Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 196 The Champion's Trial
Run~
Chase~
Hunting~
When the prey's slender neck is pierced by sharp teeth, when scalding blood gushes out and flows into your throat.

The thrill of the hunt reaches its peak at this moment.

——————Helsing
Haven stood on a high cliff, looking at the proverbs carved below a human-shaped stone statue with deer antlers on its head, and carefully read them.

If we put everything else aside and consider this trial as completing a game, then the stone statues and the proverbs under the stone slabs that you find should be the process hints in the game's quest.

Along the way, Haven had already discovered five such sculptures or stone slabs of varying sizes, each with an inscription underneath.

Based on the descriptions in the five paragraphs, Haven roughly understood his current situation.

He didn't know how he was pulled into an illusion by a demon god named Helsing. Of course, it was also possible that it wasn't an illusion, but a true reflection of the Great King's kingdom.

This illusion is a scene used by Lord Helsing to select the best hunters under his command, which means it is a trial, and there should be other hunters in the trial. If you want to leave this illusion, the best way is to become the final winner.

That being said, there is now a major problem facing us.

"I'm not human!!!"

Looking down at his furry paws, Haven felt like crying. If you insisted on calling him a hunter, it would make sense, but in his current state, he could switch between the roles of hunter and prey at will.

You might be chasing your prey one minute, and then get shot in the backside the next, instantly dying. You don't know what the consequences will be if you die in this trial; you might get out of there, or you might just die.

Therefore, Haven didn't dare to gamble at all, because if he didn't win, he would be finished.

Just as Haven was pondering his next move, a faint sound came from behind him, and a pure white elk emerged from the depths of the jungle, running frantically toward him.

Seeing the panicked white deer, Haven sensed something was wrong and quickly hid. In this unknown situation, he should observe first; a rash attack would easily put him at a disadvantage.

Just as Havent struggled to climb to the treetop and hide, the white deer had already run past him. The next moment, a man dressed as a hunter, wearing an animal skin coat and carrying a hunting bow, emerged from the depths of the jungle.

The hunter drew his bow and shot an arrow at the white deer, but due to the cover of the trees, the arrow did not cause any damage to the deer and instead struck the tree trunk that the deer was passing by.

After uttering a slang term that Haven couldn't understand, the hunter continued his pursuit.

After the white deer and the hunter had disappeared for a while and there was no further movement, Haven slowly slid down from the tree, his fluffy tail sticking up.

Walking to the tree trunk, he looked at the arrows embedded in it and couldn't help but gasp. Just as he had thought, this was indeed a hunting trial, and there were indeed other humans present. Haven touched his muzzle with his paw and began to think.

That's strange, that's so unfair. Why did my character turn into a dog after I came in? The difficulty has increased a bit too much.

Unable to figure it out, Haven had no choice but to follow in the direction the hunter and the white deer were chasing. After all, he didn't have any good ideas for breaking the deadlock, so he could only follow the hunter to see what was going on.

After following the tracks left by the man and the deer for about ten minutes, Haven arrived at a wasteland.

At this moment, the prey and the hunter faced off in their final showdown. Haven crouched down and hid under a large rock to watch.

The white elk, which had been shot four or five times by the hunter, was in bad shape. The blood flowing from its wounds had stained most of its snow-white fur red.

The long run and blood loss had left the white elk in a precarious state, but its wild instincts were finally unleashed. Facing the hunters' pursuit, it no longer fled in panic like a headless fly.

Instead, it faced its final battle in a flat and spacious place. The white deer was panting heavily, white mist gushing from its nostrils. Its two huge eyes were no longer those of a docile herbivore, but had completely transformed into the frenzied struggle of a dying beast before its death.

Seemingly sensing the white elk's thoughts, the pursuing hunter took his hunting longbow and quiver off his body and threw them on the ground. Then, he slowly drew his jungle hunting knife from his waist and confronted the white elk.

The moment their eyes met, they launched their attacks in perfect unison. For both of them, this final showdown between hunter and prey was fair, because their roles could be switched at any time.

After several rounds of fighting, although the white elk had a physical advantage, the wounds on its body still affected its movement. After the hunter dodged several fierce attacks, its strength became obviously insufficient.

After dodging several seemingly dangerous charges and antler thrusts from the white elk, the hunter successfully closed the distance to the deer.

Faced with the increasingly sluggish white elk, the hunter did not hesitate at all, and plunged his jungle knife into the white elk's chest.

The next moment, the white elk, like a mechanical doll held in place by a stick, convulsed violently a few times before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

The hunter, who had won the final victory, laboriously crawled out from under the white giant deer's body. Under the gaze of the white giant deer's misty eyes, the blood-covered hunter raised his jungle hunting knife high and slashed down at the white elk's neck.

Having completed the hunt, the hunter raised the white elk's head high. From Havent's perspective, the hunter's head was replaced by the white elk's head, transforming him into a human-bodied, deer-headed creature.

After completing the ritual, the hunter tied the deer's head to his back with a rope, then picked up a hunting knife and began skinning the white elk carcass.

A dozen minutes later, watching the hunter leave, Haven crept over furtively. All that remained was the mangled carcass of a deer. He swallowed hard, smelling the aroma of the flesh.

Then, realizing what had happened, Haven stuck out his paw and smacked himself hard in the mouth. The thought of actually wanting to eat raw meat was utterly terrifying.

