Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 328 The White Night Knight
Snow falls on this silent place where even the sun refuses to set.

Thomas, the captain of the White Night Knights, landed with a soft "click" as he stepped onto the melting snow.

His shoulder armor is adorned with the Crimson Tide Clan's insignia of a sun and dagger crossed, symbolizing the glory of the White Night Squad.

The fourteen extraordinary knights behind him dismounted and awaited his orders.

Thomas looked up at the depths of the canyon ahead, swallowed by snow and mist—their destination.

"I will repeat your words, Lord: Do not trespass, do not act rashly, prioritize your life. If you encounter anything unusual, report it immediately and do not venture in on your own."

Although Thomas is occasionally witty and humorous in private, at this moment his tone was serious and devoid of any jokes.

All the White Night Knights nodded in unison, indicating that they understood.

"action."

As soon as the words were spoken, fifteen figures swiftly merged into the snow-white wasteland and headed towards their target.

The climate of the Ancient Abyss Canyon is so harsh that it almost kills all life in the wind, but it is nothing to these extraordinary knights.

Along the way, they surveyed the environment, avoiding a high-ranking frost bear that was sleeping, and also bypassing several groups of icefield boars rummaging through piles of carcasses for bones.

It's a pity that the purpose this time wasn't hunting, otherwise it would have been a great success.

Finally, as they approached the perimeter of the target Louis had given them, the air became unusually oppressive.

It was an extremely subtle fluctuation, not intense, yet chillingly deep to the bone, as if some decaying and chaotic will was hidden in the wind, gnawing at the ear.

"There's something here." A scout knight named Kane raised his hand to signal the whole team to stop.

He possesses the bloodline talent to foresee crises, making him a rare and valuable talent, and the core of the White Night Squad.

Everyone activated their battle qi barriers and followed his gaze.

In the thin mist and lingering snow, several blurry "figures" were slowly wandering.

They lay low to the ground, crawling on all fours in the snow like wild animals.

Those were neither ordinary barbarian remnants nor regular magical beasts.

His body was deformed and twisted, his exposed skin was covered with dark spots that looked like sticky spores were attached to it, his eyes were bloodshot and lifeless, and he kept muttering some kind of indistinct words.

"The cold abyss... gnawing... hunger... returning..."

The voices were deep and chaotic, yet they possessed a power that penetrated the heart, echoing in the air.

“They…were once human,” a knight murmured, “but now they’ve probably been completely turned into beasts.”

Thomas's expression turned grave: "The Ancient God of the Cold Abyss... that's a forbidden belief in the Old Snow Kingdom, which the Empire once considered an evil god."

He paused, his gaze turning serious: "Capture them alive and find out what they are."

Thomas then gestured, and the White Night Squad instantly moved like shadows in the snow, quietly circling around in several directions to encircle the monsters. This was their standard formation when silently hunting magical beasts.

Several knights pulled out a blue-green magic explosive bomb from their waists.

This is the Frostleaf Concentrated Magic Explosion Bomb, a non-lethal tactical munition developed by Hilko.

It contains "frost leaf juice extract mist", which can release a large amount of low-temperature paralyzing gas instantly.

It is extremely effective against out-of-control, demonized targets, and is particularly adept at weakening muscle reflexes and nerve feedback, causing them to fall into a coma.

"Three, two, one!"

Several Frost Leaf Condensed Magic Bombs were launched simultaneously, landing and tumbling in the target area before exploding with a bang.

"Oh!"

A cloud of blue smoke exploded, instantly spreading across the snowfield and engulfing the beastmen.

The beastmen staggered and moved noticeably slower; one of them even trembled violently, as if his nerves had been paralyzed.

But the next moment!
"Ow!!!"

A tall, monstrous beast suddenly roared to the sky and broke free from the mist's restraints!

Its eyes glowed blood red, veins bulged, and drool dripped from the corners of its mouth. Fragments of its battle aura turned into torn black smoke, forcibly pushing back the mist!

"It didn't work?!"

The beastman leaped toward Thomas like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, its claws leaving afterimages in mid-air!

"Give up on capturing him alive, prioritize our own survival!" Thomas roared, his fighting spirit erupting instantly.

A ring of deep red battle aura exploded from beneath his feet, scorching and violent!
He slashed out with his longsword, leaving a deep red trail in the air where the blade passed!
"Crack!!"

Before the beastman that pounced on land could even land, his entire right arm had been severed by battle qi. He fell to the snow and was scorched black by the red flames before he could even let out a wail.

