Chapter 111: Chapter 111

The newbie knight approached Ragan, and a selection window appeared in front of Jeong-Hoon.

[Choose the next option.]

– Stabilize the monster wave! Quest execution

– Wait in the royal palace

At that time, Kaneda Shun had chosen ‘Wait in the royal palace’.

His main goal was to find traces of the Dark Lord in the royal palace.

NPC Karyan was the name of the old man who worked in the underground prison inside the royal palace.

Finding that old man was the first step to entering the hidden class questline.

Of course, after losing to Jeong-Hoon, the chance to get the hidden class had disappeared forever.

Ah, the path to the Dark Lord itself hadn’t disappeared.

If he handed over the Dark Lord’s Memoir he had to someone else, and that person entered the royal palace with the mark obtained from the party quest, they could get the chance for the hidden class.

‘The problem is that Kaneda Shun will never hand it over.’

If things continued like this, the Dark Lord would never come out into the world.

He had seen the power of the Dark Lord to his heart’s content in his previous life.

It was a pity for that power to completely disappear.

‘But it’s better than him getting it.’

Jeong-Hoon, unlike Kaneda Shun, chose ‘Stabilize the monster wave!’.

It wasn’t just Kaneda Shun who had entered the royal palace.

‘I’m the first one to clear this quest in the royal palace.’

Bruce Willis, who was once his colleague.

He wasn’t a traitor.

He had died in a dungeon two years before his colleagues betrayed Jeong-Hoon.

“No… There’s no need for you to step up. I’ll give instructions to my direct subordinate, so go and wait.”

Ragan tried to refuse once Jeong-Hoon chose the option.

“Is this a situation where we have the luxury to argue about that?”

“That’s not it, but…”

“Then let’s go for now. If it seems impossible, I’ll run away.”

“Phew, you’re quite stubborn.”

The corners of Ragan’s mouth twitched slightly.

He hadn’t expected him to volunteer to help.

This was the first time he had seen such an outsider.

Judging by his level alone, he didn’t seem like he would be of much help, but it was better than nothing.

If it seemed dangerous, he could just evacuate him before the battle started.

[You have chosen an option.]

[A quest has been generated.]

A red question mark blinked above Ragan’s head as he chose the option.

[Hidden Quest: Stabilize the Monster Wave!]

– Restriction: Choose the ‘Stabilize the monster wave!’ option.

– Reward: ? (Varies depending on contribution)

– Description: Stabilize the sudden monster wave.

The way to stabilize it was simple.

Hunt all the monsters pouring out from the wave, leaving none behind.

Jeong-Hoon immediately accepted the quest.

“…Retreat immediately if it’s dangerous.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then let’s go right away.”

With those words, Ragan’s information changed.

===

[NPC Information]

– Nickname: Ragan

– Level: 250

– Class: Märchen Kingdom Knight Commander

===

He wasn’t just a knight, but the Knight Commander leading the Knights Templar.

* * *

The northern part of the royal palace was barren land.

As if the monster wave hadn’t happened just once, there was no sign of life around.

When the wave started, monsters poured out like a flood and attacked the wall.

“Barrier!”

The mages residing in the royal palace gathered and created a barrier to protect the wall.

Meanwhile, the knights surrounded the monsters.

[Lv. 183 Blood Orc]

Orcs reaching 3 meters tall and ogres even larger at 4 meters.

“We have to stop the monsters from reaching the civilians!”

The moment the Blood Orcs breached the wall and crossed over to the capital, the situation would take a turn for the worse.

Buildings would collapse, and the streets would be overflowing with corpses.

In the past, there had been an incident where the defense against the wave had failed, and the Märchen Kingdom had almost been destroyed, so they had to succeed in defending even more.

Knights with shields stood in the first row, facing the charging orcs.

Behind them, archers shot arrows at the orcs.

But the mana arrows couldn’t even scratch the orcs’ tough red skin.

“Humans! Get out of the way!”

“We will destroy the castle and kill all humans!”

The orcs shouted loudly and charged at the knights.

[The Blood Orcs use ‘Morale Decrease’.]

[The Blood Orcs use ‘Ferocity’.]

As the monsters used their special abilities, the morale of the knights decreased, and the orcs’ aggressiveness doubled.

“Block them!”

“We can’t let them through!”

The knights’ faces hardened.

Being breached here meant the end.

At that moment, dozens of wind blades sliced through the orcs’ skin.

“Wind Cutter.”

The mages on the wall cast Wind Cutter, helping the knights escape the crisis.

“Fireball.”

The next prepared magic was Fireball.

It wasn’t the basic Fireball.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It was a maximized Fireball, dozens of times larger than a normal Fireball, and its condensed mana was incomparable.

A fireball as hot as lava engulfed the Blood Orcs.

“Kraaagh!”

“Uwaaaagh!”

The orcs screamed at the intense heat.

But soon, the intense flames disappeared in an instant.

[The Blood Orc Shaman uses ‘Absorption’.]

The Blood Orc wasn’t the only monster that emerged from the wave.

[Lv. 200 Blood Orc Shaman]

A Blood Orc Shaman, the boss of these monsters, was hiding.

[The Blood Orc Shaman uses ‘Release’.]

The shaman absorbed the massive Fireball the mages had prepared and used Release to send the magic back towards the wall.

The barrier’s damage instantly exceeded 50%.

“Rebuild the barrier!”

The mages, not panicking at all, rebuilt the barrier and withstood the Fireball.

It was an amazing display of composure.

“Now’s the time!”

“Advance!”

In that gap, the knights advanced and started to pressure the orcs.

It was unacceptable for the elite troops protecting the Märchen Kingdom to be defeated by such monsters.

“Kekeke, foolish humans. Did you think you could defeat us with just this?”

