The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices - Chapter 81: Skeleton Holy Knight (3)

The dungeon monsters keep offering sacrifices – 081

EP.81 Skeleton Holy Knight (3)

“What does that mean?”

Riana, emerging from the Count’s mansion, immediately shouted to her subordinates upon arrival.

“Why have some members disappeared?”

“That… those members have not yet returned.”

Three Holy Knights, who were on a mission, have not yet returned.

Riana closed her eyes at the report from her subordinate.

It was late afternoon now. Soon the sun would set, and evening would come.

Others who went out for information gathering had already returned, leaving only those who had not yet come back.

“It’s not just a simple delay, is it? It’s possible when carrying out a mission, right?”

She hoped for the possibility.

A mission didn’t always end at a set time.

If there were problems, the mission could be delayed.

But if such a situation existed, there would have been some mention of it, no matter how subtle.

“Were there no separate mentions from those members?”

To Riana’s question, the subordinate nodded slightly.

“Ah…”

At least she felt some relief at that.

But the problem was that the relief didn’t last long.

“In any case, mail arrived a little while ago. It’s from the Adventurer Guild…”

“The Adventurer Guild?”

Riana quickly seized the mail her subordinate brought out from his pocket.

Then she tore it open and checked the contents immediately.

“… ”

The contents were simple.

It included a brief explanation related to the current situation in the Sael Kingdom and their intention to explore the mountain range.

A simple map was enclosed, indicating the location of the dungeon they would head to.

“The situation isn’t looking good.”

Judging from the current situation, it seemed that the three missing Holy Knights had sent a letter to her before climbing the mountain range.

And it had been several hours since she received the letter.

Yet there was still no news?

It was definitely not a good sign.

“Let’s think while on the move for now.”

What was needed now was quick situational judgment and time.

Riana quickly boarded the carriage.

Currently, Riana was disguised as a merchant, and the surrounding Holy Knights were disguised as adventurers escorting her.

Therefore, the condition of the carriage was not very good.

“Move as quickly as possible.”

The carriage began to move slowly.

Inside the moving carriage, Riana ran her hand through her hair.

‘Things have gotten complicated.’

Even though it was temporary, she currently held the position of vice commander of the Holy Knight White Order.

Before that, she had served as the deputy to the commander.

Thanks to this, she had earned considerable trust within the organization, and this time she was entrusted with a heavy mission.

But what if she failed in managing her members and couldn’t succeed in the mission?

She would surely be dismissed.

But the problem was that dismissal wouldn’t be the end.

‘My position would be over.’

She had grown up watching the organization since she was young, and she had blindly followed its words with loyalty.

Her life could be seen as synonymous with the organization.

But because of this incident, there was a possibility that all her efforts so far would go to waste.

‘That’s something I absolutely cannot allow.’

Riana continued to think about how to remedy the current situation.

While Riana was pondering, the carriage had already arrived at their headquarters.

There, it was already filled with Holy Knights who had completed their missions and returned.

But the three were still missing.

Now was the time to choose.

Whether to search for the missing members or to proceed with the mission without them.

Of course, choosing the latter from the beginning was not an option.

In that case, she would shake hands with controversies about her qualifications as vice commander.

Ultimately, there was only one choice.

‘I must find the missing members first.’

Fortunately, they had accurately recorded their whereabouts.

If they had simply headed to the mountains without a map, Riana might have given up from the beginning.

The mountains were vast.

Even if they had revealed themselves as Holy Knights and armed themselves to the teeth, their current adventurer equipment was sorely lacking.

However, it wasn’t wise to go straight to find them.

There must be a legitimate reason for everything, and the benefits of simple actions must be prioritized.

Riana fell into thought again.

The three missing subordinates.

They had headed to the mountains.

The letter they sent contained details about the current situation in the Sael Kingdom.

The most notable thing in it was the strict prohibition by the royal family on entering the mountains.

‘What could it be?’

