Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

65 – To Save the Lamb (Part 2)

A youth with golden hair and blue eyes.

He wore the armor of the White Order and carried a sword.

“I am Knight Eric.”

Bowing his head, he confidently introduced himself as Eric.

He was a knight of the White Order.

“I am tasked with guiding the lost lambs to the presence of the goddess.”

Knight Eric smiled warmly as he looked at the surrounding adventurers.

The adventurers, too, directed their gaze towards Eric.

His first impression was slightly stern due to being a knight.

However, that impression faded as Eric extended his hand first.

“If it’s alright, may I guide you all to the revered presence?”

Everyone chuckled at the words of Knight Eric.

‘A revered presence?’

But soon, they accepted the meaning without much concern.

Perhaps the revered presence the knight spoke of referred to the goddess.

And the offer to guide them to the goddess implied resolving their current dilemmas.

Although he circled around the meaning of his words, it was a common trait of knights.

Rough and loyal, with a demeanor focused solely on the goddess.

That was the usual perception of knights.

But the Knight Eric before them was something similar yet different.

With a rugged appearance and a dry, emotionless voice, Eric extended a helping hand first.

His rough exterior revealed a human aspect.

Therefore, adventurers began to let go of their guard against Eric.

“Alright! I can go anywhere if it’s where the goddess is!”

The adventurer who first ran towards the knight spoke.

She positioned herself next to Eric as she spoke.

“Oh, that’s truly correct. May I inquire about your name?”

“Nella, it’s Nella. Meeting a knight here, I must be really lucky!”

Her name was Nella.

Even as an adventurer, she was a fervent believer in the doctrine.

Meeting a knight in the mountains made her happy, and she introduced herself to Eric with a bright smile.

“Nella… a beautiful name you have.”

Eric responded with a mysterious smile to Nella’s reply.

Then, he looked at the other adventurers and spoke.

“Well, let’s not linger here. Let’s move to another spot. We’re just a short distance away from where my comrades are gathered.”

Comrades?

Everyone reacted to the words of the knight Eric.

If someone is a knight’s comrade, the chances are very high that they are also a knight.

Even if not, they would at least be associated with the order.

Traveling with them meant ensuring their safety, if nothing else.

Of course, they were safe even now.

They hadn’t encountered a single monster or bandit.

However, the mountain range was far from being an easygoing place.

Even though it seemed safe now, the situation could change suddenly.

If luck wasn’t on their side, they could encounter monsters at any time, and the mountains were a place where they might lose their lives to a bandit gang.

Meeting a knight in a situation where variables could appear at any time was the best fortune.

A moment ago, an adventurer who had been grumbling leaned towards Eric’s words.

“All right. We’ll follow.”

The adventurer who quickly agreed to follow the knight was named Siloin.

He had different thoughts in his mind.

“It’s probably better than staying here.”

The group he was in now was mostly indecisive.

Moreover, there was no guide like Nariel who could find traces here.

Following the originally intended footprints had already lost its meaning in this situation.

In such circumstances, receiving the knight’s favor was one of the better choices.

The request is to inspect the overall reconnaissance and trends regarding the mountain range.

In a broader sense, one could consider the current actions within the scope of the request.

‘But there’s something more.’

He wondered why the holy knights were in the mountains now.

If only he could find out that fact, it would be a significant gain.

‘Perhaps…’

Suddenly, one possibility came to mind.

The one who gave them the task is a noble from the Sale Kingdom.

And it was said that the White Order visits the Sale Kingdom.

Such a noble from the Sale Kingdom sent the request.

But is it really a coincidence that they meet the holy knights in the mountains, the location of the request?

Siloin, thinking that the two were somehow connected, immediately followed Eric.

As one by one, other adventurers naturally began to follow the holy knight as well.

Everyone closely followed the holy knight.

It was like the shape of a baby bird following its mother bird.

It was evidence of how much they trusted the Order.

“But why are you here, Sir Knight? What’s going on?”

Nella, who was walking beside him, spoke to the holy knight Eric.

Eric remained silent for a moment, then turned his head towards Nella.

“There are those who dare to challenge the great presence. Oh, don’t worry. Everything will be over soon.”

Challenging the goddess undoubtedly means there are wicked heretics.

From Noble mtl dot com

Since such an incident occurred, the holy knights must have been dispatched.

Nella agreed with Eric’s words.

The conversation was brief.

The procession began again.

Adventurers walked for a while following Eric.

No, not just for a while.

Before they knew it, they had reached a cave they had never seen before.

“My colleagues are waiting here.”

Eric took action, telling everyone that there were comrades inside the cave.

“It’s a really cleverly hidden place.”

One of the adventurers muttered as they looked at the cave.

As mentioned, the location of the cave was subtly obscured by trees and vines.

Under normal circumstances, they probably would have missed it.

Silorin also looked at the cave.

Even while looking, he felt slightly uneasy.

“Are there really other knights inside?”

For some reason, he felt strange.

Above all, would it be okay to enter?

He discreetly took out an artifact from his pocket.

It was an item commonly used among adventurers to determine whether it was a dungeon or not.

