Chapter 232: A Mission in the Ancient Passage

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh –”

A rain of arrows shot out, followed by a torrential downpour that appeared in the ancient passage.

The scarlet eyes were extinguished one by one, and the wails became more and more intense. Even though the growls became more and more powerful, and the distance between them and Kant and the others was getting closer and closer, the decline of defeat was becoming more and more obvious.

Even the mage apprentices did not choose to cast their precious spells.

The battle was over.

Thirty meters away, the last demonized lion fell to the ground.

Two cone arrows were shot through its eye sockets, and a steel crossbow arrow pierced through its glabella.

This wave of attacks from the ancient passage ended once again.

No matter how the demonized creatures came in groups and rushed over like crazy, they still fell under the pouring rain of arrows, dejectedly throwing their lives on the straight Stone Road.

The thick smell of blood mixed with the rotten smell of corpses filled the air.

Kant couldn’t help but frown slightly.

The Golden Light of the sun disk in the outside world was dim, so it couldn’t shine into the passage at all.

He then ordered Bandake beside him, “Arrange for people to prepare torches. After lighting them, hang them directly in the inside of this ruin. The environment is too dark, so it will affect our vision.”

“Understood.” Bandake nodded and immediately retreated. He arranged for people to properly make torches.

Actually, there was no need to make them.

There were simple torches made for patrolling at night in the village.

The wooden sticks were tied with cloth strips and carefully tied up. After soaking them in flammable animals, they were childish. As long as they came into contact with the sparks, they would be able to burn vigorously. Moreover, according to the burning speed of the torches, it would not be a problem for them to burn for nearly half an hour.

Fifty torches were transported to the ruins.

“Light them up.”

Kant waved his hand and directly ordered the torches to be lit up.

As the Flint struck out sparks, twenty torches immediately burned fiercely. They carried the smell of burning grease. At the same time, they released black smoke and illuminated the surrounding area of more than ten meters.

“Lord Kant, are we going to enter the interior of the ancient passage?”

Bandake looked at the burning torch and couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes.” Kant nodded.

“But there will be some danger.” Bandake was slightly stunned, he hurriedly advised, “We don’t know how many demonized creatures there are in the ancient passage. At the same time, we haven’t explored it yet. If we encounter danger, we might be caught unprepared. I think it’s best to send a few brave soldiers to explore first.”

What he said made sense. It could be said that the safety factor was very high.

With Kant’s status, he didn’t need to explore it himself.

He was a Lord.

However, Kant chuckled and said with a calm face, “There won’t be any danger.”

“This…” Bandake wasn’t good with words. For a moment, he was somewhat unreasonable towards Kant’s words. He didn’t have any thoughts of retorting. He only earnestly advised, “Lord, it’s really dangerous.”

“When I first discovered the evil cave, James advised me the same way.”

Kant chuckled and patted Bandake’s shoulder. “But isn’t it the same now? You’re still alive and well.”

His expression froze.

Kant pulled out the knight’s sword at his waist and ordered in a deep voice, “Everyone, follow me into this ancient passage. If you find anything unusual, immediately report it. If you encounter any life-threatening danger, you can counterattack on your own!”

“Understood!” The many soldiers behind also responded in a deep voice.

“This…” Bandake’s face was stunned.

But seeing that his Lord had already made up his mind, he sighed and pulled out the Teutonic sword at his waist to protect his side.

They were also duty bound to obey orders!

Torches burned.

The 10 Rhodoks soldiers were the first to enter the ancient passage.

The person at the front held a torch in one hand, and his left arm was covered with a thick broad shield. He looked ahead vigilantly, and under the vigilance of his companions who were holding long machetes behind him, he slowly walked forward.

Kant’s main force was 30 meters behind him.

However, they were all divided into two parts.

At the back were the 188 Swadian heavy calvary, led by Bandake.

This was to prevent accidents from happening, so that they could take care of each other from the front and back, so as to prevent them from being split up and fighting on their own, which would guarantee destruction by the enemy.

The 500-strong army was not small either.

They entered the ancient passage.

The originally neat stone road was littered with the corpses of the demonized creatures.

The thick smell of blood was very strong.

Next to them was the subterranean river that was more than 20 meters wide. As the water flowed, it stirred the air to form a breeze. However, the smell of blood was getting stronger. After these days of fighting, the entire ancient passage was close to the ruins, the smell of blood was so strong that it was pungent.

Kant frowned and ordered the soldiers behind him in a deep voice, “Throw all the corpses of these demonized creatures into the subterranean river. We don’t need to keep these useless corpses.”

“Understood!” The Ravenston Rangers behind him nodded first. They bent down and wanted to throw the corpses into the subterranean river.

However, Kant glanced at the corpses of these demonized creatures and was slightly stunned.

