Chapter 160: A New Objective (4)

At the northernmost tip of the Spring Continent, more than 4,000 kilometers from the Mac Mountains, lay an endless expanse of verdant forest known as Balena’s Forest—a woodland so vast it rivaled the size of an entire kingdom.

Fifteen hundred years ago, a woman named Balena appeared on the Spring Continent. This powerful mystic traveled across the continent, rescuing elves enslaved by humans and guiding them northward towards this uncharted territory.

Today, the path she and the elves traversed is fondly remembered as the “Forest Liberation Route.” Yet the journey undertaken by Balena and the elves was far from peaceful; it was, in truth, a bloody trail of liberation.

Balena, who had freed elves from slavery and clashed with countless nobles, was pursued by those seeking to reclaim the elves she’d liberated. A third faction also joined the chase, aiming to claim some elves for themselves under false pretenses. Bloodstains splattered every step of Balena and the elves’ journey across the Spring Continent.

Despite countless attempts to seize the elves, Balena protected them, ensuring not a single one was harmed as they reached the northernmost tip of the Spring Continent. Upon arrival, however, they found themselves in a barren land so infertile not even a tree or a blade of grass could grow. It was, quite literally, dead soil.

Nevertheless, Balena and the elves set about cultivating this desolate terrain and building a forest anew.

Even as the attacks on Balena and the elves persisted, every assailant met their doom at Balena’s hand. The reason behind Balena’s decision to rescue the elves and relocate them to the north remained a mystery. However, thanks to her efforts, trees took root in the once-fallow land, untouched by cultivation. Over time, this expanse of forest earned the moniker “Lungs of the Spring Continent.”

What became of Balena and the elves thereafter remained unknown. Yet, those who eked out a living on the forest’s fringes—woodcutters and hunters—whispered tales of occasional sightings of elves. This led them to strictly taboo venturing too deep into Balena’s Forest.

To avoid disturbing the peaceful lives of elves, humans had refrained from venturing into the heart of Balena’s Forest. Yet, one day, figures suddenly materialized above its dense canopy.

Whoosh!

Three shadows appeared out of thin air.

“Yaaay!”

“We’re falling!”

“Oof! Can’t you be a bit more gentle?!”

The newcomers were Louis and his twin sons, embarking on another journey. Though they should have grown accustomed to spatial transportation by now, the twins still reveled in it like children.

Louis and his twins plummeted from a dizzying height towards the forest floor. In the past, they might have panicked or changed into dragons for safety. But now, hundreds of meters above ground didn’t faze them much at all.

Thud.

The group alighted on the ground with surprising lightness, given how far they’d fallen. Hardly had they touched down when Kani threw herself at Louis.

“Where are we?”

“Yeah, where is this place?” Khan echoed his sister’s question.

Louis smiled at them both. “You’re in Balena’s Forest.”

“Balena’s Forest?”

“What’s that?”

Seeing their blank expressions, Louis shook his head slightly. “…Right. What do I expect from you two? I guess you need some explanation here.” He turned to Fin. “Brief them.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a crisp salute, Fin began her explanation of Balena’s Forest. Soon, the twins were nodding along understandingly.

“I see,” they said in unison.

“I didn’t know a place like this existed.”

“Right. So where are we going?”

“Why did we come here?”

Amidst the twins’ continuous questions hurled at him one after another, Louis remained unfazed as he was already accustomed to these situations.

The corners of Louis’s mouth curved upwards.

“I’m here because there’s something I really need to find.”

Valen Forest had appeared in the latter half of both the original story and his own world, but it held immense importance.

It’s the location where a hidden piece related to the Dragon-Slaying Sword can be found.

After removing the rust from the blade, the imosword could just serve efficiently. However, with the right conditions, it could transform into an item akin to a divine weapon indeed. And hidden within Balena’s Forest was the very ingredient that could elevate this weapon into its true state as the Dragon Slayer.

Although I’ve yet to remove all the rust on the imosword…

Among the hidden pieces related to the Dragon-Slaying Sword, Louis had been planning to personally ‘deal with’ the one located in Balena’s Forest. Due to his confinement before ascending to the status of Holy Dragon, he immediately rushed here upon his transformation.