Riana tilted her head.

If monsters had appeared, it would have been normal to issue a subjugation order instead of a prohibition on entry.

This was also the case with monster waves.

But this time, adventurers were also prohibited from entering.

If it had been related to monsters, the royal family would have tried to utilize adventurers more than anyone else.

But they didn’t.

It was as if they were trying to hide something that shouldn’t be discovered.

‘…Hide?’

For a moment, her mind flashed and sparkled.

Thoughts came together like scattered puzzle pieces suddenly assembling.

It was strange from the beginning.

The mountains were important terrain for the Sael Kingdom.

Yet they were blocking it off?

‘If they were hiding something, what could it be?’

Resources?

No.

This was probably for a reason similar to the monsters earlier.

As Riana pondered, one puzzle piece came to her mind.

What if the missing Holy Knights and priests were actually related to the Sael Kingdom?

“…”

It was a chilling assumption.

Until now, it had just been the church’s claim to pressure the Sael Kingdom.

But what if it was true?

If the Sael Kingdom had really done something to cover it up somehow?

It sent shivers down her spine.

But at the same time, she smiled slightly.

‘It might actually be an opportunity.’

Perhaps the subordinates who climbed the mountain had thought this far as well.

Then things became simple.

What if something had happened to the subordinates on this mission?

The voice of the Order would grow louder.

If this incident were handled well, they could neutralize the Sael Kingdom itself.

Touching the Order was that kind of thing.

The truth didn’t matter.

As long as she held the key to this puzzle.

Whatever the royal family countered with, if she took the initiative first, it would be over.

If they complained about why the entry to the mountains was prohibited, she could seize upon that.

Regardless of the process, she could find the answer to all of these mysteries.

Once this line of thought occurred to her, the next action was swift.

“Everyone, gather!”

It was time to go find the missing personnel.

====

***

====

“In serving the master, the next most important thing is power.”

Celia said, raising a finger.

“If Sir Maru doesn’t have the power to protect the master, everything become useless.”

“Tick!”

Maru also nodded his head.

Indeed, Maru had learned a lot since coming here.

Indeed, Celia was not just a general manager for no reason.

“Then shall we try a real battle? Since a group is coming to find the missing colleagues.”

Celia had skillfully handled the three adventurers.

In fact, they were Holy Knights who had infiltrated the Sael Kingdom.

Knowing this, Celia also anticipated that they would come to find their missing colleagues soon.

“But Sir Maru is too vulnerable to divine power. It’s not favorable to face Holy Knights.”

Maru’s affinity with Holy Knights was extremely poor, as he was an undead monster.

Even if Maru’s grade had been 5 stars, he wouldn’t have known, but currently, he was 4 stars.

No matter how he fought with a demon sword, it would be difficult if several Holy Knights rushed at him.

“Luckily, there’s something good.”

As if she had a thought, Celia called a skeleton knight standing nearby.

“Bring Sir Death Knight.”

====

***

====

Darkness comes quickly in the mountains.

As the evening sun barely seeped through the trees, casting long shadows, the forest gradually began to be engulfed in darkness.

And amidst that darkness, there were those wandering through the forest.

They were the Holy Knights of the White Order.

The sunlight seeping through the trees added a gleam to the swords they held, making them look like shining stars in the darkness from afar.

“…”

However, strangely, this forest was quiet.

In a place where the sounds of nature should have filled the air, there were no bird chirps, no whispers of the wind, no cries of insects.

This silence brought great unease to them.

The trees seemed to have silenced their voices, and the Holy Knights felt an unknown gaze from somewhere as they looked around.

“Vice Commander, wouldn’t it be better to come back when it’s daylight?”

In a place filled with darkness like this, their activities were limited.

Even if they illuminated the area with divine power, they could only drive away the surrounding darkness at best.

That’s why the suggestion made earlier was reasonable.

It was not the right time to carry out the mission.

“We’ve only come this far as marked on the map.”

