Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 171 Fisherman and Hunter

"Damn it, tell them to be careful, why hasn't the reinforcement arrived yet?"

In just a brief exchange, Carlos knew he was no match for the giant werewolf. The difference in their strength was simply too great. If it weren't for his years of combat instincts that made him react and instinctively raise his two-handed sword to block, he would have been cleaved in two by the werewolf's spear.

The intense pain in his chest and the strange, curved arc of the two-handed sword in his hand spoke volumes about the perilous nature of the recent exchange.

“Human, you’re quite interesting. Here’s what I’ll do: if you can last three more moves against me, the great Sinding will let you go.”

Seeing the imposing werewolf suddenly speak, Carlos was momentarily taken aback and couldn't help but ask a question.

"A talking beastman?"

It's no wonder Carlos was so surprised, since all the information circulating in any books or intelligence reports describes the beastmen as chaotic, bloodthirsty wild beasts.

As one of the collaborative projects between the Empire and the Church twenty years ago, the announcement at the time stated that the beastmen had been completely eradicated from the English Empire under the joint siege by both sides. Of course, the use of words like "absolutely," "completely," and "completely" in official announcements is usually just something to be taken with a grain of salt.

"Your curiosity is a bit too much, human~"

"However, Sinding will give you some answers. After all, this is also part of the hunt. Only when the prey goes all out can it be a meaningful ritual."

The sounds of flames burning and houses collapsing, the screams of flesh being torn apart, and the shouts made to dispel their fear, all combined to create this bloody hunting ground.

"Human, stop waiting for the reinforcements you speak of. That will only make you a coward. Helsing will not like prey like that. Like I said, if you can withstand three of my attacks head-on, you will have a chance to live."

Looking at the giant werewolf known as Sindin, Carlos let out a long breath. Years of mercenary experience had taught Carlos that he could always come up with the fastest solution and the best course of action when faced with any situation. This was also why Carlos's Heavy Stone Mercenary Group had grown from a small team of seven or eight people to a large mercenary group of two hundred people.

But this doesn't mean Carlos is someone who avoids danger and seeks only profit. On the contrary, this leader of the Heavy Stone Mercenary Group has never lacked the courage to face any difficulty or crisis. Throughout the king's history, countless times annihilation seemed imminent, yet Carlos miraculously led the Heavy Stone Mercenary Group to victory. So...
"Everyone, listen to my command! We're switching to combat mode. Stop being passive and defensive. Show us your true skills, or we'll all die here today."

Seeing the powerful battle aura emanating from Carlos's body, Sindin excitedly let out a loud howl towards the sky.

“Good, very good, excellent, human. Your courage greatly satisfies Sindin. As a reward, you will have the opportunity to fight on equal terms.”

With that, Sinding planted the blood-dripping spear in his hand straight into the ground, opened his huge wolf claws, and walked towards Carlos. Without the direct enhancement of Helsing's hunting spear, Sinding's strength dropped directly from near legendary. However, since the spear was still nearby, and with the spear's invisibility enhancement, the werewolf's strength was still at the high-level top level.

As a high-level Disintegration Swordsman, when Carlos advanced to the next high level, he gained the ability to imbue his weapons with sharpness and slicing power. Of course, this was only what Carlos had outwardly displayed over the years. As for his hidden killing moves, he had barely revealed them during his nearly twenty years as a mercenary.

But each time he used it, it helped Carlos turn the tide of battle, so this time, Carlos still believed that with his trump card, he could severely injure, or even, if he was lucky, kill the werewolf in front of him who didn't seem as strong as before.

"ha!!!"

Enraged once again, Carlos launched an attack on the werewolf. Without the support of Helsing's hunting spear, Sindin was no longer the invincible figure he had been before.

Faced with Carlos's frenzied attacks wielding his two-handed sword, the bristles that resembled hard steel bristles offered absolutely no protection. Under the sword energy emanating from the blade, large patches of blood mist instantly appeared on Sindin's body.

Feeling the pain in his body, the werewolf roared at Carlos, who was constantly swinging his longsword in front of him. A visible ripple of sound wave flew towards Carlos. Carlos, who was hit by the sound wave, was stunned and motionless for a moment, as if a huge wooden mallet had hit his head.

Faced with Carlos, who was stunned by the sonic attack, the werewolf Sindin did not press his advantage. Instead, he slapped Carlos, sending him flying several meters away, and then looked at him with great interest.

"Human, you are very capable. You have earned Sinding's approval."

As he spoke, he stuck out his long, scarlet tongue and licked the blood seeping from the scratches on his arm. Unlike the werewolf Sindin, who seemed completely at ease, Carlos's accumulated fighting spirit was not released properly after being interrupted by Sindin's howling attack, causing him considerable internal injuries.

"Alright then, Sinding has changed his mind. If you're willing to join us now, Sinding will let you experience the allure of hunting in Helsing."

Although he didn't know what the werewolf named Sindin was referring to as Helsing, Carlos, being human, clearly didn't want to become a werewolf. After adjusting his fighting spirit a few more times, Carlos once again raised his two-handed sword and faced the werewolf Sindin.

"No need, I don't want to become a half-human, half-wolf beast like you."

Upon hearing Carlos's words, the werewolf Sindin's eyes changed noticeably, his gaze turning fierce. No one could insult the great Helsing.

"Human, you will pay the price for those words."

As he spoke, Xin Ding's already muscular body became even more prominent under his deliberate stimulation, and the long mane on his neck fluttered even without wind.

Sensing the intense killing intent emanating from his opponent, Carlos couldn't help but swallow hard. The pain in his throat made him frown, clearly indicating that he was seriously injured. Looking down, he saw a large pool of blood at his feet and knew that even if he escaped, he probably wouldn't live much longer.

