Chapter 46: Forest Of Death

Sapphire stopped for a moment after traveling quite a long way from the age of parting ways with his teacher and colleagues on the border of Silsila City, a city that was the birthplace of thousands of tough knights who liberated their homeland from the grip of the cruel and greedy Emperor Almaric.

He opened one of the scrolls he brought, a map that would show him the way to the Sapphire Capital, where the Royal family and also the number one noble of Paradise lived.

The name of the city is also the same as the name of the main palace where the king lived, namely the sapphire palace. He smiled every time he said the name because it made him feel like he was saying his own name.

He still doesn't know why his parents gave him the name Sapphire? Isn't that name a bit striking, especially for people who live in small villages where the majority of the population are farmers and livestock breeders.

"Hell valley!" He muttered. He was sure that he was almost close to the valley of hell. A place that is a silent witness to the bloody war that occurred since Paradise decided to become an independent country and was no longer part of the Almaric Empire.

Since he was trained as a knight, he has participated in two battles in the valley of hell. He witnessed dozens of his colleagues die in the valley, right on the side of a flat land that resembled a large grassland.

His horse suddenly stopped walking, he was jolted from his thoughts when he realized that he had arrived at the side of a steep valley. He looked down, looking at the steep rocky hill. It was difficult to get down there, but if he continued walking, he would inevitably have to pass through a forest inhabited by wolves and wild animals.

There are only two options to get through the valley of hell if he has to go through it alone. Walk through the forest and cross rivers where sometimes the current can be very strong. After successfully crossing the river, he would follow a path that was much safer to traverse than forcing his horse to walk down a steep cliff.

"It's too dangerous. Even though the time I spent was much shorter than going through the forest. But it would be very dangerous if my horse slipped. I could die." He thought. He tried to think about the best path he should take.

Sir Gordon has offered several knights to escort him to the capital. Even Edmund agreed to accompany him, but at that time he chose to reject Sir Gordon's offer because he felt that he should go alone. He didn't want his colleagues to be responsible for his safety.

After thinking about various considerations, Sapphire decided to go through the forest. He knew that this forest was known as the forest of death, because it was very rare for anyone to come out alive if they entered this forest alone. But as Sir Gordon had told him, he had to believe in his abilities.

At first, there were no problems when he rode his horse into the forest of death. Everything seems fine. However, the trees are very dense, making this forest look very dark.

"It's so dark, is this the so-called forest of death?" He thought. In one of the trees which was quite large, he saw a knight who had died and was still wearing his armor. Even his body only left a skeleton.

No one knows why the knight died in this forest. But judging from the uniform he wore, he came from the Almaric Empire.

Grrrr...

He heard the sound of a dog growling from behind him, Sapphire immediately turned around and took out his sword. But there was nothing behind him.

He was very sure that he had just heard the sound of an animal growling, a coyote or a wolf. What is clear is that he has been stalked by predators in this forest.

Sapphire got on the back of her horse, he didn't want to waste time just examining the body of the knight who died in this forest. He spurred his horse to go faster before they actually encountered wild animals.

Grrrr...grrr...

"Damn!" Sapphire pulled the reins of his horse when a pack of wolves suddenly appeared in front of him and confronted him.

He swung his sword, trying to ward off the large wolves which numbered more than seven. He was not afraid at all, because fighting wild animals was not as difficult as fighting enemies on the battlefield.

Two wolves attacked his horse, making it jump and scream. Sapphire fell from his horse's back, his body was dragged until he finally decided to let go of his horse's reins before his body hit a tree.

"Tch-"

Four other wolves surrounded him, falling from the horse's back injured his shoulder. However, he was not afraid and decided to fight even though he had to kill the animals.

One of the wolves jumped at him and pounced on him, he swung his sharp sword again and slashed the wolf's head. Two other wolves tried to pounce on him, although with some difficulty because he had to endure the pain in his injured shoulder. He managed to kill two other wolves. However, it seems that this time luck was not on his side. While he was busy fending off two other wolves, the alpha wolf immediately pounced on his shoulder and dragged his body to the ground.

"Ugh, damn-"

Sapphire struggled, he didn't know that he could let his guard down like this. The wolf bit his shoulder, dragging him down to the river where the river flowed over a waterfall.

"Damn it, let me go...!" He shouted. Fresh blood flowed from the wolf's bite wound which almost tore his neck.

He realized that his hand was still holding the sword, this wolf would end his life if he didn't fight back immediately. With his remaining strength, he swung his sword, piercing the wolf's stomach until the sword penetrated its back.

The wolf howled, growling in pain before finally dying. Sapphire trembled, the blood flowing from the wound on her shoulder became more intense. Losing a lot of blood weakened his body.

"No, I can't die here. I have to survive. I just need to get through this river and that path, I-"

His eyes were dim, his vision seemed to be getting darker. Sapphire slipped when his feet stepped on a river rock, his body, which was already unconscious, was carried away by the fairly strong river current.

His letter of assignment was still tied around his waist, a letter that would be given to the king as an order that he would devote all his body and soul to protecting the king. Poor Sapphire was swept away by the river current, drifting without ever hoping that someone would save him.

***