Gulp! Gulp!
A small pebble rolled down the hillside, accelerating rapidly before flying off the cliff into a seemingly bottomless abyss shrouded in clouds and mist, with no echo for a long time.
Bang!
A dull impact was heard, followed immediately by a scream.
Awara tensed all his muscles and charged forward, causing an oncoming ogre to lose its footing. It plummeted off the cliff, crashing into pieces below.
“Damn it… I never expected there would be an ogre here too!”
He cursed fiercely, glancing at the two deep, bottomless ravines on either side and the narrow mountain path barely wide enough for a single person. The howling wind that rushed in made him stagger, his face turning deathly pale.
“Where the hell is that ancient ruin?”
Grumbling, Awara suddenly noticed a column of thick smoke rising from halfway up the mountain, and he exhaled in relief: “Finally, no more wandering. I hope this time we find something!”
…
“Have you found it?”
Wu Ming quickly arrived at the source of the smoke and eagerly asked Beatrice.
The previous suspected ruins had only brought disappointment, along with sporadic encounters with ogres, making the entire team restless.
Although those ogres weren’t particularly strong, the treacherous terrain of the Eagle Nest Mountains still posed some challenges.
“I’ve checked it already. This time, I’m certain, Master!” Beatrice replied confidently.
As a descendant of the Blue Blood lineage—the Conqueror Taler—Wu Ming also believed in this mystical connection. Once the rest of the team arrived, he immediately ordered, “Then lead us there.”
The ruins discovered by Beatrice were located in a valley. Just reaching there required traversing several extremely perilous mountain paths.
The valley entrance was covered by a layer of vines; it would be nearly impossible to notice without extreme caution.
“Indeed… the terrain here is very similar to the map on the scroll.”
After entering the valley, Wu Ming examined the surroundings and compared them with his scroll, his eyes lighting up.
“Master, look!”
Beatrice pointed at a symbol. “This emblem… it’s exactly the same as the mark of Taler on the map!”
“There are also signs of human carving here!”
Jack used his greatsword to brush aside moss and dirt, making the judgment: “These rocks have been sculpted. Only the Conqueror who once ruled could have mobilized the manpower and resources required to do this in the Eagle Nest Mountains!”
Following the scroll’s directions, Wu Ming and his companions quickly found a cave. After Malate explored it briefly, he signaled with a hand sign indicating “all clear.”
“Let’s go!”
Holding torches, Wu Ming and the others entered the cave one after another.
The cave’s entrance was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass sideways. However, as they moved deeper, the space expanded significantly. The ground was very dry, eventually turning into a path paved with stone slabs.
“Master, look!”
Malate’s voice was filled with excitement as he pointed around: “I found them!”
Under the torchlight, Wu Ming saw eight stone knight statues, solemn and armored, standing in a row. Their expressions were resolute, their facial features vivid and lifelike, each holding a greatsword and gazing forward like loyal guardians.
On the chests of the eight statues were individual letter emblems, each representing a different meaning.
“Humility, honor, sacrifice, courage, compassion, spirit, honesty, justice… how many knights nowadays can truly embody these eight ancient knightly virtues?”
Wu Ming sighed.
“There’s also a line of small text here… it’s written in ancient Siconian…”
Kallitan crouched down, examining the inscription beneath the statues: “Translated, it means… ‘Only those who pass the Trial of the King shall attain true inheritance.'”
“The Trial of the King?”
Malate chuckled, looking at the statues: “You mean these eight motionless stone dummies? Ha! The Trial of the King is already beneath our feet.”
Crack! Crack!
Just as he finished speaking, something strange happened!
The giant stone statues turned their necks and suddenly stared at him in unison. A massive stone sword came crashing down with immense force.
Bang!
Wu Ming darted forward, grabbing Malate’s collar and yanking him backward swiftly.
The giant stone sword smashed into the ground, leaving a small crater. Flying debris and the falling stone skin revealed a gleam of steel-like sharpness and darkness beneath.
Crack! Crack!
All eight stone knight statues now seemed to possess their own lives, slowly starting to move.
“This… are they golems? Animated life? Or perhaps something bound by an oath? Magic powerful enough to last for centuries…”
Kallitan murmured, her eyes shining with excitement, as if she had seen her god.
Bang! Bang!
The stone statues moved, each step shaking the ground like a small earthquake.
Though they hadn’t tested their strength yet, it was clear they wouldn’t be inferior to ordinary knights! No! Even knights specializing in brute force might struggle against them. Combined with their stone armor’s defense, even an entire squad of knights would likely be torn apart in a direct confrontation!
