Chapter 210: Chapter 209: Mysterious Valley

In a dense forest, a sweeping party of five Professional Knights was taking a break.

The squad was led by Ridder, a Commander from Wubei Territory. Its members were four Basic Level Knights: Tom, George, Wodun, and Dandy.

They had traveled north from Black Earth Town and had been living in this Forest Land for nearly a month. The food they had brought with them was long gone.

However, this wasn’t a major concern. The Forest Land had plenty of wild animals, vegetables, fruits, and even Magical Beasts, so they didn’t lack for food.

During this sweep, Ridder had mostly played a supporting role, leaving the wild animals and low-level Magical Beasts they encountered for the four Basic Level Knights to handle.

This way, they could not only clear out threats to the territory but also temper the courage of the Knights under his command and improve their practical combat skills.

Rather than calling it a sweep, it could actually be described as a training exercise.

This was true for Ridder’s team, and it was the same for the sweeping parties led by Macken and Joffrey.

Right now, with the exception of Rogner, Krami, and Horn, basically all the Professional Knights under Ronin were honing their skills in the mountains and forests.

WHOOSH~

Ridder leaped down from a towering tree. He had just finished a rough survey of the surroundings.

“From up there, I could faintly hear the sound of ocean waves. I estimate that if we go a little further north, we’ll be close to the edge of the Wubei Territory.”

The Wubei Territory was blocked to the west by the Wushan Demon Beast Mountain Range, while its eastern and northern borders met the sea. Now that Ridder had heard the waves, it meant they were nearing the northernmost point.

“The sea… I’ve never seen it before!” Tom said with a hint of longing.

The other three nodded in agreement. They had lived here their whole lives and had heard of the sea, but none had ever seen it with their own eyes.

However, that didn’t stop them from sharing rumors they had heard about the sea.

They talked about how magnificent and vast it was, and shared strange tales like a single wave being powerful enough to flip an ox.

As Ridder listened to the men chatter excitedly yet earnestly, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl into a smile.

Come to think of it, fragments of memories about the sea seemed to surface in his mind. Many of them involved leading men on voyages across the water, their destination unknown.

“Alright, men. Stop sharing those lame tales of yours.”

The Commander interrupted their conversation. “If you want to know what the sea looks like, why don’t we just go over and see?”

The men gave an awkward laugh, immediately picked up their Weapons, and continued heading north.

There’s an old saying: a mountain in sight can run a horse to death.

Even though Ridder could hear the sound of the waves, it still took them a long time to get out of the Forest Land.

By the time night fell and they had climbed the last peak by moonlight, their view suddenly opened up. It was as if they had broken through a dead end to find an entirely new world before them.

Below the small mountain was a concave valley, its opening facing the vast sea.

“That Silver-White line… is that the waves?”

“Whoa, it’s so wide!”

Under the night sky, although the moon was shining, the sea itself was pitch black. Only the churning waves refracted the moonlight, appearing like a ribbon of silver.

It was a pity they had arrived a little late. If they had reached the shore during the day, the experience would have surely been even more magnificent than it was now.

Of the five men present, only Ridder slowly furrowed his brow.

He could feel a chaotic Elemental Energy in the valley below, which gave him a faint sense of unease.

Moreover, the color of the valley was very strange.

Although the peaks cast shadows under the moonlight, making the light in the valley poor, Ridder felt that the valley was abnormally gloomy. There also seemed to be a faint purple light swirling within it.

’Something isn’t right with this valley.’

Ridder’s grave expression was finally noticed by the men beside him. They quickly suppressed their awe and joy at seeing the sea and began to observe their surroundings carefully.

However, their senses were not as sharp as Ridder’s, and they couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“Sir, what is it?” Wodun asked cautiously. He had never seen the Commander with such a grave expression.

Ridder slowly shook his head. ’It’s just a feeling. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything.’

“Let’s go. We’ll head down and take a look.”

He took the lead, whispering a reminder as he went, “Keep an eye on your surroundings. Stay alert.”

Tom and the others were already on high alert. They silently gripped their Knight’s Swords and followed behind Ridder.

The group moved cautiously from the top of the mountain to the bottom, but they encountered no danger.

But as they neared the foot of the mountain, they saw a sight that made their skin crawl.

The valley floor was littered with human skeletons, decayed until only grayish-black bones remained!

The cold moonlight, the salty sea breeze, the densely packed human skeletons…

Tom and the others had been through many battles these past few days, and an ordinary sight wouldn’t have scared them. But the scene before them made their skin crawl.

“S-Sir… what… what is this?” George stammered.

Ridder’s expression was also tense. It was hard to imagine that such a scene could exist in the desolate northern reaches of the Wubei Territory.

“Don’t panic. Stay alert!” he ordered in a low voice. “This might just be an ancient battlefield.”

Ridder walked over to a skeleton and picked up a Longsword from the ground. It was covered in rust, and with just a slight shake, it snapped in two.

Clearly, these people had been dead for a very long time.

’If they were members of a Wilderness Tribe who fled here, this must have happened ten or twenty years ago, right?’

’Could a battle between two Wilderness Tribes have led to such a gruesome scene?’

’That seems unlikely. They were all fugitives, after all. Who would fight amongst themselves to the death?’

“Sir, there seems to be a cave over there.”

Tom pointed to the base of the opposite slope, where there did indeed appear to be a huge cave.

Ridder’s brow furrowed. After only a moment’s hesitation, he began to walk slowly in that direction.

’I’m a Silver Knight now; I can handle most dangerous situations.’

’Besides, our mission is to clear out hidden dangers in the Wubei Territory. I can’t just back down out of fear and refuse to investigate something like this.’

Tom and the other three followed him. It was safer to stay behind the Commander than to remain where they were.

’This cave is strange.’

Ridder’s expression grew increasingly tense. He could feel that the closer he got to the cave, the more chaotic the surrounding Heaven and Earth Elements became. The air grew colder and more sinister, as if a block of ten-thousand-year-old ice was hidden inside.

Finally, they arrived before the cave.

“There are footprints here!” George exclaimed in a low voice.

A faint purple light shone from within the cave, causing the ground at the entrance to flicker between light and shadow.

In the alternating light and shadow, the men could clearly see footprints in the dirt.

’There’s someone inside this cave?’

Ridder raised his gaze and looked inside. There was definitely danger, but his desire to explore was growing stronger and stronger.

’Should I go in and take a look?’

’Or should I observe from the outside for a while first?’

Just as he was hesitating, the sound of footsteps came from inside the cave.

“Dammit, it’s time for patrol again.”

“I don’t get Nebular. Nobody comes to this godforsaken place, so why do we have to patrol?”

“Shh! How dare you talk about the Guard Officer like that? You got a death wish?”

“Hehehe, if he wants to kill us, he’ll have to see if the captain allows it. It’s not like he’s the only one who’s good in bed.”

The seemingly ordinary conversation made the hearts of the men outside leap into their throats.

“Fall back, take cover!” Ridder quickly commanded.

The five men quickly darted to one side, using a nearby boulder to hide themselves.

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