"There sure are a lot of them."
After leaving the Autonomous District and entering the ravine, Zeke stuck out his tongue at the sight of the monsters gathered in droves.
Even in the Giant Mountain Range, known as a monster paradise, he had never seen so many different types of monsters banding together like this.
What was even stranger was that monsters that were natural enemies of each other roamed together in packs.
"No matter how brainwashed they are, there are too many odd things about this."
Zeke felt the need to investigate the inside of the ravine before heading to the isolated old castle.
As he slipped inside using stealth, he saw berserk monsters wandering around in small groups of three or five.
"Kraaaah—"
Up close, Zeke realized something unexpected and strange about the monsters.
"These guys... theyʼre not ordinary monsters?"
From a distance, he had only roughly identified them as packs, so he hadnʼt noticed, but up close he saw that their appearances differed from typical monsters.
Ordinary orcs usually had dark green skin, but the orcs here came in various colors.
There were blue-skinned orcs, and even pink-skinned ones.
Zeke pondered for a moment before he exited the ravine and cautiously summoned Richmond.
Woooong!
Richmond rose from Zekeʼs shadow.
"What is it, Master?"
Zeke pointed toward the monsters in the ravine.
"Richmond, take a look at those guys over there."
Richmond examined the monsters in the ravine and gasped in surprise.
"M-Master... those are..."
"Do you know what they are?"
Richmond nodded, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Those monsters... Iʼve only seen them in records. In other words... they must be the monsters summoned from the Demon Realm during the Demon Kingʼs Army invasion in the Hero King era."
"Monsters summoned from the Demon Realm?"
It made no sense why monsters that had died over two thousand years ago suddenly appeared in this ravine.
Richmondʼs eyes sparkled as he looked at the pink orc.
"Wow, that species is really rare... Master, can I go catch one?"
"If you do that and the other monsters all swarm you, I wonʼt take responsibility." At Zekeʼs words, Richmond made a sullen face.
Ignoring him, Zeke gazed at what seemed like hundreds of ancient monsters and asked. "So, do you think the Empire summoned these monsters from the Demon Realm again?" Richmond thought for a moment before he shook his head.
"The power required to summon monsters from the Demon Realm is the same as summoning demons, but if they could call from the Demon Realm, I donʼt think theyʼd bother with monsters."
"Itʼs inefficient, you mean."
"Yes. Back then, it wasnʼt so much that they separately summoned Demon Realm monsters; it was more accurate to say that low-rank demons brought their monster minions along when they were summoned."
"Then how did these guys get here?"
Richmond scratched his head and said.
"The most likely explanation is... the monsters that came over back then were sealed away and have now been released..."
Hearing Richmondʼs words, Zeke had a hunch.
"They pulled orcs out of the Forest of the Forgotten before. No reason they couldnʼt do the same with monsters."
After extracting ancient monsters from the Forest of the Forgotten, they brainwashed them with awakening drugs and released them across the entire Ghetto Region, stationing reserves here.
"The Forest of the Forgotten wasnʼt far from here. The Empire would absolutely do something like this."
If it was the Empire Zeke knew, unleashing an army of ancient monsters into enemy territory to sow chaos was entirely plausible.
The one question was that in his previous life, the Empire hadnʼt used monsters to isolate enemies.
"Has something changed because of my regression?"
Using high-risk-class monsters came with significant dangers.
With so many of their plans disrupted by Zeke, they might have resorted to this backup of a monster legion, risks be damned.
Zeke sent Richmond back and decided to scout the ravine further.
Contrary to his expectations, there was nothing unusual inside the ravine beyond the berserk monsters.
"For now, theyʼve stationed the monsters here to gradually apply pressure." The Ghetto Region bordered Delphoa, Alencia, and Baranaon.
After subjugating the Zoin Tribe, moving these monsters to the next invasion target and releasing them would naturally give the Empireʼs Peacekeeping Forces a pretext to enter that territory.
That was clearly the Empireʼs plan to swallow the entire Central Continent.
"Those damn bastards. I donʼt know whose idea it was, but itʼs ruthlessly vicious." After exiting the ravine filled with monsters, Zeke scouted the path to the old castle.
For now, he had no choice but to leave the monsters and head to the old castle.
If he stirred things up carelessly and the Empire noticed Zekeʼs movements, Abel might not emerge.
Zeke turned toward the isolated old castle.
*
Helen Draker drew another tally mark on the fortress wall.
The number of tallies now totaled thirty-five.
It had been thirty-five days since they were trapped here.
"Food will run out soon."
Helenʼs expression darkened after weeks confined in the fortress.
When she had entered the Ghetto Region with Kaliʼs letter, the Song of the Crouched Flame and Big Joe of Crostel had been wary instead of welcoming.
After persuasion, they agreed to meet at an old fortress inside the Ghetto Region.
Helen, her escorting knights, the Zoin Tribe warriors led by the Song of the Crouched Flame, and the beastman gangsters brought by Big Joe gathered at the fortress called the old castle.
Just as the meeting was about to begin inside the fortress, high-risk-class monsters suddenly appeared.
A monster legion of unknown origin attacked the fortress.
