The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices - Chapter 79: Skeleton Holy Knight (1)

The dungeon monsters keep offering sacrifices – 079

EP.79 Skeleton Holy Knight (1)

Three unwelcome guests arrived while Maru and Celia were discussing the future. All of them were Holy Knights dressed as adventurers. Why these knights had come all the way here required going back in time.

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Three Holy Knights visited the adventurer’s guild.

They received various stories and current situations from the receptionist, Ralli.

Among them was the story of the prohibition of entry into the mountains. But perhaps the timing was fortunate.

“Are you really lucky?”

Shortly afterward, Ralli informed them that the prohibition on entering the mountains had been lifted.

“What will you do? Sir. Shall I give you a request related to the mountains?”

Upon her words, Kairen and his companions stepped back for a moment.

Although they were Holy Knights, they had to hide their identities.

They had disguised themselves as adventurers to secretly infiltrate the kingdom, but they felt no discomfort.

Instead, they blended in well.

“Alex, what do you think? It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”

Kairen, the first to speak, expressed doubts about the stories he had heard at the adventurer’s guild.

“It’s definitely strange. Blocking off the mountains without any reason from the royal family.”

Alex also nodded in agreement with Kairen’s question.

Thanks to this, except for themselves, there was not a single adventurer in the guild.

“Hmm.”

Kairen, Alex, Lyden.

The three Holy Knights discussed for a moment what to do next.

“It’s a little unsettling.”

Kairen said.

The prohibition order on the kingdom’s mountains.

It was accurate to say that it was sealed off. And before that, there were incidents of priests and Holy Knights heading to the Sael Kingdom disappearing.

The blockade of the Sael Kingdom’s mountains.

“…”.

The disappearance of members of the White Order.

Something felt suspicious about those two incidents.

At the same time, Kairen didn’t understand.

Why did the royal family control the mountains?

No one knew the reason.

Even the guild officials did not know other than what they said.

Just because the royal family announced it, everyone followed without any complaints.

In fact, for Sael Kingdom, the mountain range was very important.

The potential brought by the mountain range, but above all, it was because of the location of the mountain range.

Once you cross that vast mountain range, you come to the Demon World, which is the northernmost part of the El Dorad continent.

But the Demon World is an unknown place for humans.

There was hardly any information about what dungeons and monsters inhabit there, or what their ranks are.

‘If only we knew that we would know the secret of the dungeon.’

At the same time, it would greatly expand the influence of the Order.

Kairen was interested.

But the reality was a powerless situation where rather than conquering the Demon World, one had to be content with the mountain range serving as a barrier.

Occasionally, on a national scale or by high-ranking adventurers, the Demon World was explored, but the information they obtained was at most about the entrance of the Demon World.

It was a very small part.

Even though it was a very small part, the monsters were by no means easy opponents.

But if they continue to advance, how powerful beings would there be?

That’s why the Demon World spread as a very dangerous place.

Despite the existence of such a dangerous place, the Sael Kingdom survived to this day precisely because of the existence of the mountain range.

The vast mountain range connecting the kingdom and the Demon World served to block the monsters of the Demon World.

But the problem arose here.

A vast area of mountains.

And resources.

Would monsters just sit still in a land that seemed to have no shortage?

The answer was no.

Naturally, dungeons and monsters appeared and established themselves in the mountain range.

With the appearance of monsters, the Sael Kingdom was in imminent danger.

Because at any moment, a monster wave could occur right in front of them.

And the kingdom periodically cleaned the mountain range to prevent sudden monster waves.

However, it was impractical for the kingdom to directly manage such a vast mountain range.

In terms of time and cost, it was a loss.

So, the kingdom entrusted the mountain range to adventurers.

Thanks to that, adventurers could receive more requests than guilds in other regions.

And they could also receive relatively high rewards, so they flocked to the Sael Kingdom.

Good-quality monster materials were a bonus.

But what would happen if the mountain range were sealed off?

Most of the requests from the adventurer guilds in the Sael Kingdom come from the mountain range.

But if the mountain range were sealed, the requests would disappear.

It was inevitable that the footsteps of adventurers who lost their jobs would stop.

Eventually, they would turn their backs and cause another problem.

In the current case, fortunately, it was resolved quickly, but what if this situation had continued?

Dungeons in the mountain range would continue to be abandoned.

The number of monsters would increase, and at worst, one would have to consider monster waves.

In the end, the mountain range was not just a simple barrier to prevent the invasion of the Demon World.

“Why did they seal the mountain range, risking such danger?”

