“What’s going on? What was that noise?”
“Is it an earthquake?”
The sleeping knights were all woken up by the loud noise and rushed out of their tents. Every time the loud sound was heard, the ground shook violently, as if an earthquake was occurring. As soon as they came out, they were able to see a large shadow approaching the camp.
Beyond the forest surrounding the cliff, the large head of a gorilla stood as tall as a high-rise building. Its bright red eyes were flashing brightly.
“That’s…!”
“It’s a Tarthan!”
A large monster resembling a gorilla screamed and pounded its chest with its fists. Then it rushed toward the camp at full speed.
Ash commanded the knights as he drew his sword.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
“Yes!”
There was the sound of swords being drawn all around the camp. The knights moved in an orderly manner. Every time the Tarthan took a step, the earth shook and the trees fell, one by one.
‘Why is that here…’
Elaine followed Ash and stared at the approaching monster.
Tarthan, a monster born to feed on the ferocity of humans. They usually traveled in groups of around ten to twenty individuals, but right now, all she could see was the one. There was no sign of any other monsters approaching.
Besides, why is something that mainly lives in the jungles of the southeast here?
At that time, the Tarthan swung his fist at a knight. A hole appeared in the ground where his large fist landed. It snorted harshly and waved its fist wildly, but no one was harmed by the attack.
Tarthans’ are as threatening as high-level monsters when they move in groups. However, the level of each individual monster itself is only classified as intermediate. Of course, for ordinary people, the intermediate level was disastrous enough, but not for the Knights of Philres. Even newcomers who encountered monsters for the first time easily could avoid its attacks.
Soon the knights counter attack began. There was no need for many of them to rush in. The few people closest swung their swords at the monster. With that alone, the monster became a complete wreck, bleeding profusely all over its body.
The Tarthan let out a cry of pain. Cornered, it suddenly jumped in another direction, attempting to run away. Unfortunately, the direction it had chosen, was where Ash and Elaine were standing.
It was at that moment that Elaine stepped forward and directed her sword energy at the monster.
“Nooo!”
An urgent voice suddenly screamed loudly.
Elaine, startled by the deafening voice, stopped moving for a moment. Then, a man jumped out from somewhere and hurriedly stood in front of the monster with his arms outstretched.
“You can’t kill this one!”
His wild blond hair was blowing in the wind. The crumpled hem of the robs fluttering wildly.
“Who is that guy!”
“Are you crazy?!”
She didn’t know where he had suddenly appeared from, but he was crazy enough to jump in front of a rampaging monster. It was completely suicidal.
Elaine shouted.
“What are you doing?! Get out of the way right now!”
The man shook his head vigorously.
“No! This guy is my- “
At that time, the monster behind the man moved. Elaine saw this and again shouted urgently.
“It’s dangerous!”
At that moment, a fist as hard as a rock came crashing down on the man’s head.
Clang!
A strong sound tore through the forest upon impact. It was a destructive force that could crush an ordinary human easily.
“…!”
Elaine reflexively tried to reach out, but stopped at the scene that followed. The other knights who were also witnessing the same scene couldn’t believe their eyes. There was a large magic circle floating in the air. It emitted a flash of light directly above the man’s head.
The fist of the monster had been blocked by that magic circle. No blood was visible. The man just stood there calmly as if nothing had happened.
“Ah.”
The man made a small sound and blinked slowly. He then turned around and extended his hand toward the monster. At the same time, she heard him mutter something under his breath. A yellow light extending from his hand engulfed the monster’s body. It began to struggle as if trying to resist an invisible force. However, its movements gradually subsided, and soon the monster’s eyelids slowly closed. A body bigger than a house, fell down helplessly with a thud.