"Don't linger, finish this quickly!"

"understand!"

The White Night Squad instantly switched to combat mode, and fourteen beams of battle aura exploded simultaneously.

A beastman roared as it charged forward, its muscles swelling like rocks, and its claws created a sonic boom the instant it swung!
"boom!!"

However, he was run into head-on by a young knight wielding a giant shield.

A pale blue ripple emanated from his battle aura shield as the heavy shield collided head-on with immense force, producing a deafening roar.

The beast's body was actually blasted two meters away, and in mid-air, the knight's shield blade flipped and swept across like a crescent moon.

"Crack!"

The sound of bones breaking mingled with a furious roar, then vanished in an instant.

On the other side, the black-haired knight, lurking on the flank, surrounded himself with a whirlwind aura and quickly circled behind enemy lines.

Swish!

Two icy blue daggers sliced ​​through the air, precisely piercing the monster's spine and carotid artery.

Before it could react, its spine snapped, and blood spurted out.

At this moment, another beast suddenly pounced on Kane, who was weaker in the back row, roaring like thunder!
"Don't let him get close!"

The towering shield-axe knight roared, and a ripple of deep blue energy rose in the air.

He raised his shield and axe high, shouted loudly, and swung it down with all his might, causing the entire snowfield to tremble.

"boom!!!"

The monster was smashed into the ground, its flesh mangled and bloodied, and it remained motionless.

Each of these monsters is comparable to a high-ranking barbarian warrior, possessing immense strength, incredible speed, and complete insensitivity to pain.

Even those with missing arms can still swing their claws, and those with missing legs can still roll and bite, like an incurable curse.

But the White Knights squad's coordination was crisp and efficient.

Every strike and every block seemed to have been rehearsed hundreds of times, like mechanical tactics where gears mesh together.

The light of battle qi crisscrossed in the night, sometimes blue, sometimes red, both cold and dazzling.

The dozen or so crazed monsters were killed one by one in less than half a minute.

The body lay motionless on the blood-stained snow.

The bloodstains on the snow were not completely frozen; they were black and thick, with a strange, fishy smell.

Thomas knelt down on one knee and used his dagger to pry open the remains of one of the monsters. His fingertips probed the torn shoulder muscle, which felt strangely sticky, as if it had been mixed with some kind of spore membrane.

“It’s somewhat similar in structure to insect corpses,” he said softly, his brows furrowing even more.

He looked up, his eyes sharp as knives: "You heard it, the Ancient God of the Cold Abyss, the Return... these madmen are praying to some being."

A knight added in a low voice, "The god worshipped by the Snowsworn is the Ancient God of the Frost Abyss."

Thomas's expression grew increasingly grim.

If these mutants are indeed related to the mother nest...

This altar is definitely more than just an abandoned ruin. He stood up and calmly ordered, "Leave two heads and several tissue samples to take back to Red Tide, especially the black blood and mottled skin. Bury the other corpses on the spot, dig deep."

The team members immediately and skillfully dealt with the scene.

Thomas called out the name of a knight: "Hais".

A tall, slender young man stepped forward; he was the fastest knight in the squad.

"You shall immediately turn back along the way you came and return to a safe place. If we do not return by the end of the day, write down a report of what we have encountered today and send it back to Red Tide City. You shall personally deliver it to the lord and tell him that the Mother Nest may not be completely extinct."

Hais nodded: "I understand."

Without any sentimental scenes, he disappeared into the snowstorm the next moment.

Thomas slowly put on the helmet, and the metal buckle clicked shut.

He turned to look at the thirteen silent knights behind him: "Let's continue."

No one responded, but everyone nodded silently and followed suit.

They slowly advanced along the cracks on the side of the ancient abyss canyon, the snow beneath their feet thick and icy cold, only their fighting spirit could keep them moving.

Suddenly, Kane, at the very back, whispered a reminder: "Captain... look ahead."

Thomas's gaze sharpened, and he looked in the direction the finger was pointing.

An unusual bulge suddenly came into view.

It was a semi-circular arc surface on which snow had frozen into a hard layer of ice, with unnatural cracks covering the edges.

"Clear the upper layer of ice and snow, use two small magic explosive bombs, detonate them at the edge, and do not damage the inside."

"understand!"

Two knights quickly stepped forward and knelt down to plant explosives.

"Bang!!!"

The dull thud echoed through the snow and ice, the shockwave sending up a cloud of icy mist.

Amidst the billowing white mist, shattered ice shells scatter like flying blades, the shockwaves carrying with them making the air itself seem to tremble.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the outline of a huge stone slab emerged from the snow.