Alex and Lyden also sympathized with Kairen’s words.

It seemed more fitting that the royal family sealed it to conceal something.

‘The royal family tried to hide something from them…’

And the timing was also cunning.

The priests and Holy Knights who were heading to the Sael Kingdom went missing, and the Order planned to visit the kingdom to investigate the matter.

“Is all of this really a coincidence?”

Kairen murmured while looking up at the sky.

Even the timing seemed too perfect.

Just when they had gone to the adventurer’s guild, the prohibition on entering the mountains had been lifted.

‘It’s like they’re urging us to go up the mountains and see for ourselves.’

Perhaps their choices were already predetermined.

After all, the kingdom had also lifted the prohibition on entry.

Kairen made up his mind. Then, he went back into the guild and approached the receptionist.

As Kairen approached, the receptionist, Ralli, smiled at him.

“Has there been anything strange happening in the mountains recently? Even something minor would be fine.”

Kairen asked first.

The mountains were an expansive place.

Their purpose wasn’t to comb through every inch of them.

So, if something had happened, it wouldn’t hurt to find out about it quickly.

“Strange things? Well…”

Ralli also pondered his question.

It was natural to be cautious since this adventurer asked such a question right after they met for the first time.

But the adventurer before her seemed reputable. He even gave her a tip of gold coin.

At least adventurers with skills and money could be trusted.

“Oh, come to think of it, there was one thing.”

Ralli handed Kairen a mission request.

“Dungeon reconnaissance?”

Kairen skimmed through the request.

The mission specified dungeon reconnaissance and was of a silver rank.

However, it didn’t involve subjugation, so it didn’t seem too difficult.

“Oh, three adventurers who took on the mission for that dungeon went missing. So, the rank was upgraded to silver.”

Ralli quickly added some additional explanation.

“Since the mountains were under control, we couldn’t investigate it. How about taking the request since you’re going up the mountains anyway?”

Ralli suggested the request.

In fact, this was also for her benefit.

She didn’t say it directly, but there were already only two groups of adventurers who had visited that particular dungeon.

However, both groups had lost contact.

At first, they were rookies who had just started adventuring.

It didn’t seem too dangerous, so they were given the request, but then they lost contact.

Of course, they could have run away.

There were many adventurers like that, so the probability was high.

However, the thought lingered in Ralli’s mind. Even though she had recommended the dungeon herself.

‘Was it Jane?’

The name of the girl among the three adventurers they had visited came to mind vaguely.

And the second adventurer who took on the request for the dungeon was an adventurer from Earth.

He disappeared after taking on the request with other adventurers.

By now, even she had realized that something was amiss.

However, she wanted to believe it was just a minor hiccup. And now, the opportunity had presented itself.

The men in front were adventurers with gold coins.

Perhaps they could help resolve this situation?

As per Ralli’s wish, Kairen viewed the request positively.

After all, their purpose was information gathering.

It was impossible to comb through the vast mountains entirely.

It might be better to investigate the oddities felt within the guild.

“In that case, let’s go with this.”

A while later, when Kairen accepted the request, Ralli smiled happily.

“Could you also deliver a letter to my colleagues?”

Since delivering news through letters was quite important for adventurers, the guild also handled related tasks.

The contents of the letter were simple.

It stated their intention to investigate the mountains.

The recipient was listed as the leader. And the delivery location was the old building where they had spent the night.

Kairen roughly sketched the location of the dungeon mentioned in the request on the letter and handed it to Ralli.

“Could you deliver it as soon as possible?”

Even if they informed others, it would be meaningless if the letters arrived late.

Fortunately, Ralli nodded in agreement.

“It should arrive by tonight.”

Kairen had already given her one gold coin, and above all, Ralli herself was concerned about this request.

Additionally, with an adventurer who possessed a gold coin, and even had separate companions, this request was bound to succeed.

“May the protection of the goddess be with you…”

The three Holy Knights left the adventurer’s guild and headed straight for the mountains.

Instead of wandering around the mountains, they headed straight for the dungeon marked on the map.

There were days when they felt something was amiss. And today was one of those days.

Before they knew it, they were climbing the mountains.

The blue mountains were incredibly beautiful.

The forest echoed with the sounds of various animals, and the air was refreshing.

But amidst that freshness, there was one presence that disrupted it.

“Goblins. Get ready!”

Goblins were scattered throughout the forest.

Perhaps the activity of monsters had increased during the brief interruption in the adventurers’ journey.

But they were Holy Knights. Despite their guise as adventurers, their skills hadn’t diminished.

