Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 453 Valkyrie Bloodline Activation - The Elf's Gift
Hilde and her ambush party, like leeches, painstakingly tracked the undead from afar, aided by the distorted terrain and the priests' mental shield. The chaos in the valley's core far surpassed that of the outer areas; the thick fog twisted not only the roads but also distorted their senses. Sometimes they would see the undead procession just meters ahead, only to rush in and find it was merely a fleeting afterimage from minutes before; other times they would sense their target was hundreds of meters away, yet their mental scans indicated it was right beside them.

"Master Steward, we can't go any deeper!" A cold voice, tinged with obvious worry, rang in Hilde's ears.

It was Thranville, the half-elf descendant with the blood of the Ice Valkyrie. Her pale silver eyes gleamed warily in the thick fog, and her fair face appeared slightly pale due to the spiritual pollution of the valley.

"This is the edge of the 'Sculpture Plaza.' Further ahead... lies the 'Sleeping Core,' which even our previous exploration teams have never ventured into and which is marked as extremely dangerous! The spatial-temporal chaos and mental erosion there are more than ten times stronger than on the outskirts! Our amulets won't last long! Moreover... what lies dormant there are the deepest obsessions and dreams of countless elven souls. If a living person enters, they will either go mad or be assimilated into a new 'Rock People'!"

Hilder stopped in her tracks. She stared at the swirling, living, inky fog ahead, then glanced back at her exhausted team, their eyes visibly dazed. Sweat streamed down the foreheads of the druids and emerald mages, the priests maintaining the mental barrier were ashen-faced, and the halfling ambushers' fingers trembled slightly as they gripped their crossbows. Thranville's warning felt like a bucket of ice water.

The risk is too great. Venturing into this unknown core, filled with the obsessions of elven spirits, is tantamount to collective suicide. Their mission here is to delay and monitor, to buy time for their lord…

As per Su Li's previous orders, the Raven Territory was to lure Old Jasper and more of the undead forces away, allowing her to take advantage of their numerical disadvantage and wipe out their surprise attack team in one fell swoop.

But it is clear that something went wrong with this mission, and a huge one at that, which caused Jasper to abandon the main battle and come here instead!

This forces Hilder to confront the current situation: Old Jasper is right in front of her! He has just acquired a near-legendary-level heroic warrior, causing his strength to skyrocket! If he manages to reach the core of the slumber and obtain that legendary lost power... the consequences will be unimaginable!
A rare flicker of struggle crossed Hilde's spirited eyes. Her fingers tightened and loosened around the hilt of Alaric's Beast Slayer sword. Ultimately, that struggle was replaced by an almost cold-blooded resolve.

“Thranville, take the priest squad and the weaker members and retreat to a safe point to establish backup.” Hilder’s voice was deep and firm, leaving no room for argument. “Swan Knights, First and Second Squads, Druids, Emerald Mages, and any remaining 'Goblin' members who can still fight, continue tracking with me! The target hasn’t completed the core ritual yet; this is our last chance! For our lord… we must kill him! Even at the cost of everything!”

"Master!" Thranville wanted to dissuade her, but seeing the cold flame of loyalty burning in Hilder's eyes, her words caught in her throat. She understood that for Hilder, the lord's will was above all else, including her own life.

"Yes!" The Swan Knights and elites who were called upon responded in low voices, their eyes showing fear, but even more so, a resolute determination.

Thranville was also inspired by this will and immediately said, "There's no point in retreating. If we can't stop old Jasper from actually converting the Elven Mass Grave, then we're just a few days' difference between dying sooner or later!"

The others shouted in unison, "Yes, Steward! Let us go with you! Old Jasper wants us dead, so let's fight him to the death! Let's see who gets chopped to pieces!"

"That's right, it's a life-or-death struggle! We'll fight them to the death!"

The soldiers roared and fought fiercely. Hilde no longer hesitated. Apart from leaving a squad of Swan Knights to meet the lord, she decisively led her team to continue the pursuit, disappearing into the thick fog once more. Following the faint traces of negative energy left by the undead and the spiritual guidance that the priests were struggling to maintain, she continued her pursuit.

The tracking became exceptionally difficult. The thick fog was as sticky as glue, and every step felt like wading through mud.

The whispers in my ears were no longer indistinct murmurs, but transformed into clear sounds of clashing swords, the wails of elves, and the angry roars of dwarves, as if countless ancient wars were being replayed in my ears.

Beside the twisted road, some blurry "sculptures" formed from condensed mist began to appear—they were not rocks, but rather like flowing images, depicting fragments of the elven warriors' lives: a glorious city, a fierce battle, a heart-wrenching betrayal... This is the truth of the "Sculpture Square," a flowing scroll of death formed from countless fragments of the dreams of the dead!

