Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 195 Investigating the Hunting Ritual in Helsing
Sunlight streamed down through the large hole Serena had opened, and Haven dusted himself off and stood up.

The harrowing experience had made Haven think he was doomed for the day, but Serena sensed his danger and rushed over.

"Kill it, but it would be best to preserve its body intact. I need to study its corpse."

Although Serena was exceptionally beautiful, she was extremely ruthless in her attacks, frequently unleashing powerful magic that would leave anyone or any magical beast that was hit in a terrible state. Therefore, Haven had to give her special instructions.

After hearing Haven's explanation of the arrangements, Serena nodded slightly and slowly raised her right hand toward the two-headed giant wolf that was curled up on guard to the side.

The girl's lips moved slightly, and the next moment, several faintly glowing, sword-like slashes appeared around the two-headed giant wolf's body.

As Serena clenched her right fist, air blades surrounding the two-headed giant wolf's body flew past it rapidly.

The two-headed giant wolf only had time to howl at the ceiling once before its voice abruptly stopped. Then its massive body split into pieces, as if it had been cut up by a large cutting machine in a meat processing plant.

Seeing the two-headed giant wolf crash to the ground and shatter into pieces, Haven was a little taken aback. It didn't seem to fit the definition of a complete corpse. However, after seeing Serena's ferocious back, Haven's thought vanished from his mind after only a second.

Who says it's not a complete corpse? Just assemble it, it won't affect its use at all.

While Haven was pondering, Serena had already dealt with all the remaining deformed werewolves in the hall. Dealing with these trash who hadn't even completed their transformation and whose combat level wasn't even at the initial stage was easier for Serena than learning to cook with Haven.

After sensing again and finding nothing alive, Serena floated towards Haven.

"Will, everything is resolved. We can go back now."

Haven looked at Serena, who was giving him a sweet smile, and subconsciously swallowed. She was really amazing. He wished he could be that good when he could easily control her with just a slight movement.

"Not quite. I have things to do and can't go back yet. Why don't you go back first? I'll go back as soon as I'm done."

Serena looked a little disappointed when she heard that Haven wouldn't go back with her.

"Oh, I see. Then, would you like Serena to help you solve this problem?"

After thinking about his upcoming schedule, he realized that bringing Serena along would be too conspicuous, making things more complicated.

"It's alright, no need, I can manage on my own. You should go back first. Is it possible for you to sense whether I'm in danger by looking at this magic rune?"

Haven showed Serena the heart-shaped magic mark on his right arm, which Serena had given him when they parted last time.

"Hmm~ This Heart Seal allows the owner to feel each other's presence."

As she spoke, she rolled up the sleeves of her witch's dress to show Haven. On Serena's arms, which were covered in various magical markings of different sizes, there was also a heart-shaped magical marking on the middle of her arm that was exactly the same as the one on Haven's arm.

"However, Will, you are too weak, so you can't use this magic rune for the time being."

Hearing Serena criticize his lack of strength, Haven could only give an awkward laugh. He was already very strong for his age, okay? It's just that you're too awesome. Who can compare to someone like you? Everyone else is a weakling.

To quickly end this awkward topic, Haven hurriedly said:
"Alright, alright, I'll work hard at my cultivation. You go back now, and we'll stew some meat when I'm done~~~"

Looking at the small portal slowly dissipating beside him, Haven shook his head. It seemed he really needed to work harder on his training; otherwise, it would be too embarrassing to have Serena come to his rescue every time.

The two-headed demonic wolf I just saw, judging by its level, should be somewhere between a high-level and a top-level magical beast. In other words, its strength is roughly in the range of a high-level mage to a grandmaster. It's definitely not something I can handle at my current level. After all, I need to plan carefully before fighting a mid-level one that's a level above me.

"Master, are you alright?"

Just as Haven was circling around the two-headed giant wolf's mangled body, he suddenly heard a timid voice.

"Hey? Annie, why did you come down? Didn't I tell you to wait for me up here?"

Seeing that Haven was clearly alright, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief, and the anxious look on her face gradually subsided.

"Annie~ After Annie went up, she launched the signal flare you gave me. Just as Annie returned to the cave entrance to wait for you, the ground shook violently."

"Annie~ Annie was a little worried about you, so she came down to check on you."

Haven looked at the girl who was looking at him with concern and gave her a friendly smile, then waved to the little girl.

"I'm fine. Although it was a bit dangerous just now, the problem has been resolved now."

As Anne approached, Haven reached out and touched her dry, dull hair.

“Now I need you to go back to the ground. Those griffin riders should be here soon. Once you’re up there, find out where this big hole is, and then lead them in through it.”

The little girl nodded and climbed back into the collapsed tunnel entrance.

Although there was a large hole in the roof, allowing sunlight to stream through, the entire hall was still rather dimly lit.

After estimating the amount of magic power remaining in his body, he launched more than a dozen orbs of light around the hall.

Level 1 spell: Magic Light

It is a low-level spell belonging to the Alterations tree, costing 20 mana. It is generally used for cave exploration and indoor lighting, and lasts for five minutes.

As a spellbook given to Havent by Lord Mora, the spells were extremely easy to cast, and even had some casting methods that differed from those of this world.

As the magic light emitted a soft glow, the entire hall became brighter, and Haven finally got a clear look at what the hall looked like.

In the middle of the hall was what appeared to be a huge reservoir, from which the two-headed giant wolf must have crawled out. A clear trail stretched from the reservoir to where the two-headed giant wolf had fallen.

The entire hall resembled a slaughterhouse, with chunks of broken meat scattered everywhere. In one corner, a dozen iron cages were piled up, inside which lay some motionless, deformed werewolves.