– Swoosh! –

Their swords slashed through the goblins’ limbs.

The task ended more easily than expected.

Most of the goblins that had surrounded Kairen’s group were annihilated.

Some goblins managed to flee, but it wasn’t a significant concern.

“Tsk. They were just pests. Doesn’t seem like there’s any connection.”

“True. Let’s just look around a bit more and then head back down.”

Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

There didn’t seem to be anything peculiar.

However, they couldn’t stay in the mountains indefinitely in search of information.

Time was limited until their main force arrived, and they needed to achieve as much as possible before then.

Kairen continued forward, looking at the map on the request.

They had only intended to go as far as the dungeon mentioned in the request.

There was no fear, it was just a simple task to complete comfortably.

Kairen, Alex, and Lyden continued their journey.

Since they had already dealt with the goblins once, there were no other disturbances.

It was peaceful, allowing them to appreciate the surrounding scenery.

“It’s beautiful. Everything is so green, it refreshes the soul.”

“Yeah, the leaves have all turned red.”

“Huh?”

Kairen suddenly felt the conversation had taken an unexpected turn.

“What do you mean, red leaves?”

Kairen asked Alex with uncertainty.

“Why? Can’t you see? All the leaves are red.”

Even Lyden, who had been quiet until now, agreed with Alex’s statement.

“You’re right. The foliage has turned beautifully red.”

Like the blood of the goblins they had just slain.

Wait, something was off.

Was what I’m seeing wrong? No, it’s not even autumn, so how could there be red leaves?

It was strange.

In that moment of confusion, Kairen felt an unseen force seeping into his mind.

He tried to resist it, but to no avail.

“Ah.”

And suddenly, the scenery around them changed beautifully.

Alex and Lyden’s earlier words made sense now.

The trees with red foliage burned like golden flames, while the sky was tinted with a subtle purple hue.

Purple clouds drifted gently, spreading a poetic rhythm through the air.

The purple sun gradually turned redder, resembling a large blob of paint.

The light was blinding.

Beautiful.

It felt like dreaming.

At the same time, there was a sense of melancholy.

It felt like two worlds had opened a door to each other, an inexplicable feeling.

Was this reality, or an illusion?

It didn’t matter.

They just followed where their body led them.

Someone felt like whispering to them.

Why am I here?

Who am I?

Why did I come here?

Someone whispered like that.

Kairen tried to answer those questions in his own way.

“Ah… right, I’m a Holy Knight.”

Kairen spoke with a trembling voice, uttering each word slowly.

And then darkness unfolded.

They were walking through a long darkness.

A moment later, they reached the end of the darkness.

‘An altar?’

Ah.

Was this an altar dedicated to the goddess?

Without hesitation, Kairen climbed onto the altar.

To dedicate himself to the goddess.

To reach the arms of the goddess.

Alex and Lyden also climbed onto the altar.

Whether it was their will or something manipulating them, they couldn’t tell.

Unaware of Celia’s enhancement, they became sacrifices.

– An unidentified shadow offers the Holy Knight of the White Order as a sacrifice to its master. –

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– The absorption of the sacrificed Holy Knight was successful. –

– Acquired the trait [Goddess Faith (D)] from the Holy Knight. Can be used for enhancement. –

“Ah.”

Six short yet long hours passed.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

Most importantly, the abilities gained from the absorbed Holy Knights were amazing.

– The absorption of the sacrificed Holy Knight was successful. –

– Acquired a portion of the Holy Knight’s stat, Divine Power. Can be used for enhancement. –

– Acquired a portion of the Holy Knight’s stat, Divine Power. Can be used for enhancement. –

– [Divine Power] × 9–

– Acquired the Holy Knight’s skill [Judgment of Light (B)]. Can be used for enhancement. –

“Obtaining 9 units of Divine Power?”

Last time, when adventurers were sacrificed, a total of 13 units of Divine Power were obtained.

And all 13 were invested in Maru.

Thanks to that, Maru’s Divine Power stat became Grade E.

– The absorption of the sacrificed Holy Knight was successful. –

– Acquired a portion of the Holy Knight’s stat, Divine Power. Can be used for enhancement. –

– [Divine Power] × 5 –

– Acquired the Holy Knight’s skill [Holy Shield (C)]. Can be used for enhancement. –

But this time, absorbing the three Holy Knights yielded a whopping 14 units of Divine Power.

“This is really amazing.”

Obtained skills of Grade B and Grade C.

And they’re Holy Knight skills, no less.