Nordic: I Created a Forbidden Land for the Gods

"Based on Ceylon's defensive capabilities, it should be able to hold out for about half a day."

"Even if the beast tide spreads here, we will have plenty of time to prepare, and there won't be any problems."

The Kingdom of Snow, about a hundred miles behind the Breeding Basin, lies the city of Dreddo.

This is also the only way to reach the royal palace in the capital.

The kingdom's young governor stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance, and spoke in a tone that was both slightly sarcastic and confident.

Behind him, the half-giant city lord, dressed in magnificent robes, nodded respectfully in agreement.

Despite this, given the potential danger involved, he hesitated for a moment before pressing for an answer:

"I know the adults, but just to be on the safe side, I'd like to double-check."

"Ceylon... isn't it just a mortal city? It's already a miracle that it has survived this long in the face of the beast tide."

"The other cities have all been destroyed, so perhaps Ceylon is already..."

Upon thinking of the beast tide, Lord Dreddor paused, and fear naturally surfaced on his face.

Although he had not experienced one, or rather, the kingdom had not seen a beast tide in nearly a century, based on the strength of the giant beasts in the country and by combining these factors, it was not difficult to estimate the scale and terror.

In particular, the behemoths are visibly more ferocious than before. Although we don't know about the naval war, we can guess that it's related to the previous thunderstorms.

Especially now that world wars are still ongoing.

Many people have analyzed the situation and believe that the cause of this beast tide involves a great terror, after which those terrifying monsters that are close to gods will also fall into madness and join in.

Those are beings that even kings fear, and who deliberately avoid their territories when establishing their kingdoms...

Lord Dredo became increasingly wary, finding it hard to believe that a mortal city could withstand the pressure and that preparations should have been made sooner.

"It doesn't matter, there's still time."

"Moreover, as far as I know, Ceylon still has trump cards up its sleeve. If it can be used, it should be able to hold out for a while longer."

At this point, the young manager's expression became increasingly sarcastic and mocking.

He naturally knew that Hawthorne was secretly keeping faith crystals.

No, it wasn't clear at first, but as the beast tide appeared, it attracted the kingdom's attention to some extent, and the cities along the route were subject to review and investigation.

By recalculating strategic resources, the answer can be naturally derived.

Thinking back to yesterday's meeting when Hawthorne hadn't offered him his most precious possession as a bribe, the young steward felt a surge of murderous intent.

What would I do with your money? I can find it by searching your property after you die anyway, so it'll just save me some trouble.

But since we've already been used as a pawn and won't be seeing each other again, I guess I'll just let it go.

"Moreover, although faith crystals are precious, we still have to be willing to spend the money during critical times."

"Extending the timeframe will allow for a more accurate assessment of the various stages of the beast tide."

"If they ask later, I can say it was my private funding, and then I can get back what rightfully belongs to me."

The young manager smirked, already planning how to claim credit for Hawthorne's achievements.

After all, aren't the subordinates' achievements the superiors'?

It was his honor to be able to die for himself.

……

……

"I...am willing."

Hawthorne was covered in blood, his expression hesitant and conflicted, but he gave his answer without much thought.

He felt like he was being held hostage by the situation, and indeed, the situation didn't give him much time.

As civil servants, they didn't even have the opportunity to negotiate or bargain.

Even so, he didn't feel much aversion towards this guy who suddenly demanded faith crystals.

The main issue is that the other party "paid the down payment".

"Although we don't know what runes or magic were used in that woodland, it has served as a barrier, replacing the city walls and preventing so many giant beasts from entering the city."

"Anyway, our Ceylon is destined to perish, and even if the faith crystals are precious, they are destined to be exhausted."

"I've been scammed... Oh well, at least we've bought some time. Let's try to get one more person out of trouble."

Thinking of his people who surrounded him, Hawthorne still hoped that they would all survive.

In fact, he didn't have much of a choice. The direction of the beast tide's advance was fixed, so the methods he set up were also aimed at one direction.

He never even considered outsiders who came to "help" him from the rear; even if he refused, his home would be raided.

It just takes a little time to break the rune connection.

But someone who can create such a powerful forest must be familiar with these techniques, right?

Seeing the massive horde of behemoths, their eyes still bloodshot and roaring as they surged forward after being repelled in one wave, Hawthorne sighed inwardly and continued to fight.

He fought and retreated, revealing the location of the Faith Crystal and the method to "unlock" it, while wielding a giant axe and entering the forest to use the terrain to his advantage in counterattacking.

Although it would shorten the battle lines, the complex and confined environment would make it easier to fight against a larger force with fewer troops. Even if the information was provided by a suspicious person, he would have no choice but to take advantage of it.

But I've never heard of anyone in the kingdom using such methods; is he from overseas?

These trees are so tall and big, they look a bit like the ones at Warner Music...

Could he be from the opposing camp? He wouldn't just take the loot and leave this forest area, would he?

Hawthorne's already wavering confidence trembled even more. He hesitated for a moment, then swung his giant axe and cleaved the invading beast in two.

Suddenly, he felt dizzy, the trees around him lit up, strange fluctuations rippled out, and it seemed as if patterns suddenly appeared on the ground.

But it only lasted for a while before returning to normal.

He was startled, but immediately forgot about the fact that he had been "startled".

"Stop thinking about anything else, focus on fighting the enemy now so the people in the city have time to evacuate!"

Hawthorne licked the blood off his face, his expression ferocious with murderous intent, his aura subtly building up. Facing the large number of charging beasts, he looked ready to enter "berserk mode" at any moment.

A giant wolf with distinctive fur roared in, its gaping maw unleashing a stench of blood. Hawthorne, wielding a giant axe, was about to engage in a fierce battle with it.

He could sense that the person opposite him was halfway into the territory and had to fight just as hard as he did.

But the giant wolf seemed not to notice and simply swept past him.

Hawthorne was taken aback, but he couldn't let such a big flaw slip by. With a backhand swing of his axe, he chopped off the wolf's head.

Because it was so relaxing, even Hawthorne thought it was his imagination.

But the situation was urgent, and several more giant beasts arrived on the battlefield. He had no time to think and continued to fight back with his giant axe in hand.

Pfft, pfft, pfft.

The same thing happened again.

As Hawthorne watched the giant beast heads being chopped off one after another, he was stunned. These were all monsters of the same level as him, and one of them had even faintly come into contact with the level of a Heroic Spirit.

Yet he was still killed so easily.

Even if we are completely misled, we have to realize that the problem lies with this forest.

"By the way, what's the situation in the city now? Have all the people escaped?"