Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 197 Prey and Hunter

There's no escaping it~~~~

'bring it on!!!!!'

Only one of us can survive.

The line between hunter and prey is never truly clear; one moment you may be the hunter, the next you may have become the prey.

Such a relationship does not depend on the number of people or the difference in strength, but is entirely caused by inner will and determination.

This determination and willpower are also key to the ability to switch freely between the roles of hunter and predator.

The bright moon quietly emerges from the clouds, its clear light shining on the valley. Under the moon's witness, the ultimate hunter will be decided.

Surrounded by eight hunters, the werewolf showed no sign of panic. Its green eyes reflected the figures of the hunters, and a very human-like grin appeared on its wolfish face.

For the werewolf, this was also a form of encirclement. He could complete this glorious trial of the champion under the witness of the great Helsing. Whether he could win or not, or whether he would die in battle, was not within the werewolf's consideration.

The battle is about to break out.

The hunters, who were the ones besieging the werewolves, were the first to lose their composure. For them, having failed to complete the initial hunting ritual and lost Helsing's blessing, they had already lost the initiative in this trial. As for them, there was no other way but to hunt down the werewolves in the final cave of the bloated man and regain his favor.

For this group of people who volunteered to participate in the Trials of Helsing, there were only two outcomes after they entered: either they would become the final winners, become the champions of Helsing, and leave this place, or they would become prey, be defeated, and remain here forever, turning into wolf spirits and roaming the hunting grounds of Helsing.

Swoosh~~ Swoosh~~
Several sharp arrows shot towards the werewolf. Faced with the fast-moving arrows, the werewolf did not choose to dodge. Instead, it displayed agility beyond its physical capabilities, quickly swaying twice to dodge the incoming arrows.

The wolf swung its claws at the hunter who was charging ahead with a sword and shield. Faced with the werewolf's attack, the experienced hunter also displayed remarkable hunting skills.

A small, round shield covered in leather was placed in front, while a short sword was concealed behind it, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the werewolf the moment they made contact.

However, the werewolf blessed by Helsing was clearly not harmed by such a simple attack, and its blessed body displayed extraordinary combat power.

The moment the two clashed, the sharp wolf claws tore through the small round shield covered in leather, and the hunter's arm flew backward along with the fragments of the shield.

A sharp pain shot straight to the hunter's head, making him want to scream, but he quickly forgot that thought. The werewolf's other claw swung out swiftly, smashing the hunter's head like a watermelon.

This scene ended in the blink of an eye.

As a result, another hunter, who was slightly slower to start, watched helplessly as the hunter in front of him was brutally killed by the werewolf.

The werewolf, having landed a successful blow, did not charge at the hunters again. Instead, it used its momentum to quickly break through the hunters' encirclement.

For werewolves, hunting is a combination of wisdom and skill. The best hunters do not put themselves in dangerous situations. Fighting for one's life must be done at the right time. Courage is indispensable for every great hunter, but making the right judgment on the current situation is a decision that only an excellent hunter can make.

Watching the werewolf nimbly and quickly climb up the high cliff, the remaining seven hunters looked at each other in disbelief. The werewolf's attack power and combat intelligence far exceeded their expectations.

This cast a shadow over the seven men's hearts. Their already temporary partnership seemed to become even more fragile at this moment, but the danger of death and the reward of the championship still made the seven men choose to continue their cooperation.

After whispering a few words, the seven of them, with somber expressions, chased after the werewolf in the direction it had disappeared.

As the final challenge scenario, the rule is that only one winner can emerge, so the group isn't worried about the werewolves hiding and not coming out.

Instead, they worry about whether they can become the final winner. This makes them wary of each other while cooperating, because everyone knows that as long as they defeat the werewolf, their current cooperation will immediately break down and everyone will become their competitor.

The group, though outwardly united, embarked on a perilous pursuit of the werewolves.

Haven, who was perched on a towering rock, watched the whole thing unfold. Seeing that everyone had left, he hesitated for a moment before turning to the spear stuck in the altar in the middle of the valley.

Upon closer inspection, I carefully compared it with the spear in the red-haired werewolf's hand from my memory, and it was indeed the same spear, although it now looked like a very ordinary spear.

Recalling the scene in the rehearsal where the spear was incredibly powerful, piercing through countless defenses and pinning Frederick IV to death, Haven was curious and wanted to pull out the spear to take a look.

The dog's two paws clumsily grasped the spear—or perhaps it could be called a grasp—and with a slight exertion of its hooves, the spear stuck in the altar stone seat was actually pulled out.

There was a clang.

The spear, now unsupported, slammed into Havent's head, the sharp blade nearly severing his ear.

Looking at the spear lying quietly beside him, Haven was momentarily stunned. Had he really obtained the reward for completing the mission so easily? Was it really that easy?

The next moment, the spear, which had been like an inanimate object, suddenly floated up, spun a few times in mid-air, and then pointed directly at Havent.

Feeling the chilling aura emanating from the spear, Haven's tail bristled, and his instinct made him turn tail and run.

Awooooo...

With a piercing scream, the spear pierced through Havent's buttocks, and the heavy blow sent Havent crashing headfirst to the ground.

"what……"

"Fei~fei~fei~"

"I'm about to pee, I'm about to pee... I can't take it anymore."

"Hmm...it doesn't seem to hurt that much..."

Haven, who had been lying on the ground screaming for a while, did not feel any intense pain and looked at his buttocks with some suspicion.

"Hey?"

"Hey!!" "I'm back to normal!!!"

