Hyperdimensional Warlock

Chapter 4358 The Decaying Knight
Angel didn't actually leave; he was still keeping an eye on Kemai.

The reason for not responding is simply that I don't want Kemai to rely too much on me.

This is not conducive to growth.

Moreover, a faint doubt began to grow in his heart.

Since the dungeon opened, he has provided Kemai with a lot of assistance: illusionary stealth, minimap, large map, and a backup plan in critical moments...

This was supposed to be an extremely easy E-rank dungeon, but now it has turned into a situation where everyone is trapped in the "murmurs of the living dead" and only Kermai is left to go alone. The difficulty has clearly exceeded the normal range.

A thought slowly surfaced in his mind:
Could it be that his supposed help has disrupted the original flow of the dungeon?
Perhaps, being cursed and falling into a coma is the proper storyline for an E-rank dungeon?

It's even possible that some plot points related to the "truth" will only be triggered after he falls into a coma?

The illusion and illusion nodes he bestowed upon Kemai allowed him to avoid falling into a coma, but they also transformed a simple route into a highly difficult side path that no one had ever traversed before.

Of course, the above is just Angell's speculation.

The main reason he couldn't help but think more was that everyone was currently unconscious, which didn't meet the requirements for an E-level difficulty.

This is why Ingres chose not to respond.

He was afraid that if he said too much, he would make more mistakes.

……

Kemai successfully arrived at the location marked "O" on the map, and there he indeed encountered a member of the Forty Thieves on lookout duty.

However, Kemai did not find him.

However, the scout, seeing that Kemai was wearing the Piccolo Merchant Guild uniform and was dragging a cart full of heavy supplies, took the initiative to show himself.

After some communication, Kemai easily gained the other party's trust.

After all, it's an established fact that the Forty Thieves ordered supplies from the Piccolo Merchant Guild. Now, the guild members are taking huge risks to deliver the supplies into the Misty Swamp Forest, which is only beneficial to them. There's no need to be overly suspicious.

Having gained his trust, Kemai asked about the "evil spirit" almost without hesitation.

Of course, he didn't use the terms "evil spirit" or "living dead," but rather objectively described the other person's appearance, calling him a decaying knight.

Because the undead were wearing tattered knight's armor.

When the scout on guard heard Kermaine's question, his expression became noticeably subtle, and he tried to brush the question off with a perfunctory tone.

But how could Kemai give up so easily? He bluntly stated that a portion of the caravan had suffered clear casualties due to encountering the "Rotten Knights".

Some people are still unconscious.

Kemai explained that this was why he had come alone: ​​he wanted to obtain information about the Decaying Knight and inquire about how to save the unconscious.

“Leader Hook said that since you stayed in the Misty Swamp Forest, you must know something about that decaying knight. So, the leader sent me here to inquire about the situation.”

After listening, the scout inquired in detail about the "casualties".

The scout's expression turned grim upon learning that a ranger who used a bow and arrow had died.

He paused for a moment, then said to Kemai, "We also regret what happened. However, I cannot give you information about that evil... Corrupted Knight. If you are sure you want to know, I can take you to see the leader."

"If the leader agrees, he will naturally tell you."

Ke Mai naturally nodded in agreement.

Next, the scout led Carmine to the Forty Bandits' stronghold in the Misty Marsh.

They traveled deep into the Misty Swamp Forest, a long and arduous journey, before finally arriving at the area where the Forty Bandits' stronghold was located.

During his journey, Kemai, through observation of the large map, discovered that the lair of the Forty Thieves was not located inside any of the "O"s on the map, but rather precisely at the common center of all the "O" areas.

From this, Ke Mai also confirmed once again that the location marked with an "O" was the lookout area of ​​the Forty Thieves.

As for why there are so many sentry posts?
He guessed it was to observe the wandering undead.

When Kemai saw the entrance to the Forty Thieves' lair, his expression was somewhat surprised.

The entrance is located right in the center of a crooked, dead tree, where there is a man-made wooden door.

Its appearance is exactly the same as the crystal artifact at the dungeon entrance!
Although it was his first time entering the instance, Ke Mai had heard that the shapes of the crystal artifacts in the instance were very likely related to important clues within the instance.

In other words, since the crystal artifact in this instance is the same as the entrance to the Forty Thieves' lair, it means that the Forty Thieves and the truth of the instance are definitely deeply connected.

He made the right choice; the Forty Thieves were the ones he was looking for!