“What do we do, Master?”
Jack stepped forward: “Should we retreat from the cave first?”
“No!”
Kallitan’s voice was sharp: “This is an ancient ritual! Do you understand what an oath means? Once these eight knights are activated, it means the inheritance trial has begun. If we retreat now, we’ll never get another chance!”
“I don’t think they’re just ‘trial officers’!”
Awara gripped his sword tightly: “They seem more interested in tearing us apart.”
Whoosh!
Almost as soon as he spoke, the Courageous Knight lunged forward with a sword strike. Jack swung his greatsword to block.
Clang!
A violent metallic clash rang out, shaking everyone’s eardrums inside the cave.
With a deafening roar, Jack was sent flying backward, his greatsword snapped in two, blood streaming from his palms as he half-slumped against the rock wall.
“Watch out! They’re incredibly strong, and their swords are definitely forged with bloodsteel!”
He shouted, watching the advancing guardian statues.
“Bloodsteel?”
Wu Ming naturally knew of this metal. Legend had it that it was the finest material for forging armor and swords across the entire Sear continent, even rarer than mithril and gold essence.
Indeed, as the knights swung their swords, Wu Ming caught glimpses of a few crimson flashes in the blade shadows.
“Is the Conqueror’s trial really this difficult?”
He licked his lips, his expression becoming even more excited.
After all, the harder the trial, the greater the rewards once it was passed.
These eight golem statues formed a battle formation, wielding swords mixed with bloodsteel, their stone armor likely protected by mysterious forces that resisted magical attacks.
Such a difficult trial would challenge even a team of knights and mages. What kind of secret could it be guarding?
“Beatrice!”
Wu Ming slowly drew his Dragonheart Greatsword, its sharp blade glowing with a blue light in the darkness.
Beatrice carefully stepped forward and handed him a small waterskin.
Wu Ming pulled the stopper and poured the blue blood onto the blade.
“I’ve studied this scroll thoroughly. It’s likely the legacy of the Conqueror, and judging from the writings left by Taler I, it’s clearly meant for his descendants… the authentication must be through bloodline!”
He thought to himself, swinging the blood-dripping blue sword. Like the wind, he vanished into the Trial of the King.
Swish! Swish!
In the next moment, eight swords nearly arrived simultaneously.
Although these stone statues seemed slow in movement, their arms swung like wheels, their sword strikes flashing like lightning.
“Ahh!”
Seeing eight blades almost simultaneously thrusting forward, locking down every direction around Wu Ming, Beatrice and Kallitan watching from outside both screamed in unison.
Crackle! Snap!
A sound like popping beans erupted from Wu Ming.
In an instant, his body shrank, transforming from a young man into what seemed like a child, no thicker than a sheet of parchment. Like the wind, he squeezed through the most impossible gap and emerged.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Then, Wu Ming’s body expanded again in an instant. His right hand shot out, slicing off the right arm of one of the statue knights. The cut was smooth as a mirror.
“This is…”
Awara’s eyes widened in amazement: “The bone-shrinking secret technique Master mentioned once?”
“Secret technique?”
Jack stared at the incredible scene, unsure what to say.
He was a knight, a William knight who hadn’t been baptized yet and was still an ordinary man.
But even a knight like him would likely have his head cut off before landing a second strike against Master.
“When skill reaches its peak, can it really become this powerful?”
Jack’s eyes shone as if he had discovered a bright path ahead.
“Haa!”
Wu Ming roared, his blood surging and his reaction speed and strength surging in an instant.
He swung his Dragonheart Greatsword downward, clashing with two bloodsteel swords and actually overpowering them, sending the two stone statues crashing to the ground.
“No wonder this was once Taler’s sword!”
Seeing that the Dragonheart Greatsword had not even a single chip against the bloodsteel blades, Wu Ming praised, completely reassured, and charged into the remaining knights.
“Sword Technique—Whirling Dance!”
He transformed into a hurricane, countless wind blades concealing the Dragonheart Greatsword within, slicing off several stone arms one by one.
Bang! Bang!
Dozens of pounds of stone crashed to the ground with dull thuds. In the end, only a pile of motionless stone blocks remained.
“Master… you’re truly…”
Kallitan stared blankly, a mixture of tears and laughter on her face: “I just calculated that to pass the Trial of the King, all you needed to do was demonstrate the corresponding virtues to the statues!”
“That would be too much trouble. I prefer a simpler way…”
Wu Ming exhaled a puff of white breath.
Only then did Beatrice notice several shallow wounds on his body and rushed forward to bandage him.
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