Chapter 277: The Forest Fire
The location Seria mentioned was slightly different from what Liam remembered. In the original story, he should have met Seria in Lorien. Of course, this was a real world now, so it was perfectly normal for there to be slight differences from the original plot.
At that moment, a gray-haired uncle rushed over, looking at Seria with immense relief.
"Seria! You're alright, thank goodness! You were gone so long, I was worried sick!"
After the three introduced themselves, the man, Linus, learned what had happened. He sized Liam up. "You're no simple kid. Thank you for saving Seria. I won't let you save her for nothing. Here, take this. It's the best sword in the village!"
Without waiting for an answer, Linus pressed a sharp tachi into Liam's hands. Liam, seeing no way to refuse, nodded his thanks. The blade of the katana was gleaming with a faint, pale blue light; it was clearly a very fine weapon.
Seria looked at Liam, her expression worried. "Sir Liam, there's been a disturbance in the forest. The creatures have become unusually violent, and I want to find out why..."
It was as if a golden exclamation point had appeared over Seria's head. Liam nodded, agreeing to go with her into the depths of the forest. The two once again used the teleportation array in Elvengarde and arrived in a place called the Thundering Ruins.
As they walked, Seria began to fill Liam in on the basic knowledge of this world. Liam had told her that he had grown up practicing swordsmanship deep in the mountains, so he knew almost nothing about worldly matters.
In this world, Arad, there were all kinds of races and magical powers. Humans, Celestials, Demons, Angels, and even Oni Gods were all real. The supernatural powers and professions were just as varied: Demon Swordsmen, Fighters, Gunners, Priests, Mages, and more.
Only those infected by Oni Power could become Demon Swordsmen. Of course, ordinary swordsmen could use some of the same moves, but the power was markedly different.
Fighters mostly came from the kingdom of Suju. They were a class dedicated to developing their body's full potential, cultivating various martial arts, and even the power of "Ki." Fighters believed their own body was the world's strongest weapon and that, by relying on their own strength, they could break the limits of life and pursue the pinnacle of martial arts.
As for Gunners, this mainly referred to the supernatural shooters from the heavens, Empyrean. Their bodies had generally already undergone genetic enhancement through Celestial technology. The "divine" part of their name referred not only to their superhuman marksmanship and their Empyrean status, but also to the transcendent level of their technology: super-soldier genetics, mobile war armaments, satellite beams, and even spatial-folding technology.
Mages were a class that used magic as their primary means of research and combat. The mainstream mages were almost all from Pandemonium. This was because the beings of Pandemonium were the first to research and invent magic in this universe. To be precise, it was the Second Apostle, Hilder, the God of Magic...
Combining Seria's explanations with his own memories, Liam's understanding of this world gradually clarified. Although his system level was in the seventies, he still needed to remain humble. Here, his power was merely mid-tier. Compared to the true powerhouses of this world, Third Awakening was just the barrier to entry.
Of course, with both a divine Falna and the Sword Soul template, he was confident he could surpass every other being here in the future. Even this world, Arad, was just one more stop on his journey to the peak. Based on the system's current rhythm, he would probably continue to conquer more worlds, acquiring more training systems and infinitely increasing his strength...
"I'm sorry," Seria said, "I've lost a lot of my memories, so this is all I can recall, aside from living in Grand Flores..."
Seeing Liam lost in thought, Seria apologized, feeling guilty.
Liam quickly waved his hands. "You don't need to apologize for that. Your answers have already helped me a great deal."
Hearing Liam's reassurance, Seria's mood brightened, and a smile returned to her face.
"That's wonderful! I was afraid I wasn't being helpful at all. Next, we have to go from the Thundering Ruins to Grakqarak. Liam, let's be extra careful on the way, okay? As long as we're careful, we can definitely avoid attracting the monsters' attention!"
Liam couldn't help but feel like Seria's words were raising a massive death flag, on the same level as "I'm going to get married when I get back from this war."
Arad had long since been changed by the study of magic. For instance, there were now numerous teleportation and defensive magic circles between the major cities. There were also various sealing spells between the forests and cities, isolating the monsters outside of human settlements.
At that moment, Liam and Seria were treading carefully along a hidden path in the Thundering Ruins. In the dense forest, patches of swamp occasionally appeared on the ground.
Seria, not paying attention, stepped right into one. "Yaaah!" she cried out.
Liam pulled her out of the muck, but the sound had already alerted the surrounding Goblins. Hundreds of them poured out from all directions, led by a white-skinned Goblin chief. It held a scimitar and pointed it at the pair, roaring, "Humans definitely started the great fire in the forest! After I kill you, I will attack the town and kill every last one of you!"
Seria immediately tried to explain. "There must be a misunderstanding!"
The White Goblin was clearly in no mood to listen. "Misunderstanding, my ass! All humans must die!"
"You're going to attack humans with just this small group?"
Liam snorted. When the distant Goblins started throwing rocks at him, he stopped holding back. He swung the sharp tachi, and his Selfless Sword Aura erupted, shattering the stones. The remaining sword qi shot out, slaying the nearest Goblins. That wasn't all. Liam sheathed his sword, then unleashed Drawing Sword.
Hundreds of Goblins were annihilated by the single, sweeping attack. In the blink of an eye, the entire mob was dead, a sight that left Seria completely stunned.
"Liam, your strength is incredible! With you here, even if we can't convince them, it looks like humanity won't be slaughtered by monsters!"
She then looked at the dead Goblins with some regret. "If only everyone could just live in peace."