Suppressing his excitement, Kemai followed the scout into the tree hollow. Following the crooked path, he finally arrived at an underground cavity.

Here, he finally saw the core members of the Forty Thieves.

They just didn't look well.

More than twenty burly men were crammed into a hole that was probably no bigger than a single room, which looked rather awkward.

The air was filled with the smell of sweat, as well as a musty and damp stench.

Fortunately, Ke Mai had a strong will; if it were someone with a more sensitive sense of smell, they probably would have thrown up on the spot.

As Kemai arrived, everyone looked over, their eyes filled with unreadable meaning.

Fortunately, the caravan "skin" that Kerma was wearing turned their ambiguity into a scrutinizing look.

The scout approached a one-eyed man who had taken off his shirt and looked like a muscle man, and explained Kerma's purpose.

This one-eyed man is, without a doubt, the leader of the Forty Thieves.

After listening to the scout's words, the one-eyed man gave Kemai a deep, indifferent look. His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority:

"Is it just you coming with the caravan? Where are Hook and Nivea?"

Kemai quickly replied, "It's just me. Because of the attack by the Decaying Knight, almost everyone in the Long Sound Squad is unconscious. Leader Hook is still in the caravan camp discussing countermeasures."

"As for Captain Nivea, she didn't participate in this operation because she had an upset stomach before coming here."

Kemai is now very grateful that they had infiltrated the caravan and allowed him to gather a lot of intelligence.

This includes the names of different squads within the caravan, specifically the three squads of long tone, short tone, and phono tone.

There are also some hidden gossips, such as Nivea's situation, which was discussed by her team members during a meal.

"The arrival of the Decaying Knight also caused heavy losses to the caravan. Leader Hook is currently discussing countermeasures with other squad leaders."

"As for me, it was Captain Hook who sent me here to inquire about any information regarding the Decaying Knight."

Kermaine's answers, emotional responses, and even the details of his body and face were perfectly integrated.

At least from Angell's God-like perspective, he did not find any problems.

The one-eyed man was completely unaware of the problem. His questioning of Kemai wasn't out of suspicion of his identity, but simply because he felt Kemai was too few people and hadn't brought all the necessary supplies.

"Information on the Decaying Knight... Hmph." The one-eyed dragon snorted coldly, not answering immediately, but instead gesturing for Kemai to present the supplies he had brought.

When he saw that the supplies were all daily necessities, with food making up the majority, the one-eyed man's expression turned somewhat grim.

"Where are the weapons?"

“I didn’t bring any weapons this time,” Kemai quickly said. “Leader Hook also needs to think about the caravan. Of course we are willing to continue doing business with you, but the premise is that we must survive first.”

The implication is that although the weapons and supplies were ordered by the Forty Thieves, the caravan is now under attack by the Decaying Knights.

Their own military strength is not particularly strong.

However, the weapons and equipment ordered by the Forty Thieves made up for their weakness.

In other words, it was temporarily requisitioned.

One-Eyed Dragon's expression darkened further upon hearing this. He grabbed Kemai by the collar and roared, "Hook doesn't understand at all! You have absolutely no use for these weapons. Evil spirits won't kill ordinary people outright. But weapons are very important to us; they are essential resources for our survival!"

"An evil spirit?" Ke Mai was grabbed by the collar, his neck aching from the choking, but he still pretended to be confused.

One-Eyed Dragon glared fiercely at Kemai, wanting to continue venting his anger on him, but he also knew that Kemai was just a gofer.

One-Eyed Dragon released his grip and pushed Carmi aside.

Ke Mai staggered several steps and almost fell on top of a burly man.

Fortunately, I managed to hold onto the wall for support.

“The evil spirit is the Corrupt Knight you’ve been talking about.” The one-eyed man sat back down. “As for information about him, all I can say is that you can’t handle him. Instead of thinking about fighting him, you should hurry back and return the weapons we asked for. I will avenge you.”

Kemai steadied himself and exhaled: "More than revenge, we want to resolve the issue of the coma. That's the main reason why Team Leader Hook sent me here."

Although Kemai really wanted to ask about the truth directly, he was currently playing the role of a member of the Piccolo Merchant Guild. From the perspective of the caravan, he couldn't immediately inquire about the behind-the-scenes truth. He could only focus on "how to wake up the unconscious person" for the time being.