Layers upon layers of pitch-black scales, whether it was the demonized wolf, the demonized bear, or the demonized lion, their bodies were all covered with these scales. They were so black and shiny that they were like the scales of a snake the size of a palm. Under the illumination of the torch, they actually reflected a faint arc of light, bringing with them a hint of intoxication and demonic.

“Ordinary demonic creatures.”

Kant muttered to himself.

Only when they had reached the knight level could ordinary demonic creatures have such beautiful scales.

And these… seemed to be ordinary demonic creatures!

Kant’s eyes instantly lit up, with a hint of brilliance. He said to the Rangers who were still planning to dump the corpses, “Wait, dig out the hearts of these demonic creatures and look for black gems.”

“Yes.” The Rangers nodded.

Although they were puzzled by Kant’s order, they did not stop what they were doing.

They pulled out the daggers at their waists and stabbed the ribs of these demonized creatures, making a deep cut.

The stinky blood and black internal organs immediately slid out.

However, they did not care at all and reached into their hands, skillfully feeling for the location of the hearts. As they held onto the hard object that was the size of an egg, their faces were immediately stunned. They turned to Kant and said, “My Lord, there really is something!”

“As expected.”

Kant raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a deep voice, “This is what I need.”

The gemstone that was stained with black blood appeared even darker and deeper.

The forest patroller had washed it clean in the subterranean river beside them. The crystal clear black color was solidified in it. As the torch lit up, it carried a mysterious air.

“This… this Is…”

Before Kant could appreciate it, the mage apprentices behind him exclaimed, “The product of the condensation of negative energy!”

It was obvious that these mage apprentices knew about this kind of thing.

Without waiting for Kant to ask, the captain of the mage apprentices immediately walked over and held the black gemstone in his hand. After carefully observing and sensing it, he said to Kant in surprise, “Lord, this is indeed a gemstone that is highly condensed from negative energy. Although it carries the brutal aura of the forces of hell, such high purity can even be used in those hell portals to recruit the troop class of the forces of hell!”

“Do you know this kind of black gemstone?” Kant frowned slightly and did not care about his rudeness. Instead, he asked in a deep voice, “You said that this is related to the hell faction. Can you tell us about it?”

Although the word ‘demonized’ was used to describe a demonized creature, it was more of an adjective.

But he did not expect that it was really related to the hell demon now.

Kant’s heart was not stable.

“Yes, this is indeed related to the forces of hell.”

The mage apprentice nodded affirmatively, holding up the black gem, he said, “Just like the Earth elemental gem and water elemental gem that you gave me before, each of them can be connected to the corresponding earth and water elemental planes. This negative energy gem condensed from negative energy can also be connected to the negative energy planes such as hell and the undead.”

After a pause, Kant continued to explain, “The negative energy contained in this negative energy gemstone is violent and crazy. Obviously, it can only be produced in hell. If it was the undead plane, the negative energy would be cold and hateful towards the living.”

“I see.” Kant nodded.

Although he didn’t understand it too well, he had grasped a few key points.

After pondering for a moment, Kant looked at him and asked, “You mean that these demonized creatures are actually creatures of hell, and these negative energy gems are actually the center of these creatures of hell?”

“That’s right,” the mage apprentice said with certainty. “Only hell has such violent and crazy negative energy.”

“That’s right.”

Kant nodded, his expression calm.

Looking at the depths of the dark ancient passage ahead, he could not help but snort coldly.

If these demonized creatures were related to hell, no wonder he met the female succubus at that time. And that Succubus said that she was sealed, as well as the war during the age of gods, perhaps he had already grasped some clues.

At the same time, he also had some guesses about the endless demonized creatures that appeared in the Senwaya range.

Perhaps the source was underground.

“If this ruin is used by the bloodline of gods to seal the demons, and the ruins on the top floor are also part of this ruin, then where does this ancient passage lead to?”

Kant’s thoughts were fluctuating.

There were no records of the history of the past.

Even the most famous academy in the Dukedom of Leo was not recorded in the relevant books. It was only a myth that was between an epic and a legend. If one were to look carefully, one would know that it was completely made up. There was even the figure of the god of war, Edmund.

Kant knew that the so-called god of war, Edmund, was just a religion that had been passed down from the silver platter kingdom.

It was said that the time of religious belief had not even been 300 years.

It belonged to a new type of religion.

Only the concept of martial arts that catered to the dukedom of Leo was established as the national religion.

However, the ones who really held power were the archdukes and nobles, not these priests and pastors.

In fact, even in the Silver Platter Kingdom, which had a strong religious atmosphere, the god of war, Edmund, was not a major god. This was because in the silver platter kingdom, where the economy and handicraft industry were more prosperous, the Holy See was the national religion.

And what they believed in was Holy Light.

On his retina, a dialog box suddenly popped up and interrupted his contemplation.

[ ding… side quest issued ]