"Young master!" Commander Reis called out to Albert, approaching him cheerfully as Albert oversaw the knights' cleanup from horseback. "We didn't suffer any losses. It went so well—maybe we even took down the pack in record time this time!"
Reis was brimming with joy, and so were the other knights.
The hunt for a pack of Terror Wolves had become routine for them and no longer posed much difficulty. Despite their weakness, Terror Wolves yielded considerable profit.
Their pelts were much more durable than those of normal wolves and thus highly sought after on the market. They were used to craft light armor and other items—not to mention the nobility, who regarded the pelts as trophies. Furthermore, each of these magical beasts possessed crystals of various colors within their bodies.
If you harvested these crystals from the corpses of Terror Wolves, you could sell them for a high price. For ordinary knights, this was a massive opportunity—as if they'd been handed diamonds—and no one would pass it up, especially since the beasts no longer posed a threat.
"Young master, we bagged a bigger pack this time. Shall we head back? If we sell them, we could make a good amount of money and reap a hefty profit."
Albert seemed to think for a moment.
But then he shook his head. "No, let's go deeper into the forest. We might encounter new monsters. If we return empty-handed, we can still take the wolves with us."
"Bury them here for now, underground."
Commander Reis appeared a bit hesitant and uncertain about the decision, but he reluctantly agreed. Even though he, as a former commoner, was quite satisfied with the spoils and could expect a nice bonus, he knew that nobles like Albert saw money as something self-evident—and didn't need it.
After the knights dealt with the corpses of the Terror Wolves and buried them in a hole to retrieve them later, they once again set off—led by Albert—deeper into the pine forest.
As the group of knights, led by Albert van Goldberg, continued their journey through the pine woods and ventured deeper into the shadowy, dark forest, they repeatedly encountered stray monsters like Terror Wolves, mountain rats, or occasionally devil spiders.
Well-trained as they were, the knights had little trouble dealing with these scattered, weak magical beasts and pressed on effortlessly into the woods.
They were also lucky to encounter relatively few magical beasts, even though they had already come quite far into the forest.
But strangely, after a few hours, no more monsters appeared at all.
Instead of feeling relieved, the battle-hardened knights grew strangely uneasy.
Especially Commander Reis, the oldest among them and a veteran of many battles against magical beasts, had a bad feeling—one he quickly expressed to his lord.
"Young master, something's off. We haven't encountered a single monster in over half an hour, even though we've gone so deep into the forest. Something isn't right. Maybe we should turn back, mobilize more troops, and return another time?!"
Albert dismissed the suggestion immediately. "No, we'll go a bit deeper. You know—greater danger brings greater reward."
Noticing the knights' unease, he quickly added, "I understand your concerns, so if we still find nothing after another half hour, we'll return to the duchy."
"I understand, young master."
Reis nodded, satisfied with the compromise.
As they continued their march through the forest, Albert kept glancing—almost obsessively—at his surroundings, as if expecting a sign.
What's going on? Where is it? He told me I'd find something if I went deeper into the forest. He also said the monsters along the way wouldn't be a problem. So where is this place?!
Albert had received prior information about a particular place located deep within the great pine forest. Although he didn't know exactly where it was or what kind of place it might be, he had been told that something awaited him there—something he needed and that would help him.
Something more valuable than even hundreds of Terror Wolf crystals.
A little while later, just a few minutes before the promised half hour was up, one of the knights suddenly noticed something and quickly pointed it out to the others.
"There's something… there's a light at the edge of the forest ahead!" one of the knights called out, pointing southeast.
The squad's attention swiftly turned in the direction the knight was indicating.
Indeed, there was a flickering light. With the sun now setting, it was easier to see, and it appeared to be coming from torches.
But there weren't just a few—upon closer inspection, it looked like several dozen torches had been placed along the forest's edge.
Albert's face lit up with excitement as he issued orders in a professional tone: "Follow me—but stay quiet!"
He advanced slowly toward the forest edge, followed by the knights who had already formed a line-like formation, prepared for possible combat.
As Albert reached the edge of the forest, he was met with a surprising and unexpected sight.
There were indeed torches burning all across a grass-covered clearing. But it wasn't just an open, treeless patch—there stood, among other things, a man-made village surrounded and illuminated by the torches.
As Albert looked more closely, he spotted a towering, massive totem resembling a bull.
Albert was completely stunned and taken aback by the sight.
He had expected many things, but not a village. And from the looks of it, this village wasn't abandoned—it was well-maintained.
"Unbelievable—there's actually a village here, right in the middle of the pine forest?!" one of the knights whispered in amazement.
"Yeah, how is it possible we didn't know about this?" another replied.
"Silence! We don't know what's happening here, so we'll observe from here!" Albert ordered quietly as he dismounted his horse to avoid drawing attention.
The knights nodded in agreement and watched the events unfolding in the village with keen interest. It didn't take long before something finally happened.
