LVVL 76

Chapter 76

“What….”

“How did the monkeys get here!”

A small mountain overlooking the Eastern Fortress, not far from the summit.

“Surely, the Three Knights should be monitoring the fortress, right?”

Thanks to Malefica recognizing the marks used among the Shadow Knights, Eric had encountered them before rescuing the Cardinal.

Seeing the man flustered by the sudden appearance of the Demon King’s troops, he smiled faintly as if pleased by the timing.

“Damn it! Could it be that something’s happening up there…?”

“Need some help?”

The man looked at him with incredulity at Eric’s sudden offer.

Help? You mean now, with monsters swarming right before us, you’re suggesting not to help them?

“Earlier, it seemed like you didn’t trust us much.”

“What do you mean….”

• Ukk!

Though Isabella had pushed him into this position, as a hero of the Order, he shouldn’t even entertain such a suggestion.

Frowning at Eric as if questioning his sanity, the man hastily drew his sword at something flying down from above.

Zzeooong—!

“Ugh!”

The sword rang with a dull metallic sound. Noticing a sizable stone on the ground, he clenched his lips as he watched the monkeys playfully throw and catch other stones from the trees.

“Commander! What should we do?”

Stones flew incessantly. Drawing the shield from his back, the man surveyed the surroundings while waiting for orders from his squad.

• Ukk!
• Kk! Kkiik!

Perhaps fifty of them? Not a huge number, but the real problem was that the Three Knights were supposed to be guarding the summit while these monkeys had reached here.

‘Why would Lady Isabella entrust such incompetence…’

Dealing with the monkeys wasn’t difficult. But they couldn’t waste time here when something could be happening above. Any loss of strength now could jeopardize the upcoming battle against the Demon King’s forces.

“…Please.”

“Huh?”

“Help… us.”

Resigned, Birga turned back, as if asking if he really intended to just stand by. Standing behind the female knight, he quietly pleaded for help in a small voice toward Eric.

“Ah, of course! As a hero of the Order, how could I not help?”

Seeing Birga bow slightly, Eric smiled brightly, satisfied that it was enough.

“…Master, is this really okay?”

Leona asked in a concerned tone, noting that although his face was hidden by his helmet, Birga seemed somewhat humiliated in front of his men.

They would undoubtedly need his cooperation to rescue the Cardinal, and going about it awkwardly like this seemed counterproductive.

“This isn’t just okay—it’s exactly how it should be.”

Eric nodded calmly, signaling that there was no need to worry.

It wasn’t about punishing Birga for looking down on him. Of course, he had a touch of that, but helping the Order as a whole versus joining the battle at the commander’s request were similar on the surface but entirely different in essence.

If Birga could lower his pride even slightly now, future operations for the Cardinal’s rescue would be smoother.

‘Besides, by forcing him to accept this request now, he won’t have any excuse to refuse later once this is over.’

Even in covert situations, he doubted an Order knight would accept help and then refuse to act. Yet, in games, such things happened more often than one would think.

A bishop would demand a donation, and the priest from a neighboring domain, promised to come to their territory, would suddenly switch sides. Confronted, he’d brazenly deny ever making such a promise, swearing innocence before the goddess.

And if a mere heir can’t even control these things, one can only imagine the importance of formal agreements.

Recalling these frustrating memories, Eric exhaled and drew his sword, watching larger monkeys charging the knights from behind those throwing stones.

After all, Birga had bowed and requested this in front of his men, so there would be no backtracking later.

• Ukkiik!

Zzeooong—!

“Ugh! These guys… they’re strong…”

“Keep your shields up! Split into two squads! One squad forms a stone wall, the other handles those sneaking behind!”

Level: 30
Strength [20]
Agility [40]
Stamina [27]
Magic [20]
Trait:

Level: 35
Strength [42]
Agility [30]
Stamina [40]
Magic [10]
Trait:

At Birga’s shout, the knights, who had only been holding shields to block stones, moved with perfect coordination.

Turung—

• Ukkiik!

Monkeys tried to slip through gaps created when the stones were blocked by shields.

“Not on my watch!”

Chaaak—!

Eric quietly admired the knights cutting down the monkeys with precise timing. Simple but highly effective tactics.

Watching the monkey warriors fail to breach the ironclad formation, Eric quietly spoke.

“Lady Leona.”

“Yes, Master.”

“The knights will be tied up for now. Could you take care of the ones up in the trees?”

The monkeys fighting the knights on the ground could be handled with some time. The problem was the throwers still tossing stones from the trees.

While they couldn’t do much against the Shadow Knights, any survivor could escape and inform the Demon King. The mission had to be kept secret, and they couldn’t allow any variables.

“…Are you sure?”

“I’m not alone here. If any escape, things get messier, not safer.”

Glancing at Leona, Eric nodded, indicating it was fine.

There was no real danger. He’d faced these monkeys countless times in the game. And he wasn’t fighting alone—the knights absorbed most attacks, leaving only openings to exploit.

“Sir Ventus, please handle the throwers as well.”

“I’ll do my best.”

After asking Ventus, the hunter, to deal with the throwers, Eric turned his attention to the monkeys while Ventus readied the massive crossbow they had brought from the fortress.

“Damn, what’s with all this fur…”

• Ukk!

“When did they…?”

Swaaaak—

With their tough fur, the monkeys were hard to bring down. Watching a knight in danger, Eric quickly slashed at a flying arm.

Puk—

• Kk! Kkiik!

Sliding under a long arm, his sword pierced the armpit, severing nerves completely. Turning to the startled knight, he spoke quietly.

“Be careful.”

“Th-thank you.”

He immediately moved on to another monster. The knight, dumbfounded, watched the injured monkey flail helplessly.

‘They said the new hero would be incompetent?’

With a single slash, the monkey’s arm was disabled. The knight, sweating in shock, couldn’t replicate such skill even if he tried.

Puk—

• Ukkiik…

Soon after, Eric accurately pierced the chest of a frenzied monkey. After a few convulsions, it collapsed, and he took a deep breath.

‘Is this the last one?’

Thuk—

Pulling out his sword and stepping back, he surveyed the now-quiet area, brushing the blood off his blade.

“Well done, Master.”

“Oh, Lady Leona. The throwers?”

“All handled. Nearly missed one, but thankfully Sir Ventus hit its leg to finish it.”

Leona handed him a handkerchief. Eric wiped the sweat off his brow. Bringing Ventus had been worth it.

Footsteps approached behind Eric as he cleaned his sword.

It was Birga, helmet off, hair soaked with sweat, standing with a conflicted expression.

“You were worried about the other knights at the summit? Go. We’ll finish things here.”

Leaving monster corpses in this overgrown area was risky. Low-level monsters wouldn’t matter, but dozens of mid-level ones could contaminate the soil, mutate animals into monsters, or spread disease.

Though not an immediate problem, they couldn’t risk staying here if the situation above was serious.

If the Order, tasked with monster control, left corpses behind, they would face criticism later.

‘Well, if we keep quiet, no one can tell who did it, but still… it bothers me.’

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

Birga bowed gratefully.

“Hero.”

A proper, respectful title.

“Not at all.”

Satisfied, Eric led his group toward the scattered corpses.

“Oh, right.”

As Eric prepared to clean up and then head toward the summit with the Three Knights…

“Can we take the loot?”

Birga turned back with a small smile at the request.

“By all means.”

Eric’s subtle gesture showed he understood this would ease the weight of Birga’s earlier condescension.