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Despite the exhaustion from the constant battles, the mercenaries couldn’t fall asleep quickly.

It was because of the grotesque howls that occasionally echoed from afar, scratching at their nerves.

The group only managed to sleep after lighting a bonfire and hanging a lamp to illuminate the surroundings.

However, Ghislain didn’t lie down. He simply sat still in front of the fire.

“Aren’t you going to sleep, Young Lord?”

“I need to check something.”

“Check what?”

“Monsters.”

“Pardon?”

When Belinda frowned and asked, Ghislain responded quietly.

“The monsters that showed up constantly during the day aren’t appearing at night. There must be a reason.”

“No way…”

Belinda quickly understood the meaning behind Ghislain’s words.

Just two days ago, the monsters attacked relentlessly, day and night.

But there hadn’t been a single monster attacking at night for the past couple of days.

“You mean there are monsters that only move around at night in this area.”

“Exactly. The other monsters must be too scared to move because of them.”

Hearing their conversation, the mercenaries nearby swallowed hard.

If it had been the first day, they would have laughed, dismissing him as a naive noble.

However, over the past five days, the abilities Ghislain had shown were anything but ordinary.

His words carried a persuasive weight.

*Whiiing.*

As time passed and darkness completely swallowed the surroundings, a foreboding wind began to howl.

When Ghislain stood up from his seat, Gillian, Kaor, and Belinda also rose with grim expressions.

[They were watching us from within the darkness.]

“Young Lord.”

At Gillian’s call, Ghislain nodded.

Something was nearby.

Those with keen senses could feel the suffocating gazes bearing down on them.

Several mercenaries, looking uneasy, also stood up and surveyed their surroundings.

Beyond the range of the lamp’s light, nothing was visible. Yet they all knew something was lurking in the darkness.

Threads of mana stretched out from Ghislain, spreading in all directions.

After confirming the number of watchers surrounding them, Ghislain furrowed his brows.

‘This is unexpected.’

[Their number was about two hundred… They followed us persistently until we were utterly exhausted. Furious, Count Balzac chased them off alone but only managed to kill around ten.]

The number Ghislain sensed exceeded three hundred.

It couldn’t be helped that the information didn’t perfectly match, given the difference in time.

“Everyone, stay still.”

The mercenaries, gripping their weapons, anxiously scanned their surroundings.

*Whip!*

Something lashed out like a whip, snatching one of the hanging lamps away.

The lamp was swallowed by the darkness, its light fading quickly.

However, in that brief moment, a humanoid shape briefly appeared.

[They began stealing our light and vision.]

*Whip! Whip!*

The whips flew again, snatching away several more lamps.

[It wasn’t until later that we learned they had the ability to blend with the darkness and had an extreme aversion to light.]

As the lamps dwindled, the surroundings quickly darkened.

Kaor, with a fierce expression, was about to charge out with the Cerberus Mercenary Corps.

His primal instinct kicked in, triggered by the sensation of being hunted.

However, Ghislain reached out to stop him, quietly staring into the darkness.

Kaor growled in frustration.

“What is it? They’re just hiding and watching us. They can’t be that strong. They won’t dare mess with us again if we charge in and crush them.”

“That’s enough for tonight.”

“What do you mean, ‘enough’?”

Suddenly, the ominous presence that had surrounded them began to fade gradually.

*Crrr…*

Leaving behind strange, eerie laughter, the creatures disappeared completely.

[They visited us every night, watching us. The soldiers couldn’t rest for even a moment, and we slowly lost our light.]

Sensing the mysterious entities had retreated, the mercenaries moved to relight the lamps.

Ghislain shook his head.

“Leave the lamps as they are.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be better if it’s brighter?”

[We regretted it. We should have dealt with them the moment we sensed them at the lake. But by the time we realized this, it was too late. We had lost both day and night. There was no time for rest, and we had ventured too deep, losing our sense of direction.]

Ghislain spoke firmly to the mercenaries.

“If we want to deal with them here, we must keep the lamps as they are.”

The mercenaries looked at him in disbelief.

How could he be so confident about dealing with something they didn’t even know?

“What are *they*?”

In response to the mercenaries’ questions, Ghislain uttered a single word in a low voice.

“Pallor.”

[They were the descendants of an ancient race, once brilliant in civilization and intelligence, now fallen into monsters. In this forest, they lived as ‘hunters of the dark,’ known as the Pallor.]

* * *

The group stopped cutting a path or moving further.

Instead, they felled trees a short distance away from the lake to create a clearing and rested there.

While the mercenaries took their time resting, Gillian approached Ghislain.

“Young Lord, what do you intend to do?”

“I plan to deal with them before we move on. Otherwise, they’ll keep following us.”

“How are we supposed to catch something that only watches us from the darkness? Even if we try to strike, they’ll just run.”

“Let’s see what happens tonight. Prepare the mercenaries with bows and arrows.”

“Hmm, understood.”

Gillian nodded.

Launching a volley of arrows might be a solid strategy if the enemies were merely watching them from a distance.

As night fell once again, everyone remained on edge.

Perhaps due to luck or because of the Pallor, no monsters had attacked during the day.

The mercenaries now rested and, with their strength recovered, kept their bows drawn, eyes fixed on the darkness.

*Crrr…*

They could feel the sinister gazes filling the air around them.

Amid the tense standoff, Ghislain shouted.

“Fire!”

