The Lamassu soared in the sky as William guided it to the Southern Region of the Hellan Kingdom. It had been three days since he had his meeting with the Diabolical Hell Ape. As he expected, none of the Rulers of the Forest approached him after being given a stern warning by their Sovereign.
His next destination was the Whimsical Forest.
The place where he met Aethon, tamed the Hippogriffs, the Gryphon–Lionheart, met the Centaur Race, and captured the Wyverns.
After the battle with the Werehyenas, the Centaur Chieftain told William that he could ask them a favor as repayment for lending his hand to save their tribe. Although the red-headed boy felt a little guilty to use the favor in this manner, he didn’t have much of a choice.
What he needed now were fighters that would lend their aid to his cause. The matter of the Diabolical Hell Ape would be put on hold for now. He had no time to worry about things that were outside of his control.
The Lamassu soared above the trees as it traveled to their next destination. None of the creatures in the forest challenged its approach, because it was a Class A Beast. Although there were beasts that were of the Centennial and Millennial Rank inside the forest, they didn’t meet any of them along the route that William had chosen for them.
The System had already detected these powerful beasts and had labeled their location on William’s map. Naturally, William avoided these places as he headed deeper into the forest.
After the battle between the Centaurs and the Wyverns, the Centaur Race had decided to migrate deeper in the forest. Their allies–the Hipogriffs, the deer, the moose, and the wild bison–followed them as well.
The Centaur Chieftain’s good friend was a Millennial Beast. With its help, the Centaur Tribe was able to relocate and live peacefully within its domain.
Bastian, the Captain of the Centaurs had given William a special artifact that would lead him to their new home. Centaurs were prideful creatures. Once they had given their word, they would do it.
This was why William was feeling very guilty because he was going to use their favor to ask them to fight in a war that had no relation to them.
Three hours after arriving at the Whimsical Forest, William finally arrived at a grassland where hundreds of deer, moose, and bison were grazing. Not far from there, were dozens of Hipogriffs resting near a river.
As soon as they sensed the Lamassu approaching their location, the Alpha of the Hippogriff gave a war cry and several of its companions soared into the sky alongside it, to fight against the intruder that had entered their sanctuary.
The sounds of running hooves resounded in the grassland as a platoon of Centaurs rushed to the scene wielding their bows and arrows. The Centaurs had already nocked their arrows on their bows when they heard a shout come from the rider of the Lamassu that had entered their airspace.
“Everyone stand down. It’s me, William!” William shouted. “Bastian, hold your fire!”
Bastian immediately raised his hand in a stopping gesture to prevent the Centaurs from releasing their arrows.
The Alpha of the Hippogriffs also recognized the shameless brat who had extorted him in handing over some of the members of its herd. Honestly, it wanted to attack William, but the boy’s “I dare you to do it” glare deterred it from doing anything reckless.
It only gave the boy a hateful shriek before returning to the ground to guard his herd. The Alpha of the Herd had already made a decision. If William came once again to snatch members of its herd, it would throw all caution to the wind and fight the Half-Elf to the bitter end.
Fortunately, they were not the reason why William had returned to the Whimsical Forest. Although William was tempted, he didn’t want to antagonize the Alpha Beast who was already glaring at him with hate.
“Welcome, Friend,” Bastian greeted William as soon as the Lamassu landed on the ground.
William smiled, “Thank you. I have come to talk to your Chieftain. Is he around?”
Bastian nodded. “Did you come here because you are going to use the favor that has been rewarded to you?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. Follow me.”
William didn’t expect that Bastian would be this casual when it came to his purpose for coming to the Whimsical Forest. Although things were going smoothly, he was still feeling anxious about whether the Centaur Chieftain would honor their promise or not.
Bastian guided William to a valley, not far from the grasslands. Hundreds of Centaurs were hard at work as they skinned the wild animals that they had hunted down in the Whimsical Forest. When they noticed Bastian’s approach, most of them greeted him.
They also greeted William whom they recognized as a hero that had helped save their tribe in their time of need.
“Centaurs do not forget the favor we owe,” Bastian said as he guided William towards the biggest structure inside the valley. “Even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we will honor our pledge. We are the Chiron Tribe. Never forget that, William.”
William nodded. Earlier, he was still doubting whether the Chiron Tribe would honor their word. Now, all of those worries disappeared completely.
Bastian’s words were filled with pride and determination. It would be disrespectful if WIlliam were to challenge his Tribe’s dignity.
The residence of the Centaur Chieftain was quite big. It was as if it was built to host celebrations that could sit over a hundred centaurs at the same time.
When they neared the entrance, William felt an unfamiliar presence that made him raise his guard.
‘A Powerful Beast and its strength is even stronger than the Diabolical Hell Ape!’ William couldn’t help but be shocked at this unexpected development. For him, the Sovereign of the Forest was already at the peak of the Millennial Beasts. He didn’t expect that he would find someone stronger than it during his visit to the Centaur Tribe.
‘Could it be a Myriad Beast?’ William thought as he followed behind Bastian. ‘I have only met the Myriad Ant Queen, but this presence is stronger than hers.’
Although William wasn’t a studious person, he still knew that the Hellan Kingdom didn’t have a Guardian Beast protecting it.
‘There’s no point in overthinking things.’ William sighed in his heart. ‘I just hope it won’t turn hostile when it meets me.’
Soon they arrived at an imposing gate that Bastian said led to their Great Hall where their Chieftain usually held his conferences.
The powerful presence that William felt was undoubtedly behind the double gates. He took a deep breath to calm himself as Bastian opened the gates to lead him inside.
There, he saw a creature that was over four meters tall. It had the head of a stag and antlers adorned with two golden bangles on each side. Its antlers looked so majestic that Spire’s own antlers seemed to be dwarfed by its elegance.
It had the body of a man and a dark-green snake had coiled itself around his arm, resting its head on its shoulder.
Out of instinct, William had activated his appraisal skill to see the identity of the Beast that was currently staring back at him.
——
< Cernunnos >
— The Horned One
— Lord of the Wilds
— Protector of the Forest
— Threat Level: SSR (Mid)
— Myriad Beast
— Can be added to the Herd
— Success Rate: .000001%