But her obsession and urgency had paralyzed her rationality.

Temporary or not, she was the one leading the Holy Knights as the vice commander.

In other words, in the current situation, her words and actions were the law.

In the end, she continued to move forward according to her will.

And before she knew it, they had reached the vicinity of the marked location on the map.

Now, it was time for the dungeon to come into view.

They searched their surroundings and proceeded even more slowly.

Soon, creatures appeared, breaking the silent tranquillity of the forest.

– Clatter, clatter… –

The sound of bones clashing grew closer from the darkness.

“Everyone, get ready for battle!”

Riana shouted loudly amidst everyone’s vigilance.

As they scanned the dim light filtering through the trees, their figures became visible.

“Skeletons…?”

Skeleton soldiers, with only eerie bones left, were running towards them with rusty swords in hand.

They were not high-level monsters, but rather the lowest-ranking among skeleton species, skeleton soldiers.

Their number was five.

The tense atmosphere from earlier dissipated in an instant.

Some laughed at the sight of the skeleton soldiers, while others breathed sighs of relief.

“What? Just these guys?”

Feeling relieved that only a 1-star monster had appeared in what they thought was eerie surroundings.

At the same time, it seemed absurd and ridiculous that only 1-star skeleton soldiers had come to face them.

However, Riana chuckled softly as she watched the scene.

“It’s not even a dungeon yet…”

Monsters appearing when it wasn’t even a dungeon.

Of course, monsters could exist outside dungeons.

Especially undead monsters could naturally occur in places overflowing with death energy.

But this was the forest of the mountains.

‘Is it just a coincidence?’

Riana glanced around.

No matter how she looked at it, there seemed to be no reason for skeletons to appear here.

“Die!”

“Undead trying to block our path? Eradicate them!”

The subordinates rushed towards the appearing skeleton soldiers.

Normally, they should have been cautious, but since they were weak monsters, everyone swung their swords excitedly.

They were all Holy Knights.

As they infused divine power into their swords and swung, the skeleton soldiers began to shatter with dim light.

But it didn’t last long.

“Huh? Why are there so many coming out!”

Even if there were many monsters, there were too many.

At first, there were five.

Then, ten skeleton soldiers appeared.

But after dealing with them, fifteen new ones emerged.

“Tsk.”

Riana frowned.

That’s right.

These undead were not natural occurrences.

Somewhere, there must be a monster controlling them.

“They’re being manipulated.”

Surely, they must be observing how to respond to the current situation.

She raised her sword.

And with the annoyance she felt, she shouted loudly.

“Oh goddess, grant your faithful followers the power to purify those unholy beings. [Holy Purification]!”

A bright white light began to emanate from the sword Riana held.

And that white light was directed towards the skeleton soldiers.

A massive light covered the forest.

After a moment, the light gradually faded, and there were no more skeleton soldiers left.

“Maintain formation and continue forward!”

Their position had already been exposed.

Backing off here would only result in more losses.

In such cases, it was better to simply eliminate the threat.

Moreover, the opponents were undead.

Even if their equipment was inadequate, as Holy Knights, they could surely handle them.

Riana and the Holy Knights advanced slowly with their swords drawn.

Fortunately, no additional monsters came during that time.

‘Could it be over already?’

It would be fortunate if it ended like this.

The atmosphere in the mountains was definitely strange, and it was possible to connect it to the Seil Kingdom with the right words.

“Vice Commander! There’s something over there!”

One of the Holy Knights at the forefront shouted.

At his shout, Riana also turned her head in that direction.

“!”

She was simultaneously astonished.

There was a different creature standing there from the skeletons they had seen just before.

That creature was a skeleton dark knight, with its entire body dyed black.

But that wasn’t the problem.

“W-what is that…!”

An evil aura emanated from the sword it held.

And what it was wearing was also an issue.

“… A maid outfit?”

It was a skeleton dark knight wearing a maid outfit and holding a demon sword in one hand.