Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 568 The Little Knight

"I remember you have a gathering skill, it's called—"

Li Xia hesitated for a moment, but still stretched out her hand and made a "V" sign.

Xiaolong and Heitan were taken aback, immediately recalling the carefree days they spent collecting with the observer in Monster Hunter World.

They both naturally possess this skill, and the kitten even received professional training at school with excellent grades.

Can the gathering skill be used here?

Of course it can. Essentially, it uses special energy to detect and collect targets. Different things will reflect different colors. In short, if the colors are strange, you can't go wrong by giving it a shovelful.

Whatever it is, dig it out first.

Aowu and Heitan immediately rushed up. Because their bodies were too large, Li Xia had to cut the already roasted demon maggots into pieces, just like slicing sausages.

When sliced, the tender pieces of meat, roasted until translucent, ooze an oily substance.

Xiaotian squatted down beside him, his mouth wide open, drool dripping all over the ground.

The two little ones followed the happy miners, who were crawling all over the maggots with their pickaxes.

Meanwhile, Li Xia kept receiving prompts:
Your follower has collected 2 Demon Maggot Shells.

Your follower has collected 3 Demonic Shadow Glands.

Your follower has collected 1 piece of Thick Hide from a Demon Maggot.

Until————

"yeah!"

The two little ones raised the shiny object in their hands and shouted it out loud, as if the ceremony would be incomplete without that "Yay!"

[Executioner, you have obtained 1 Dark Green Crystal!]

[First round of main quests completed]

[Main quest being updated.]

[Main quest has been updated!]

[Second Main Quest: The Pale Container]

Mission objective: Proceed to the Tower of Elysium and obtain the Pale Container.

Quest Reward: Unlock the next stage of the main quest.
Mission Difficulty: S
Task period: 10 days

Mission failure penalty: 5 points deducted from all attributes, hidden rating decreased, and five trial worlds in Seeking Light will be closed to the Executioner!

pale container
Li Xia looked thoughtfully at the updated main quest. The second round should be to find those so-called higher beings.

Moreover, this Tower of Bliss is not shown on the rudimentary map at all; we'll have to wait until we get back and ask Old Os.

Then he took out the deep green crystal he had just obtained. It was a rhomboid crystal with a deep color, just like the top-grade jadeite in the world. It looked very beautiful.

Unexpectedly, the dark green crystals were found inside the demon maggot's body.

[Dark Green Crystals]

[Quality: Purple (Tier 4)]

【Origin: Seeking Light World】

[Type: Rare Mineral/Precious Item]

[Evaluation: An extremely rare crystal, similar to a mineral but imbued with a rich life and soul power. It possesses many functions and has a wide range of uses. Its mining rate is far lower than that of green crystals. Many creatures are unconsciously attracted to the dark green crystals.]

Even if you can't digest them, you must swallow these crystals.

It attracts living beings. Could it be that this maggot was attracted by the dark green crystal?

It was already quite deep here, and once the dark green crystals appeared, the demon maggots were naturally attracted to it, even though I could kill them as easily as cutting vegetables.

However, its inherent shadow erosion should not be underestimated. It is only because of its own resistance that it can withstand the onslaught of insects. No matter how many come, they will die.

So it's only natural that this place was abandoned. As for why they didn't send powerful people here to kill the demon maggots...
Li Xia recalled the history of the insect hive as told by Old Os. After the war with beasts and spiders, the insect hive kingdom was severely weakened, and the remaining strong ones were probably unwilling to risk killing this terrifying monster.

"Boss, it looks really delicious."

The dusty-faced Aowu and Heitan came over, and swallowed hard when they saw the still steaming, translucent demon maggot flesh.

They haven't eaten since they arrived in the World of Seeking Light. Although they can go without food now, their appetite is still there.

Li Xia remained silent for a moment:

"If you want some, you can have a couple of bites; I won't eat any more."

The main reason is that the word "maggot" after "maggot" is too dangerous. No matter how delicious it is, Li Xia doesn't want to touch it unless eating a bite will increase his attributes or something, then he would be willing to try it.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xiaotian couldn't hold back any longer and rushed forward to take a big bite.

