Walking toward the garrison.
Kancho, the deputy commander of the Yodel Rangers, snorted roughly.
"An infiltration! It's been a super long time!"
"Did you do this often before?"
"Of course! Infiltrating without being detected by anyone is the most basic skill of the Yodel Rangers!"
"Ohhh. Ever been caught?"
"No! Well, there was that one time I ran into the enemy while raiding a snack storage during an infiltration."
"Then that means you were caught, doesn't it?"
"I blasted them away without a trace with clay, so it's the same as not being caught!"
Gulp.
So if you erase the witnesses, it doesn't count.
A dangerous Yodel friend, as expected.
"Let's go stealth."
"Roger!"
Kancho and Jinhyuk used stealth as they neared the garrison.
"Kancho, hold the compass. Guide the direction."
"Got it. Commencing infiltration and VIP assassination operation."
"There's no VIP assassination."
"Eh."
His perked-up ears drooped in sudden disappointment.
"Instead, there's a massacre. Once we find the operation order, let's blow it all up."
Perk, perk, perk!
"Excellent! As expected of the Supreme Commander. You're totally cola."
He must have meant to say cider.
Kancho climbed onto his shoulder and surveyed the garrison.
Then, with a face of utmost gravity and sternness, he opened his mouth.
"Reporting in. I've found two possible infiltration routes. One is a dog hole, but the Supreme Commander probably can't fit through it. The other is over the wall, and that one looks good."
"Huh? We're going through the front gate."
"Eh?!"
Carrying the frozen Kancho, he headed for the front gate of the garrison.
Kancho swallowed dryly, watching Jinhyuk.
'As expected of the Supreme Commander...! His vessel is the size of a giant frying pan!'
Snap!
He gave a crisp salute to the back of Jinhyuk's head.
One hundred stacks of infinite loyalty accumulated!
Jinhyuk looked around at the monsters in front.
Grrrr... Hssss... Hssss...
Hundreds of ghouls and skeletons roamed near the garrison in fixed patterns and intervals.
Since they were monsters with no notable detection abilities, as long as he didn't make a loud noise, there was no risk of being caught.
Weaving left and right to avoid them, he paused for a moment.
A ghoul staggered past right in front of him.
Sssssshhh!!
An overwhelming stench of rot assaulted his nose.
It hadn't been this bad just a moment ago.
There must be one among the undead that was particularly decayed.
"Supreme Commander... My nose is rotting...!"
Kancho covered his nose and gagged.
As a friend with an excellent sense of smell, the damage seemed considerable.
Feeling urgent, Jinhyuk picked up the pace.
He had to get out before Kancho threw up on the back of his head.
"Phewah!"
Finally reaching the front gate, he let out the breath he'd been holding.
"Kancho, you okay?"
When there was no answer, he turned around.
Yodel Ranger Kancho had his eyes closed, his face peaceful.
Kanchooooooook!!!
Slap, slap.
"Eh?"
After tapping his plump cheeks a couple of times, he barely opened his eyes.
"Grandpa Toto across the river was waving for me to come over."
Thank goodness. It wasn't too late.
But wait, Grandpa Toto is still alive and well, so why!?
He erased the pointless question that arose and moved on.
First, the operation order.
Ding!
[You have arrived at the Skull Knight Garrison!]
[The moment your infiltration is detected, all Skull Knights in the garrison will swarm you!]
[Before that, the operation order will be burned!]
[There is a low probability of an unexpected ambush appearing! It is a Skull Knight with exceptional abilities, so be careful!]
He thought it was being unusually kind, but it had to plant an ominous hint.
As expected, this system friend was insufferable.
He looked up at the Skull Knight guarding the creaking front gate.
A build over two meters tall, fully armed with solid equipment.
It was on a completely different level from those wandering ghouls.
'I'm passing through.'
He passed the two Skull Knights and entered the garrison.
"They've built quite a nice place here, haven't they?"
"Right. I thought they'd just be living however, but there's some order to it."
"The weapons they're holding are varied too."
"Looks like they're grouped by unit type."
"Interesting. The Yodel Rangers don't have unit types."
"Couldn't you just make one, Kancho?"
"No. Even if we recruit a lot later, I won't make them. A Yodel Ranger must be able to do everything."
"Nice."
Kancho, the unit commander, aspired to be a classic elite special forces unit.
May fortune smile upon the future unit of our Yodel friends!
"This way."
Passing the archer unit, they turned into a side path.
Axe-wielders guarding the path.
Again, they passed through without much issue, flowing like water.
Then, a few steps later, he stopped.
"Supreme Commander? What's wrong?"
Kancho whispered.
Jinhyuk let out a low hum and glanced back.
The two Skull Knights were still staring in the opposite direction.
"For just a split second, I think one of them followed us with its eyes."
"Eh? There's no way a lowly skeleton like that could have sensed the presence of you and me. But."
Kancho's eyes widened, and he lowered his voice even further.
"The Supreme Commander's senses are as sharp as pinking shears. If you felt that way, we need to check it out. Yodel Ranger Deputy Commander Kancho, ready to deploy at any time."
Jinhyuk vigorously patted the dependable Kancho and asked.
"The distance and direction to the operation order are still the same, right?"
"Yes."
"Then that's fine. If they're willing to pretend not to notice, there's no need to refuse. We'll find out when we get there."
"Roger."
Kancho snorted.
"I was almost getting slack because it was too easy, but now it's getting interesting."
"Right. I wonder what they've prepared."
Following the Yodel Compass, he stepped forward even more boldly.
