Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 369 Arriving at the Cave Hell Pit - Finally Encountering the Night Wandering Corpse

After accepting the Book of Prayer, Su Li quickly reorganized the team and continued their journey into the monster's lair.

Their Anarek giant spider nest is an intricate network, and it's impossible for Su Li to have explored it so quickly.

The achievements of that god-slayer were not easily obtained. It is unlikely that he could easily make goblins tremble with fear by simply picking up a few giant spider corpses by the roadside.

So he moved quickly and continued marching into the cave.

However, after going deeper, the caves began to branch out, and continuing to form an army to advance in this way was obviously too inefficient.

So at a crossroads, Su Li decisively ordered a division of forces, saying to everyone, "Hilde, you lead a force to explore the east side. Demst, you lead the dwarves to search the west side. Dietrich, follow me and continue forward. I don't believe there are any creatures in this underground lair that can threaten our Chosen Ones."

"If there is any great danger, we will retreat and regroup. Each of our units will leave a mark with swords along the way."

Hilde was used to leading troops in battle.

Since entering the Black Forest Territory, Demst had rarely commanded such an elite army, and he immediately said excitedly, "No problem, Lord, how many men do you need? I will definitely be the first to find the hidden Spider Queen!"

Su Li looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Can I trust you based on this performance? Why don't we let Dietrich lead a team instead?"

Demst immediately became anxious: "No, my lord! You are the supreme master of this territory, how can you go back on your word so easily? I promise that however many men you give me, I will bring them back safe and sound! I will lead the charge and be at the forefront, with the rearguard bringing up the rear."

“Alright then.” Su Li didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm, so he said to Griffin Knight Edwin, “Take a squadron with him and help him stay calm.”

Edwin smiled calmly and said, "Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely assist the Chosen of Durmster in quickly clearing out the lair."

With Edwin's assurance, Su Li felt relieved and quickly divided his forces to begin advancing.

As it turned out, this dark and desperate world was much wider than Su Li had imagined. He led his troops through the underground caves for half a night and did not find any trace of the other two teams.

This underground cave is practically a massive underground city, teeming with terrifying monsters: there are ghouls and skeletons born from mutation, as well as scorpions and spiders lurking in the corners, and hordes of greenskins and goblins.

By the middle of the night, the entire team had fought a bloody battle, their heavy armor soaked in blood, and everyone was covered in blood!

He and his team even managed to eliminate four of the terrifying Anaric Giant Spiders. And it was amidst a multitude of goblins and gnomes that the champion knight of the Blackwood Territory pierced his head with a lance.

This scene was truly terrifying to the countless fleeing and scattered goblins. Some of the crazed goblin shamans suffered complete mental breakdowns, unable to accept that the Anarik Giant Spider, whom they revered as a god, was being slaughtered by the knights like a stray dog ​​on the roadside.

This caused a large number of goblins and gnomes to flee in terror.

The dungeon's terrain was complex, and the Black Forest army was unable to conduct a large-scale pursuit. As a result, many goblins, even after fleeing and regrouping around the next Anaric giant spider, witnessed more than once the giant spider they revered as a god being killed by humans.

Goblins and gnomes had seen the death of giant spiders before, but in the past, it was rare to find two or three giant spiders on a battlefield. Goblins had to offer a lot of sacrifices to summon the spiders to crawl out of their underground nests, install war machines, and join the battle.

Surrounded by a large number of goblins and ghouls, even when these giant spiders are losing battle and their morale is collapsing, they can still escape by trampling over countless goblins and ghouls with their enormous size. Behind them, a dense green tide helps them fend off enemy pursuit. The death of two or three giant spiders in a battle is a significant loss, and it is usually due to concentrated enemy musket fire.

Before they were killed in battle, the giant spiders had often killed a large number of human swordsmen, spearmen, or halberdiers holding the line. Even a company or two of these armed entourages of the provincial army would have dozens killed by a single giant spider, then their courage would collapse and they would turn and flee.

But now, humanity has seized the moment when the Anarek Giant Spiders are at their weakest, and has decisively penetrated their lair. Before they can install war machines on their bodies, or before they can gather a massive number (no less than 2000) of goblins and gnomes, humanity has brought an extremely elite army to behead them.

One giant spider after another fell, leaving the goblins overwhelmed and their faith crumbling.

