Shuher sheathed his sword, gathering his strength as if wondering what had happened.

“We didn’t even have a chance to step in.”

The knights seemed perplexed and quite surprised by this situation.

Even though the opponent was Shuher, they didn’t expect him to take down the monster so quickly, when normally a few knights would surround it or there would be some confrontation.

While admiring his great strength, their gazes soon turned to Ibnel. They had only heard about the ability to see through cores, but seeing it directly, they could certainly feel it.

Why their ancestors in the past needed that ability of Aodin, suppressing their misery.

“The start isn’t bad.”

“Don’t let your guard down. As they say, this is just the beginning.”

“But to think monsters have come down this far. There was a reason for requesting help from Your Majesty.”

The monster forest that emerged long ago still had unknown boundaries. And how many monsters were in it.

So, regularly subjugating monsters that came down to a certain area was the best that could be done to minimize damage.

“Let’s set off again.”

The group headed back into the forest interior as if nothing had happened. As she was about to silently move her steps, her eyes suddenly met Demil’s, who had been staring at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you’re not surprised at all. Normally, one should be afraid.”

Even with abilities, one would normally be flustered when suddenly encountering an unfamiliar monster, but Ibnel was surprisingly calm.

“It seems my training and studying while cutting down on sleep wasn’t in vain. Besides, is there anything more surprising and frightening than being thrown defenseless in front of a monster?”

Compared to the shock of first encountering a monster, this was nothing. Moreover, unlike then, she wasn’t alone now.

As they walked, the narrow mountain path with a slope ended, and they entered a wider and flatter path than before.

“It’s quieter than I expected though.”

But no sooner had she said that than Ibnel’s steps halted. She quickly drew her gun from her waist and turned around.

“Lord Raul, duck!”

At her shout, Raul instinctively ducked, and simultaneously, a monster aiming for his neck came into view.

Ibnel pulled the trigger without hesitation, and the quickly flying bullet accurately hit the body. The monster fled towards the dense forest, bleeding.

She couldn’t completely take it down as there was no time to see the core.

While everyone was dumbfounded by the events that happened quickly in just a few seconds, she approached Raul.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…No.”

Raul felt a chill down his spine. If it hadn’t been for Ibnel, he wouldn’t be standing here now.

Then Shan, unable to contain his curiosity, asked.

“How did you know? That a monster would ambush.”

“I just felt something approaching.”

She felt that ominous energy she had encountered before rapidly closing the distance. That’s why she immediately drew her gun without delay.

With this, she could be certain. That what she felt before wasn’t an illusion.

Then the image of the monster that had just fled flashed in Ibnel’s mind. Its name was Icesleb, and it had the form of a fox with snow-white fur.

It wasn’t large but extremely agile. However, there was another reason why it was difficult to deal with.

As if having the same thought, her eyes met Shuher’s.

“Surely… they move in groups.”

No sooner had her words ended than about twenty Iceslebs sprang out simultaneously from both sides, baring their sharp teeth.

“Everyone, take up your weapons!”

As Ibnel momentarily hesitated, seeing monsters rushing at her from front and back, Shuher embraced her. Then he swung his sword to block the monsters’ attacks.

She, being in his arms, belatedly conveyed her thanks.

“Thank you. I survived thanks to you.”

“It seems too early to say such words.”

By now, the knights were engaged in battle with the monsters, and the surroundings had turned into complete chaos.

“What should we do? There are too many. It’s not easy to identify the cores either.”

“My lady, go to the rear where the Count’s knights are.”

“Then what about here?”

“I’ll handle it. Demil, you go with her too.”

While fending off the attacking monsters, Demil nodded. Ibnel thought it would be fine with him there, so she immediately moved to the rear.

Demil followed behind, protecting her.

The Count’s knights were also fiercely battling the Iceslebs, and the two joined them. For now, there were so many that they were rushing in from all directions without a moment’s rest, so Ibnel’s power alone had limitations.

To overcome this situation, the help of the knights was needed. After quickly organizing her thoughts, she approached Demil.

“The gunners and I will cover you. In the meantime, please attack the cores with the knights.”

Only she could accurately see the location of the cores, and in the current situation, even taking a stance was difficult, so she decided to leave taking down the monsters to the knights.

“Understood.”

Demil also nodded, and together with the Count’s knights, they regrouped. Meanwhile, Ibnel pointed out the locations of the cores one by one.

Thanks to those with guns covering their backs whenever the knights tried to attack the Iceslebs, they could calmly deal with the monsters.

“The next one is where the tail connects to the body.”

At that moment, a knight urgently called out to someone.

“Young master!”

As she turned her head in that direction, she saw the last one rushing towards Hibre. He was holding a sword, but his hands were visibly shaking.

