Chapter 35 – The Crossroads of Promotion (Complete)
“Guys, wake up.”
Starchis, who was the last person in the vigil, woke up the party members after seeing the dawn.
Fortunately, nothing happened during the night.
As if none of the party members had slept soundly, Starchis whispered and woke them all up.
He took the jerky out of his bag and handed it out.
Everyone said thanks and kicked off sleep while chewing beef jerky.
The beef jerky was tough and cold. It also seemed damp.
I tried to buy quality beef jerky, but the taste was still rubbery.
However, if you don’t eat even this, you’ll get tired quickly in battle, so even if you don’t want to eat it, everyone put it in.
Starches are better than the food in Bien, and made an untimely comparison.
Starchis frowned as if his body had stiffened from the cold all night.
He checked his condition and asked.
“Everyone, how are you?”
Bienne closed her eyes and twirled one arm while chewing on the jerky.
“… It’s okay.”
“Let’s all warm up a little before we go. Turn up the heat.”
Lily and Russ, who had already eaten, moved their bodies according to his words.
When I moved in any direction, the slight discomfort that I felt disappeared as I relaxed.
The heat returned to the body that had cooled down throughout the night.
As soon as the sleep ran away from everyone’s faces, Stachis said.
“Now, shall we go back?”
.
.
.
.
The passage of time was added to the traces of the passing day.
Naturally, it didn’t look like it was freshly made.
“… I saw it yesterday, but it went that way.”
Stachis knelt down and pointed in one direction, examining the trail.
The place his fingertips pointed to was filled with fog.
It was early in the morning, so the jungle was now covered in mist.
The trees were already so dense that I couldn’t see far, but the discomfort intensified.
“The fog is so heavy that we have to be more careful. Let’s go carefully.”
There was no option to wait for the fog to dissipate.
Having already decided to camp, we were left behind for the night, and the fog might dissipate at any moment.
Starchis took the lead with those words.
Stone marks on a tree near Viendo.
-Knock knock
****
It was not difficult to trace the traces.
Even if you follow only the grass trodden by the group, the trail continues.
As Starchis walked, he became convinced that the group consisted of a total of 7 animals.
It was a regrettable situation for Starchis, who wanted to find a group of five swords monkeys, but he did not abandon this trail and try to find another group.
I didn’t know how long it would take, and I came here thinking it would be difficult to find a group of 5 in the first place.
Time is not infinite, and the longer you spend in the dungeon, the worse your condition gets.
Rather than wasting time looking for a new group, they decided it was better to find one group quickly and hunt.
Even so, he continued to worry, and he sighed heavily from time to time. Russ, who noticed his troubles, said,
“Chiss, let’s just follow this.”
“Uh?”
“You are worrying. Find another group or not. I think this jungle takes a lot more stamina than I thought. I think it would be better for us to finish quickly.”
Russ’s words became the decisive words that solidified Stachis’ resolve.
Starchis nodded and thought no further, and he followed the increasingly vivid traces.
.
.
.
.
– Bobbing, bobbing
Starchis raised his hand at the faint noise and ordered the party to stop, but the rest of the party heard the same noise and stopped anyway.
– Bobbing, bobbing
The sound of iron shaking and crashing. It was a sound that could only be heard from a knight in heavy armor.
It was the sound of several people moving.
I wondered if another party that entered the dungeon was nearby.
A voice echoed through the fog.
Everyone in the party hid themselves by leaning against thick trees one by one.
I looked to where the sound was coming from.
Soon after, the party showed up.
They were on their way back in the direction the Starches party had come, wearing dirty armor with dirt and other filth on it.
It seemed that he was returning after completing the request.
“Where is the party?”
Realizing that he was a human, one of his arms blocked the front of Starchis, who started talking to him.
It was Russ, clinging to the tree right next to it.
Everyone froze in unison at Russ’ actions.
Russ held a finger to her mouth.