After a couple of cursory chews, his eyes widened immediately, and he turned around, his mouth greasy, and exclaimed:
"Wang Wang Wang!"

(Delicious! Big brother, second brother, come quick!)
Upon hearing this, the two little ones could no longer resist. Within minutes, the bottom of the mine pit, where countless insects had died, was covered with napkins, a small table, plates, and several candles.

Li Xia:
Oh well, let them be. As long as they're happy.

However, the three little ones were just putting on an act. When it came to actually eating, they were faster than anyone else, devouring the entire piece of demon maggot flesh in a whirlwind.

When they took it away, they didn't forget to pack another large portion.

Li Xia stood at the edge of the cave from which the demon maggots emerged, gazing down into a much deeper, darker cave than before.

Standing here and looking down, it really feels like gazing into an abyss.

After a long while, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't for the fact that the garbage collector was still watching from the shadows, and that obtaining the avatar was a higher priority, and that time was limited, he would have been able to recover.

He really wanted to go down and take a look; maybe he could discover something entirely new.

After weighing the pros and cons, the idea was ultimately abandoned.

"Let's go."

With a flap of light behind Li Xia, he transformed into a streak of light and shot straight into the sky. As the light faded, darkness once again enveloped the area.

After a long while, a rustling sound seemed to come from the darkness again, and tentacles made of darkness rose silently from the ground, bound the demon maggot's body, and dragged it into the cave.

"click click"

In the darkness, a gnawing sound came, then silence.

The return journey was extremely fast, and Li Xia, who was already familiar with the world of Seeking Light, also had a general understanding of its intensity.

It can only be said that the difficulty level in the wilderness is worthy of the A-level, as easy as a picnic, even for the A+ level monsters.

Even at S and S+ levels, Li Xia estimated that with his terrifyingly solid hard skills, he could easily swim like a dragon.

It took almost a day to get there, but only two hours to get back.

"Oh, it really is a green crystal."

Old Os held the crystal in his hands, examining it from all angles. In the heyday of the Zerg hive, such crystals were practically a necessity in every household. But since the mines were abandoned and the hive was sealed off, he hadn't seen such crystals for a very, very long time.

Without the crystals, the giant cable cars, railcars, and all sorts of machinery that the insects were so proud of came to a standstill.

"What really surprised the insect was that quite a few young people from this village had gone into the abandoned mines and never returned."

Old Oss let out a long breath, but stared blankly at the crystal, falling silent as if he were recalling something.

After a long while, he finally put the crystal away.
"Actually, my map isn't worth the price of this crystal at all. But thank you anyway, young man."

It was just a crystal, but the three little ones found quite a few more at the bottom of the mine, all left behind by the miner insects who had died there.

Li Xia accepted the thanks readily, and then asked her question:

"Do you know this place called the Tower of Bliss?"

"The Tower of Bliss?"

Old Oss repeated the sentence, thought carefully for a moment, and shook his head in confusion:
"I'm sorry, I've never heard of this place and I'm very old, so old that I haven't left the village for many years."

I get dizzy from the giant buggy and the track car; I can't even bring myself to go see my children in the City of Tears.

never heard of that
Li Xia frowned. This was troublesome. The Insect Kingdom was vast, and finding the Tower of Bliss would likely take a considerable amount of time.

The difficulty of each main quest increases, and the penalties decrease. Li Xia suspects that the penalties will completely disappear by the third round of main quests.

Therefore, it's best to complete the second step before the garbage collectors make their move, to avoid being unable to complete the task if they harass you.

As for whether the garbage collectors would come or not, Li Xia felt that they definitely would.

Otherwise, they wouldn't deserve to sit in the top eight positions.

"However, I have a suggestion—"

Old Oss said confidently:

“I’ve marked the location of the Verdant Path on my map. If you go there, you’ll definitely be able to find out the location of the Tower of Bliss, if that place even exists.”

"A verdant green path?"

"Yes, that's the most scenic spot in the entire Hive. Many scholar insects and researchers live there; they are the most knowledgeable insects in the entire Hive Kingdom!"

