Chapter 265

In his past life, Zeke had made the Highlander’s Pact with his master, the Hermit of the Forest.

Thanks to his master, he had awakened the Healer class and had been able to open his middle dantian to develop strength that was not inferior to that of knights.

The reason his master had bestowed such power upon Zeke was to make him a Highlander and have him hunt monsters.

In his past life, Zeke had followed his master and hunted countless monsters.

Among them were monsters called the ‘Ancient Species,’ such as Gaguk, whom he had previously caught with King Fist.

Ordinary monsters are usually monsters that have been transformed by demonic energy, or have become chimeras by falling under a wicked ancient curse.

However, the Ancient Species of monsters were different from ordinary ones.

Those wicked beings, whose origins were unknown, killed and devoured other creatures in cunning and cruel ways.

Among such Ancient Species, there are particularly fearsome beings.

Zeke’s master had called those beings the ‘Abnormal Species .’

They were not monsters transformed by demonic energy, but unholy things from another dimension, or beings that had undergone repeated corruption since long ago and had transformed into something completely different from the original.

These Abnormal Species establish their own territory and use other monsters to hunt prey, then devour their souls to grow their wicked power.

Then, when they have grown strong enough, they move to another place and repeat the same thing.

Among these Abnormal Species, the four monsters with the most powerful force were called by the name ‘The Four Perils.’

In his past life, Zeke’s master had captured and personally dealt with two of the Four Perils.

And one of them was ‘Qiongqi,’ which was presumed to be on the Southern Archipelago.

At the time his master hunted ‘Qiongqi’ in his past life, Zeke had just opened his middle dantian, so he couldn’t provide direct help, but he vividly remembered the form of Qiongqi, which had possessed mighty power.

His master, who possessed strength greater than anyone else, had had to fight for nearly three days, and the one he had caught by using a Triple Spell, which he rarely used, was none other than Qiongqi.

His master had been hit by Qiongqi’s attack and a part of his body had been petrified, and he had even left the forest for a month to treat it.

Zeke explained Qiongqi to the gathered group, recalling the information he had heard from his master and what he had seen himself at the time. His companions, who heard Zeke’s explanation about Qiongqi, all had their jaws dropped.

Rick, who was the first to come to his senses, said to Zeke.

“A-Are you saying that such a dangerous being is on this island?”

Zeke nodded his head.

“It’s the only monster that commands beast-types and possesses the ability of petrification.”

It wasn’t the legendary monster Medusa, but Qiongqi was an opponent of a worse nature than that.

Its disposition was ferocious and cruel, and it was also cunning, so even his master had a hard time hunting it.

Zeke looked at his companions, whose expressions had darkened, and said,

“It’s not an easy one, but there’s no need to worry. Because I know how to catch it.”

At Zeke’s words, his companions looked at him in surprise.

Arina, as if representing the companions, asked Zeke.

“Sir Zeke, by what method can we catch that fearsome monster?”

Zeke said to Arina.

“We can set a trap and then use bait to lure it in.”

At those words, Jason raised his hand and said,

“M-My lord! What kind of bait are you saying we should use for that monster?”

Then, Zeke made a subtle expression and said,

“It may be hard to believe, but Qiongqi has a habit of pursuing the pure and good to deliver punishment.”

At those words, Jason was startled.

“Is there such a monster?”

“Yes, even if it’s not Qiongqi, there are occasional cases like that. Usually, in these situations, you select the purest man and woman from a village, set them as bait, and lure the monster into a trap. For example……”

Zeke’s gaze turned toward Rick and Arin. At his gaze, Rick and Arin’s faces turned red.

“Why are you looking at u-us?”

When Zeke turned his head toward Jason and Claire, the two, realizing the meaning, shook their heads, saying that their relationship had not yet progressed. In reality, the two of them also had strong consideration for others, so they were perfect as bait.

“That’s great. The two purest and best people will be the bait.”

At those words, Rick and Arin’s faces turned deathly pale.

Just then, Nerissa entered the tent.

“Captain Zeke! Will this much net be enough?”

Nerissa and the fish-men had hidden in the surrounding sea to avoid the monsters and had returned to the camp after seeing the Triangle.

And Zeke had asked the returned Nerissa for a tough net to use in the trap.

He examined the net Nerissa had brought and then nodded his head.

“This much should be enough.”

Zeke said to the dwarf foreman.

“When will the thing I told you about be completed?”