Starchis, who vaguely read her intentions, hid in the tree again and looked at them.
The party that had only seen three or four people now showed up.
7 people.
They were all short, and their gait was awkward.
All were wearing heavy armor from head to toe.
It was like an army of knights.
All were wearing swords, and a purple aura wrapped around the sword of one large man who looked like a captain.
Therefore, it was a magic sword.
‘…Does this make sense?’
They were the sword monkeys they were looking for.
Starchis frowned at her as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
He had never heard of swordsman monkeys wearing armor.
Despite the various tips and advice received from the requesting office, I had not heard of this entity.
‘How…?’
Where did you get the armor from? At first I couldn’t see it because of the fog, but now I can see the bloody armor.
I immediately remembered what that meant.
It was stolen The missing armor of the corpses seen the day before was probably the work of these monkeys.
‘Ha, what are these guys…’
A monkey in front takes off his helmet while playing tricks on the monkey who appears to be the leader.
It was a moment when doubt became certain.
A hairy face with long philtrum emerges from under the helmet.
It was a monkey
The first thought that came to Starchis was, “Let’s pass it on like this.”
There was no need to fight these special entities.
If you have the intelligence to steal people’s armor and protect yourself from head to toe, it wouldn’t be surprising if something more unusual came along.
Having to chase a new group of swordsmen again is far better than fighting those weirdos.
Starchis, who finished grasping the situation, also put a finger to his mouth.
Everyone nodded at his signal.
After that, no one thought to watch the monkey, but leaned against the tree and waited for the sound to go away.
If it wasn’t for Russ, it would have been a big deal, Starchis thought.
-Stupid…Dumb…
The sound is gone
Starchis sighed.
“Huh… What is that?… I’ll have to tell you when I get back to the commissioning office.”
“I see special objects that I haven’t seen in Class C and D as soon as I come to Class B.”
Lily whispers quietly,
“On the way back, let’s check the corpses we saw before. It wasn’t the body the rescue team identified.”
Russ sighs as well.
And at that moment, I felt the ground vibrate.
Once again everyone stiffened and focused to grasp the source of the sound.
-… Thump… Thump…
Something huge was approaching from the direction the monkeys had disappeared.
Tree leaves sway and birds flutter.
I don’t know what kind of monster it was, but everyone in the party thought the same thing.
This is an A-class monster.
Once again, the party member stuck to the tree.
After a while, the sound gets louder and I hear the sound of trees breaking and falling somewhere in the distance.
I expected that the trees blocking the path of the A-rank monsters were falling.
-Woodduk. Thud
The rustling of leaves, the sound of trees breaking, falling, footsteps, the screams of other creatures.
It was so loud that it hurt my ears even if the monster only passed by.
Fortunately, the path the monster was taking and their location didn’t overlap, but just getting closer made my heart race.
Again for a while
The sound fades.
It seemed that the monsters had also passed away.
Even so, a strange tip was sending a warning to Stachis.
The feeling that something is watching them.
Looking around, there was nothing to see.
Then Vien, who was seen, was holding her hands, probably nervous because of the monster.
“Bien, relax now.”
“…I’m fine.”
Vien glanced at Starchis and kneaded her hands again.
– Jjaggrang
I heard a creepy sound that shouldn’t happen now.
As soon as Stachis heard the sound, he shouted out loud.
“Prepare for battle!!”
There was no need to whisper any longer.
Russ drew his sword and shield, and Stachis hid Lily and Vien behind him.
Then he took out his tonfa and looked up.
Numerous knights in heavy armor were hanging from the trees.
“Rooky! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!”
These were the sword monkeys I had seen before.
It came to them taking advantage of the noise of the monster passing by.
Perhaps, while running away from the monsters, they found a Starchis party.
“Get out of the way!!”
The line was broken, with monkeys hanging over them.
Vienne and Lily ran backward first, and Stachis and Russ stepped back, guarding the front.