The simple map immediately came to mind for Li Xia. From the opposite direction of the mine, that is, from the previous intersection, turn in another direction and walk a long way to reach the lush green path.

"Okay, thank you!"

He immediately stood up, ready to leave.

"Ah, you're welcome. But are you about to embark on a long journey?"

Old Oss also stood up, and slowly said while watching Li Xia's movements:

"If you don't mind, there's a little guy here who can come with you. I've also asked it to go to the City of Tears to see my child."

After all, the more people there are, the deeper the child's longing will be.

Old Oss spoke slowly as he pushed open the door and walked towards the next room, rambling on and on:
"This little guy arrived shortly after you left, and it is said that he has been training in the wilderness and mountains for a long time."

"Finally, we've returned to the Zergling Kingdom."

He knocked on the door, and after a short while, the door opened and a small figure stepped out.

It was indeed a small creature, about the same height as a piece of charcoal, maybe a meter tall at most. It wore a white bone mask with two round holes on its face, and two small, inward-curving horns at the top of the mask.

He carried a worn, cone-shaped bone spike on his back, which had a handle and looked like some kind of weapon.

"This little guy seems to be unable to speak, poor child."

Li Xia looked at the little insect that was looking up at her, her eyes flashing.

He smelled a familiar scent on the little insect, the same shadowy scent as that of the demon maggot.

Corrupted by shadows?
No, I didn't sense any chaos or madness from this insect. Instead, I sensed a void, as if its body and soul were empty, devoid of anything.

Black Charcoal looked curiously at the tiny insect that was about the same height as him:
"Meow?"

The little insect retracted its raised head and stared intently at Black Charcoal. Then Black Charcoal tilted its head and shouted at Li Xia:

"Meow! (It says it's a little knight)"

How could charcoal communicate with it?
Li Xia nodded thoughtfully and waved his hand:
"Then let's go."

On the seemingly endless road, only streetlights at intervals emit dim light. Occasionally, the 'fireflies' living in the streetlights die, and the streetlights stop shining, plunging the road into darkness.

Li Xia hovered about half a meter above the road, leaning forward and flying rapidly.

The little dragon also emerged from the dragon egg, stretched its body in mid-air, and followed beside him.

Black Charcoal and Little Knight rode on Howling Sky's back, their four paws swaying on the ground as they happily ran alongside their elder brother and his brother.

Even though the little knight didn't speak, Li Xia and the three little ones could still sense the surprise in his expression. Clearly, although he called himself a little knight, riding a dog was a first for him.

The wind howled, causing the miniature cloak on the little knight's back to flutter.

"Meow?"

Little Knight:
"Meow meow?"

Little Knight:
"Meow"

Little Knight:
Black Charcoal kept trying to chat with the little knight. Although one meowed while the other remained silent, the cat and the insect were miraculously communicating in some way.

Even Xiaotian seemed to understand, occasionally barking as he joined the conversation.

Li Xia and Aowu looked at each other, puzzled as to why, but with Heitan's explanation in the group chat, they were finally able to understand the conversation.

The little knight didn't know who it was or where it came from. It only remembered that when it woke up, it was in complete darkness, holding a bone nail in its hand, and that it was a little knight.

The little knight wandered aimlessly until one day it discovered the passage.

As I climbed through the tunnel, I realized that there was a vast world outside.

But the little knight still doesn't know what it's supposed to do and continues to wander. It seems to be born with the ability to fight and gradually grows stronger through battles with insects.

Until one day, it felt as if it heard a voice telling it to go somewhere.

So it followed the sound's guidance, braving all obstacles, until it reached the insect hive. It passed through the narrow pass through the large hole cut by Li Xia and finally encountered Old Os.

Is darkness the underground where the demon maggots live?

That's why it carries the scent of shadow?
Just as Li Xia was deep in thought, Hei Tan suddenly spoke again in the group chat:
"Meow!"

(The little knight said that a voice in its head told it to kill the Pale King!)

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

It uses some of the background and settings from Hollow Knight, but not all of them, and the story is also quite different.

(End of this chapter)