Accident

"What did you have someone bring so much snake meat for?" Dier's curious voice sounded beside Arthur.

He looked at the large sack of snake meat in Arthur's hands and watched him prepare it, clearly curious.

Arthur skewered a skinned Green-eyed Snake and placed it on the grill before turning back to him. "I ate this kind of snake in the wild before and thought it tasted pretty good, so I had someone bring more over."

"Want to try some?" He smiled and gestured to Dier beside him.

"Sure." Dier laughed, took a skewer of roasted snake meat from Arthur, and bit into it.

His eyes lit up instantly, and he raised a hand at Arthur. "It really does taste good."

Lunch ended quickly.

Arthur did not waste the snake meat. He roasted seven or eight snakes at once and ate them all himself.

A Knight Apprentice's physical constitution far surpassed that of an ordinary person, but accordingly, their appetite was often greater as well. Moreover, Arthur was still growing and needed to eat more nutritious food.

More importantly, these snake meats also contained trace beneficial components. According to the Chip's analysis, long-term consumption could also increase his Constitution somewhat, so naturally they could not be wasted.

After lunch, Arthur walked to one side, took out a green Snake Stone, put it into his mouth, chewed it for a while, and swallowed it directly.

Although the green Snake Stone looked like a rock, it was nowhere near as hard and could be easily crushed between the teeth.

However, its taste was truly awful. It carried a powerful bitter, rotten stench that could induce vomiting if endured for too long, making it almost impossible to swallow.

Arthur frowned and forced himself to swallow it despite the nausea.

The instant he swallowed the Snake Stone, an intensely unpleasant sensation rose within his body. It was mild at first, then grew stronger and stronger, accompanied by a vague heat that made him feel as if he were being scorched by fire.

After a while, the sensation slowly faded. The violent discomfort gradually transformed into an extreme numb ache that seemed to have a paralytic effect.

Arthur endured the feeling and took another Snake Stone from the medicine pouch hanging at his waist with his right hand, bringing it to his mouth.

Then the familiar sensation surfaced again, far more intense than before.

This process continued for a long time, until the mechanical voice in his mind sounded once more and Arthur finally stopped.

"Beep! The host's rejection response has reached its limit. Further consumption will cause irreversible organ failure."

Hearing the warning in the Chip's voice, Arthur finally stopped and had the Chip examine his physical condition.

In an instant, the Chip in his mind responded, displaying his physical data before his eyes.

Name: Arthur Falkus. Strength: 2.4 (3.1). Agility: 2.3 (2.9). Constitution: 2.5 (3). Status: Weakness, minor organ damage...

Compared to four months ago, Arthur's attributes were much more impressive now. Not only had the peak values of his Strength and Constitution exceeded 3, but even his formerly weakest Agility had reached around 2.9. His overall combat power was far greater than it had been months ago.

Such tremendous progress was also inseparable from Arthur's efforts during this period.

Over the past four months, Arthur had never slackened in his practice of the Knight Breathing Technique. Besides the Snake Stones he had used before, he had also found several materials nearby that could affect him, each with varying effects. That was how he had raised his physical abilities to their current level in such a short time.

"The Snake Stones are about to lose their effect too."

Feeling the increase in his physical abilities, Arthur was somewhat helpless.

Of all the materials he had used, these Snake Stones had been among the most effective. Even after four months, they could still produce some effect on him.

However, as his physical abilities increased, his body's adaptation and resistance to the Snake Stones also grew stronger. Their effects had become weaker and weaker, and they were nearly useless now.

"At this rate, after a few dozen more uses, these Snake Stones will stop working."

The thought flashed through Arthur's mind.

Because he had just used a large amount of Snake Stones to stimulate his body, he was still in a weakened and numb state.

Fortunately, the camp was right nearby. It not only had many guards, but also many Knight Apprentices like Arthur, so there was no need to worry about safety during this time.

He stood there for a while. Only after his condition improved slightly did Arthur endure the intense discomfort in his body and head toward the camp behind him.

The moment he entered, Arthur frowned.

