Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Dread Knight

"What!" I looked up, astonished.

"Brave adventurer, that's right—you have passed the trial and proven your strength. Entrusting this world to you should be no problem." As he spoke, he waved his hand again, and a black chest and a bottle filled with blue liquid appeared. The crimson-armored man said, "Before you return, you may choose one of these items. Pick whichever you wish."

I stood up, limping over. After some thought, I figured the chest must contain excellent equipment, but the bottle was likely something rare and invaluable as well. I wanted both, but since I could only have one, I said, "I'll take the one on the right."

He nodded. "This is a power of revival. Drink it, and it will awaken dormant strength within you, granting you continuous regeneration. I hope you become even stronger in the days to come." With that, I took the bottle and drank it down in one gulp.

System notification: "Ding~! Honored player Weiweilong, congratulations on completing the hidden quests: Prophecy of the Fire Dragon, Anubis’s Trial, and Test of Hope’s Worthiness. The hidden storyline has been triggered. You have gained: 25,000,000 experience, 2,000 reputation, two random pieces of equipment, a summoner’s beast egg, and the title: Guardian of Peace."

With that immense haul of 25 million experience, I instantly reached level forty and the surplus experience activated advanced cultivation.

Weiweilong, Title: Guardian of Peace.
Class: Beastmaster
Level: 40
Health: 5100 (5000 + Armor 2)
Mana: 2500
Attack: 759 (Base 400 + Ruyi Staff 300 + Fate 35 + Strength 24)
Defense: 522 (Base 200 + Heavenly Temper 200 + Swiftwalker 30 + Blackfeather 22 + Wind and Thunder 50 + Armor 2)
Reputation: 3210

Trial Points: 2500
Luck: 1 (Fate 1)
Summoned Beasts: Hurricane Wolf King, Burning Core—Dragon Combat
Strength Mastery: 8 (5 + 2 + 1)
Armor Mastery: 2 (0 + 2)
Agility Mastery: 3 (10 + 5 + 11)
Magic Mastery: 0

This... these stats were a qualitative leap from before. Five thousand health—most top-tier warriors likely weren’t much better.

The crimson-armored man spoke up again, his voice echoing, "Not bad. You truly are gifted. Congratulations—your strength has grown considerably. But I must tell you, simply leveling up is not enough to become stronger. More important is self-understanding—comprehending yourself, nature, and the essence of the world. Only then will you become a truly powerful force. Oh, you’re a summoner, aren’t you?"

I nodded. He continued, "Follow me." With that, he turned to face the stone wall behind us. At some unknown point, a passage had appeared in the wall. The crimson-armored man said, "Go inside." He pushed me forward, and as I turned to look back, I realized the way out had already vanished. I was now in a corridor lined with rows of candles illuminating the place. All was silent.

In this quiet, I suddenly heard footsteps—or more accurately, the sound of hooves. I looked back—and froze.

A massive figure was emerging slowly from the depths of the corridor. With each step, a thunderous "thud" echoed beneath its feet. When it was about thirty meters away, I saw clearly—a towering horse, its rider and steed both clad in black armor, the rider wielding a two-meter-long war blade. He looked every bit the unstoppable iron knight. Two red glowing points on his helmet must have been his eyes.

This creature was not unfamiliar to me. It was the Dread Knight, the sixth-tier unit from the Necropolis in Heroes and Legends. Anyone who knew it understood that its attacks carried a 20% chance to curse its enemies, drastically reducing their damage output and rendering their attacks nearly useless. Even more terrifying, the Dread Knight had a 20% chance to land a critical strike, doubling its attack power and inflicting massive damage. Whether this particular one had those abilities, I didn’t know, but it was certainly not an opponent to take lightly.

The Dread Knight’s icy voice resounded: "Foolish mortal! How dare you trespass in this forbidden domain—let me grant you eternal rest!" As he finished speaking, his warhorse reared, shrieking, and he charged, raising his massive blade and bringing it crashing down toward me.

I quickly leaped back, narrowly dodging an attack that could have cleaved me in two.

With a deafening crash, the war blade smashed into the stone floor, embedding itself deeply. At its center, a wave of black energy exploded outward, instantly blasting a gaping hole in the ground and sending ripples of force radiating in all directions.

"Damn!" Caught off guard, I was hurled six or seven meters away by the shockwave, losing 500 health, while a ring of black light instantly enveloped me.

"Ding~! You have been afflicted with a Slow Curse: movement speed reduced by 60% for 20 seconds!"

"Damn!" Cursed by this Dread Knight—how shameless! With my speed slashed by 60%, I was moving like a turtle. The Dread Knight gave me no respite, launching another fierce assault.

He spurred his black steed forward, swinging his two-meter war blade in a flurry of strikes. My vision filled with a storm of blade shadows, each one capable of slicing a man in half.

Boom! Boom! Boom! In just a few seconds, seven or eight new craters pocked the floor—all carved by the shockwaves of the Dread Knight’s attacks. Each shockwave had a range of at least seven or eight meters. I barely dodged the physical strikes, but the shockwaves were unavoidable—I could only take potions and endure. Fortunately, the shockwaves themselves didn’t deal heavy damage, though being blasted away was troublesome.

It was thanks to my exceptionally high defense that I survived. The Dread Knight, frustrated at failing to land a decisive blow, saw his curse’s duration expire. Enraged, he charged again. I immediately activated my feint skill, dodged, then circled behind him. I unleashed a barrage—Shattering Strike, Energy Burst, Assault—catching him from an angle he shouldn’t have been able to defend.

To my surprise, the Dread Knight’s upper body spun a full 360 degrees, and he punched my Ruyi Staff, sending me flying—3522 damage appeared above my head.

I crashed to the ground as the Dread Knight wheeled his horse and charged again. I acted on instinct, slamming my hands against the floor—Lightning Storm! Instantly, bolts of lightning exploded beneath the Dread Knight’s steed, engulfing him—2111 damage flashed up.

But next, the Dread Knight burst forth from the lightning, though his warhorse was now blasted into fragments. Even so, he remained terrifying. Leaping on foot to where I had just stood up, he brought his blade down in a blur. I raised my Ruyi Staff to block, but the black energy exploded again. With a scream, I was sent flying—3780 damage.

Groaning, I forced myself up, spat blood, downed a potion, then slapped my cheeks to focus. I tried to summon Dragon Combat, but the Dread Knight shouted, “A summoner? Don’t make me laugh! Letting you call your beast would be far too troublesome—Dark Seal!”

“Ding~! The Dread Knight has used Dark Seal on you. You cannot summon beasts for one hour!”

Damn! Damn! Damn! An hour without summoning? That’s a death sentence! The Dread Knight sneered, “Ha! Without your summoned beast, you’re the weakest of the five classes. Human, you have no hope of victory. Still, I’ll give you credit for surviving this long—but your end has come!”