Liam looked at the disheartened Seria and replied, "Peace is won through battle. In my view, for peace to exist between races, there must be mutual integration. Perhaps true peace can only be achieved when both sides, from the rulers to the common folk, have an equal chance of being killed..."
This was what Liam felt was the most rational path to peace: armed deterrence. Only when those in power were just as likely as the common people to be killed by an enemy attack would they finally begin to cherish the lives of their citizens.
Seria looked down sadly, as if the thought brought back bad memories. Her gaze fell on a map. "I think we need to talk to Shauta. Maybe we can change his mind. This map shows the way to the Poisoned Thundering Ruins. Liam, should we go there and stop the Catfolk?"
Seria guessed that the Catfolk had already allied with the Goblins to attack the town. If it was a town of only ten thousand or so ordinary people, they would suffer astonishing casualties facing a siege of thousands of monsters.
Liam nodded. "Let's go. If they're not reasonable either, I'll take care of them all at once."
He received EXP for killing these monsters, so he felt no hesitation at all. In fact, because he was getting a reward for it, he felt absolutely no psychological burden.
The two of them soon arrived at the Poisoned Thundering Ruins. The environment was similar to the last, but the swamp had turned from dark green to a toxic purple. The smell in the air was also more pungent; staying here for long would likely have serious health effects.
Hundreds of Catfolk surrounded the pair. The monsters' eyes glowed crimson, and saliva dripped from their mouths. Surrounded by so many monsters, Seria felt a twinge of fear, but remembering Liam's previous, astonishing display, she quickly calmed down.
"King of the Catfolk, can you please not attack the human towns?"
A purple-furred Cat King, as large as a tiger, simply roared, "Humans... die!"
Evidently, this was another group hostile to humanity.
Liam raised his weapon and began to fight. Facing such a large number of enemies, he naturally used his Secret Sword Art. A massive storm of sword qi swept over the area, and the Catfolk were swiftly cut down. Liam unleashed his sword qi so fast and with such overwhelming power that by the time the Cat King and its minions had the first thought of escaping, they had already all been slain.
In just a few breaths, the entire mob was dead.
Seria looked at Liam with pure admiration. So the Sword Soul was this powerful of a class! All those strong enemies, and they were still just instantly killed by Mr. Liam.
The two rested for a moment, then pressed onward.
The Blight.
The environment here was noticeably colder. Liam could even see large chunks of ice throughout the forest.
Seria shivered. "It's so cold. I know a little magic... This is the work of the younger sister, Klache. Her sister is Pinochle. I can feel fear and anger from the ice. Something must be wrong with them."
Liam adjusted the tachi at his belt. "Then let's go take a look."
"Okay!"
As Liam and Seria moved through the frost-covered forest, they saw many monsters frozen solid in blocks of ice. An enemy capable of changing the entire environment was clearly on a different level than those they had faced before.
Before long, they encountered a woman in a blue robe, holding a magic staff. She had long black hair and a frenzied look on her face.
"I have to stop the burning! I must stop it all!"
Seria approached her. "Excuse me, are you Klache?"
Klache looked at Seria and Liam, seeming to answer Seria but also just muttering to herself. "My sister... started a fire in the forest. Pinochle... sister... why?"
Klache's tone turned ice-cold. She raised her staff and aimed it at Liam and Seria. Bright lights appeared at their feet, the result of magic elements gathering. When magic became concentrated enough, it would manifest physically, most commonly as light or heat.
Cold ice spikes fell from the air, aiming for the glowing spots on the ground. But Liam had already grabbed Seria and leaped backward, dodging the attack.
"Mr. Liam, please don't kill her!" Seria pleaded.
Liam nodded, then shot toward Klache. She continued to wave her staff, launching ice storms and frost spikes at him, but none of the attacks had any effect. In less than a second, Liam was in front of her. He gripped his sword backward and slammed the hilt into her stomach. With a single punch, Klache was knocked to the ground, curling up like a shrimp, her eyes rolling back as she fainted.
When Klache woke up, she saw Liam and Seria and began to explain.
"I'm so sorry, I lost control. I don't know why, but my sister... she started a huge fire in the forest. Please, I beg you, you have to save my sister!"
Klache began to kneel, but Liam stopped her. "I'll do my best. I hope we're not too late."
Since Pinochle was in the heart of the forest, deeper than Grakqarak, they decided to go to Grakqarak first and explain the situation to Shauta. Shauta was the leader of the Tauren and, along with Klache and Pinochle, a guardian of Grand Flores. Generally, Shauta commanded the Tauren soldiers to maintain order, while the sisters maintained the magic barriers in the forest. When adventurers or others invaded, they would naturally be dealt with by the monsters. The three guardians' main purpose was to prevent the monsters inside from leaving the forest and attacking humans.
Adventurers would explore outside of towns and clear out monsters that had slipped through the magic barriers. Players called these monster-filled points of interest "dungeons," while the locals or other adventurers called them dungeons, ruins, or forbidden zones.
On the way to Grakqarak, Liam slew every monster that attacked them. Finally, the two met Shauta. He was a Tauren about six meters tall, with red fur and a massive battle-axe.
"I'll give you one chance. Leave this place!" Shauta's voice was a booming roar.
Seria stepped forward. "I am Seria from Elvengarde. Fighting between humans and the forest dwellers will only lead to pointless sacrifice..."
"Hmph! Humans only know how to scheme!" Shauta roared. "You humans are the ones who set the fire!" From his perspective, the magic-wielding sisters were also human.
"You want to talk? Then defeat me first!"
Shauta roared and raised his giant axe, bringing it down on Liam.