Chapter 73: Canyon (Summoning Recommendation Tickets)

  Three people set out on a journey, continuing along the shores of the great lake towards the northern part of the forest.

  Before them, the forest seemed to stretch on endlessly. The three of them walked along the lake's edge and finally, after two days of arduous trekking, they arrived at the northern shore of Dahu Lake.

  Du Wei took out the map of the Ice Peak Forest given by Bainrich, the leader of the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group, and took a look. This map described the southern shore of the Great Round Lake in great detail, marking where it was safer and where magical beasts were more likely to appear.

  On the north shore of Lake Dairen, it was marked relatively simply: large areas of blank space on the map were simply labeled with the word "forest", and the only direction to move forward was also written by Captain Bainreich based on the data left by many predecessors adventurers.

  "Alright, if we continue north, I think it's best to follow this road on the map." Du Wei unfolded the map for the two of them to see: "Look, this is probably the only place that has been traversed by humans in the past 200 years. Along here... in this direction, from our current location heading left and up... all the way north, we will pass through a safe zone. The map says there are fewer monsters in this area, but after two days of walking, we will arrive at a canyon. Oh, this canyon doesn't have a name, but it's clearly written on the map that it's a dangerous place with high-level monsters roaming around. And further north... is completely unknown territory."

  Dadanier looked at the map very seriously, while Hussein had an expression of being nonchalant.

  "Shall we decide, my companions, which way to go?" Du Wei smiled and said: "Are we following the map's indication, walking through that canyon? Or are we just aimlessly heading north? Wherever we arrive is wherever we arrive."

  When he said this, Du Wei was looking at Hussein. He felt that the old magician's trip to the Ice Peak Forest must have had a purpose, and this sacred knight who betrayed the temple should know where they were going. They didn't say anything before, but now that they're here, they should say something.

  But Du Wei was disappointed. Hussein's face was indifferent, and he said lightly: "Whatever, as long as you keep going north, it's up to you which road to take."

  "Let's go through the canyon." Dathanil hesitated for a moment, and then put forward his own suggestion: "Other places, no one has been there before, who knows what those places have. Only this canyon is where people used to walk, although the left data is not much, but at least we can still make some preparations."

  "Alright, it's settled then." Du Wei put away the map and smiled: "Let's head towards the canyon!"

  He seemed to be very nonchalant, after all, with the continent's number one knight by his side and a top-notch super magician following closely behind, even if they encountered any danger, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

  Beyond the Great Round Lake to the north, the weather had become so cold that it was unbearable. It could be said that if Du Wei's physical condition were still as before, he would have probably frozen to death on the road long ago. However, now he practiced the new movements Hussein taught him several times a day, which was enough to withstand the cold.

  Hussein, relying on his strong fighting spirit, was also fearless of the cold.

  It was Dardanius who, although a strong warrior, seemed to be gradually unable to support himself, being only a third-class warrior after all.

  The north shore of the Great Round Lake leads into the forest, where the weather is quite strange. The woods are almost windless, and the surroundings are eerily quiet, except for the thick snow underfoot that sends shivers down one's spine!

  Sometimes, accidentally stepping into a snow pit, the thick accumulated snow can almost bury people up to their waist!

  And what's more, the snow here is not only very thick but also very hard! In the past two days when everyone was camping, when they dug open the snow on the ground to pitch their tents, the accumulated snow underneath had almost buried the land! Several times they dug open the snow and found a hard layer of ice beneath!

  "Good grief... I suspect that the ground here doesn't have any soil at all! It's all just a sheet of ice! How on earth did these trees grow in this icy layer? Can they really grow inside the ice?" Dathanil sighed.

  Du Wei furrowed his brow and said in a low voice, "By the way, have you guys felt... since we left the lake shore and entered this forest, I've had a strange illusion all along... it's very quiet here, almost no sound, but I feel like we're being stared at by something every moment... do you guys have this feeling?"

  Dadanier shook his head, indicating that he hadn't. However, Hussein seemed to smile slightly, and then the knight looked at Duwei: "Oh? You felt it too?"

  Du Wei relied on his strong spiritual power and keen sense of perception, while the knight was due to his transcendent strength. Only Dada Nile, who had relatively low strength, was just a mid-level warrior without such strong perceptual abilities.