Sylvanas, enduring excruciating mental anguish and relentless hallucinations, stared intently ahead. Their pursuit was severely hampered, and the distance between them and the undead seemed to be widening.

Just as they carefully rounded a bend in the road formed by a massive, frozen war scene—a landscape of misty statues depicting the brutal battle between elves and dwarves—

Ahead, in that swirling, inky fog, the faint traces of negative energy from the undead that had just been clearly visible... vanished!

It's not just that the trajectory has disappeared!
Hilde stopped abruptly, her pupils contracting sharply! The Swan Knight and Druid beside her also held their breath, their faces showing disbelief and horror!
Less than fifty meters ahead of them, the thick fog seemed to thin out a bit, and they "saw" the backs of old Jasper, Mhava, and the entire undead procession! They were facing away from them, seemingly having just passed this bend and preparing to continue deeper!
However, strangely enough... the scene was frozen! Like a photograph that had been paused! The folds of old Jasper's cloak fluttering, the angle at which the Mhawa battle axe was raised, the footsteps of the undead messengers... all remained still! There was no sound, no energy fluctuations, only deathly silence!
Even more chillingly, Hilde keenly noticed that in the frozen image, the form of a spirit-binding messenger floating at the edge of the group was... exactly the same as the painful, contorted appearance she had made just over ten minutes earlier when she was struck by mental interference at the cave entrance! And the black knight whose legs had been corroded by the holy water crossbow bolts had the exact same wound condition as it had been just over ten minutes earlier!
"It's...it's a shadow of the past!" A quick-witted battle priest's voice trembled. "The Valley of Memory...it has frozen the scene from just over ten minutes ago...here! What we see...is not them at all!"

The moment he finished speaking, the frozen image of the undead procession, like the reflection of a stone thrown into water, rippled and distorted violently, and then... like a soap bubble, it "popped" and completely disappeared into the thick fog, leaving no trace!
Old Jasper and his rapidly growing undead army vanished right before their eyes, around a bend, as if they had never existed, into the depths of this inky mist that could devour light and distort time!

Hilde's heart sank to the bottom. A chilling coldness crept up her spine and spread throughout her body. She finally understood the terror of the core area of ​​the Valley of Memories—it could not only make you lose your way, but also make you lose yourself in the cracks of time! The pursuit had completely lost its target!

A chilling despair enveloped everyone's hearts like a thick, inky fog. Their target had vanished, completely disappearing into the depths of this demonic realm that toyed with time and perception. All the members of Hilder's team, including Thranville, wore faces filled with bewilderment and terror.

"Master... what do we do now?" Thranville's voice trembled slightly, her pale silver eyes scanning the swirling, seemingly alive mist around her, the solidified and dissipating war phantoms seeming like a silent mockery.

Hilde took a deep breath; the stench of decay and death in the thick fog was icy and piercing, but it only made the resolute flame in her eyes burn even more fiercely.

She abruptly raised her head, her voice resolute and decisive, like a sharp sword cleaving through the fog:

"Chase them! Keep chasing them!"

“But…” one of the halflings was about to speak.

“No buts!” Hilde interrupted him, her gaze sharp as a hawk's, sweeping across the faces of each team member. “They disappeared, but they didn’t vanish into thin air! They’re still in the valley! Somewhere in this thick fog, not too far from us! This godforsaken place has simply distorted our senses, hiding them in the cracks of time!”

She gripped the Alaric Beast Slayer sword at her waist, the cold touch of the hilt making her even more alert.

"More importantly, the old bones' ultimate goal is clear! It's the core of the Valley of Memories, the collective graveyard of the elves! No matter how many detours he takes, or how many time-consuming tricks he plays, his destination is only one!"

Hilder's voice carried a chilling, penetrating coldness, "We don't need to chase their afterimages like headless flies anymore! We'll charge straight to the grave! That's the final battlefield!" Her words were like a shot of adrenaline, instantly dispelling the confusion in the team members' hearts. Yes, the destination was clear! Rather than being toyed with by this bizarre spacetime, it was better to strike at the heart of the matter!
"Thranville, Druid, Emerald Mage! Focus all your attention on sensing the flow of death energy and spatial anomalies in the core of the valley! The rest of you, stay close to me, target—the Sleeping Graveyard! Full speed ahead!" Hilde gave the order decisively, no longer hesitating, and took the lead, plunging headlong into the thicker and more chaotic inky fog in the general direction of the elven mass grave in her memory.

