Chapter 638: The Entrance to the Pseudo-Dungeon

Guided by the gatekeeper elf, Tauro and his party headed toward a rift in a hill deep in the northern part of the Elf Autonomous Region’s vast forest.

Garo, the wolf-shaped puppet, sped through the winding forest roads like the wind.

“Ooh…!”

The gatekeeper couldn’t help but let out a voice of awe at the ride, clearly impressed.

“Pretty smooth, right? Garo’s amazing,” Tauro said proudly.

Just as the gatekeeper was about to reply—

“Tauro!”

Aeris called out sharply.

“—I know!”

Responding instantly, Tauro pulled the Bow of Artemis from [Magic Storage], nocked three arrows of light created with magic, and fired them in rapid succession ahead.

The arrows slipped through the trees and vanished from sight—then immediately:

“Gya!”

“Aargh!”

“Squeak!”

Cries echoed through the forest.

Without needing to be told, Garo rushed toward the source of the sounds, stopping at the base of a tree beside the road.

There lay three troll-like creatures, each pierced through the head.

“Are these… Dark Trolls!?” the gatekeeper exclaimed in shock.

“Looks like they were lying in ambush. Probably targeting travelers. —Over here.”

Tauro stepped into the forest nearby and found several blood-stained belongings gathered together in a pile, likely from travelers.

“This is…!”

Using [True Eye] to appraise them, Tauro determined that they belonged to villagers from a nearby settlement. It was possible they had sent someone to Forest City seeking help.

Among the items was a letter addressed to the Council of Elders.

At Tauro’s observation, the gatekeeper frowned deeply.

“…Dark Trolls are among the most cunning and powerful of their kind. It seems our people were attacked here…”

Recently, visits from the northern villages had dropped sharply, and now they knew why.

As they continued onward, they encountered several more groups of troll-type monsters, all of which Tauro’s party swiftly defeated.

“There are quite a few hiding along the road…” Tauro remarked after the group had defeated yet another horde of trolls.

Scattered throughout the forest were broken wagons and even partially devoured elf corpses.

Since trolls considered elves a delicacy, they were the elves’ greatest natural enemy. Witnessing this firsthand left the gatekeeper visibly shaken.

“Still… are trolls usually this intelligent? It almost looks like they’re deliberately spreading out along the road to cut off travel between Forest City and the northern villages,” Ragune pointed out.

“She’s right. Someone is teaching them tactics. With Dark Trolls appearing… it’s possible a Troll General or even a Troll King has emerged…” Aeris said gravely, voicing the worst-case scenario.

“A Troll King!? If that’s true, we’d need to mobilize an army to deal with it!” the gatekeeper responded, alarmed.

“…Garo. I’ll leave you to maneuver Adam and Eve. Take care of them.”

Saying this, Tauro took two life-sized humanoid puppets—Adam and Eve, one male-shaped and one female-shaped—from [Magic Storage].

“Gau!”

At Garo’s response, the puppets Adam and Eve, who at first glance appeared to be adventurers, moved smoothly into the forest.

“Gatekeeper, the pseudo-dungeon is just ahead, right?” Tauro asked, instructing Garo to proceed more slowly.

They had already reached a location that would normally take two days by carriage from Forest City, but thanks to Garo, the trip had taken only half a day.

“Yes… I didn’t expect us to arrive this quickly. What do you plan to do now?” the gatekeeper asked.

Tauro’s gaze went distant for a moment, then he suddenly exclaimed:

“Ah! Adam and Eve have reached the entrance. But it looks like the trolls are guarding the entrance, so sneaking in won’t be possible. Looks like the surrounding buildings have been completely destroyed, probably to clear their field of vision… They can’t get any closer.”

Through his link with the puppets, Tauro was seeing through their eyes.

“…Then we should return to Forest City and organize a military force…” the gatekeeper suggested, judging that their strength alone might not be enough.

“That’s an option—but let’s try reducing their numbers first. If we cause a commotion outside, maybe the boss will show itself.”

With that, Tauro simply said, “Garo, let’s go.”

Then Garo, with the group still aboard, sped toward the pseudo-dungeon entrance.

“W-wait! Are you sure about this!? We don’t even know how many enemies there are!” the gatekeeper warned.

But the group calmly checked their equipment—they were fully prepared.

“Please stay on Garo’s back. That’s the safest place for you,” Tauro said.

Just as Tauro said this, the forest opened up into a wide clearing where the pseudo-dungeon entrance lay. Though it was daytime, the dense trees cast heavy shadows, with only dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves.

And there, a battle had already begun.

It was a clash between a horde of troll-type monsters and the two puppets, Adam and Eve.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, the two constructs wielded sword and shield with overwhelming strength, cutting down trolls one after another. The clearing was already littered with their corpses.

The gatekeeper stood frozen in shock.

But Tauro and his companions didn’t hesitate. They leapt from Garo’s back and joined the fight.

“Everyone, let’s go!”

At Tauro’s call, each of them rushed forward, unleashing their respective abilities to support Adam and Eve and engage the troll horde.