“What are we looking for?”

“Tell me!”

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s find our way first.”

“Hmm… Fine.”

“Agreed.”

Seeing the twins’ acquiescence, Louis scanned his surroundings. His gaze turned cautious.

Somewhere in this forest is a lost dragon’s lair?

The location Louis sought contained the item he was looking for: a forsaken dragon’s lair.

While it seemed impossible to locate a dragon’s lair in such a vast forest, Louis did have a clue.

He handed communication stones to the twins.

“You guys know how to use these, right?”

“Yep!”

“Of course we do.”

“Great! From now on, we’ll split up here. Search the area around this place, and if you find a broken statue, let me know immediately.”

“A broken statue?”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Yeah. There is.”

In the original story, it was clearly mentioned. A statue with its upper body missing. And beneath that statue lay the vacant lair of a dragon. If they could just find that broken statue, everything would be solved.

Since it’s an ownerless dragon lair, there shouldn’t be any issues, Louis thought as he enthusiastically shouted.

“All right! Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!”

“Hyaaaa!”

This was their first journey for pleasure since becoming Holy Dragons. The three excited dragons scattered in different directions with light footsteps.

The beginning of their exploration was refreshing.

But it didn’t last long.

To be precise, the problem was two impatient dragons.

The grumbling flow from the communication stone was uninterrupted.

Louis, exasperated, growled at it:

“Khan, listen, there are so many trees here, it’s like listening to a canary!” [See?! That dull-witted Khan!] “And Kani, there aren’t any elves in this forest.”

“That’s just them seeing what they wanted to believe was there. If there really were elves, would they have just watched the woodcutters destroy their forest? They’d have shot their arrows right through those thick skulls.”

Ugh…

“Both of you, shut up. Just search quietly.”

The communication stone finally fell silent, and Louis wore a satisfied expression. Finn giggled at this.

“You twins haven’t changed a bit.”

“Too bad it’s for the worse. How did these idiots become so stagnant? Absolutely stagnant.”

Louis clicked his tongue and scanned their surroundings.

To be honest, this place is quite vast.

Although the clue about being in the center of the forest helped narrow down their search area, the sheer size of the forest meant they were still facing an enormously wide expanse.

It might not be easy to find our target…

Louis resigned himself to the situation, preparing for the possibility of wandering through the forest for several days.

Just as he did so…

It had only been seconds since Louis told Khan to be quiet and keep searching, but his comrade had called him again. Louis sighed at Khan’s overly enthusiastic voice, trying to calm him down—had it not been for the voice that immediately followed.

”…What?!” Startled, Louis gripped his communication stone tightly. He urgently asked, “Are you serious?!”

“Khan, shh!”

“Khan! Is it really there?”

“What do you mean?”

Khan’s words visibly changed Louis’ expression.

It’s not broken…

In the original work, the statue clearly appeared with its upper body missing.

Wait, it might be the same one. The statue appeared in the latter part of the original work. If that’s the case…

While Louis pondered this, Khan’s voice came through again.

“What is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Alright. Where are you?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll find you. Just stay where you are. Kani, come to where Khan is.”

After briefly ending the communication, Louis focused on his senses.

In an instant, his perception reached out, and he detected Khan’s presence.

They’re not far.

Louis sprinted towards Khan’s energy signature.

Soon, Khan and Kani came into Louis’s view. It seemed that Kani had arrived before Louis. The scenery around the twins naturally caught Louis’s eye, and his steps came to a halt.

”…Huh?!”

Louis blinked his eyes.

A small open space in the forest, with a beam of light coming down through the trees. And beneath the bright beam, a two-meter-tall white statue. It was so clean that it was hard to believe it had been left untouched for years. Not a single moss grew on it, making it look as if it had just been carved.

Though he was surprised by this fact, Louis had stopped for another reason.

Stomp, stomp.

As if hypnotized, Louis slowly approached the statue. His steps stopped completely right in front of its nose.

It was the sculpture of a woman, exuding an aura of holiness.

The words were carved at the bottom: