Rise of the Dark Witch

The sky was covered with clouds and dark.

Thunder flashed across the sky and the earth.

A storm is brewing.

Roya took Weiss out of Shanta Town and came to the place where the carriage was parked.

On the dirty ground next to the carriage, a man with empty eyes lay quietly, as if he were dead.

Who else could it be but Harder?

"He has been like this since you left." Looking at the confused Roja, Weiss explained.

Roya could see Harder was deeply shaken.

Roya can understand that Hard will become like this.

Sending the people he values ​​​​to the devil's cave with his own hands is something that if anyone encounters, unless he is the kind of person who is originally heartless, he will become a madman at best, or commit suicide directly at worst.

Harder didn't go crazy on the spot, which was pretty good.

As for whether he will commit suicide in the future?

No one can predict it.

Roya wanted to comfort Hader, but he didn't know how to comfort him.

Maybe Harder didn't want to see him at all?

See this... wizard.

After sighing, Roja looked down at Harder who was lying on the ground and said:

"The plague is over."

"No more deaths."

This sentence made Harder's ears twitch, but only slightly.

Harder was still lying on the ground like a dead man.

If someone rushed to him now and gave him a knife to end his life, he wouldn't even resist at all. Maybe he would thank the person who killed him after he died.

It is not an easy task to get Hader back on his feet.

Roja, who had only met Hader once, had no need to do that, let alone waste time and energy doing so.

"I hope that before you make the extreme choice of killing yourself in the future, you will think more about whether it was your own impulse."

"Think more about whether you are escaping or if you really feel that you are hopeless."

After saying these words, Roja jumped on the carriage and drove Weiss towards the destination, Knight's Stele Forest.

Gulu gulu——

The wheels rolled, leaving two gradual ruts on the ground.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew and heavy rain poured down.

Crash--

Raindrops the size of pebbles continued to fall.

Under the rain curtain, the whole world seemed hazy.

Listening to the crying coming from behind through the rain curtain, Roja sighed slightly.

The reason why he pursues the path of a wizard is that in addition to gaining power and immortality, there is another important reason -

I just don’t want to encounter something tragic like Harder’s!

Not only were their loved ones killed, and the people they valued were ruthlessly slaughtered, but he also participated in it without knowing anything, becoming the sharpest knife in the hands of the executioner.

Just thinking about it is unbearable!

But there are too many similar things in this cruel and dark wizarding world!

Moreover, maybe he will become one of the people who causes such tragedies in the future?

Roja was thinking, and Weiss was silent.

The two of them didn't say a word along the way.

…

Looking at the town called Knight Town in front of him, Roja showed a rare smile.

"After passing the Knights Town, you will reach the Knights Stele Forest."

"Did you know? The Knight's Stele Forest is the holy land of knights in our Shenglan Kingdom. Every year, many great knights step into the Knight's Stele Forest in order to seek the realm of the Holy Knight."

"Due to the large number of people arriving, a small town gradually appeared next to the Forest of Knight Steles, a small town called Knight Town."

"Do you know why the Forest of Knights' Steles is called the Forest of Knights' Steles?"

"Because almost none of the great knights who entered the Forest of Knights' Steles came back alive, so many great knights entered the Forest of Knights' Steles with their tombstones."

"I heard that in the depths of the Forest of Knights' Steles, there are tombstones of those pathetic people who longed to become paladins."

“That’s why it’s called the Forest of Knights’ Steles.”

As the knight's forest of monuments approached, Roja's mood became good and he often had a smile on his face.

Weiss, on the other hand, had a gloomy look on her face, as if she wanted to escape from the Knight's Forest of Steles far away.

Faced with Roja's words, she just listened absently.

When they first set off from Hain Port, Roya's face was gloomy and Weisi was smiling.

Now that they are about to arrive at their destination, the attitudes of the two are completely reversed. Roya is smiling, while Weiss has a gloomy look.

The carriage drove into the knight town.

The town that used to be lively and prosperous is now deathly quiet.

Click——

Boom——

The heavy sound of hammer hitting stone came from the depths of Knight Town.

In the dead knight town, this sound seemed so weird.