“It’s not a dungeon.”

Luckily, the cave wasn’t a dungeon.

Since there was no energy detected from the start, it was more accurate to consider it a regular cave.

Silorin, after confirming, moved his steps into the dungeon, following the other adventurers.

“…”

Inside the dungeon was eerie.

Not a single breeze, yet it emanated a chilling atmosphere.

Intermittent sounds of dripping water from the ceiling echoed in their ears.

A quiet silence.

And a chilling space.

The combination of the two created an illusion of a single abyss.

Everyone gazed at Eric’s back, sharing such thoughts.

Eric didn’t say a word.

He just kept walking silently.

Then, three paths appeared.

Knight Eric remained silent as ever.

Just like before, he simply walked forward.

Though three paths emerged, he entered the first path on the far left, just like earlier.

Others followed Eric without any suspicion.

As they entered the first alley, a somber energy increased more than before.

It was so chilling that it sent shivers down their spines.

“Um… Sir Knight?”

Something was off.

Nella, who was right behind Eric, spoke to him.

“Are there really comrades here…?”

It might just be an unnecessary feeling.

But a strong intuition told them that there might not be other knights here.

And that intuition seemed to sound a warning of danger in their minds.

Even at Nella’s exclamation, Eric didn’t stop.

He just walked forward.

But then, something strange happened.

“hehehe… hehehehe!”

Nella suddenly started laughing like a mad person.

She brought both hands to her head and continued to laugh.

“hehehehe!”

Laughing and laughing.

And then, strength entered the hands holding her head.

Thunk-

With the sound of bones, her head twisted in a bizarre direction.

Even though Nella’s head twisted, her expression remained as if she were still laughing.

“Damn!”

Siloin at the rear of the procession cursed, drawing his sword.

At this point, even if they didn’t want to know, they couldn’t help but realize.

Things were going wrong.

Starting with Siloin’s action, the adventurers also stopped in their tracks.

And everyone drew their swords.

But those swords lost their direction.

They didn’t even know where they were supposed to go in the first place.

“hahahaha!”

Adventurers, emitting laughter reminiscent of the deceased Nella, increased one by one.

The sight of everyone laughing the same way was so peculiar that it gave an uncomfortable and eerie feeling.

Adventurers, laughing like mad, raised their swords.

The direction of the swords was twofold.

Their own throats.

Or the throats of the opponents in front of them.

Once the direction of the swords was decided, they mercilessly swung them.

The air was filled with the scent of thick blood.

The joyous laughter of everyone echoed and reverberated.

Crimson liquids scattered into the air.

“W-what is this…!”

Cyrilin was astonished by the unfolding situation before his eyes.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that everyone had lost their minds.

At least, just looking at himself, everything seemed normal.

But the problem was that others were swinging their swords randomly.

Even if they had lost their minds, they were still the same people.

There was hesitation in his sword.

“….”

However, a moment of hesitation resulted in a completely different outcome.

Someone’s sword pierced Cyrilin’s throat.

Blood started spurting from his throat.

Cyrilin’s vision turned red.

His eyes closed gradually.

The scene he saw just before closing his eyes.

“S-spare me!”

“Please…!”

It was truly a chaotic scene.

His body collapsed to the ground.

The bodies of other adventurers also crumbled to the ground.

The final count of remaining adventurers was seven.

However, none of them were unscathed.

Their bodies were stained with crimson marks all over.

Wearing expressions unknown, they simply smiled as if in ecstasy.

It was only when the Paladin Eric, who had been ignored until a moment ago, approached.

“As expected, my comrades.”

In this place, there were beings floating around.

Like entities that seemed to exist while not existing, like ethereal ghosts.

They were all Venci.

It was because Venci had manipulated the minds of the adventurers that the current situation had unfolded.

And Eric, too, was a Paladin in the past.

But now, he was nothing more than a being whose mind had succumbed to Venci.

“Brothers and sisters who have received mercy from the Great One.”

Eric smiled as if satisfied.

“Go.”

Eric raised his hand, pointing to the corridor leading outside.

“Impose judgment on those who dare block the path before the great presence.”

He whispered quietly, as if in a murmur.

“Lead them all to the embrace of the goddess.”

The bloodied adventurers began to rush forward.

* * *

– Celia offers adventurers as sacrifices to my master.

– Celia offers adventurers as sacrifices to my master.

Countless alarms resounded.

– Celia offers adventurers as sacrifices to my master.

– Celia offers adventurers as sacrifices to my master.

– Celia offers adventurers as sacrifices to my master.

It had been a long time since offerings were made.

– Celia offers adventurers as sacrifices to my master.

– Celia offers adventurers as sacrifices to my master.

However, this time, what mattered wasn’t the sacrificed offering.

A new alert accompanied the emergence of a new system.

– The number of sacrificed offerings has reached a certain threshold.

– Obtained the unlocking clue for the next system.

[Dungeon Monster Enhancement System] (Locked)

The system revealed was none other than the Monster Enhancement System.

It was something I had seen when I first acquired the ‘True Owner of the Dungeon’ trait.