But they weren’t monkeys just watching.
The monkeys, unable to wield swords while hanging on, landed on the ground one by one and hopped to their left and right to surround them.
This was also unheard of.
The monkeys, who only knew how to wield a sword, were using a tactic.
The more I went, the more I felt that the opponent was serious, but I couldn’t escape now that the battle had already started.
If they come as a tactic, all you have to do is respond with the same tactic.
Stachis and Russ had already learned enough about tactics while working for the Kingdom Guard.
“Bind!”
To spread and block the approaching monkeys, Lily shouted an incantation, but Starchis blocked it again.
“Sister!! Save mana!”
“Even under this circumstance?!”
“That’s my sister’s enemy!”
Starchis pointed at the sky with his tonfa.
Still clinging to a tree, the black monkey watched the battle.
Starchis looked at Russ and bobbed his head to her left.
Russ nodded her head first and ran to her left.
“Bien, Lily noona, stick close to me and follow me.”
-Bang!
Russ raised her shield and ran into one of her heavy armored monkeys.
The monkey falls over, creating a gap in space.
Stachis jumped through the gap she had pierced.
Bienne and Russ followed him.
When the encirclement was broken, the monkeys running behind and to the right turned and chased them.
Starchis blocked one of the monkeys that approached first.
A sword that swings from top to bottom.
– Knock! Kakak..
Blocking the sword, Stachis held his breath with unexpected power.
He was told he was strong for being a monkey, but it was more than I expected.
It wasn’t stressful, but it wasn’t pleasant either.
While he stopped one of the monkeys, Vien and Lily ran into the gap the rest of the party had dug.
The siege is out.
Russ was trying to suffocate the swordsman she had laid down.
It looked like a golden opportunity since he was lying down, but unexpectedly, the fallen monkey was outraged, and he couldn’t find a part to attack because he was surrounded by armor.
Her sword was good at slicing through soft things like leather, but it had no power against her armor.
Rather, it should have been Starchis to end the monkeys’ breath now.
“Russ! Don’t try!”
“Chit!”
Giving up on ending her life on Starchis’ orders, she turned to defend Vienne and Lily.
-Ugh
Starchis’s body was wrapped in white light, and he felt the sword of the monkey facing him lighten.
It was Bien’s buff.
Using that power, Starchis pushed back the sword of the opposing monkey and knocked it over with his kick.
Then he headed to the place where the party gathered to protect Vien and Lily.
When the two monkeys fall, the chief monkey jumps from the tree.
The monster takes out its own demonic sword. Just looking at it gave me an ominous energy.
“Sister, don’t let that come close. Do not spare mana.”
As soon as Stachis finished speaking, the black ape drew his sword and ran towards them, but he couldn’t take three steps and stopped.
The vines next to it came alive and tied the monkey’s hands and feet.
Lily had already stretched out her hands her and was casting her spell her.
A blue light like a firefly flickered around her hand.
Seeing that, two monkeys attacked Lily at the same time, but Russ blocked it alone.
Starchis swung the tonfa and struck the head of her monkey, which she had blocked.
The helmet was crushed in one blow, and red blood gushed out through all the gaps in the helmet like juice.
The condition of the body was excellent.
The monkey, whose head exploded, collapsed helplessly.
6 left.
Starches says
“These, I don’t know why they’re wearing armor, but it’s no big deal. The strangest thing I’ve seen is that captain. That captain must have given these monkeys armor and taught them tactics.”
“Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!”
Tied up chief monkey shakes its body and screams.
A rock rises from the vicinity and lands on the black monkey’s head.
The rock broke and the monkey was fine.
Instead, the helmet comes off.
I saw a monkey’s face with a terribly grim expression.
She spills the monkey’s sword Russ was blocking and cuts off her finger without her armor.
The monkey whose finger had been cut off screamed and let go of the sword and ran away.
– Dududuk.
The chief monkey, who had been screaming, tore off the vine with force and ran again.