Helen, the Zoin Tribe, and Crostel combined forces to repel the first wave, but the assault didnʼt end there.
They barely held out in the fortress against the endless onslaught.
Since it was a gathering for talks, there were no stored provisions inside.
They slaughtered and ate the horses they rode in on, let polluted water from an old well settle so they could drink only the clear top layer, and exhausted every possible means to survive.
But their physical and mental strength had already been depleted.
The Zoin Tribe and beastmen, who required more food than humans, struggled even more.
There was a limit to eating horses, so they scoured the fortress for rats and lizards, but even that had its bounds.
"We have to hold out until reinforcements arrive."
The problem was the Empireʼs garrison outside the Ghetto Region.
Calling themselves Peacekeeping Forces, they were blocking entry into the Ghetto Region under the pretext of high-risk-class monsters.
If Kaliʼs knights, Crostelʼs gangsters, or Zoin Tribe warriors forced their way in, the
Empireʼs garrison would use it as an excuse to find a reason to enter the Ghetto Region.
Helen put a shriveled piece of jerky in her mouth and chewed it as long as possible before swallowing.
Her hunger eased slightly, but they couldnʼt last like this forever.
It was then.
"Captain, somethingʼs coming from the front." Helen stood and climbed to the fortress wall.
Breaking through the monsters gathered behind the fortress, something was charging through their midst.
"Whatʼs that?"
Surprisingly, a single knight on horseback was wielding a massive horse-cleaving greatsword and racing toward the fortress.
Slaaaash!
Every time the knight swung his sword, the monsters blocking him were sliced apart.
The knight, who arrived like a storm, had massacred all the monsters and reached the fortress gates.
He shouted toward the fortress.
"I bring a message from Kali Draker!"
Hearing the knightʼs voice, Helen recognized him.
"Zeke?"
Zeke had come all this way, cutting through the monsters himself.
Helen rushed down from the wall to open the fortress gate.
The beastmen guarding the gate stood and blocked her.
"Hey, humans. Better stay put."
Beastman gangsters twice Helenʼs size blocked the way, and the Iron Knight Order knights behind her stepped forward.
"Itʼs a knight bearing Kali Drakerʼs message! Open the gate now!" The gangsters spat and said.
"How do we know if itʼs really from them or some Empire lackey? And if we open the gate and monsters swarm in, what then?"
Everyoneʼs nerves were frayed from lack of proper food.
Helen pushed her knights back and stepped forward.
"The knight outside is my blood kin. I guarantee heʼs no enemy, so open the gate."
The beastman gangsters flinched at the words of Helen Draker, called the Knight of Steel.
Though smaller in build, they knew well the terrifying power she wielded.
But then, a beastman who had been lying stretched out with legs extended slowly rose from the back.
"Fuck, Iʼm already starving to death, and now youʼre causing trouble, humans." The rising beastman was a tiger beastman larger than the others.
Dressed like a mercenary, the tiger beastman cracked his neck and glared at Helen.
"Hey, human woman. Back off if you donʼt want to die. Iʼm in a bad mood from hunger." The tiger beastman was Crostelʼs assault captain, a beastman with strength and agility that outmatched most knights.
Helen said to the assault captain.
"Open the gate. Or else..."
"Or else? What. What are you gonna do?"
The tiger beastman bared his teeth, his eyes glowing with feral light.
Helen gripped the Dragon Buster on her back.
Now that she knew it was Zeke outside, she had to open the gate somehow.
As Helen grabbed the Dragon Buster, the other beastmen panicked.
"C-Captain. You really gonna fight? Big Joe said no infighting." The assault captain glared at the other beastmen and said.
"Big Joe who? Itʼs that insolent human woman. Yeah, perfect. Iʼm hungry anyway; Iʼll chop off your arm and eat it."
As the assault captain extended his claws and advanced, Helen drew the Dragon Buster and faced him.
The beastman assault captain, claws at the ready, charged at Helen first.
Boom!
A swift, ferocious attack using the beastmanʼs elastic body poured toward Helen.
Helen blocked the assault captainʼs strikes with the Dragon Buster.
Whoosh!
Helen swung the Dragon Buster at the tiger beastman.
He swiftly retreated from the menacing attack, baring his teeth and exuding a threatening aura.
"How dare you... Iʼll rip off not just an arm but a leg too..."
Thwack!
The enraged tiger beastman didnʼt finish his sentence before a horse-cleaving greatsword struck from above, sending him flying.
Boom boom boom boom!
The launched assault captain tumbled like a marionette with cut strings before crashing into the wall.
Thud!
The knight who had one-shot the tiger beastman with the horse-cleaving greatsword stood up.
The other beastmen gaped at him.
"N-No way. How did he jump over this wall..."
Zeke, having removed his helmet, glared fiercely at the beastman embedded in the wall.
"How dare you bare your filthy claws at my sister." He turned to the beastmen and said.
"My name is Zeke Draker. I am the lord of the Black Sword Knight Order and Kali Drakerʼs proxy."
His eyes sharpened.
"Go fetch the Song of the Crouched Flame and Big Joe."