This time, instead of cautiously tracking the remaining traces, they charged towards their ultimate goal with unwavering courage!

The thick fog seemed to be enraged by their determination, becoming even thicker. The war murmurs in their ears transformed into deafening roars of battle. Countless "sculptures" formed from the fog seemed to come alive. The afterimages of elven warriors charging, the illusions of dwarven warhammers crashing down, the light and shadow of dragons breathing flames... constantly flashed around them, intersected, and even tried to block their path!

The spiritual amulets flickered violently on the team members' armor, emitting a strained buzzing sound. Intense headaches and chaotic hallucinations assaulted everyone's nerves.

Thranville followed closely beside Hilder, her long, pale silver hair flying wildly in the chaotic energy flow. Her face was as pale as paper, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She bit her lower lip tightly, resisting the wailing of the dead that was about to tear her consciousness apart.

"Hold on, Thranville!" Hilder shouted sharply, noticing her condition.

“I…I’m fine!” Thranville answered stubbornly, but her voice trembled with pain.

The moment she finished speaking, a gigantic elven phantom, formed from the thick fog, suddenly burst forth from the front, wielding a burning spear and charging straight at her with boundless grief and rage! Its power seemed to pierce through space itself!

Everyone was stunned by what they saw; they had never heard of illusions occurring here. This was merely a valley where memories were sealed away—how could tangible energy appear within those memories?
"Watch out!" Hilde's pupils contracted, and Alaric's Beast Slayer was instantly drawn, meeting the illusory spear with a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air!
But just like the characteristics of the Valley of Memories, Hilder's blade swept directly through the illusory spears, as if it had struck thin air.

However, when the spear struck Thranville, it sent the pale-faced female knight flying.

Had she not activated Blazing Blood: Winter's Embrace at the last second, instantly covering her in a thick layer of ice crystals and blocking the spear's sharp edge, she would likely have been pierced through. The ice crystals shattered, and Thranville groaned as she flew backward, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth.

Fortunately, after this strike, the wailing of the undead that haunted Thranville diminished significantly, as if some kind of balance had been broken. At the same time, struck by the tangible elven phantom spear, a long-dormant bloodline within Thranville was ignited in this core area filled with the obsession of ancient elven spirits and the chilling aura of death!
Om-!
A pure, chilling, icy blue energy erupted from Seranville's body without warning! Her pale silver eyes instantly turned a deep, icy blue, like ancient ice! Her flowing hair moved without wind, each strand seemingly frozen in ice crystals, shimmering with a cold, eerie blue light! An ancient and majestic power of ice and snow, originating from the depths of her bloodline, swept out, instantly freezing the swirling fog around her!

Crack!
The phantom of the burning spear that pierced towards her was frozen solid by a layer of ice several feet thick that appeared out of nowhere less than half a meter away! Together with the huge phantom of the elf, it was transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture!

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Not only the phantom of the attack, but also the swirling fog, the flashing lights of war, and even the soul-corroding murmurs were all forcibly suppressed, frozen, and slowed down by the icy domain that Thranville unleashed!
Hilder's sword froze in mid-air as she stared in shock at Thranville, who appeared beside her like an ice goddess descending to earth. She could clearly sense that the energy emanating from Thranville had suddenly intensified, becoming more concentrated and oppressive!

"Is this the powerful bloodline of the Ice and Snow Valkyrie?" Hilde thought in shock.

Thranville herself was stunned. She looked down at her hands, which radiated an icy blue aura, feeling the unprecedented, overwhelming power surging within her, and a strange sensation deep within her blood, a resonance with some dormant will of this valley. The mental torment that had plagued her for so long had miraculously subsided under the protection of this icy power! She felt her senses become sharper, her control over ice and snow as effortless as her own!
At the same time, Thranville didn't stop! Her eyes shone brightly with icy blue light, and she shouted, "Frost Grip!" She didn't use her spear, but instead clenched her fist directly at the frozen elven phantom!
Snap! Boom!

The enormous ice sculpture, along with the phantom elves within it, was instantly crushed and pulverized from within by the invisible force of ice! It turned into countless shimmering ice crystals!
At the center of the dissipating powder, a single, dazzling, star-like, icy-blue light floated in the air.

"That is..." The druids stared in shock at the lost treasure, exclaiming in disbelief, "A Phoenix Crystal?"

It was only the size of a fingernail, yet it radiated a fiery power, and inside it seemed as if countless elf figures were practicing exquisite swordsmanship, archery, and magic!

The phoenix is ​​the sacred beast of the elves, and it can be reborn from the ashes. Therefore, in the ancient times of the elves, some elven knights who signed a phoenix pact could use the power of the phoenix to pass on their longevity experience and skills.