One-Eyed Dragon was silent for a moment: "Go back and tell Hook that those who are unconscious should not be saved by external force. Their unconsciousness comes from the evil spirit's... evil power."

“You’re just an ordinary person, you don’t understand anything about the extraordinary, and I’m too lazy to explain it to you, but Hook knows that he’ll understand once you relay it.”

Ke Mai quickly pressed, "Then what do we do? Are we just going to leave them like this? Just let them pass out?"

Although Kemai was a member of a performing caravan, he genuinely cared about waking up unconscious people.

His anxious attitude made the one-eyed man even more certain of his identity.

"The only way is to hold on. If they can hold on for two days, they will naturally wake up." The one-eyed man narrowed his eyes slightly. "If they can't hold on, then we can only blame fate. It is destined that they will stay here forever."

Kemai murmured softly, seemingly not believing that "waiting" was the only way.

"There must be other ways!"

“You’re definitely hiding something!” Ke Mai’s eyes were bloodshot, and he even stood up and roared at the one-eyed dragon.

If it were anyone else or under any other circumstances, One-Eyed Dragon might have simply ordered his men to kill him. However, many of the Forty Thieves' brothers also fell under the curse of evil spirits, falling into a coma or even dying.

Having experienced similar things, the one-eyed dragon could understand Kemai's excitement.

Faced with his "rudeness," the one-eyed dragon surprisingly didn't take it to heart. With a simple wave of his hand, several burly, muscular men around him pinned Ke Mai against the wall.

"People from the Piccolo Merchant Guild, you'd better calm down." One-Eyed Dragon casually picked up a bottle of liquor and splashed it directly on Kemai's face, soaking him completely.

“I know it’s upsetting that someone in the caravan has fallen unconscious. But the truth is often harsh, and you have to face it.”

One-Eyed Dragon paused for a moment: "I can tell you definitively that in the world we live in, there exists a terrifying, dark, yet incredibly beautiful world where extraordinary people live."

"They can summon a sea of ​​fire with a wave of their hand; they can make torrential rains flood the entire country; they can decide life and death with a single word; they can reverse time and space."

"Their abilities are exceptional."

"They are comparable to gods."

"But in such a supernatural world, there also exist incredibly terrifying creatures: monsters, evil gods, minions, and evil spirits."

"They also possess the power to destroy the world with a mere gesture."

"And what you have encountered is such a being, a dark creature from the extraordinary world... an evil spirit!"

One-Eyed Dragon spoke with great emotion, and from his excited and trembling tone, one could tell that he also longed for the extraordinary world he described.

Ke Mai appeared shocked, but in reality, he was unsure.

As a being of the Mirror Realm, Kemai is surrounded by extraordinary beings every day, so naturally he doesn't find a world of extraordinary beings particularly amazing.

Even more clearly than the one-eyed dragon, Kemai knew that this so-called extraordinary world had another name: the Wizarding World.

After calming his agitated emotions, the one-eyed man turned to look at Kemai: "Do you understand now?"

“As a supernatural being, the evil spirit could easily kill all of you, but it didn’t.”

The one-eyed man's voice deepened, carrying an almost devout reverence, and even his eyes became dazed and fanatical.

"You really think he deliberately made you unconscious? No... someone of his level wouldn't bother to lay a hand on you."

“You will faint simply because…he is there.”

"His very existence distorts reality and permeates all living beings. You were just unconsciously affected by him."

He paused, his tone revealing an admiration he himself was unaware of:

"This is extraordinary power. Mortals don't even have the right to approach it, let alone resist, break through, or save..."

After hearing the one-eyed man's generous speech, Ke Mai was speechless.

According to One-Eyed Dragon, this practically elevates the evil spirit to the status of a god. If the evil spirit truly possessed such power, how could this place be merely an E-rank dungeon?
Therefore, the situation is now quite clear: the one-eyed man's obsession with the supernatural world has completely robbed him of his rationality and distorted his judgment, making it virtually impossible to get a "solution" from him.

However, Kemai didn't actually come to the one-eyed dragon to get a way to "resolve the coma".

He wants the truth.

What we want is the truth about evil spirits.

Thinking of this, Ke Mai began to perform. He first showed a shocked expression, agreeing with the one-eyed man's words; then, he showed a bewildered expression.

He indicated that if he were to return with this explanation, Team Leader Hook would absolutely not accept it.

At the very least, we need to bring some other intelligence.

For example, what is the origin of the evil spirit, and why is it wandering here?