Humanity, on the other hand, reaped extremely rich rewards. As they advanced, in addition to obtaining a large amount of top-quality extraordinary spider silk from the giant spiders, the army also finally found considerable spoils along the way.

Many of the supplies were left behind by the remains of adventurers. Those adventurers who had ventured in before, carrying the wealth they had collected, went deeper into the cave, only to die there. Their spoils and equipment eventually became Su Li's possessions.

Basically, the further you go in, the more treasures you can obtain from the remains and corpse demons.

Su Li was also grateful for the purple death wind. If these dead adventurers hadn't turned into corpse demons, their treasures wouldn't have been collected by Su Li; they would have all been taken by the goblins.

These goblins, gnomes, and fart sprites love to collect treasures, riches, and loot and then hide them in secluded corners.

If Su Li manages to clear out most of the main monsters, including the Anarek Giant Spider and the Corpse Demon, he can then open this area to the rangers and adventurers of the territory. They will be very interested in coming here to continue clearing and exploring.

If we can find some goods buried by goblins, even just a single golden crown, it would be worth it.

After the group had defeated and cleared out four or five undead as usual, Ashfield, the halfling hero in charge of searching for treasures and remains, suddenly exclaimed, "A rare ring!"

This exclamation immediately drew everyone's attention and drew gasps of amazement.

Su Li immediately rode Deathclaw forward a few steps and looked at the ruby ​​ring in the halfling's palm, which emitted a hazy blood-red glow.

Halflings always seem to have a strange connection with certain magical items, so they are experts at collecting loot.

You just have to be careful of these shady characters, otherwise they might sneakily hide something while cleaning up their loot.

Fortunately, they were timid by nature and at most they would hide an ordinary prop. But these rare items were things that had to be traced back to their origins, and they simply didn't have the courage to keep them to themselves.

One of the Church Knights of Redmar recognized the ring at a glance and asked in surprise, "Is it the Fiery Comet? Its inner ring should have the maxim engraved by Magnus the Devout, the mentor of the Griffin Knights: Light must be sheathed in darkness."

Su Li took the ring from the halfling's hand and examined it. The ring was forged from a blend of Imperial vibranium and mithril, forming a pattern of a roaring griffin devouring a two-tailed comet. A fiery gem was set into the ring face, emitting a hazy glow even in the darkness. This was a major reason why the halflings dared not keep it hidden; amidst the decaying corpses of the zombies, the ring stood out like a flame, its hazy fireball drawing attention. Whether they hid it in their trousers or pockets, the flame would be immediately visible, like having their buttocks on fire.

After Su Li turned the ring over, he indeed saw a line of gilded inscription inside: "Light must be sheathed in darkness." However, this inscription seemed to be only half of the inscription; there should also be an inscription on the other ring, something like "Light drawn from its sheath is the dawn that illuminates darkness," otherwise this inscription would seem too hopeless.

Then Su Li asked, "Do you recognize this ring?"

A knight from the Church of Redmar immediately replied, "This gem was a significant trophy obtained by the devout Magnus when he annihilated the vampire count. The Imperial Master Engineers forged it into a rare ring using vibranium and mithril."

"His previous owners were all renowned knights of the Church of Redmar, who wore this ring to sweep away countless evils and purify thousands of heretics. Until the last owner, Bloodeye Christopher Eric, disappeared while tracking a group of necromancers. I never expected it to end up here."

This thing is a rare and precious treasure, belonging to the virtuous. Although it has always been one of the iconic items of the Church of Redma, once it's in Su Li's hands, it belongs to Su Li! After all, he cleaned it out of the corpse demon.

If your Church of Rydermar wants to find this blazing comet, go ask the Corpse Demon for it.

Su Li then asked, "What abilities does this ring possess?"

"It has three abilities, two of which are passive: banishing witches and allowing Redma to protect the wearer from enemies, such as those who use dark magic."

"Cursed Words: Righteous prayers will drive heretics and evil monsters to despair. When the wearer prays or uses divine magic, it will cause an area-of-effect morale blow, even causing some low-level creatures to collapse and flee. It is also extremely effective against powerful creatures, reducing their attack, defense, and morale."

"Of course, the strongest weapon is his signature [Redmar Comet]. This ring is bound with three blazing missiles, which resemble the famous twin-tailed comet of Redmar. They can be fired at selected enemies within range, causing terrible area damage. At the same time, they inspire all the Imperial Knights along the way, boosting the morale of the fighting knights and restoring the courage and faith of the knights who have lost their courage and fled in disgrace, bringing them back to the front lines."