Having circled the headless deer carcass twice, and finding nothing except an increasingly strong urge to eat meat, Haven followed the hunter in the direction he had gone.

Following the trail of blood scattered on the ground, they finally spotted the hunter in front of an altar.

On the altar stood a stone statue with a human body and deer antlers, and the hunters had neatly arranged the deer heads and hides they had just hunted on the stone slab below.

He knelt down on the ground in reverence, his arms slightly bent, his fingers pointing upwards toward the sky, and he murmured something under his breath.

However, due to the distance, Haven could not hear clearly and could only watch the hunter's every move from a safe distance.

A few more minutes passed, and just as Haven was getting a little impatient, the motionless statue reacted, as if a deity had answered a believer's prayers; a faint light emanated from the statue.

A beam of light immediately enveloped the hunter. Under its rays, the hunter seemed to be enduring immense pain, his body hunched over and convulsing as he lay prostrate on the altar. The beam of light lasted for several minutes before dissipating. Just when Havent thought the hunter had been killed by the light, the hunter, who had been lying motionless on the ground, struggled to his feet, his entire body rapidly inflating like a balloon.

The animal skin coat he was wearing was stretched open, and a large amount of black fur grew on the originally smooth skin, as the hunter let out a long howl towards the sky.

From then on, Haven witnessed firsthand the entire process of a human transforming into a werewolf.

The hunter who had completed the ritual and transformed into a werewolf seemed to have gained a significant boost in strength. After letting out a long howl at the sky, he appeared to have discovered Havent's whereabouts.

The bright green eyes stared straight at him, but after a few glances, it lost interest and left. In the hunter's eyes, it was just an ordinary gray wolf looking at him.

As Helsing's pets, the wolves often accompanied Helsing on hunting expeditions, so the hunters who transformed into werewolves did not actively attack wild wolves or wolf packs.

Havent, who thought he was doomed, was puzzled when the werewolf only glanced at him a few times before leaving.

Watching the werewolf walk away, Haven once again sneaked towards the altar.

The white elk, which had just been slaughtered, now looked as if a long time had passed. All the white fur on its head had fallen off, and its shriveled skin clung tightly to its bones, emitting a putrid and foul smell.

As for the pelts stripped from the white elk, they had by now rotted into a pile, and with a gentle breeze, the dull, grayish-white fur flew everywhere.

Beneath the sculpture, Haven saw again the proverb engraved on the base:

Transformation during the hunt
Then comes new life, and finally, a return to the simple way of hunting.

Simply enjoy the pleasure that the hunt brings.

Finally, they marched towards the final stage to determine who would be the ultimate champion.

Then I will allow my winner to call me by my name.

It was still a clueless passage, but based on the inscriptions on the stone tablets or statues he had seen along the way, and the hunter's actions, it made sense.

I roughly understand what the whole process was like. It seems that I participated in this championship trial, but it seems that I participated from the perspective of an observer.

Along the way, I felt more like witnessing how a hunter, through his own efforts, gradually transformed from a human into a werewolf, and then from a werewolf into the champion of this Great Lord.

Since he didn't seem to be in any danger, Haven decided to continue following the hunter, since he had no idea how to leave this illusion.

A man and a wolf were...

No, it was a werewolf and a wolf walking one after the other in the wilderness. The hunter had long sensed the gray wolf following him.

However, the hunter ignored the gray wolf that had been following him; for him, there were more important things to do now.

After running through the wilderness for an unknown amount of time, Haven followed the werewolf to the entrance of a cave. Seeing the hunter enter without hesitation, Haven hesitated for a moment before following him in.

After a brief moment of darkness, he opened his eyes again to find himself in a valley. Looking at the dark cave behind him, Haven couldn't help but swallow hard. However, being in wolf's body, he couldn't manage the action and almost choked on his own saliva.

Despite knowing it was pointless, Haven instinctively hid in the nearby bushes, poking his head out to look around at his surroundings.

Judging from this, I have entered a new scene. According to the proverb, I have probably arrived at the last scene of this trial.

However, so far, I haven't found a way to break this deadlock.

Just as Haven was huddled under the bushes, deep in thought, a terrible scream suddenly came from the depths of the valley, drawing his attention.

Just as Havent hesitated whether to go over and take a look, another wolf howl sounded. After the howl, Havent suddenly felt his body becoming somewhat out of control.

This kind of call from the depths of one's soul was irresistible. Although Haven's conscious mind was unwilling, the wolf's body was very honest and walked towards the place where the wolf's howl came from in an extremely awkward way.

Ten minutes later.

Having struggled to no avail, Haven was forced to come to the center of the valley, where the scene had already become extremely gruesome, with corpses everywhere, human corpses, wolf corpses, accompanied by severed limbs and bright red blood scattered throughout the canyon.

In the center of the canyon.

Eight hunters, each with different equipment, were confronting the werewolf that Haven had been tracking.

Between the two groups of people stood a long, dripping spear.

The moment Haven saw the spear, he finally understood what was going on.

"Holy crap, could this illusion be the trial ritual of that werewolf who attacked Frederick IV that night?"

The more I looked at that werewolf, the more familiar he seemed. The muscular body of the black-haired werewolf surrounded by eight hunters slowly matched the figure of the red-haired werewolf.

"So... what should I do now? Just watch?"

However, it was clear that no one could answer Haven's question.

The next moment, under Havent's watchful eye, the werewolf launched an attack on the hunter.

(End of this chapter)