At the far end of the hall stood a stone statue whose features were indistinct. Just as Havent was about to approach and examine the statue, a sound resembling the cry of an eagle rang out, followed by two ropes being slammed down through a large hole in the ceiling.

Several griffin riders dressed in magic-inlaid armor climbed down the ropes.

"Lord Havent. The Sixth Royal Griffin Squad reports for duty upon your summons."

The sixth squad leader, having taken his stand, saluted Haven and then surveyed his surroundings, his heart pounding in his chest.

The horrific scene before him made Kyle believe he had entered the realm of an evil god.

A grotesque and terrifying werewolf, the giant wolf's corpse broken into several large pieces but whose outlines could still be vaguely discerned, and scattered limb fragments everywhere.

Looking at Havent, who seemed completely harmless, Kyle felt a surge of emotion.

Is this young nobleman really that capable? He's truly a prodigy, and a man of great talent who keeps his abilities hidden!
"Ah~~ Captain Kyle, you're here! You've arrived just in time. Has the person been delivered?"

"Yes, Lord Havent, the person has been safely handed over to Lord Lori."

Seeing Kyle suddenly become so respectful to him, Haven was a little confused. Could it be that Kyle was overwhelmed by the kingly aura that he exuded?
"Alright. Thanks for your hard work, Captain Kyle. How many people are in your team? How many of them came?"

"Reporting to Lord Haven, our sixth squad consists of fourteen people. Currently, six of them are on patrol under the leadership of the vice-captain. Including myself, there are seven people present now."

"Like this~~~~"

Haven stroked his chin thoughtfully. To be honest, he wasn't very good at this kind of highly specialized inspection, though that shouldn't be because of the heavy workload or the fact that it was a bit dirty.

Looking at the handsome and tall Royal Griffin Knights, it was probably unrealistic to order them to do this job, and more importantly, they probably wouldn't do it well.

"There were some werewolves left in here, but now that the problem is solved, I'll have to trouble you to go and call over the people from MI8. They're better at this kind of thing."

Kyle nodded upon receiving the order, saluted Havent, and climbed up the rope. The remaining two Griffin Knights, under Havent's instructions, went to clear the fallen rocks at the tunnel entrance.

With nothing else to do, Haven walked toward the conspicuous stone statue. He had originally planned to see what the statue was, but was interrupted by the arriving griffin rider squad. Now he could finally take a good look at the statue.

As we got closer, the appearance of the stone statue finally became clearer. Upon closer inspection, we found that the carvings on the statue were quite distinct, quite different from how it looked from a distance.

Just now, when he was dozens of meters away from the statue, he could only vaguely see its general shape. But after getting closer and observing it more carefully, Haven suddenly had a strange feeling.

Looking at the humanoid stone statue with a huge deer antler on its head, I felt as if something was drawing me in.

With a mixture of curiosity and doubt, Haven stared intently at the statue, trying to figure out what was strange about it.

The next moment, Haven's body swayed slightly, then steadied himself and remained standing still. The two griffin riders, who were clearing rocks at the tunnel entrance dozens of meters away, did not notice this sudden movement at all.

Eh~~~
Where am I?
What am I doing?

When Haven opened his eyes again, he looked around at his surroundings in confusion. He felt like he had been doing something else just now. What was going on?

It feels like I'm running? Then why am I running?

As the scenery receded into the distance, Haven became increasingly lost.

Somewhat confused about his own actions, Haven began to look around at his surroundings with a mind full of doubts. It seemed as if he was running wildly across a vast grassland, and to be honest, he was running quite fast.

What the hell! ! ! ! ! !
As Haven looked down to inspect the dog, he was so startled that he almost fell to the ground. Two furry dog ​​legs were flapping and tumbling in his line of sight.

Somewhat disbelieving, Haven looked down again to confirm, and indeed there were two hairy legs. Looking further back, there were two more.

This~~~~~~~
Have I become a dog?
A big question arose in Havent's mind. Forcing himself to stop, Havent began to examine his surroundings. Under the control of his brain, the lackey raised up according to his will.

I bang my head against the wall!!! I've really turned into a dog!!!
This must be a dream. Wake up, wake up, wake up!

Haven frantically slapped himself with his hooves, doing so more than a dozen times, until he felt a burning sensation in his mouth and stopped his self-harm.

Once he calmed down, Haven began to think seriously about what he had done to become like this. He knew very well that it was all fake, and he wondered when he had fallen for it.

After gradually calming down his anxious emotions, Haven finally figured out the key to the problem.

Holy crap!!!

Could it be that we stared at that statue and got caught in its trap? That would be incredibly malicious.

Having figured out how this situation came about, Haven actually relaxed, because the unknown is the most terrifying thing.

It seems I've stumbled into a mental illusion, somewhat like when I use my pre-recorded ability, except my pre-recorded ability can only be used on myself, while this one seems to have a wider range of applications.

Since it's an illusion, there must be a way to break it. Either find and destroy the key nodes that make the illusion work, solving the problem from a physical perspective, or find the mission objective within the illusion. Once you complete the mission, the illusion will be broken. In a way, it's more like a trial.

As for why Haven knew so much, it was because there was a book in Mora's study bag that focused on the Champion's Path of the Demon God. Considering his current situation, he was afraid that he had mistakenly entered the Champion's Trial of an unknown Demon God.

Beyond the Star Realm

Helsing, who was watching the turmoil he had stirred up among the Grass People, suddenly seemed to sense something, and his gaze instantly pierced through countless barriers to see what he wanted to see.

'So that's how it is!!! What an interesting little guy! Enjoy the hunt, savor the thrill of the chase!'

(End of this chapter)