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Ryu's POV
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After all the soldiers had woken up and eaten, we were out of camp surprisingly quickly.

Considering the number of soldiers we had, I'd expected for us to be moving only a few hours after they had all woken up, but we had actually started moving only half an hour after.

Even more surprising was the fact that all of their fatigue from yesterday was now entirely replaced with energy, as if the sleep they had was one you'd have in an Inn.

For me, it wasn't the best rest. The events from last night triggered some... Unwanted dreams. But I was glad to find that, after I had woken up, all of my muscle pains had gone.

I'm pretty thankful for that, knowing that the fight to come would be extremely hard, based on past experiences.

But for now, the first challenge we need to face is having all of the soldiers be able to enter and stay together in the forest.

The thickets that surround the forest are abnormally thick compared to further in, and it can get to the point of you being unable to move.

Luckily for us, however, Healer was using some form of a wind magic spell to shear off a path for us to walk through, even if it meant for us to be in a single line.

"Ryu, where did you fight the Fenrir last time?" (Captain)

"Around the South-East side." (Ryu)

"South-East... Where are we now?" (Captain)

"North side." (Ryu)

"I see..." (Captain)

He stands in front of me, hand on his chin, thinking.

"How long will it take to get there?" (Captain)

"... Half an hour... no, an hour." (Ryu)

"Right. Kana, is it possible for you to follow any tracks? Magic or physical?" (Captain)

"If we find some, most likely." (Kana)

"It can use ice magic." (Ryu)

"I'll look for some of that then." (Kana)

With that, Archer jumps up onto one of the tree branches and dashes off looking for tracks.

"Woah, she was fast..." (Soldier)

"I guess that's an elf for you..." (Soldier)

"Did you see those legs thoug--" (Soldier)

One of the soldiers gets cut of by a short jab by another in response to his remark.

Considering the monster we're about to fight, I'm finding the light atmosphere surprisingly off-putting.

"We're fighting an S-rank monster, you know." (Airi)

"We know. What's the point in staying tense though?" (Soldier)

"... At least have a little." (Airi)

Listening to the conversation from a standpoint of someone who's fought the Fenrir, it sounds like they haven't fought an S rank or similar monster before.

Based off the monsters that I know and the ranking system I've just heard of, any monster A rank or higher is extremely dangerous.

Dangerous to the point where power in numbers has little to no effect on its subjugation.

For this Fenrir, if you compared 100 barely trained soldiers to a single master swordsman, it wouldn't be surprising to find the master swordsman to have done more damage to the monster.

This thing is extremely dangerous.

"I've found something." (Kana)

Appearing in front of us suddenly, Kana announces her findings.

"Ice magic residue a bit away from here. It continues in a single direction." (Kana)

"Alright, take us to it." (Captain)

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"Hmm... It's definitely ice magic. Not used too long ago either. But..." (Astrid)

Having reached the area where Archer found the ice mana, Healer started inspecting it.

"I don't see any ice or water around here." (Astrid)

"It's probably a trap." (Ryu)

"Eh? A trap?" (Astrid)

"Mm. It's smart. It makes you follow a trail, then jumps you." (Ryu)

"How do you know this?" (Kana)

"... Personal experience..."(Ryu)

"... Pff. You got caught in a trap by a monster..." (Astrid)

Healer seems to laugh in the face of my remark.

"The thing's smart then?" (Captain)

"Very." (Ryu)

"Then, let's follow the trail, but be in the highest alert." (Captain)

With that said, we start along the ice mana trail, all while reacting to even a rustle of a bush.

It's only after a while of following the trail do we notice something.

"Isn't the forest a little quiet?" (Soldier)

"Yeah, I haven't heard a single bird in a while." (Soldier)

Wait. Isn't this...

"GET DOWN!" (Ryu)

With only seconds to react, I shout a command to everyone and duck.

When those seconds pass, dozens of ice spikes fly over us, lodging themselves into the trees behind us and any unlucky soldiers who didn't crouch in time.

"How many got hit?!" (Captain)

"4, I think!" (Soldier)

"Damn. Was this the trap?!" (Captain)

"It was! After this should be a bunch of fir--" (Ryu)

Cutting me off mid sentence, the growls of dozens of firnirs flood our ears as the next wave of the traps draws near.

Standing up as fast as I can, I draw my sword into a firnir that jumped at me, slicing it in two.

"Hurry! You're gonna get eaten!" (Ryu)

Hearing my shout, all the soldiers clamber to their feet, desperately fighting to live.

In comparison to the amount of soldiers we have fighting, the amount of firnirs are not many, but rather than them going for a single target each, they group together and fight a single target.

"I guess this is what makes them B rank! Soldiers! Join together to fight them!" (Captain)

I don't have anytime to see how the soldiers are doing as more firnirs jump out at me, only to meet their end shortly after by a swing of my blade.

As soon as the soldiers grouped up, the number of firnirs decreased rapidly, leading to a moment of calm in the ambush.

"How the hell did you survive this, Ryu?" (Airi)

"It's proportionate, I think." (Ryu)

"Eh?" (Astrid)

"I only fought, maybe 6 firnirs. There're around 40 this time." (Ryu)

"Hmm? But that shouldn't be enough to kill us?" (Airi)

"It's not meant to. It's suppose to wear us down." (Ryu)

As if responding to my statement, a blood curdling roar could be heard from around us.

It couldn't be discerned from a single direction, so we found ourselves glancing all around each other.

The roar could be heard again, this time closer, but again, not discernable from any direction.

But, the beast could be spotted another way, by simply looking further into the forest.

As I squint my eyes, I could see trees topple, indicating the direction the monster is coming from.

"That way!" (Ryu)

Pointing in the direction fo the fallen trees, all the soldiers turn and point their weapons.

Only the loud crash of the trees could be heard as it approaches.

As it drew nearer to us, its footsteps made the ground tremor, shaking most of the soldiers with fear.

When it finally reached us, it swiped down the trees that stood between us.

What stood there was a king.

A king of the forest.

The Fenrir.

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Author Notes
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Another chapter finished, this time finished in a single night!

I found this chapter a lot of fun, especially writing the trap scene, since it was surprisingly different to writing a normal actions scene, but that may be because I'm weird.

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!