The dwarf foreman showed off his thick biceps and said,

“Don’t you worry, Lord! We will have it completed as you said by tomorrow.”

The dwarves, who owed their lives to Zeke, were preparing the trap as he had said with all their heart and sincerity.

“Good. The selected personnel will move to the target point with me tomorrow and lure Qiongqi and the monsters.”

Zeke looked at Kay and said,

“Kay, stay here with Lady Arina and protect the remaining personnel well.”

At Zeke’s words, all the gathered personnel nodded their heads.

***

As soon as the next day arrived, Zeke led the selected personnel and moved from the camp to the designated target point.

The inside of the camp was guarded by Richmond, and the outside by Kaiman and Gurab’s units, so there was no worry about an attack from monsters.

Including Rick and Arin who would be the bait, the fish-man youth corps who would use the nets, Felix, Claire, Diego, and Aster were together.

And one more person, someone unexpected to the rest of the personnel, Zeke had brought as a selected member.

He had selected Aaron, a former Knight Killer.

This time, Zeke had made one more, referencing the time he had disassembled and improved the gun at clan Vardec.

Then, he gave this magic gun and the bullets filled with compressed air to Aaron, entrusting him with the role of a sniper.

Aaron looked at Zeke, who had handed a gun and bullets to him, his former enemy, and was even more surprised than when Zeke had spared his life.

“Aren’t you worried that I will betray you.”

At his frightened question, Zeke chuckled.

“If you want to betray me, you can. That is, if you’re confident you can handle the aftermath.”

It was Zeke, who always proceeded with his work on the premise that any of his companions could betray him.

That was why he could accept even a former enemy and assign them a role.

Aaron, who had been freed from Siemens’ brainwashing thanks to Arina’s power, had hated Zeke at first, but now he was able to see him in a different light than before, so he could not be seen as a complete enemy.

Zeke thus led the selected personnel, including Aaron, into the forest.

He sent out the ghost soldiers to scout the surroundings, unfolded a simply made map, and then explained the plan.

“This is where we are now. The trap the dwarves made is up north. Rick and Arin, when Qiongqi appears, you draw its attention and then lure it here.”

Just then, Jason raised his hand and asked.

“My lord, but how will we know which one is Qiongqi?”

At that, Zeke looked at Jason and said,

“You’ll know which one it is the moment it appears.”

Jason tilted his head at Zeke’s words, but Zeke simply gave him a smile instead of an explanation.

After checking all the dwarves’ traps, he prepared to call the monsters. It was the most certain method he had learned from his master.

He took out a mana bomb from his coat.

Then, he threw the mana bombs in all directions.

KA-BOOM!

The roar of explosions that shook the forest arose from here and there.

His companions were flustered by Zeke’s eccentric behavior.

“S-Sir Zeke! What are you doing, yo!”

Diego shouted, startled.

However, Zeke paid no heed and took out a large quantity of mana bombs he had prepared in advance from his inventory.

“Don’t just stand there, earn your keep. Throw them in all directions as much as possible, except for the north.”

It was a baffling command, but everyone carried out Zeke’s orders as he had told them.

“Hah!”

Starting with Clone, everyone began to throw bombs in all directions.

KA-BOOM!

After setting off bombs for a long while, enough to make the entire forest shake, Zeke listened intently in the ensuing silence.

Then, drawing his sword, he said firmly.

“Everyone, get ready. They’re coming.”

Zeke extended his hand and lit the flame of the Sacred Brazier.

FWOOSH!

The flame of the Sacred Brazier enveloped Zeke’s party in a circle.

Those who had gone to the island of the Deep Sea Tribe with him proficiently coated their weapons with the flame of the Sacred Brazier.

Those who were seeing the Sacred Brazier for the first time also watched cautiously and followed what the others were doing.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

GRAAAAAH!

Before long, the monsters that had smelled the scent of humans came rushing.

A monster resembling a Minotaur tried to charge through the flame of the Sacred Brazier.

The Sacred Brazier’s flame blazed up on the Jewel Sword, Roland, that Zeke was holding.

SLASH!

Roland sliced the Minotaur in two with one stroke.

Following that, monsters rushed in from all directions.

Zeke shouted.

“Everyone, do not break formation and fight from within the Sacred Brazier’s flame!”

At his command, Clone, from the outermost position, raised her mace and smashed the heads of the charging monsters with the Punishment of Light.