Weiss' hand reflexively pulled Roja's sleeve and asked in fear: "What is that sound?"

"Just go and take a look and you will know."

"We'd better leave quickly. I always feel like there's something wrong with this town."

"It's just psychological."

Roja walked towards the direction of the sound with a reluctant Weiss.

Boom——

The sound of the hammer hitting the stone became louder and louder.

When they came to the edge of Knight Town, looking at the scene in front of them, they finally knew where the sound came from.

They arrived at a house surrounded by half-finished tombstones.

Through the low bamboo railings surrounding the house, you can see a rickety old man banging on a stone.

The sound they heard after entering Knight's Town was exactly the sound made by the old man making the tombstone.

This old man is only at the level of an ordinary old man in terms of his breathing, movements, and strength.

However, Weiss became even more frightened.

Facing an ordinary person, a frail old man, Weiss, a noble lady from the earl family, who has the strength of a great knight, is an introduction to elementary meditation methods, and has half a foot in the wizarding world, is afraid.

Because the old man's withered body is covered with large and small cracks, every time the old man swings the hammer hard, dark red blood will seep out from the cracks.

"I always feel like there's something wrong with this place. Let's leave as soon as possible." Weiss urged Roja by tugging on his clothes.

Before Roja could reply, the old man had already looked towards them.

The old man stared at them with eyes dripping with blood, and gave them a weird smile on his wrinkled, dry face.

"Are you the great knights who are going to the Knight's Stele Forest for the knight trial?" the old man asked in a hoarse voice.

"That's right." Roja nodded and replied.

"Haha, I didn't expect that I would meet a guest before I died. You may have to wait a long time, so don't mind." The old man laughed.

"We don't want your tombstone..."

When Weiss was mid-sentence, Roya immediately covered her mouth.

Ignoring Weiss's resistance, he nodded to the old man and said, "Sorry to trouble you."

Roya took Weiss and sat down in the yard with tombstones everywhere.

Boom——

The sound of banging stones sounded again.

"Why don't you leave?" Weiss asked, glaring at Roja.

"Why do you think everyone who enters the Knight's Forest of Steles must bring a tombstone with them?" Roja did not answer Weiss's question, but instead asked another question.

"Of course it's because they think there is a high probability that they will die, and they don't want to not even have a tombstone when they die?" Weiss answered without thinking.

When she finished speaking, Wei Si's face changed, as if she understood something.

"Do you want him to help build a tombstone as well?" Roja asked.

"Isn't it just a tombstone? Can't I just find a stone and carve a few words with a sword? The tombstones here always give me an ominous feeling. I'm afraid that if I use the tombstones here, I will turn into a resentful spirit after death. There will be no peace in death!" Weiss shook her head.

It's normal for Weiss to think so, because every tombstone made by the old man has something like resentment attached to it.

But those are not resentments!

Instead, the old man poured all his energy and energy into the making of the tombstone, and his spiritual power naturally attached to the tombstone to form a strange energy.

General mental power dissipates over time.

The old man's "obsession" attached to the tombstone will not dissipate for a long time, and will become stronger and stronger. It does look a bit similar to resentment, but it is more like the divine will that only a third-level wizard has.

The old man is just a mortal, but he possesses abilities similar to divine thoughts. He can be said to comprehend divine thoughts in a mortal body.

It is only by devoting one's whole life to something that extraordinary geniuses at the level of a grandmaster can occasionally be born.

Generally, such outstanding figures appear in the fields of swords, calligraphy and painting. Every sword, calligraphy and painting with spiritual thoughts is the best of its kind and can easily be auctioned for millions of gold coins.

As for the tombstone?

This was the first time Roja had heard of this situation.

And he was lucky enough to see the production process with his own eyes, so he must have a good time observing it.

While looking forward to his tombstone, Roja observed the old man's skills and saw how the old man used the spiritual thoughts that only a third-level wizard could have.

The ordinary naked eye cannot see anything at all.

Not to mention second-class apprentices, even second-class wizards will gain nothing from watching it.

But Roja has the proof of two souls!

Under the evidence of two souls, Roja clearly saw the process of the formation of divine thoughts.

