My SSS-Rank Class Is Blood Monarch!

Chapter 278- Back In The Tower (Part 2)

As he was walking through the settlement, Arthur noticed the palpable tension amongst the mercenaries. Everyone had a deep frown on their faces, indicating that the situation wasn't good at all.@@@@

'Is this really that bad? I'm sure this isn't the first time something like this happened, no?' Arthur asked himself as he watched their expressions curiously. Although the death of 40 people was a tragedy, this tower constantly killed people so it shouldn't be this... bad?

'I feel like a scumbag thinking this way.' He shook his head with a sigh as he found himself in front of the gates. There, he noticed that the number of guards was double the usual number and all the guards looked stiff and alert as if they were awaiting something.

Noticing Arthur approaching them, one of the guards approached him slowly.

"What is your business here?" He asked.

"I'm leaving the settlement and heading north," Arthur replied. "Open the gates for me."

"... North?" Almost immediately, Arthur noticed the guard's expression darken as if he heard something really unpleasant. "I do not recommend that. The North is exceptionally dangerous these days."

"Dangerous?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I'm already aware of that."

"No, you don't understand, sir. A type 3 emergency had occurred up north. I do not really recommend you go there."

"What's a type 3 emergency?"

"One of our squads had disappeared last night and we cannot find them. We assume that they were either stuck in the storm or a pack of Yetis took them away."

'Yetis... Now that's one hell of a name to hear here.' Arthur pursed his lips. "Did you send help?"

"We're working on it. That squad has the best of our men, we didn't think they would end up disappearing. This is very unusual too." The man explained as he clenched his teeth. Arthur could see the pained look on his face as he fought against his emotions.

'He most likely has someone close to him in that group...' The boy thought to himself.

However, Arthur couldn't stop himself from feeling a little concerned. Mainly because this squad was seemingly their best squad so they're the most experienced when it comes to such tasks.

'I guess I should expect a lot of trouble up there.' Arthur rubbed his chin. In the end, he still didn't feel any hesitation whatsoever.

"It's fine, I know what I'm doing. Prince Vincent had given me full permission to do whatever I wanted. Or... Are you perhaps intending to defy the prince?" Arthur asked calmly.

"... I wouldn't dare sir!" The man panicked as he saluted in front of Arthur. Then, he turned around and signaled for the guards to open the gate.

"Good. Keep up the great work, man." Tapping the guard's shoulder, the young man turned around and walked out of the settlement.

Continuing on his path, Arthur found himself going deeper and deeper into the woods. The more he walked, the more the world around him turned quiet. All the strong wind vanished and even the snow stopped falling on his head.

The atmosphere shifted completely and it was all because of the nature of these trees. No matter how much Arthur looked at them, he still felt a rather odd sensation being emitted from these trees. It was almost as if these things were trying to talk to him in their own language that he cannot comprehend.

Then, at that moment, out of nowhere, Arthur heard a noise coming from afar. Immediately, he turned around and grabbed his sword.

'What was that?' He looked left and right, but there was nothing around. The noise was too far away so he assumed that the source wasn't close to him. 'Was that a monster scream?'

The sound wasn't something he was familiar with and his first thought was naturally that it belonged to a monster, presumably a Yeti.

'The guard said the squad disappeared here so I might be coming across the same monsters that killed the mercenaries.' He frowned.

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A few seconds passed with nothing happening. So, Arthur slowly put down his sword and then exhaled a small breath.

'Nothing is approaching me from any direction. I guess it didn't notice me yet if it screamed.' He mused as he turned around and resumed walking. This time, however, he made sure to stay as alert as possible.

A minute passed with no more noise happening. However, the unease in Arthur's heart only grew with every passing second.

The woods grew darker in nature and the trees above him started rustling their branches, making loud noises as they clashed violently. A few leaves fell from the sky and each one was horrifyingly Arthur's size if not bigger.

'This place isn't really the nicest place to visit.' The boy laughed to himself. "Hm?"

However, his laugh didn't last long as he suddenly smelled something off. Sniffing instinctively, Arthur frowned as he looked ahead.

'... That's one familiar smell I didn't want to find here.' He clenched his teeth as he grabbed his sword. He didn't even need to think twice to identify that odor. It was something he had already smelt countless times before.

'Blood...'

Slowing down his steps, he moved toward the source of the blood. Step by step, the smell grew stronger and stronger, and along with it, Arthur's grip on the sword tightened. Eventually, the odor led him to a particular tree, and on the other side of it, he found it... The source of the stench.

"..."

Then, Arthur stopped.

A//N: Don't forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3