At that moment, a chilling voice reached their ears.

At the same time, the Blood Orc Shaman used another ability.

[The Blood Orc Shaman uses ‘Rampage’.]

Rampage.

[The level of the Lv. 183 Blood Orcs rapidly increases.]

Along with the message that their levels were rapidly increasing, their sizes grew larger and larger.

The orcs, who were 3 meters tall, grew to nearly 4.5 meters.

[Lv. 211 Blood Orc]

Their levels also increased by a whopping 28.

“This is ridiculous…”

“Huh…”

The knights’ faces were filled with dismay.

Their average level was 170.

They had somehow managed to hold on when the enemies were level 183, but if they surpassed level 210, it was a different story.

The slight chance of victory they had was completely gone.

That was when it happened.

Whoosh!

A sonic boom erupted from the top of the wall.

It was the sound of air being ripped apart, completely different from the sound of arrows before.

And that arrow accurately pierced the forehead of the boss shaman, who was inside the group of monsters.

“Keuk!”

The monster pierced by the arrow screamed.

That wasn’t all.

Whoosh!

Several more arrows were shot in the same direction.

[The Blood Orcs’ Rampage stops.]

The Blood Orcs’ rampage stopped, and they returned to their original size.

* * *

When Jeong-Hoon arrived at the north wall with Ragan, the soldiers were confronting the monsters.

Fortunately, they arrived in time, and there were no casualties yet.

“Commander!”

One of the knights spotted Ragan and brightened up.

“You’ve done well to hold on. I’ll take command from now on.”

Ragan stepped forward and looked up at the top of the wall.

There was an outsider there, taking out a bow and pulling the string.

‘I’ll go to the top of the wall.’ Jeong-Hoon said to Ragan

‘Huh? Why? You seem to be a martial artist.’

To Ragan, he looked like a martial artist, not a mage.

‘I am a martial artist, but I can also handle a bow.’ Jeong-Hoon explained

‘A bow…? No, the distance is too far, even if you can. Wouldn’t it be better to join the archers?’

‘There’s nothing to lose, so please trust me just this once.’

Jeong-Hoon said and headed towards the wall, parting ways with Ragan.

“…That’s unbelievable archery.” Ragan thought to himself

At first, he was doubtful, but the one who had just stopped the monsters’ rampage was that outsider.

To think he hunted the Blood Orc Shaman hiding with a bow.

How could a martial artist have such archery skills?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t explain it.

Whoosh!

The outsider released the bowstring again and shot an arrow.

The arrow accurately hit the temple of the Blood Orc in front of Ragan.

“Keheuk!”

The monster let out a dying scream and collapsed.

“…Charge!”

Ragan commanded the knights and began to confront the monsters.

And the mages prepared their magic while glancing at the outsider.

The outsider who suddenly appeared, claiming to be reinforcements, and started shooting arrows.

At first, they wanted to kick him out immediately.

How dare an outsider enter the sacred royal palace?

But the arrow he shot killed the Blood Orc Shaman, turning the tide in favor of the Märchen Kingdom.

[You guys are going to wear me out! Stop staring!]

Mukho shouted, displeased with their gazes.

The problem was that his shouts didn’t reach them.

‘Be quiet. You’re giving me a headache.’

Jeong-Hoon also summoned Michael here.

“Yes, Master.”

The mages flinched as Michael appeared out of nowhere.

“Can you see the monsters down there?”

“Yes? Ah… Um, they seem stronger than I thought?”

“Help them hunt.”

“Haha… Master, my level is still a bit low.”

“I think 164 is pretty high.”

“But those guys… they’re 20 levels higher than me.”

“So?”

“What if I go down there and get instantly killed…?”

After taming Michael, he realized that this guy was definitely the type to pick on the weak and fear the strong.

“You just have to provide cover from behind, right?”

“Aha! That’s true! Understood!”

Only then did Michael go down.

Michael, who went down, used necromancy to support the knights.

“Whoa! What’s that?”

“Is it a monster?!”

The knights were terrified by the sudden appearance of the ghosts.

“You bastards! I came to help, and you’re freaking out at the sight of my ghosts?! Go fight now!”

Michael barked at the knights.

[Rewards will be determined based on contribution.]

The reason Jeong-Hoon had also summoned Michael was simple.

It was because of the contribution.

Even just Michael, as a summon, supporting the knights increased his contribution, so there was no reason not to summon him.

‘Shall I hunt some too?’

Jeong-Hoon stepped forward, pulled the bowstring, and aimed at a Blood Orc.

The arrow shot out, drawing a parabola and piercing the back of the Blood Orc’s neck.

“Keheuk!”

The monster grabbed the embedded arrow and froze.

Jeong-Hoon shot another arrow, piercing its temple and ending its life.

“Waaaah!”

“Kill them!”

The morale of the knights rose every time a monster fell.

Under Ragan’s command, the knights’ swords slashed through the monsters’ flesh.

“Kraaagh!”

“We can’t lose like this!”

“Kill the humans!”

The Blood Orcs struggled and pushed the knights, but as time passed, it was they who were falling to the ground.

“The arrows! If it weren’t for these arrows!”

“Those damn arrows! I can’t move after getting hit by them!”

“I can’t use my abilities!”

“Uwaaagh! I’m so angry!”

The Blood Orcs cried out.

The arrows that were flying now.

They were just arrows, but once they hit, it was a critical wound.

In the end, after an hour.

Unlike their declaration to kill the humans, not a single Blood Orc was left standing.

[The 1st Wave is over.]

[Your current contribution is 71.54%.]

The contribution was displayed as the 1st Wave ended.

‘Good. After the 2nd Wave ends, I’ll easily surpass 75%.’

75%.

It was the number required to receive the maximum reward for this quest.