The sun had set, and many people—over a hundred, it seemed—gathered in front of the five-meter-tall bull totem, which stood out clearly in the torch-lit clearing.
"What's happening there—can any of you make it out?" one knight whispered, squinting his eyes.
"No, I think we're too far away… looks like they're celebrating something?" another whispered back.
Suddenly, several villagers began pounding drums and letting out loud tones, as if singing and celebrating a festival. But the atmosphere felt different—more ominous than joyful, more foreboding than blissful.
The drumming and deep chants of the villagers echoed briefly through the village.
After the drums fell silent, everything quickly went quiet again, and the people seemed to be speaking in hushed voices about something.
Because of the distance, the knights couldn't hear what was being said. But one shout, from a man standing directly at the large totem, rang out loud and clear: "Bring the offering!"
Several of the knights' eyes widened at hearing this, while others, like Commander Reis, furrowed their brows—visibly shocked as they witnessed what followed.
Albert, on the other hand, remained expressionless, silently observing the scene in the village.
The crowd parted, forming a path that led from the village to the totem, for the man who seemed to be leading the ceremony.
What the knights feared soon came to pass—a figure, likely a young woman based on her clothing, wearing a white veil that partially obscured her face, was bound with ropes and led to the totem. She received glances filled with either sadness or cold indifference, laden with a wide range of emotions.
"What are they doing?"
"This can't be happening…!"
"These barbarians?!"
The knights muttered one after another, voicing their disbelief at what was unfolding in the village and the villagers' actions.
Although they didn't know exactly what was going on, they all had their own theories—and each theory overlapped at one crucial point:
Human sacrifice!
It seemed as though the villagers were planning to offer one of their own to a monster or some equally terrifying entity, hoping to be left in peace. So far, it was only a theory.
But the reason didn't matter to the knights. The mere intention of doing something so horrific filled them with disgust and loathing.
"Young master, we must act—we can't just stand by and watch them sacrifice this poor child!" Reis said urgently.
Though he was a battle-hardened knight and seasoned veteran, such acts repulsed even him. Faced with such inhuman behavior, he couldn't simply look away. His sense of justice would never allow it.
Albert, however, seemed focused on something else entirely and simply replied, "Not yet. We'll wait and see what happens." His tone was firm and allowed no room for protest. At the same time, Albert's attention was drawn away from the villagers' actions, as if distracted by something else entirely.
["Demon Who Encourages Decay" is amused by the events.]
["Demon Consumed by Hunger" wonders who this offering belongs to and whether he might get a piece.]
["Throne of Preferential Justice" is disgusted and offers a prayer for the heathen souls, that they may find forgiveness and peace.]
So it had been since the moment Albert first laid eyes on the village—the constellations were going wild. More and more messages appeared, and even names he didn't recognize started showing up.
He wondered just how many of these powerful beings were watching his every move, probably chuckling to themselves. But this didn't discourage him—in fact, it only made him more curious. Just how far could he grow, and what else did the vast world have to offer?
Meanwhile, the villagers led the young woman—clad in white ceremonial garments and with a veil over her face—to the totem.
She didn't seem to resist—not that she could have, so weak and frail she appeared amidst the crowd.
The villagers took the ropes binding the young woman's arms, legs, and neck and tied them to wooden stakes driven into the ground.
Once that was done, the villagers moved quickly. They extinguished all the torches except for two—those directly beside the totem and the young woman—and then hurried back into the village as if fleeing from something and seeking shelter.
Once the villagers had vanished and only the "human offering" remained, a deadly silence fell over the clearing.
The little village seemed to turn into a ghost town in an instant, as the people barricaded themselves inside their homes and a strange, ominous, faint mist swept through.
A few of the knights urged, "Now's our chance—we can rescue her!"
But no command came from Albert, and so none of them moved an inch. Though they all wanted to save the girl, they were loyal knights and would follow their lord's orders without question.
Nothing happened… and yet, the knights' tension grew. An uneasy feeling began to rise within each of them. Some even started to sweat and instinctively gripped their swords.
Such behavior was uncharacteristic of seasoned knights. But it only proved one thing—something truly wasn't right. If multiple elite warriors showed this kind of nervousness, then something had to be seriously wrong.
Albert, too, sensed a strange inconsistency, yet remained utterly calm. His steady gaze rested on the totem, which he could only barely make out in the distance and darkness.
Then something happened that made the knights flinch. The ground trembled slightly, as though something heavy had fallen. But the noise repeated several times—and rhythmically, at that.
This confirmed the knights' worst suspicions.
Albert's eyes widened as something entered his field of vision—something that should not have been there.
Suddenly, only a few meters from the totem, a colossal figure appeared—almost as tall as the totem itself.
"W-what the hell is that…?"
The knights, too, saw the creature and began to tremble with fear. Even the experienced Commander Reis was left speechless, his mouth agape as he stared in shock at the being.
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Here is the Bonus Chapter for this Week, enjoy.