He deliberately made sounds he hadn't been making, but still, no one turned around.
Kancho stood on his shoulder, scanning the garrison like a meerkat without pause.
"200 meters west, 50 archers. 100 meters northeast, behind the tent, 100. East, 100. The operation order is 50 meters ahead. That building. The formation is set to surround us the moment we enter."
After confirming the enemy's positions, Kancho looked at the back of Jinhyuk's head.
'Incredible...!!!'
Unless they had noticed their intrusion, that kind of deployment was unnatural.
As Jinhyuk had said, they were clearly luring them in.
'Loyalty!!'
His chest swelled with pride, and he slammed a salute into the back of Jinhyuk's head, just like before.
Another loyalty stack was being accumulated.
"I'm going in."
They even kindly left the door open.
He had no choice but to go.
A space where sunlight didn't reach, limiting vision.
He focused his mind with the aura wrapped around his body.
So as not to miss even a single speck of dust passing by.
The presence of Skull Knights could be felt not far away.
But they didn't attack.
They seemed to want to lure him in a little further.
Thud.
Finally, he emerged from the maze-like path.
"Hehehe..."
A sinister laugh echoed.
"Welcome, intruder."
A massive monster rose from the dark space.
All the Skull Knights he'd seen so far carried weapons like bows, axes, or swords.
But this one held a book engraved with strange patterns.
Ding!
[The dice of misfortune, enhanced by the floor, have been rolled!]
[Misfortune strikes, and you encounter Ophelim, the strategist of the 7th Skull Knight Legion, who was out inspecting the garrison!]
[He is a Skull Knight boasting the highest strategic intellect!]
"Show yourselves. I've known of your presence since you set foot in the garrison."
Jinhyuk dropped his stealth and looked at Ophelim.
A monster that could speak so clearly.
As expected, it was a good decision to strengthen the floor.
It was much more interesting than the floors where he just beat everything down.
"Hehehe... You reckless mortals. I thought you must be something special to sneak into His domain, but it's just one Yodel and one human."
He kept muttering on and on, but Jinhyuk wasn't particularly interested in the content.
What he really wanted to know was...
"How did you know?"
How he had detected him and the Yodel Ranger.
He needed to hear this for future reference.
"You're about to face death, and you're curious about something like that?"
"Think of it as a final mercy from an immortal to a pitiful mortal."
"Kuhahahaha!!!"
He seemed to like the flattery.
Ophelim burst into loud laughter and opened the book he was holding.
A purple energy seeped out and drew a map in the air.
The map was marked with thousands of black dots and two red dots.
Anyone could see that those two were him and Kancho.
'So he had a map hack.'
Jinhyuk patted his chest in relief and looked at Kancho.
"Good thing. It wasn't our presence that was detected."
"As expected of the expected. How could a lowly skeleton like that catch the Supreme Commander and me? It's at least three years too early."
"Isn't that a bit too close of a future?"
"Then five years!"
As he smiled at the adorable insignificance, Skull Knights appeared from all over the space.
Dozens of them also emerged from the path he had just come from, blocking the escape route.
"There's no need to fear. Death is just another beginning. You seem skilled at stealth, so I'll raise you as a Shadow Reaper! Kuhaha... ha...? Huh?"
Ophelim, who had been letting out a sinister laugh, drew a question mark.
Something short and stubby had suddenly entered his field of vision and was walking toward the Yodel and the human.
"I picked this up since it was nearby!"
The short, stubby thing cheerfully shouted and handed a scroll and a small vial to the human.
Its face was frighteningly familiar, but why?
Ophelim tilted his head, then turned around.
"!?!?!?!?!"
It was a good thing he didn't have eyeballs.
If he did, they would have popped out.
The operation order and the vial containing the power of his master, Mortarion, which had been perfectly fine just a moment ago, had vanished as if by magic.
"Good job, Momo."
Jinhyuk vigorously patted her chubby cheeks.
While Ophelim's attention was drawn away, Agent Momo had neatly retrieved the operation order.
"How about my sneaky steps!! That skeleton head had no idea, huh!"
"Excellent! Puhehehehe! Look at that skeleton's jaw drop!"
"I guess his eyeballs already popped out!! He doesn't have any!"
Gulp!
The two little ones' merciless personal attacks.
Good thing.
They were on his side.
If they weren't, he'd probably be really pissed off.
"BRING IT BACK!!!"
As expected, he was furious.
Ophelim roared roughly, his purple eyes blazing.
Jinhyuk just smiled and pointed his finger at the map in the air.
Ophelim reflexively shifted his gaze.
He had no choice but to be shocked again.
The black dots on the map, representing his allied forces, were disappearing at an unbelievable speed.
One red dot, starting from the garrison entrance, had closed in right before his eyes in an instant.
Ophelim instinctively stepped back.
'What... what is coming?'
He didn't have to wonder for long.
Kwaaaaang!!!
The entire roof of the building was blown off, revealing its presence.
A black knight holding a holy sword.
Even in the middle of the battlefield, the knight exuded a noble aura, looking down below.
She was waiting for something.
Not long after.
"Seira, kill him."
The order fell.
Swish!!
And that was it.
The head of Ophelim, the strategist of the 7th Skull Knight Legion, cut by holy power, fell.
Ding!
[You have obtained the Undead Legion's Operation Order!]
[You have achieved the clear condition for the 73rd floor of the Tower of Enhanced Despair!]
[You have defeated Ophelim, the strategist of the 7th Skull Knight Legion, a named monster!]
[You have acquired the unidentified vial that Ophelim was carrying!]
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T/N:
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