CRUNCH!

“Keeeeek!”

Besides her, everyone else also raised their weapons and fought the monsters from behind the flame of the Sacred Brazier.

What stood out the most during the fight with the monsters were, surprisingly, Diego and Aster.

“Bring it on, yo!”

Diego splendidly subdued the monsters with his dual swords coated in the sacred flame, and Aster used the length of his spear to keep the monsters at a distance, accurately piercing only their vital points to dispose of them.

‘As expected of the Five-Star Knights.’

Rick also showed much-improved movements after his training with Farel.

It was then.

WHOOSH!

In Zeke’s eyes, he saw a sight of Felix swinging his sword and slicing off a monster’s neck in a single blow.

Zeke was slightly impressed watching Felix’s swordplay.

‘That Felix kid, he’s grown even more.’

He hadn’t been able to confirm the skills of Liam, who had followed Hades’ party, but it seemed certain that the two were acting as a stimulus for each other.

‘Liam, the Mercenary King. And Felix, the successor to the Arch Paladin. These two will become the key figures of the future Black Sword Knights.’

Zeke smiled faintly and swung his sword.

SLASH!

Although dozens of monsters swarmed them, the group was able to handle them without difficulty.

This was because whenever his companions grew tired, Zeke would appropriately use Healing and would raise their morale with the Battle Cry skill he had obtained by absorbing the Orc's Medal.

“Haaaaaaah!”

When Zeke let out a cry as if to gather strength, everyone’s morale actually rose, and they were able to draw out more power than usual.

Zeke supplemented his strength by appropriately absorbing the corpses of the monsters piled up around them with Gluttony.

And at one moment.

RUMBLE...

The entire forest trembled, and the ground shook.

In an instant, his companions were flustered and looked around.

“Wh-What was that?”

KAAAAAAAAAK!

A monstrous scream that seemed to tear the sky rang out.

Zeke, with a tense expression, said,

“It’s coming.”

Even the monsters that had been fiercely rushing at them trembled at the echoing scream and stopped moving.

It was then.

KUUUUUUUNG!

The sound of a fierce wind was heard from the sky above.

Naturally, Felix raised his head and looked up. Something huge was flying from the sky above.

“Th-That’s!”

KAAAAAAAAAK!

The monstrous scream was closer than before.

A huge wind enveloped Zeke and his companions.

Zeke deployed the Field of Wind Power and created a wind wall to protect his companions as much as possible.

WHOOOSH!

The wind subsided, and something descended from the air.

The faces of the others, except for Zeke, turned pale.

“Th-That’s Qiongqi?”

It was larger than any other monster.

The black-striped beast, with a massive body that looked like it could chew up an ogre in one bite, bared its sharp teeth.

Its body resembled a tiger, but its face was like that of a human, stained red.

On top of that, it had giant wings on its back, made of black feathers like the color of its body.

Krrrrrrrrr—

Zeke held Roland and faced Qiongqi.

‘That’s the one.’

It was smaller than when he had seen it in his past life, but it had the exact same appearance.

It seemed that when his master had faced it, it had been after it had grown more.

Zeke shouted.

“While I hold it down, Arin and Rick, go to the target point!”

Because it was such a cunning creature, it would never fall for a trap that was set out in the open.

With Zeke’s words, as pre-arranged, Claire and Felix took Rick and Arin and ran north.

Krrrrrr—

As the virgin maiden Arin and the virgin man Rick moved, Qiongqi turned its head.

Due to its habit of wanting to inflict greater punishment on the pure and good, it would try to attack them first.

Zeke planned to use Qiongqi’s habit to aim for an opening, inflict a wound, and then trap it to catch the creature.

But it was then.

KAAAAAAAAAK!

Qiongqi suddenly turned its head and rushed not at Arin and Rick, but at Zeke.

‘What?’

KABOOM!

Qiongqi struck Zeke with its giant front paw, and Zeke urgently used Phantom Step to retreat backward.

The ground where Qiongqi had struck with its front paw was completely gouged out.

Krrrrrr—

Its eyes shining with a red glow, it was Qiongqi, once again baring its fangs at Zeke.

‘Why me?’

It was unbelievable, but it seemed Qiongqi had judged Zeke to be the purest and most good person here.

Zeke aimed his sword at Qiongqi and said.

“Change of plans!”

He shouted.

“I’ll be the bait! Everyone, run toward the trap!”