That is indeed quite powerful, a veritable nemesis of foreign objects, an evil killer.

Su Li then accepted the ring, saying he could give it to Hilde when he got back, as Hilde currently didn't have a rare-grade ring, making it perfect for her.

Even given the fantastical nature of this territory, rare-grade equipment is extremely rare. To acquire such a rare-grade ring is truly an unexpected delight.

Just as he was about to order the advance, Dietrich approached and said, "My lord, based on the pressure and condition I've been treating, I feel there's something wrong."

"Hmm? Is there a problem?" Su Li raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"

“I feel the attacks we’re receiving are getting increasingly fierce,” Dietrich said. “From the fighting perspective, the intensity of the battle seems about the same as before, but the damage we’re taking is increasing.”

"You mean the enemy is getting stronger?" Su Li pondered for a moment and said, "That's normal, isn't it? Adventurers who can venture deep into this place were all quite strong in life. Some corpse demons, after transformation, will possess their former equipment and martial arts skills, so it's reasonable for them to deal more damage."

“No.” Dietrich shook his head and said, “In terms of martial arts, that is indeed the case. However, the damage and defense of the corpse demon are affected by dark magic. The farther away from the necromancer, the weaker this constraint is, and the closer to the necromancer, the stronger this constraint is. This manifests as the monster having more magical runes on its body under the blessing of dark magic, making its attacks more fierce and its defense as hard as iron.”

"Through the pressure of treatment, I feel that the monster's damage has increased significantly."

Su Li immediately realized what was happening and said, "So you mean we're already close to the necromancer?"

Dietrich nodded and said, "In any case, the concentration of dark magic in this lair is far beyond normal levels. Perhaps there is something controlled by some undead monster ahead."

"Should we wait for the other two chosen ones?"

Su Li calmly considered for a moment and decisively said, "No, we will continue our advance. If we can sense that the concentration of dark magic here is far beyond normal levels, the other two chosen ones will certainly be able to sense it as well. Our rapid advance will attract the monsters' attention, which will actually be more advantageous for the other two chosen ones to ambush and launch surprise attacks."

The art of war is to engage with the enemy through orthodox means and to win through unorthodox means.

Bringing all the troops together, with the three services stagnating and not advancing, is a terrible and mediocre deployment.

As a medical knight, Dietrich was clearly inferior to Su Li, the Sun Goddess knight, in terms of military strategy and tactics.

Therefore, Su Li decisively ordered: "The entire army shall set off immediately and advance swiftly to find the undead monsters here."

At his command, the knights swiftly and decisively continued their advance, soon crossing a long cave.

And just as Dietrich had predicted, the monsters' strength had clearly increased significantly. The further they went, the tougher the undead monsters became, to the point that the knights' swords struck their black magic-enhanced bodies as if they were hitting a wall of iron, producing a piercing clang.

But what's worse is that not long after, the knights who were acting as the rear guard suddenly cried out in alarm: "It's bad, my lord! There are also a huge number of undead monsters behind us!"

Su Li immediately turned to look behind him and saw a large number of corpse demons, zombies and skeletons converging from all directions, staggering as they chased after the Black Forest army.

The dwarves in the group immediately stopped and formed two lines, with the Shield Formation and Butcher in front and the Rangers and Dwarven Musketeers behind, and launched a fierce attack on the monster.

Dietrich exclaimed in astonishment, "These are definitely not ordinary dark magic monsters. Those ghouls usually only awaken when the living approach them, then viciously pounce on them. But these monsters have awakened on their own and are chasing after us. This is extremely unusual."

Su Li glanced at them thoughtfully and said, "Ignore them. Send the order to the dwarves to catch up with the main force and continue forward, and quicken their pace."

The knights were slightly surprised for a moment, but they quickly reacted and spurred their horses to follow closely behind Su Li.

But the dwarves were full of complaints. They believed that if they didn't deal with the monsters behind them first, they would soon be surrounded and trapped by the monsters.

But seeing that the knights had already left quickly, they dared not hesitate any longer and followed after them with their short legs.

The group continued on their way for a short while when a surprised exclamation came from within the group: "Have you heard any music?"

"Music? Funeral music?"

