Way of the Knights

Chapter 686 - A Secret

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*Roar!* 

*Schwing!*

Amidst a dense jungle, Vendrick and several large beasts were locked in a brutal combat. The beasts he's surrounded with were mutated in many ways, the few common factor they have were Large Size, Crimson Red Eyes, and a putrid Demonic Qi. 

These beasts were the so called demonic beasts by the Blue Mountain Tribe. Vendrick hasn't even gone five kilometers away from the foot of the mountain yet he already had himself surrounded. Nevertheless, it's not like he's in any danger since the demonic beasts he's fighting right now were relatively weak. 

*Crack!*

One domineering stomp forward, Vendrick shattered the ground he was standing on. With a single ferocious swing of his spear, the cold gleam of steel passed through several beasts, cutting them in half. Blood spurted like a geyser eruption from their bodies, the stench of blood and death were dense, it will undoubtedly whet the appetite of the more bloodthirsty demonic beasts lurking deeper in the jungle. 

Nevertheless, Vendrick has no plans on retreating. A cold gleam was reflected on his pupils. His expression was calm, indifferent even. He wasn't scared nor worried about his safety, if anything he wanted to fight some more. 

'Whew' He drew a deep breath, 'I nearly forgot the feeling of a cold steel weapon cutting into flesh. I should do this more.' 

If anyone heard his thoughts right now, they'd probably get creeped out. In fact, they might even suspect that Vendrick was losing his sanity, and once they got to that conclusion, they'd probably pin him down or slap him multiple times to wake him up. 

That can't be helped, his thoughts were a little bit extreme but it's not like he's demented. The only reason why some people would think he is, was because of the possible mind erosion of Demonic Qi. 

The putrid demonic qi of Demonic Beasts has extreme properties. Those who had weaker Spirits will have their minds eroded by it, causing their thoughts to get more polluted and their actions to become increasingly violent. Once they were thoroughly corroded, they'd be no less than Demonic Beasts themselves. Add this to the fact that tribesmen were weak in the first place, it would really makes sense why the tribe has high casualties all year round. 

*Roar!*

A threatening roar could be heard from all directions, Vendrick's ears twitched as he tried to gauge how far he was from the source of these howls. 

"Hmm, another batch is coming…" Vendrick gripped his spear tighter and raised his senses.

And just like he predicted, another wave of demonic beasts appeared, they differed in all sorts of shapes and sizes yet it didn't matter how different they look, to Vendrick, all of them were his prey. 

Turning into a blur, Vendrick charged at them, leaving several afterimages behind. Taking a deep breath, he revolved his True Essence and enhanced every sector of his body, with his sheer absurd strength wielded with an impeccable control, he slaughtered every demonic beast on his sight, causing more blood to flow and the stench of death to become even denser than before. 

"…that makes this what? 50 beasts so far? All in my first day too. What a harvest." Vendrick shook his head as he gathered all of the torn carcasses of demonic beasts to his storage bag. 

He has uses for these of course. After all, Arthur and Rosa wanted to become Berserkers so he was planning on stocking-up resources from them. Of course he also has uses for the blood too, never mind that they're dirty, he still saved them up since it wouldn't be hard to purify them anyways. 

Vendrick had been in deep thought for quite sometime now. He originally wanted to propagate the path of Knighthood to the tribe, well it's still viable but he ultimately decided to give the Berserker's cultivation method a chance.

Even though what he saw so far were ridiculous and extremely dangerous, it's not like it doesn't have it's own merits. For one, the Path of Berserkers is just another branch of Body Tempering Path. Meaning it ultimately focuses on one's physique, allowing them to possess undying bodies that could withstand the test of time and harness the incredible powers of nature.

The only downside is that it is way too linear and barbaric. It posses little charm that can come in contact with Heavenly Laws which ultimately limits it's value. Still, if one manages to reach its apex, then true immortality is more or less guaranteed. 

Unfortunately, the tribe doesn't possess much knowledge for the later stages. Ultimately, they are too ignorant about the immensity of heaven and earth. Along with the corrupted methods of tribe leaders, there's little to no way that the tribe will prosper even if they could exist for many more years. 

"It's going to be challenging but…I think I can do it." Vendrick didn't feel down, in fact he welcomed the challenge. "I'm well versed in the many ways of Body Tempering anyway. A mere incomplete Berserker's path shouldn't stomp me that bad, even if I failed, I am confident to reach 85% of the whole thing, I've got time too so I there's no reason for me to back-off from such a challenge." 

Vendrick drew another breath and decided to retreat for now. He made enough commotion in this place that there will be an unrest for quite sometime. It's better for him to retreat rather than to deal with annoying pests all day long. 

Thankfully, Vendrick found a rather secretive base on accident during his way here. He had been staying in that place for now and nothing managed to track him all the way there. 

It was a cave system, nicely hidden from the roaming predators. It's very inauspicious and the entrance is covered in a dense canopy of bushes and dried tree branches. With Vendrick's astounding senses and mobility, he could easily access this place. 

Going back here, the interior surely is impressive. The cave was slightly damp but warm, it wasn't dark thanks to the shining crystals that are growing out of the surface of the cave. Vendrick found signs of this cave being used before but it was too long ago, he knew that this place has it's own secrets but he never tried to explore it before, now however, might be a good idea to do that. 

Vendrick ate some of his supplies to replenish his energies. While he was eating, he was also inspecting the cave. In order to have a more thorough search, Vendrick activated his ocular technique, turning his into slits which coldly combed through the corners of the cave. 

"Hoh?" An amused sound escaped from Vendrick's lips. 

He was staring at a particular corner of the cave. Thanks to his ocular technique, his vision can pass through obstructions and he saw he a unique compartment neatly hidden at the right bottom side corner of the cave. 

Vendrick approached the spot and dug for a bit. He then saw a mechanism that has a rusting iron handle. He didn't do anything to it just yet, he surveyed his surroundings to search for clues. For all he knows, this might be a deadly trap, wouldn't he be courting death if that was that case? 

After a thorough inspection, Vendrick finally came into a conclusion. The handle he found won't trigger a trap, instead it will open up a secret entrance that will lead to something uncertain. He would've loved to know more but unfortunately, something behind that entrance was countering his ocular technique, which he found intriguing considering the fact that he rarely encounters anything like this. 

Vendrick didn't feel any threat, his instincts weren't giving him any bad signs too. Therefore, he decided to be bold and enter that place.

*Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!*

A loud clanking sound occurred as Vendrick twisted and pulled the handle. Despite the handle being tested by time, it still managed to keep it's shape and function properly. 

The wall which was supposed to be the end of the cave, shook fiercely and released loud cranking sound of metal gears clashing against each other. The wall slowly caved in, reveling a relatively wide entrance. A rectangular block shifted and slid to the side, allowing him passage. 

Vendrick tried to pry information forward but just like before, an unknown element was neutralizing his ocular technique. Helpless, Vendrick could only sigh and steel his resolve. He stepped inside the dark place and felt his surroundings twisting around. 

Vendrick was amused as he looked over, nevertheless he only saw darkness around so he continued walking. It was then that he suddenly bumped into something which felt like a soft membrane. He frowned and touched it with his hand, yet when he did so, his hand penetrated through and he felt a vacuum pulling him in harshly. 

A strong light blinded him momentarily, when his vision adjusted, he was stunned to see that there was someone standing in front of him. What made him speechless is that, despite seeing this person face to face, he couldn't feel any kind of life signs on their body. 

"Welcome…Conqueror."