Thomas sheathed the short sword at his waist and strode forward.

His boots clattered heavily on the ice, and his fingertips brushed away the remaining snow that had just been blasted apart.

The twisted runes carved on the surface of the stone slab came into view.

Thomas immediately recognized it as the script from the Old Snow Country era, but it was more complex and older.
His heart sank slightly, and he said in a low voice, "Found it."

Upon hearing this, the squad members slowly gathered around, but maintained a safe distance, and none of them made any rash moves.

"Divide into groups and clear the ice along the cracks."

As shovelfuls of ice were tossed aside, the entrance, buried beneath the snow, finally revealed itself.

It was a half-collapsed stone staircase, mottled and worn by the erosion of time and wind, yet it still led straight to the deep underground.

The moment it was opened, the air changed.

What wafted from the stone steps was not simply mold and decay, but a mixture of stench, blood, and the smell of rotting raw meat, making one unconsciously frown.

A knight took a long-handled torch from his backpack, lit it, and threw it into the depths of the passage.

The torch trailed a red arc of light before disappearing into darkness.

A few seconds later, the light spot did not dissipate as usual, but was swallowed by some kind of black mist after falling for several seconds, leaving only a faint red glow as it sank into the abyss.

Thomas squinted, staring at the direction where the red light had disappeared, and muttered to himself, "Unfathomable."

He stood up and glanced at the team members standing solemnly beside him.

The crowd was not afraid, but their eyes were more cautious than before.

“Carter and Rick are on guard up there. If we don’t return within thirty minutes… return to Red Tide as planned and submit a report.”

"Yes," the two replied without asking any further questions.

“The rest of you follow me.” Thomas didn’t waste any words, stepping into the darkness with a dull echo.

The remaining eleven White Night Knights followed closely behind, filing in single file.

With each step down a floor, the air became more humid, and the sound of the wind seemed to be gradually replaced by a kind of "whisper".

It was a strange language, vague, hoarse, and mumbled, like reciting fragmented verses over and over, but all the words had lost their meaning, leaving only absurd echoes.

Some of the knights were pale and sweat beaded on their foreheads.

Thomas immediately turned to the side and said, "Wake up, it's just residual mental pollution, not actual erosion."

Suddenly Kane raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

Ahead, on the rock face, hidden beneath layers of frost, lies an ancient mural, seemingly buried by time.

Thomas stepped forward, and in the firelight, a huge and ancient mural gradually emerged from beneath the frost.

The painting depicts a man and a woman standing atop an altar, their expressions solemn.

Beneath their feet lay two twisted behemoths, like some kind of out-of-control monsters, their fangs bared as if they were about to tear the heavens and earth apart.

“That…that woman…” a knight murmured.

Thomas's pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart felt as if it were being gripped by an icy hand.

The woman's face was strikingly similar to the End Nest they had witnessed during the End War!

“Is…is the Mother Nest?” a knight murmured, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

They are not exactly the same, but they have an amazing sense of resonance.

It was as if she were looking through the mural at every soul that approached her.

Indifference, disregard, and judgment—it's like a superior staring at ants.

A terrifying mental pressure suddenly descended.

Not only Thomas, but all the extraordinary knights around him also had their expressions change drastically!
They are not ordinary people.

They are knights who have stepped into the realm of the extraordinary, all of them strong individuals with unwavering will.

Even they felt as if their will had been stripped away by some invisible force, and their souls had been pulled into the abyss of those empty eyes in the mural.

"Uh-huh...!"

A knight knelt on the ground, clutching his head tightly with both hands, veins bulging on his forehead, and blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The other two struggled to draw their swords, but almost pierced their own chests with the blades!
That's not an illusion.

Rather, it was some ancient and eerie whisper that was seeping into their consciousness through the murals and through sound.

"Everyone! Activate the breathing technique!" Thomas roared.

All the knights activated their battle aura, using their own power to resist the invading will, a scene resembling a blazing fire in a snowy night.

An unseen mental battle erupted in silence.

After a dozen or so breaths, the whispers faded into the distance, and the oppressive feeling receded like the tide.

The knights knelt down, panting, their inner armor soaked with cold sweat, and none of them dared to look directly at the mural.

Thomas's face was ashen, and a bead of cold sweat hung on his forehead: "No... this is definitely not a level we can handle alone."

Our mission is to bring the intelligence back and let Lord Louis decide."

He turned to face his teammates: "Retreat!"

(End of this chapter)