Looking back, Haven was surprised to find that his lower body had returned to its human form and sat up.

He raised his hands and looked at them; they were no longer two furry dog ​​paws. He stood up and touched his body all over, making sure nothing strange was left behind before letting out a long sigh of relief.

"So when did it turn back? Was it because of that spear?"

Thinking of the spear, Haven looked back; the thing seemed to have disappeared after stabbing him.

After circling around again and confirming that the spear was indeed gone, Havent gave up the search and instead looked in the direction where the werewolf and the hunter had disappeared.

Ten minutes later.

On the cliff, Haven discovered a mutilated human corpse, half of its face as if it had been cleaved open with an axe, with brains scattered all over the ground.

But at the same time, a piece of flesh covered in black fur also appeared on the ground, suggesting that the werewolf was not entirely in control of the hunting game.

Haven continued following the trail, and after walking a few dozen meters, he found two hunters lying on the ground ahead. One of them was still breathing. Seeing a young man coming from behind, Haven became excited and made a hoarse sound.

Seeing this, Haven rushed over. He saw that the hunter, who was still alive, had a large hole cut open in his stomach, and his pink intestines were spilled all over the ground. His face was as pale as a corpse that could still blink. To be precise, the hunter was indeed no different from a corpse. If Haven had arrived ten minutes later, he would probably have been dead by now.

"Cough cough~~"

"Who are you? How did you get here?"

Haven looked at the hunter who had asked him the question with a bit of a strange feeling. The other man seemed to know very well that he was an outsider, so he couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Judging from the tone of your voice, it's as if you know I'm not like that at all."

The hunter grinned when he heard Havent's words, but made no sound.

"We've all met before, and you weren't one of the original twenty, so you must have joined later..."

It took the hunter a great deal of effort to say these words, and after pausing for more than ten seconds, he continued:
"I don't know how you got here, but it doesn't matter anymore. After all, you're an unlucky guy, cough cough cough..."

"You're too late... cough cough cough..."

"The chosen ones have already appeared. It's too late. All that awaits you is to be hunted by them and watch them ascend the path to legend."

Now Haven finally understood what stage they were at. According to the description in the Path to Champion provided by Mora, all Holy Spirits and Great Kings set some tests of objectives when choosing a champion. In the beginning, the initial tasks faced by each believer or follower were basically of similar difficulty.

However, as the best performers emerge, the gap between them widens rapidly, and finally, the most outstanding or the luckiest person gets certified, which is the final step in the entire process.

The goal is to kill all the participants, absorb and digest their blessings, rewards, and everything else, and complete the final evolution. Only the winner born from this bloody process can become the champion.

Based on the current situation, the werewolf should have already been certified, and now all that needs to be done is to eliminate the remaining hunters and complete the final evolution.

"Do you know how to leave here? What you said is true, I came here by accident."

The hunter's life was nearing its end; his dark brown pupils were beginning to dilate, and his body was devoid of any warmth.

"Want to leave here... cough cough... kill it, and you'll become the champion."

After saying this, the hunter fell silent, his eyes wide open, looking extremely unwilling to accept the outcome.

Havent laid the hunter's body flat, intending to continue the pursuit, but after taking only two steps, he seemed to remember something and turned back. He half-squatted down, reached out and picked up the hunter's scattered intestines, putting them back into the hunter's stomach. Then he covered the hunter's stomach with his broken shield, giving the hunter who had provided him with some information a dignified death.

After passing through a forest, Haven followed the blood trail all the way to a canyon blocked by a boulder. From inside the canyon came the roars of wild beasts, the shouts of humans, and screams of agony.

'It seems this is where their final battle will take place...'

Throughout the journey, Hevante pondered the meaning of being dragged into this ordeal. Why did this Demon Lord named Helsing do this? He felt like an observer, watching the entire Championship Trial from God's perspective.

But even after reaching the final battleground, Haven still couldn't figure out the purpose of bringing him here.

Moreover, he didn't know if he had really arrived, or if only his consciousness had arrived, or if there was some other situation. During this process, he tried to rehearse his abilities several times, but unfortunately, the abilities did not activate successfully. This made Havent, who had always been full of confidence, less confident in the decisions he was going to make.

After thinking it over, I didn't dare to go directly into the valley. Instead, I climbed up the giant tree next to me to the top of the valley.

Open space in the center of the valley
The roles of hunter and hunter changed back and forth, with killing and being killed, hunting and being hunted, and chasing and being chased. At this moment, four figures still stood on the open ground. On one side was a werewolf who was covered in wounds, with four or five large holes in his chest and seven or eight arrows stuck in his body.

On the other side, there were three, or rather two and a half. One of the hunters had his right leg twisted in a strange way, and he was only able to stand on the ground because of the longbow in his hand. Otherwise, he would not be able to fight.

As for the remaining two, their situation wasn't much better, but overall they only suffered relatively serious superficial injuries and still retained their fighting ability.

"Sinding~~~~~ This situation is too cruel and tragic for all of us right now."

"Let's stop here. You achieve your championship title, and we will leave quietly. You are the ultimate victor in this championship trial."

The werewolf shook its head disdainfully at the remaining hunters' words, opening its blood-red maw to reveal a chilling smile:

"I don't need your prey's acknowledgment to win the championship title. I will earn it with my own hands, and you..."

The werewolf Sindin crouched down, assuming an attack stance.

"Either kill me and open the exit, or be killed by me and become my prey~~~~~~~"

(End of this chapter)