In the center of the camp, more than a dozen corpses lay quietly on the ground, looking rather miserable.

Most of the dead were ordinary guards, though there were also a few Knight Apprentices. They were all familiar faces from Arthur's memories, yet now they lay silently on the ground, their bodies covered with linen cloth.

No one around the corpses made a sound. The atmosphere was quiet and oppressive.

"What happened?"

Arthur walked over to Dier, who was sitting ahead of him, and looked at his somewhat gloomy expression. "How did so many people die all at once?"

Dier was startled when he heard the voice. He turned around, and only after seeing Arthur did he realize who it was. The gloom on his face eased somewhat.

"Something happened up ahead. Aladi and the others were ambushed. More than fifty people were wiped out. We only found this many bodies."

As he spoke, Dier's expression darkened. He pointed toward the corpses, visibly agitated.

Hearing this, Arthur frowned as well, though his face remained calm. "Have they found out who did it?"

"Not yet. But from the traces at the scene, it looked somewhat like the work of those Orcs. Some Orcs from the front lines may have wandered over and taken the chance to ambush Aladi and the others." Dier shook his head as he spoke.

"Orcs?" Arthur murmured instinctively, then turned to look at the corpses.

Though they were covered by linen cloth, Arthur's sharp eyesight and observation skills still allowed him to see how miserable the bodies were.

The leather armor and clothing they had worn were gone, all taken away as spoils. From the exposed corners of a few corpses, it was clear that they were no longer intact. Some had their entire heads mangled into bloody pulp, apparently gnawed on by wild beasts after death.

After the wild beasts had fed on them, the various traces that might originally have remained on the corpses had mostly been destroyed. Now, they could only infer the situation from a few fragments of evidence.

The only thing Arthur could determine was that these people had probably died five or six days ago, and at roughly the same time. They had been killed by the same group.

If he wanted more information, he would have to examine the bodies at close range, perhaps even dissect them himself.

Arthur lowered his head, considering the possibility of an autopsy. Dier, seeing this, thought he was worried about something and spoke up. "Arthur, there's no need to worry."

"When our people discovered these bodies, they already sent someone to Count Polia's castle. Reinforcements should arrive soon, so there's no need to worry at all."

As he spoke, Dier lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Also, I just heard some news. This time, a true knight may be coming."

"A knight?" Arthur's heart stirred instinctively, and he turned to ask, "Is there any definite news? Which lord will be leading the group?"

"We still don't know, but there are only a few lords left at the castle now," Dier said casually.

"That's true." Arthur nodded.

Knights held a very high status in this world. Not only were they powerful, but they were also rare. Even Count Polia had only a handful under his command, and most of them had been sent to the front lines to fight the Orcs.

As far as Arthur knew, only three knights remained at the castle. This time, one of them should be leading the reinforcements.

Thinking of this, anticipation flickered in Arthur's eyes.

Since crossing over, Arthur had been in this world for nearly half a year.

Although his physical abilities had improved greatly over those six months, he had never found any clue as to how to awaken a Life Seed. It gave him the feeling of having strength with nowhere to use it.

The Knight Breathing Technique only contained methods for stimulating life force and improving physical abilities. It had no precise description of how to truly awaken a Life Seed, only a few vague records.

Under such circumstances, Arthur desperately needed to find a true knight. Whether he asked them directly for guidance or observed them through the Chip, he should gain something.

With that anticipation, several days quickly passed.

Seven days later, outside the quiet camp, a long procession approached from the distance, arriving here just before noon.

The group numbered around thirty or forty people. They all wore leather armor and carried standard-issue weapons, and their marching formation was far more orderly. They looked much more elite than ordinary guards.

Yet the most eye-catching person was the one at the very front.

He was a middle-aged man in pale black armor, riding a white horse. A red cloak hung from his back, and combined with his resolute, imposing face and blond hair, he looked exceptionally valiant.

His expression was cold and resolute. He gave a slight nod toward the welcoming group in the camp ahead, then led the soldiers behind him forward at a slow pace.

Only after they had passed did the welcoming group at the side dare to make any sound.