Way of the Knights

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It was scene painted with death and gloom.

Withered trees, wilted flowers, dried corpses of animals such as deers, birds, squirrels, chickens, dogs and others. The ground is covered with black moss and some sludge pits here and there.

The air was putrid and carried the terrible stench of death and rot, what's more is that it wasn't only animals and nature that is dead here, there's also humans. Though compared to the rest, humans might've experienced a far more sinister death.

Bodies strewn all over the ground, pieces of rotting flesh, scattered pieces of limbs, eyes, ears, intestines, organs, and many more. Flayed skin hanging on the branches of trees could be seen, hairs are also scattered on the ground, overall painting a picture of death and decay everywhere.

If the scene they saw outside was that of beauty, then what lies beyond that was the exact opposite.

Alina couldn't hold it in and vomitted her guts out. Her body was shaking fiercely as the scene slowly branded itself on her mind, without a doubt, this will haunt her for many months to come. In fact, she had been regretting her decision to go along in this mission for quite sometime now. Deep within her heart, she knew that this line of work that she entered wasn't meant for her anyway, she even told herself that this will be the last mission that she's going to participate in, what happens afterwards will be decided according to her desires. But now, she greatly feared that she won't even make it out alive. What lies beyond her was a scene from a nightmare, she was caught severely unprepared and her heart couldn't take this. She thought that anything or anyone who could desecrate this place like this could obviously do the same to them, and that thought greatly horrified her.

Even Jordan and George who had seen bloodshed before had their faces wrinkled with disgust and felt chills all over their body. This scene of destruction was something that no amount of preparations could make them immune to. Each time they glanced at the scattered remnants of humans, they would unconsciously wince and take a step back.

Jackson on the other hand was also similarly shocked but instead of wearing a disgusted face, his was only a face of coldness and fury. This isn't the first time that he had seen something like this, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have any effect on him at all.

As for Raven, his face is similarly frosty, there is no doubt that he was very displeased with what he saw. He isn't a stranger from this type of scenarios, in fact during his previous life, some scenarios like this were caused by him. He had stepped into mountains of dead bodies and crossed rivers of blood to meet his destiny before. Seeing aftermaths of carnage is not a new thing for him.

What made him incredibly mad, is the remnant will that he felt in this place.

Raven's soul was powerful, and although he is retracing his steps towards greatness, the previous abilities that he could use are still available to him, be it with a great price.

Possessing a strong spirit and a firm will allows one to be extremely sensitive towards the whispers of world. Remnant intents and wills of the dead, voices of nature and other things are within his perceptions.This area is filled with sadness, unwillingness, despair, fury and regret. It was so strong that Raven was wondering why it hasn't manifested as a true Danger Zone just yet. He could hear the remnant cries of unwilling folks who met their deaths in here, he could also feel their undying curses towards the entity that's responsible for all of this. This alone was enough for him decide to slay the beast that was responsible for this in order to bring solace to the dead, so that they may pass onto ther afterlife without worries.

"Close your heart." He said in a low voice, "Suppress, conceal, don't feel. Don't think about the fallen comrades. Kill first and mourn later. Come, we have a monster to hunt."

His voice carried a firm stance and determination about this situation. There no ounces of hesitation nor grief, only an unbending will and anger. Unknowingly, his will affected the rest of them, even the suffering Alina. Those words echoed in their ears like a church bells, waking them up and forcing their doubts, fears and hesitations away.

Raven lead the team with Jackson by his side. Both of their eyes were gleaming with murder as they stayed low and remained alert for any movements. The adventurers followed behind them, also feeling much better but still uncomfortable. Nevertheless, they have to move and kill. Only then they could escape this place and hope to never come back again.

The team moved as a unit, watching their surroundings and making sure to avoid any ambush or making too much noise. Eventually, they arrived at what seems to be the center of this place, and they found what they were looking for.

It was a beast scurrying in place, seemingly busy with something. It had a long serpentine body, probably about 25-30 meters. It's body is covered with thick and glossy carapace that looked like a stacked artillery shells on a distance. It has many, cockroach-like legs, counting it one by one would result by a hundred in total. It's head was similar to a hornet but with sharp and long antennas in them and two sets of razor sharp teeth.

Seeing this monstrosity, the team couldn't help but to shiver on fright.Raven immediately signalled them to crouched down and hide behind a fallen tree. Taking a second peak at the busy thing in front of them, Raven sent a voice transmission to the rest.

'It's a Dream Sucking Centipede. Judging from it's size, it should be a teenager.'

The team's eyes went wide. How is that thing a teenager!? If that stood up using two legs, it's already as tall as a building!

Unfortunately they could only groan in their thoughts, they knew that Raven communicated with them using a sound transmission in order to not make any unnecessary noise.

'The Illusion Curtain that we saw earlier was made by this thing. It's purpose is to lure unsuspecting trespassers in, and since there is no exit unless the beast dies, they served as meals for this thing to grow this big. If any of you entered this place while under the illusion's influence, you won't notice that this place is different, you will be trapped in an illusion while this beast sucks at your blood and marrows, chews through your flesh and flay your skin. You die without even noticing it.'

Raven's introduction gave them a huge fright, specially George who's sweating buckets now. False or not, he had seen enough in this place to believe everything that Raven says. 'What I find unusual is that why is it here? Usually these centipedes never grow past childhood since they will be hunted by stronger beasts, specially winged creatures. According to the books, they should be found 5000 kilometers east of the kingdom and usually moves in pairs. But this one is alone and so far away. What's going on?'

Raven openly voiced his thoughts to the team, letting them know about certain knowledge that they aren't aware. The one who could truly follow his thoughts was of course Jackson.

He had also seen Dream Sucking Centipedes before, he also wondered about the same questions as Raven did. In fact, Raven didn't have to be so worried about this, if there's anyone who should be, it would Jackson since this is line of work.

'Boy, can you see what's it doing? I can't send Hopper closer.' Jackson sent via sound transmission as well.Raven spread out his spiritual sense, albeit carefully since this type of centipedes are sensitive with it. After a careful probe, he replied.

'It's devouring a Steel Rhinoceros.'

Jackson's eyes flashed and asked once more: 'Is it close to finishing it?'

'Yeah, only the head's left. Do you plan on-?'

'Yes.' Jackson replied, 'We strike when it's full. It's agility would be greatly reduced and the force it could exert would weaken as well.'

'Dream Sucking Centipedes could cast illusions to immobilize you. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled, the sign that it would cast an illusion is when it's eyes and antennae flash with a red glow. You can evade the projectile or make sure that your Energy Vision is active to counter the illusion directly.'

'Despite it's long body, it is surprisingly quick. It also has an acid attack but since we will attack when its full, then it can't use that. From its age, assume that its striking power is equivalent to a mid-stage Warrior Realm expert, make sure to stay on you toes, block if you could, evade when you can't.'

'Its weakness is its head and its underside, so if a chance arrive to strike at these spots, don't hesitate. Are we all clear!?'

The team nodded after listening to Jackson's instructions.. They silently brought out their weapons and waited for the centipede to finish its meal.

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