The morning had met the group while they were already on the move; however, the rays of the sun were dimmed by the thick trees and mist that covered the entire forest.

They had left the clearing before dawn, pushing deeper into the woods, following along the map Morena had in her head. The path had turned even worse the deeper they went, as it was less traveled.

Slowly, it became narrower and uneven, with roots twisting across the ground, forcing the wagons to slow. The sound of creaking wheels and horses' hooves filled the silence.

Morena rode at the front again, her eyes sharp as she studied the surroundings. The further they went, the denser the forest became; even the light from above struggled to break through the thick canopy, and with the incident last night, no one felt like talking.

'AI, keep scanning. I don't want any more surprises.'

[Understood.]

The soldiers moved cautiously, and the mood was still tense as most of them didn't believe the situation was over, not after the light came out of the body and flew away. It was simple, outlandish, and it was unlike anything they had seen before.

And Morena agreed on that point, believing that this wasn't over.

Plus, ever since encountering the light orb last night, Morena had found the forest more odd with each passing minute. The main thing was the sound; it was too quiet.

How could such a big forest be as quiet as it was? Where were the animals? Sure, she had heard some sounds during the night, but not nearly enough.

And when a forest that large went silent, it was never a good sign.

They had been traveling for a while when something out of the ordinary finally happened again; however, this time it wasn't as magical as the orb from last night.

The first arrow struck the ground beside one of the wagons, the sound of impact sharp enough to catch everyone's attention.

"Ambush!"

Adolf's voice rang out as more arrows followed, raining down from the trees. One struck a horse, sending it rearing and throwing its rider off.

"Shields up! Form ranks!"

The soldiers reacted instantly, raising their shields and pulling the carriages closer together to form a makeshift barricade. The air was filled with the sound of metal clashing and shouts echoing between the trees as arrow after arrow made contact with the shields.

Thankfully, they were prepared for such a situation, and the arrows couldn't pierce through the shields or the carriages, keeping all the people and her family safe.

As the arrows came to a halt, figures emerged from the treeline; men dressed in rough leather and cloth armor, some carrying crossbows, others blades. But unlike the usual ragged bandits she'd seen before, these men looked rather trained; they even looked professional.

Their attacks were timed, and their formation was tight; that alone showed they had some experience.

Morena's eyes narrowed.

'Are these the bandits they mentioned? Crossing the border?'

Several of them burst from the brush, charging toward the line of soldiers. Among them, she could sense a few that had faint ripples of energy around their bodies, at least on the level of an apprentice.

"Focus on their archers first!"

She shouted as she spurred her horse forward, spear in hand.

The first man who came at her barely had time to raise his sword before the tip of her spear pierced through his chest. She pulled it free and spun, striking another in the side before he could get close.

All around her, the forest became a battlefield.

Their blades clashed against each other in sounds that echoed through the eerie forest, arrows hissed through the air, and the cries of men filled the trees. Some soldiers stumbled on the uneven ground, unused to fighting among roots and mud.

A few fell, cut down by bandits who used the terrain to their advantage.

The forest itself was working against them, and while the bandits had experience fighting on such lands, her men didn't. It was a disadvantage she could only make up for with their numbers and training.

Adolf fought not far from her, cutting through two opponents with clean, precise strikes. For him, the terrain wasn't an issue; he was much older than the other soldiers and had fought on various battlefields before.

This one was no different, and thanks to that, he was one of their strongest contenders.

The captain was further ahead, his spear spinning in wide arcs that kept multiple attackers at bay. He fought like a wall, he kept pushing them back into the forest they came from, and away from the carriage that her family stayed in, and those who dared come close were quickly cut down.

Then, from between the trees, a man stepped out.

He stood out from the other bandits; older, taller, with a scar running across his face and a presence that showed his experience of fighting on the battlefield.

The faint ripple of energy around him was clear.

A Rank 1 Warrior.

Morena saw him immediately and didn't hesitate.

"Adolf, Captain, handle him. I don't want this dragging out."

Both men nodded without question.

She didn't even bother to engage him herself; she knew that she would get injured in such an encounter and she couldn't risk that in the forest. The situation before was controlled, that's why she fought him herself, to train.

This needed to be dealt with quickly.

They broke from the formation and went straight for him. The clash that followed was loud and violent, energy meeting energy, the ground trembling from the force of their blows.

The man was strong, but he was only one, and against two Rank 1s, the fight wouldn't last long.

Morena focused on the remaining bandits.

She dismounted and moved among her soldiers; this made it easier to fight since she didn't need to worry about the horse. Her every motion was efficient, her spear cutting through the forest's mist with lethal grace.

One after another, the apprentices fell before her.

Still, even with their overwhelming power, not everyone survived.

A few soldiers fell where they stood, struck by hidden arrows or slipping into the marshy ground where their defenses faltered. Fighting in a forest was chaos; movement was restricted, visibility was poor, and the uneven terrain made it hard to keep formations.

When the last of the bandits were finally cut down, the silence that followed was almost deafening.

The ground was littered with bodies, both theirs and the enemy's. Thankfully they hadn't lost a lot of men, but it was a loss nonetheless, a regrettable one.

Morena leaned against her spear, catching her breath as the surviving soldiers began cleaning up the aftermath. Some collected the bodies, others checked the wounded.

Adolf and the captain returned not long after, both bloodstained but unharmed.

"It's done. However, I believe they have more people deeper in. The man mentioned being a scouting group."

Adolf said quietly.

Morena nodded and glanced around; if this was merely a scouting group yet it was led by a Rank 1 Warrior, she was worried about encountering the main group.

She would have to do her best to avoid coming across them if possible.

"Make sure the injured are treated. Burn the bandits' bodies once you've stripped anything useful."

"Yes, my lady."

As the soldiers went to work, she turned her gaze toward the treeline. The faint whisper of wind passed through the branches, and then, a flicker.

Her stomach sank.

A faint blue light appeared in the distance, floating between the trees.

"Adolf!"

She shouted immediately.

Everyone stopped moving, following her gaze. The light drifted closer, weaving between the trunks like it was alive.

She could feel the energy coming from it, that same twisted feeling she had sensed before.

"Get back from the bodies!"

But before she could react further, the light shot downward, a streak of blue darting across the ground and diving into one of the corpses.

The body jerked violently.

The soldiers nearest to it stumbled back in shock as the corpse arched its back, its mouth opening wide as that same blue glow poured from its eyes.

Then, with a broken sound that was half a roar and half a gasp, it moved.

Morena's grip on her spear tightened.

'Shit!'

The corpse stumbled forward, its movements unnatural, twisting in ways a living body never should. The smell of rot filled the air, and the soldiers' nerves finally broke; they struck it immediately, stabbing and cutting at it from all directions.

But even when stabbed through the chest, it kept moving.

The captain didn't wait for orders.

"Burn it!"

He shouted, grabbing a torch and throwing it toward the creature. The flames caught quickly, the body writhing and screaming in a way that made the soldiers flinch.

The light within it flickered violently and then burst upward, just like before, fleeing back into the forest.

Only ashes remained where the body had been.

Morena exhaled slowly, her expression grim.

"What the hell is that thing... It's been following us."

Adolf stared into the darkness ahead.

"It's clearly hostile; perhaps it's some sort of forest protector?"

Morena shook her head, not believing something like a 'forest protector' for a second. Instead, she turned toward the remaining soldiers.

"Burn all the bodies; it seems to be using them to attack. The light itself seems unable to do harm."

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