“The core is behind the right ear!”

Seeing him at a loss even after being told the core’s location, Ibnel pulled the trigger without hesitation, aiming for that spot.

The Icesleb collapsed right in front of him as the bullet pierced its core.

She hurriedly approached him.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Hibre looked at the fallen monster and just nodded silently.

As soon as Ibnel confirmed that no one was seriously injured, she immediately headed to where Shuher was. But the situation there was already perfectly resolved.

“I was a bit late.”

“How’s the situation in the back?”

“We dealt with all of them together with the Count’s knights. There’s no major damage. Right, Lord Demil?”

“Yes.”

Shuher decided to take a brief rest to regroup. Having faced so many at once, their faces showed clear signs of fatigue.

However, the Count’s knights who had moved with Ibnel seemed relatively less tired.

“Why do they look more energetic? We all faced monsters.”

Demil answered Shan’s question.

“Because they only aimed for the cores accurately.”

In other words, they were able to conserve energy by resolving it with minimal movement. And the person who made this possible was Ibnel.

She was so calm it was hard to believe it was her first time participating in a subjugation, and her situation assessment was quick. To the point where even those who had faced countless monsters were impressed.

While catching her breath and checking her firearms and remaining ammunition, Ibnel noticed Hibre sitting a little apart from the group and approached him.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, well.”

Contrary to his words, Hibre’s hands were still shaking. Noticing her gaze, he tried to pretend he was fine and spoke.

“It’s pathetic, isn’t it? I said those things to you yesterday, but now I’m the one causing trouble.”

“No, that’s…”

“I should have just not come. I’m just being a burden to everyone.”

Ibnel was at a loss for how to react, then noticed the bow he was carrying on his shoulder.

“But you brought it, the bow.”

“I always carry it, even if I don’t use it.”

“Then it’s like a charm. I couldn’t see well yesterday because it was dark, but the bow looks impressive.”

The silver bow seemed extraordinary even at a glance. And just looking at Hibre’s eyes, one could see how precious the bow was to him.

“How did you…”

“Lady Ibnel.”

At the sound of Demil calling, Ibnel moved away without hearing what Hibre was about to say.

“Are we setting off again now?”

“Yes.”

“It’s quite regrettable that I only have one body. I can’t help both sides.”

“Still, your judgment was quite excellent.”

Ibnel looked at Shuher in surprise at those words.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I didn’t expect to receive praise from Your Majesty. It feels good to know my hard work paid off.”

Standing behind the two, Demil quietly pondered about Ibnel. She saved someone without hesitation even in a situation where her own life could be in danger.

Moreover, it was largely thanks to Ibnel that they were able to safely overcome the sudden attack. In the past, with a similar scale of attack, there were cases where people were injured to the point of immobilization or lost their lives.

It seemed he saw her true worth in the way she became a cool-headed shooter in front of monsters.

After a brief rest, the group moved forward, and although monsters appeared a few more times, they were able to deal with them without major issues.

Ibnel provided help at the right times and places, clearly fulfilling her role. Thanks to this, the subjugation team reached their destination earlier than scheduled.

“We arrived faster than expected.”

At Demil’s words, Shuher’s gaze turned to Ibnel. Although there were some annoying situations, it was the first time things had gone this smoothly.

‘Was this the reason they tried to borrow Aodin’s power by any means?’

Honestly, he thought Aodin’s ability was insignificant compared to the power Caries possessed. He believed there was no need to seek help while kneeling, but for the first time, that thought wavered.

“Shall we go further inside?”

While Shuher was contemplating, Ibnel, who had been looking around, suddenly stopped moving. It was because the energy of monsters once again enveloped her whole body.

But this time it was incomparably stronger than before.

She placed her hand on her gun and scanned the surroundings, but strangely, there was nothing visible. At that moment, Shuher, noticing her change, asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“That feeling again.”

‘But where exactly?’

Then her gaze suddenly turned to the ground, and as if realizing something, Ibnel shouted.

“It’s below!”

“Step aside!”

As the group moved to both sides, four monsters made entirely of stone revealed themselves, breaking through the ground.

If they had been just a little late, a horrific scene of many people falling into that crevice and being trampled would have unfolded.

“Ebor!”

“Everyone, fall back!”

The Ebors, highly excited at the sight of people, let out wild roars, and the two knight orders quickly took up defensive positions. However, they couldn’t bring themselves to attack first in the face of such fierce momentum.

Standing a little distance away, Ibnel moved her eyes busily. Shuher approached her side.

“Have you confirmed?”

“Yes. Starting from the farthest one, left elbow, right chest, right shoulder, and,”

As an Ebor raised its stone arm, about to strike down on the cornered Demil and the knights, Ibnel, unable to finish her sentence, quickly fired a bullet.