Lily spared her mana and bound her captain again.
“Go back!”
Tied up, but as the captain draws closer, the party widens their distance.
The cry of an angry black monkey bursts out.
It went smoothly.
.
.
.
.
.
After moving back a few times, tying up the chief monkey, and catching the monkeys who attacked by instinct, soon there was no one left except the chief monkey.
If four of them attacked at the same time, it was the only risk, but it was easy for Russ and Starchis, who worked for the Kingdom Guard and especially had a lot of experience in interpersonal combat.
One by one, they suffocated or crippled them, and they were confronting the last remaining black monkey.
Lily gasped for her breath.
It was difficult to use all the mana, but squeezing it all at once in a short amount of time was a very difficult action.
But Lily had played her part well, and now her chief ape would do well to stand in her bloodstains her.
“Sister, try harder.”
With Staches cheering, Lily poked her finger in the air.
A sharp rock appeared from the floor and passed through the shoulder of the captain who was spitting blood from his mouth.
As the mana ran out, the vines that bound the monkey lost their power and loosened.
It wasn’t just the vine that lost its power. The last remaining black monkey also fell backwards with a flurry.
The B-class quest was over.
At first, I wondered what would happen when I met such a special object, but it was done quietly and easily without anyone getting hurt.
Vienne poured her holy energy on the gasping Lily.
“… Good work.”
“It was easier than I thought, isn’t it Chis?”
“I know. Everyone did a good job. Noona, good job.”
“Haha…”
Russ and Starchis turned around and looked at the ace they had protected.
Even though she was panting and struggling, Lily’s face her was full of pride.
It was a lot easier than everyone was worried about.
Maybe it’s this easy because I’m fully prepared for worrying about that.
Upon returning home, Stachis made up his mind to thank the receptionist, Marshall, once again.
“… Uh?”
Bien looked behind Stachis and spat out a weak sound.
Stachis turned his head accordingly.
The black monkey, who had been knocked down, stood up again.
“.. What..”
The monkey moved his hand to his waist and took out something that was not a magic sword.
Curly paper. Slowly, the black monkey opened the paper.
Lily’s eyes widen.
“Ha..!.. Haha! Everyone..! Haha…!”
Before she could tell them to evade, the monkey tore the scroll.
-Bang!!!
At the same time as the scroll was torn apart, an explosive gust of wind hit them.
Not only Russ, who could n’t hold her stance properly, but also Vienne, who could n’t hold on her due to her lack of strength her, and Lily, who was gasping for lack of mana, was swallowed up by the wind and rolled on her floor.
-Chack!
Only Stachis, who was in better shape than usual, stood up to the gust of wind.
He wrapped his arms around his head and stood firm against the wind.
So it was only seen in the eyes of Starchis.
The Grand Ape threw the torn scroll on the floor and climbed into the gust of wind to raise the demonic sword.
At the speed of the wind, the monkey came towards the party.
It was directed at Lily, who had continued to bind and torment him with her magic.
-Tadat
-Pook
When the magic of the scroll ended, the three women came to their senses and raised their heads.
It wasn’t over yet. The black monkey was alive.
A situation where he fell and lost his position due to the wind.
A shadow stood in front of me as I panicked at this defenseless situation and a sudden crisis situation and fear approached.
It was Starches.
Again, he would protect them.
Again, he blocked the fear instead.
Without falling alone.
It wasn’t once or twice that I saw that wide back in a crisis situation.
It was always such a reassuring back.
But this time it was the first time.
“…?”
Starchis’ body was shaking.
At the moment of doubt, a red acid rises from Stachis’ shoulder.
“… Uh?”
It was the blade.
Even the purple demons bloomed on the reddish blade of Starchis’ blood.
It was engraved in their eyes that Magi was seeping into Starchis.
Starchis got her down on one knee.
“””… Starchis?”””
“Cool..”
Starchis vomited her blood.