"Is it a brand new energy formed by the perfect fusion of vitality and spiritual power?"

"Is this Divine Thought?"

"Is this the power that only a third-level wizard can have?"

"It's truly extraordinary."

As for why a mere ordinary old man can perfectly integrate vitality and spiritual power into divine thoughts, Roja saw some clues with the help of the evidence of two souls.

"That trace of power that emerged out of nowhere and merged spiritual power and vitality is the power of the soul?"

Roja, who has two souls, immediately noticed the existence of soul power.

"Is the key to condensing spiritual thoughts actually the soul?"

Roja didn't expect that it was related to the soul. Could it be said that a third-level wizard has the power of the soul?

"Didn't the Lord of the Demon Machine Domain say that you can't interfere with the soul until you reach the eighth level, and you can only fully control the soul after the ninth level?"

"...It's just a trace of soul power."

The difficulty between being able to detect and use soul power and interfering with and controlling the soul is one hundred and eight thousand times higher!

While observing the old man making a tombstone, Roja used the magic skill Pure Demonic Body to remove the curse from Kukasi.

Its daybreak.

A ray of warm morning light pierced the darkness and shone on the old man.

The old man gently stroked the last tombstone he forged in his life, "The one hundred and eighth, this is the one hundred and eighth knight's tombstone I have made for the great knight in my life."

The old man grinned at Roja, "Sir Knight, are you satisfied with this tombstone?"

Roja stared at the tombstone that reflected the bright light like the paladin's glorious armor in the morning light.

He stretched out his hand and touched the four characters "Royal Nange" on the tombstone. He felt like he was touching a piece of warm jade.

Although the material used is just ordinary granite that can be seen everywhere, the finished product gives people the feeling of being carved from white jade.

Regarding this tombstone, Luo Ya only had one word in mind -

"good!"

Roja praised without hesitation.

"As long as you like it, Lord Knight." The old man smiled happily.

"Old man, I remember that many famous paintings and books have the signatures of the makers on them. Can you sign one on them?" Roja said.

"sign?"

"yes."

"Can I sign it?"

"This is the best masterpiece of your life, old man. This tombstone is not inferior to those famous books and paintings. It would be a pity not to sign it."

"..." After the old man stared at Roja for a long time, he suddenly laughed, "Yes, my tombstone is not bad at all compared to those famous books and paintings!"

The old man found a tool and carefully carved his name on the bottom of the tombstone - Sassoon Longroy Martin.

At the moment when the name was engraved, the entire tombstone underwent some inexplicable and wonderful change.

And Old Man Martin's whole person seemed to become transparent all of a sudden, looming.

After saying goodbye to Uncle Martin, Roja took his tombstone and walked out of Knight Town with Weiss, who was already impatient.

call--

A cold wind blew.

Looking back, the knight town that existed just fine before has actually disappeared!

Instead, there are tombs and tombstones standing in front of the tombs!

"Everyone in Knight Town died due to an unknown accident five years ago." Roja said solemnly.

"Does that mean the knight town we stayed in for a day was an illusion? The old man we saw was a wraith?" Weiss asked in surprise.

"No, Uncle Martin is a living person."

"Huh? Are you kidding?"

"may be."

Ignoring the puzzled Weiss, Roja looked towards one of the many tombs. With the help of the double soul certificate, he could see the coffin inside the tomb through the soil.

Lying in the coffin was an old man who had just died with a happy smile on his face.

What exactly is going on?

Why can Uncle Martin survive to this day in a town that was destroyed five years ago?

Roja couldn't tell.

He only knew that the old man Martin they met last night was a real living person, and that the town of Knights was indeed an illusion transformed by a wraith.

"Maybe the resentful spirit is helping him." Roja said uncertainly.

"Huh? Are you talking about kind-hearted ghosts who help living people? Are you an innocent child who has read too many fairy tales? Wraiths are the natural enemies of all life!" Weiss said speechlessly.

"Haha, I don't think it's possible either."

Roja did not continue to struggle with this matter.

He walked in front with the tombstone, and Weiss followed him into the forest of knights' monuments.