“That’s right, like a choir! A symphony of terrifying voices, like the venomous roars of people on their deathbed.”

"Damn it, which bastard is spouting so much nonsense? Shut your mouth that stinks more than goblin underwear! What you're saying is giving me the creeps!"

The image is chilling to contemplate, like the venomous and terrifying roars of many elderly people before their death or in the crematorium furnace. All of this intertwines at this moment, sending shivers down one's spine and filling one with an unknown fear of the darkness.

At this moment, the oppressive aura of darkness and death reached its peak.

Humans' fear of the unknown and the dark can even surpass that of monsters themselves!

Su Li broke out in goosebumps, his heart pounding. This was definitely not a normal reaction. With his current strength, even if some monster or demon appeared before him, he could physically exorcise it with his blazing warhammer.

If there really is a female ghost now, it's hard to say who is more terrifying in each other's eyes. In the end, it's highly likely that the one begging for mercy and wailing will be the female ghost.

Therefore, it is impossible for Su Li to be afraid of monsters, let alone feel such deep-seated fear as she does now, which has even caused the morale of the entire army to drop.

This is undoubtedly the effect of magical fear!
After analyzing all of this, Su Li decisively and calmly said, "This is a sign that we have finally found those damned monsters! Such powerful magic means that the enemy is nearby!"

At this moment, the Divine Art: Divine Revelation Leadership effect on his body erupted strongly, as if a layer of golden, radiant sunlight enveloped him, quickly stabilizing the morale and fighting spirit of the troops.

The knights were also radiating the light of the Sun Goddess, greatly reducing their fear of the unknown and filling them with anticipation for the upcoming battle.

This long march is finally coming to an end. The monster that has been hiding in the shadows will be nothing more than fish on a chopping board once it is exposed to the powerful knight!

The knights raised their arms and shouted, then quickly followed Su Li forward.

After the knights fought valiantly and shattered countless monsters, they finally broke out of the cave and entered a huge, deep pit.

This deep pit was definitely the deepest palace in the entire cavern, like a hellish abyss, hundreds of meters deep. The largest spider in the entire nest, the Queen Anarek Spider, and more than a dozen other Anarek Spiders, their hair standing on end, roared and hid in the middle of the pit. Around them were a large number of medium and small spiders.

Even before approaching the deep pit, the pungent smell made the humans who arrived dizzy, because the pit was filled with the remains and fragments of spiders, with green sap and entrails scattered all over the ground, as well as the corpses of a large number of humans, goblins, gnomes and skeletons lying in the middle of the mountain of corpses and the sea of ​​blood, which was simply a scene of hell on earth.

Clearly, this is where the Queen usually reproduces and makes sacrifices. The offerings that goblins and gnomes bring from various caves on the ground are delivered to the Queen by the spiders, thus helping the entire race to grow stronger.

But today it has been completely turned into a slaughterhouse, where the Anarek giant spiders, who used to feast and slaughter other races, are now the targets of slaughter.

The ones who slaughtered them were a group of undead standing at the edge of the pit. Their corpse wagons were decorated with flags made of human skin fragments covered with spider-like script in the colors of Morse. The soldiers, ghouls, and knights all wore wolf-skin cloaks that were cut in half along their height. The uniforms, shields, and armor were all marked with a faded emblem—a dead wolf with a bleeding spear wound.

As Su Li approached, thousands of terrifying corpses turned their heads in unison, snapping them toward Su Li. Countless leaping will-o'-the-wisps created an extremely chilling and eerie scene.

Su Li immediately stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath, and looked at the terrifying legion in front of him.

We finally encountered one: a night-wandering zombie!
Whether it's the fragments of human skin and spider-like writing on the hearse, or their iconic uniforms and badges, everything clearly indicates that they are distinct from ordinary undead and are members of a legendary force!
This will also be the first time Su Li has faced such a well-organized, disciplined, and imposingly insignia-covered military force.

Unlike the Black Forest Territory, which has a limited number of badges, old Jasper clearly possessed the ability to produce a large number of badges. The Nightwalker Corpse's main legion and elite soldiers all bore its dead wolf symbol engraved on their chests and shields.

Although the badge had faded over the long years, the flowing purple psionic patterns on it still shone with a faint glow! This indicated that the opponent's absolute combat strength was extraordinary, and Su Li had to carefully examine the composition of the opponent's army.

(End of this chapter)