"Come on!!! You filthy bastard!!!"

With his life force activated, Carlos's battle aura burst forth with a dazzling light. At this moment, Carlos, the leader of the Heavy Stone Mercenary Group, felt incredibly powerful. With an unwavering belief in victory, Carlos chose a strategy of trading injury for injury, since he didn't have much time left anyway. So, when faced with the increasingly larger wolf claws, Carlos made no attempt to dodge.

Large chunks of flesh and blood burst out, and the blood, under the powerful impact, turned into a blood mist that flew seven or eight meters before landing on the snow.

Hoo~ Hoo~ Hoo~
Carlos, whose entire chest cavity had been blown away, tried desperately to breathe, but his upper body, having lost too many parts, was clearly unable to do the job. However, his powerful vitality prevented him from dying immediately.

Looking at the werewolf Sindin, whose waist he had also stabbed open, Carlos let out a silent laugh.

“Good! Very good! Human! You have earned Sinding’s respect. Now, Sinding will let you die with honor.”

As Sindin once again grabbed Helsing's hunting spear, which was stuck in the ground, the large hole in his abdomen that had been blasted open by Carlos's shattering aura began to heal rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few breaths, the large hole in his abdomen had completely disappeared, and even his fur had grown back intact. As Sindin activated the power in Helsing's hunting spear, a figure with antlers appeared behind Sindin, also holding a spear in his hand, the tip of which was vaguely pointed at Carlos lying on the ground.

The flame of life had burned wildly and was nearing its end. For Carlos, all honor, disgrace, wealth, status, and identity were no longer so important at this moment.

In the final moments of life, memories come flooding back like a tide.

When I first learned to walk, the black stone steps in front of my house were my first enemy. Later, when I was seven or eight years old, I was already an excellent catcher and could go fishing in the lake with my father.

But fishing was always a very boring life. Carlos preferred to lie on the bow of his father's boat and watch the fish at the bottom of the lake kill each other rather than fish.

Sometimes, little Carlos wondered what all this fighting was for, and later he asked his father, who only knew how to fish.

The lean, dark-skinned man replied that it was for survival, even after he had become the leader of a mercenary group of over two hundred men.

I'm still not quite sure if I'm the fish or the hunter. Now I'm about to die. My life will be like my father's, a hurried fish swimming around until the very end.

Helsing's hunting spear, like a dazzling sun, thrust its massive, shimmering tip toward Carlos.

The next moment, the burst of energy formed a huge pillar of light five or six meters in diameter. The pillar of light lasted for two or three seconds before disappearing. A crater two or three meters deep appeared at the point of attack, and in the middle of the crater was a blackened human skeleton that had been vitrified.

Thus, a fisherman's child died at the hands of a hunter; prey and hunter, sometimes the roles can change so quickly.

"Ha~~"

Hevent, sitting in the carriage, yawned widely. Serena, who was sleeping on his shoulder, was next to him. As for Lori, since the little boy was too weak, he was not brought along and was left at the hotel to wait.

"Hehehe~ Haven, I'm really sorry to have made you come with me to handle things so late."

Facing the chubby boy with a smirk, Haven waved his hand dismissively. Feeling a bit of discomfort in his shoulder, he hugged Serena's little head and placed it on his lap.

"It's okay, Heman. I don't have anything to do anyway, and I can sleep anytime."

"On another note, what did you store in the warehouse that you, the eldest son of the Hoylund family, have to personally unlock?"

The chubby boy hesitated for a moment, wondering if he could tell his good friend about this thing that the family considered a secret. After all, this thing was transported in a very discreet and secretive manner, and was even mixed in with some worthless grains.

Seeing the little fat boy's hesitant expression, Haven quickly waved his hand.

"If it's something very important, then don't mention it. I was just asking casually."

"No~ tsk~"

The chubby boy looked like he was constipated.

"Actually, I don't know what it is either, but it's quite mysterious. It was transported covertly all the way here. To be honest, I really don't know which genius came up with this idea. I don't know about other routes, but when it was delivered to the capital, it was mixed in with a truckload of barley."

As he spoke, feeling the heat, Heman opened the window slightly to let in some cool air.

“If Akris hadn’t reminded me just now, I would have forgotten about this. Although I don’t know what this thing is, I do know where it needs to be sent next.”

At this point, the chubby boy looked up in the direction of the Platinum Palace with a profound and inscrutable expression.

"In the palace? What's that? Doesn't the palace have its own royal trading company?"

"Hiss! I don't know then~ Now that you mention it, I feel a bit better."

Just as the two were chatting, Serena, who had been sleeping on Haven's lap, suddenly sat up. A surge of powerful magic erupted from her body, and her large blue-violet eyes shone brightly.

Seeing Serena's flustered state, Haven quickly asked her what was wrong.

"What's wrong, Serena? Did something happen?"

Looking ahead through the wooden planks of the carriage, Serena wrinkled her small nose and furrowed her brows.

"A foul smell emanates from here; a truly nasty fellow has appeared."

Hearing Serena's answer, Haven looked bewildered. Although he had spent so much time with Serena, he still sometimes couldn't understand the girl's way of thinking. However, based on past experience, anyone who could make Serena take things so seriously must be a very capable person.

"So what did you see?"

Just as Serena was about to open her mouth to continue describing the details, from Havent's perspective, the whole world suddenly turned black and white, and then a familiar voice rang out.

"Hey, long time no see~ Havent, you seem to be doing well lately, you've grown quite a bit taller, and hmm~~~ your strength has improved a little bit too."

As the deep, magnetic voice faded, tentacles with countless eyes appeared out of thin air in the carriage.

(End of this chapter)