Power."

"The power of a god, huh? Pretty incredible."

It was indeed a remarkable force.

It had made what seed impossible possible.

I nodded, and Karl leaned in, revealing his bald head.

"Think you could use it on my hair? Maybe grow it back?"

…Of course, so things were simply impossible.

Before entering the forest, I had given Heinz strict instructions:

Heinz relayed the rules to the soldiers, who in turn warned the civilians and began enforcing order.

Losing one's way in the forest ant certain death.

Given the large number of people, I had worried that an accident might occur.

But thankfully, my fears were unfounded.

The mont we stepped off the carriage and into the forest, the world around us shifted as if reality itself had flipped upside down.

Karl let out a dry laugh as he surveyed the surroundings.

It was reminiscent of the barrier around the Experint Prison. The sensation was so surreal that it felt like we had stepped into an entirely different world with just a single step.

"This place has so serious atmosphere."

"Pretty, right?"

"Pretty? Do witches have a different sense of aesthetics from us?"

"Karl, you’re ugly."

"Yeah. Definitely different. No doubt about it."

A world in shades of deep gray.

The forest, the rocks, the ground—everything was a dull, ashen color.

Even the sky was blocked out, making the air feel thick and stifling.

The leaves on the trees were in full bloom, yet they had no life to them.

The Ghost Forest.

The landscape suited its na perfectly.

There were no signs of living creatures. It was so silent that the only sounds were the shuffling footsteps of our group and the occasional gulp of soone swallowing nervously.

Seeing it in person, it’s even more eerie.

The mont we entered the forest, I felt overwheld by the scenery.

If it affected this much, I could only imagine how the ordinary people in our group felt.

Everyone walked with their eyes fixed on the legs of the person in front of them, too frightened to look around. Even Heinz, who usually had sothing to say, was completely silent.

It was as if we were the only ones moving in a world where ti had stopped.

I looked ahead at the small figure leading the way.

With his ears perked up, Keros was guiding us forward.

His tiny, fox-like head was almost comically small and cute, but knowing that the lives of ten thousand people depended on his steps, I didn’t dare to disturb him.

"Are there any problems?"

"There don’t seem to be any ghosts nearby, so I don’t think we need to worry too much."

"Thanks to that beast, huh?"

"He’s the Guardian of the Forest. The manager of this place."

When I asked Lily how to avoid ghosts, she had simply said that Keros would handle it.

Apparently, there were paths in the forest that ghosts didn’t traverse.

Lochter glanced around and nodded. The rumored ghosts that sucked the life out of people were nowhere to be seen.

"How much further do we have to go?"

"Who knows? Only that guy would know."

Keros kept sniffing the air and occasionally changed directions.

He was moving efficiently, never leading us through narrow or rough terrain, as if he were considering the sheer number of people following.

How long had we been walking?

"Uhhhuhuhuhu..."

Suddenly, a faint sobbing sound echoed through the trees.

Chills ran down my spine.

Everyone tensed up, crouching slightly in fear—but, as expected, Karl was different.

"UAAAAGHHH!"

With a scream, Karl vanished behind Lily’s back.

I could see his bald head peeking out from over her shoulder.

"What are you doing? Are you serious right now?"

"You should know this better than anyone! You’re an assassin!"

…An assassin?

What about it?

"If soone dies harboring deep resentnt, they beco a ghost and cling to the living!"

Surprisingly, even the mbers of Crux flinched at his words.

Seriously? You guys are scared of this?

"It’s fine."

"It’s NOT fine! Shoo! Shoo!"

"Even a ghost would run away after seeing your ugly face."

"What did you just say, punk?!"

Karl was about to snap at , but when the sobbing grew louder, he grabbed Lily’s shoulders and shook her in a panic.

The witch, who had been swaying limply like a rag doll, finally snapped.

Her eyes glead dangerously as she grabbed Karl and hurled him deeper into the forest.

"AAARGH! DAMN YOU ALL!"

…He wasn’t always like this.

Ever since he started traveling with , his personality had changed a lot.

He was supposed to be a sinister villain’s right-hand man.

A ruthless, bloodthirsty bastard.

But here he was.

The sobbing ghosts slowed our pace.

So people broke down crying, while others collapsed in fear.

But instead of leaving anyone behind, people reached out to help one another.

They supported the weak and shared warmth as they continued forward.

It was a long walk.

Just as exhaustion was setting in for everyone—

"Huh?"

I blinked.

I turned back to look at the others, but it seed they hadn’t noticed yet.

"Is this the place?"

At my question, Keros panted heavily and flopped onto the ground.

That was his signal—we had arrived.

With a smile, I stepped forward.

"Huh?"

"...What the...?"

Everyone gasped in shock.

The mont we took another step—

"Woaaaah!"

A new world unfolded before us.

Dazzling light cascaded down in multicolored waves, reflecting in our eyes.

The air was filled with the scent of fragrant grass.

A fresh, pleasant breeze brushed against our skin.

Surrounding us were vibrant flowers, large and small, so of which we had never seen before.

Butterflies and insects flitted over thick clusters of baby’s breath.

Between the green foliage, we could hear birds chirping.

Deer-like creatures darted through the falling leaves.

This was still Ordor Forest.

And yet—

"We should set up camp."

We had reached the Witch’s Garden.

At my words, Karl climbed into the carriage and pulled out a massive cauldron.

The group got to work, while Lochter reassured the people, guiding them to settle into temporary shelters.

As the garden was gradually trampled and disturbed, Keros let out a deep sigh.

If the witches saw this, they’d probably collapse in outrage.

A disaster was bound to happen.

Surely Lily understood this too, and yet—

"Faster! Faster!! Hurry up!!!"

There she was, running around the cauldron, barking orders as steam billowed from it.

Keros clicked his tongue in exasperation.

How disgraceful.

But his irritation didn’t last long.

Suddenly, he leaped into the air—

Snap!

With agile precision, he caught a piece of flying at in his jaws.

I looked over at Arthur.

In his hand was another piece of at, glistening with golden sauce.

I didn’t know what that sauce was, but one thing was certain.

"RUN!"

"GRAAAH!"

It was so delicious that even Keros lost his mind.

Dinner was served.

As I dusted off my hands, I looked around.

We had barely avoided a dangerous encounter with Demtoer and arrived safely.

From this point forward, my own abilities would be key.

But before all that—

"Let’s rest."

I wasn’t afraid of the witches.

I was just too lazy to deal with them if they interrupted my sleep.