But ever since the elves left the Old World, even the oldest druids have never seen such a legendary item!
But tonight, it all happened again here!
"This is... a crystallization of elven martial arts heritage?" Seranville reached out and grasped the crystal in surprise. A stream of combat techniques information instantly flooded into her mind! She felt her understanding of elven combat skills instantly rise to a new level, and some previously clumsy moves became fluid and seamless!
"This is undoubtedly good news for this terrible night!" Hilde cheered. "Let's keep going!"

With Thranville's sudden burst of icy energy clearing the way, the team's pressure eased considerably. But the dangers of the valley had only just begun. They hadn't gone far when another dwarven phantom, formed from countless illusory dwarven battleaxes and wielding a runic giant hammer, burst forth from the thick fog! It let out a silent roar, and the hammer, imbued with the power to cleave mountains and split rocks, slammed down upon Thranville! This time, the attack, too, carried a strange, tangible energy!
"Ice Crystal Barrier!" Thranville reacted extremely quickly, pushing her hands forward, and a huge diamond-shaped ice shield engraved with intricate ice runes instantly solidified!
boom!
The giant hammer slammed into the ice shield with a deafening roar! The ice shield trembled violently, cracks spreading, but it ultimately withstood this terrifying blow! Thranville was forced back a step, her icy blue eyes blazing with even greater fighting spirit!
"Freeze!" She slammed her hands together! Extreme cold spread up the giant hammer, instantly freezing the dwarven spirit illusion along with the hammer in its hand! Immediately afterward, Thranville drew her sword, and a condensed, tangible, ice-blue sword aura shot out like lightning!

puff!

The sword energy pierced precisely into the core of the frozen illusion! The dwarven hero's illusion shattered with a roar, turning into ice shards and dissipating. Leaving behind a dragon blood amber heart! Its entire body was dark red, like solidified magma, and within it seemed to be sealed a drop of boiling dragon blood, radiating immense vitality and a scorching aura!

As Thranville picked up the amber heart, she immediately felt her bloodline, originating from the Ice Valkyrie, being infused with new vitality, becoming more active and surging! This dragon blood amber heart could greatly nourish her bloodline essence, and might even allow her to unleash an even stronger "Blazing Blood" ability!
More importantly, this item works on everyone.

"Good stuff! Quickly put it away!" A glint of light flashed in Hilde's eyes.

The closer one gets to the core, the stronger and more bizarre the illusions become. The next one to appear is a distorted illusion—half-elf, half-dragon—formed from countless wailing faces of elves and fragments of dragon bones! It hovers in the air, wings spread, spewing a terrifying breath that is a mixture of necromantic negative energy and dragon breath!
"Be careful! It's the vengeful spirit of a dragonborn!" the Emerald Mage exclaimed.

This breath had an extremely wide range and possessed the dual properties of corroding the soul and freezing the body! Even with her ice crystal domain activated, Seranville could only barely block the opponent's terrifying attack.

"Disperse!" Thranville's eyes flashed with a cold light as she unleashed the power of the Dragonblood Amber Heart she had just absorbed to its fullest extent! The ice spear in her hand erupted with an unprecedented icy blue light, and a huge icicle, seemingly capable of freezing the soul, shot into the sky, slashing fiercely at the dragonborn illusion!

laugh--!
The icy spear collided with the dragon's breath, unleashing a piercing melting sound! Ultimately, the extreme cold suppressed the chaotic energy, and the sword energy pierced the core of the dragonborn illusion! The illusion let out a shrill scream and dissipated into black smoke. This time, what fell was an ancient runestone. The runestone was covered in ancient elven runes, radiating a stable and powerful fluctuation of frost magic.

Thranville picked up the runestone and immediately understood its function—it could be inlaid into weapons or armor to greatly enhance the power and stability of frost magic. More importantly, it seemed to be able to store extra frost magic power, replenishing the energy required to activate powerful bloodline abilities like "Blazing Blood: Embrace of Winter" at crucial moments, thus indirectly increasing the number of times it could be used!
The continuous battles and gains caused Thranville's aura to rise steadily. The Elven Martial Arts Crystal honed her skills; the Dragon Blood Amber Heart nourished and strengthened her bloodline essence; and the Ancient Runestone enhanced her frost magic and provided additional burst support! The ice crystal field surrounding her became more stable and larger, the dense fog was completely dispelled, and the mental erosion was almost completely isolated!
"Thranville... how are you feeling?" Hilde looked at her transformed companion, her tone filled with surprise and a hint of inquiry.

(End of this chapter)