*Piiing!*

In an instant, more than a hundred arrows shot out in all directions.

The mercenaries, gathered in a circle, unleashed their arrows without hesitation, each aiming toward their respective fronts.

However…

*Crrr…*

The only response was a grotesque, mocking sound as if they were being laughed at.

The mercenaries were baffled.

“What the hell?”

“Not a single hit? That’s impossible!”

They could all feel that something was lurking in the darkness, just out of sight.

Those creatures had deliberately revealed their hostility. Even those with dull senses could feel it. Clearly, many monsters surrounded them, yet none of the arrows had hit anything, flying uselessly into the void.

“W-what kind of monsters are these…?”

“Not a single hit with all those arrows?”

Fear began to creep into the mercenaries, causing them to step back in terror.

Displeased with the growing panic, Gillian twitched his lips and began channeling mana.

He planned to infuse mana into the arrows, making them stronger and more accurate.

But just then, Ghislain grabbed his hand, stopping him.

“Don’t. You can’t use mana yet.”

“Young Lord?”

“If you use it now, things will get worse. We must keep our mana hidden.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’ll explain soon. For now, it’s clear our attacks aren’t working.”

[The Pallor, who had blended with the darkness, could let all physical attacks pass through them. This meant that, aside from Count Balzac and his knights, who could wield mana, there was no way to harm the Pallor. This was both a blessing and a curse for this ancient race…]

*Whiik!*

The lamps started disappearing again, one by one.

The surrounding darkness grew thicker each time a light vanished, and the terrified mercenaries huddled closer together.

Ghislain stood motionless, simply watching as the lamps were taken.

[The Pallor always sought to eliminate the light around them first. They failed to consider that weapons infused with mana could emit their own light.]

When mana is infused into a weapon, it gives off light.

Though it’s possible to suppress the glow, few have made an effort to conceal it completely.

To harm the Pallor, one had to attack them using mana.

The Pallor could easily evade attacks in the darkness, but once the light revealed their forms, they were no longer invincible.

If those capable of using mana were to pursue the Pallor now, they could deal some damage.

However, Ghislain inwardly shook his head.

‘That would only make things worse.’

[Count Balzac, undoubtedly one of the strongest warriors in the kingdom, was overly confident in his power. When the Pallor realized they couldn’t face him, they began kidnapping his soldiers instead.]

More than half of the lamps they lit on the first night were now gone.

The mercenaries in the dark were visibly shaken and unsure of what to do.

*Crrr…*

The Pallor, seemingly satisfied, let out a chilling laugh before disappearing once again.

Their hunting method was to gradually increasing pressure, sapping their prey’s will to fight, and instilling fear.

is there any new names?

“Everyone, gather around. I’ll explain everything.”

Once the Pallor disappeared, Ghislain called the mercenaries together and began explaining what he knew about them.

After hearing his explanation, everyone’s mouths fell open in shock.

Monsters that couldn’t be harmed without light? They had never heard of such a thing.

But after firing their arrows and seeing the results, they had no choice but to believe it, no matter how unbelievable it seemed.

“Th-Then shouldn’t we install more lamps and surround the area with torches?” one mercenary suggested.

“It will only buy us a little time. In the end, they’ll take all the light away.”

“What about this?” Belinda asked, holding up a dagger. Soon, a blue glow began to envelop it.

If they could just sense the creatures’ presence, even if they couldn’t see them clearly, they could kill them. As soon as the weapon got close, some part of the creatures would be exposed to the light.

“You’re clever as always, Belinda,” Ghislain complimented, causing her to raise her chin proudly.

“I’m a graduate of the Royal Academy, after all.”

“You’re good at lying too. Anyway, we can’t use mana.”

“How did you know I was lying? And why can’t we use mana?”

“If we do, they’ll change their hunting tactics.”

[We found traces of the captured soldiers. They had been eaten alive. Enraged, Count Balzac annihilated the area around him, wiping out everything within dozens of meters when the Pallor appeared. However, knowing his strength, the Pallor stayed far away, hiding in the darkness before being exposed to any light. Eventually, we could do nothing but watch as more soldiers were kidnapped.]

If the Pallor chose to avoid direct confrontation and instead stalked them, kidnapping one by one, they’d all be wiped out in no time.

With only a few people capable of using mana and their limited numbers, they were at risk of complete annihilation.

As Ghislain’s explanation continued, the faces of his companions grew paler.

Already, as they ventured deeper into the forest, they were encountering more powerful monsters, resulting in heavier losses.

And now, imagining that these creatures would come every night to try and kidnap them? The thought alone was dizzying.

“Th-Then what should we do? Haven’t they already marked us as their prey? Shouldn’t we just turn back now?” one of the mercenaries asked anxiously.

Ghislain shook his head firmly.

“We have to fight them here.”

[With our forces, there was no way. We could’ve won the battle, but the Pallor had no intention of fighting us directly. We failed again and again, and it wasn’t until Sir Alois, the royal magician, and his squad of wizards arrived that we managed to wipe them out.]

Even the vanguard from his previous life, stronger than the current mercenaries, had failed multiple times in their attempts to conquer the Forest of Beasts.

It wasn’t because they lacked strength; it was because they had no information.

And the fact that the Pallor were unusually intelligent for monsters made things even more complicated.

But Ghislain was different from them.

‘I’ll kill them all before they realize what’s happening.’

He had all the information he needed, and he was thoroughly prepared.

Everything was going just as he had planned.