  "Are we being stalked by some kind of monster?" Du Wei frowned.

  "Maybe not one, but a group." Hussein said calmly: "Who cares! They'd better not show up. If they do, we'll just have some extra dinner."

  Du Wei did not doubt Hussein's words.

  In fact, on this road, in the process of advancing along the shores of Lake Dairen, the three people encountered the attack of magical beasts more than once.

  In this icy and snowy place where food is scarce, the level of magical beasts is also high. Some bloodthirsty magical beasts will even launch a desperate attack on them for just a little prey - even at night, Du Wei's trick of sprinkling dragon dung around the tent has gradually lost its effect.

  The demons here seem to have a relatively high level of intelligence, the dragon's feces can't scare them away, they don't dare to attack directly, but will launch some probes.

  One night, at midnight, three earth dragons emerged from the ground under their tent and attacked them. These earth dragons were not real dragons, but small animals similar to armadillos that Du Wei had seen in his previous life, however, these things would give people a big headache!

  They can dig tunnels and move freely under the frozen earth and ice that is harder than iron, and they are very fast! These guys have a layer of hard scales on their bodies... how hard it is, you can ask Dandanier. Because in a night raid, Dandanier, a third-level warrior, swung his curved knife with all his might at the back of a land dragon, but the land dragon just shook its body, and Dandanier's curved knife was already broken into two pieces!

  These earth dragons possess a defense capability that is far beyond the ordinary, and their sharp claws and teeth are even more terrifying! They can easily bite through hard metal! It's worth noting that they rely on their sharp claws and teeth to dig holes in the frozen soil and ice layers.

  These little things are small in size but incredibly fast, almost untouchable with swords or guns. However, if they catch you once or bite you even slightly, they can take your life!

  If it weren't for Hussein's strength in the team, Du Wei had no doubt that he and Dada would have been done for.

  That night, Dandanier slashed a dragon on the ground with one knife, his own knife broke, and the dragon just shook its body and pounced on Dandanier. The claws that could dig through the frozen soil were already placed on Dandanier's shoulders, easily piercing his armor and even piercing the bones of his shoulders!

  At this moment, Hussein, the first knight of the continent, took action. He used a worn-out long sword to swing out, with a faint golden aura, and this light golden fighting spirit was exceptionally dazzling in the night. In this flash of light, three hard-as-steel earth dragons were beheaded simultaneously! The three earth dragons were cut into six pieces, while the one on Dathan's shoulder still lay there, but its head had already rolled onto the snowy ground.

  That night, the three of them enjoyed a barbecue with grilled dragon.

  After breaking through the hard scales on the outside of the earth dragon, the flesh of these small things was very tough and could not be bitten at all... On the contrary, their internal organs were fresh and delicious.

  Hussein even peeled off the scales on the three earth dragons' bodies, filled a heavy bag with them, and handed it to Du Wei: "These things, take them to make armor, they are very light in weight but harder than metal, should be good materials."

  This knight even pulled out three dragon tendons, which were extremely tough and resilient. He used these to replace the bowstring of Dardaniels' bow. The bowstring made from dragon tendon was several times better than a normal iron-reinforced bow!

  Dadanier had no grudge against Hussein anymore, although Hussein almost killed him. Now this knight not only saved his own life but also got a good bow for himself... In any case, it seemed that he owed the knight instead.

  Hussein still looked cold and didn't say much. When he had nothing to do, he would hold his arms, close his eyes and meditate.

  Dadanil was hesitant to speak with Hussein, but Du Wei was nonchalant. He had a belly full of questions and could only get answers from the knight.

  "Hey." Du Wei walked over and sat down beside Hussein: "How's the wound? I still have some ice pop here."

  Hussein looked up at Du Wei and said, "Thanks, but no need. That stuff is addictive if you eat too much of it. Besides, I ate that ice fruit the other day and already said some things I shouldn't have. I can hold on now, I don't need those things."

  Du Wei smiled slightly, then said in a low voice: "I noticed that your aura... is golden. I've heard that only the Holy Knights' aura is golden. You were previously known as the strongest person to approach the Holy Knights in a hundred years, and now looking at the color of your aura... you're already a Holy Knight, aren't you?"

  Hussein raised an eyebrow, seemingly smiling yet not: "Paladin... if I were already a paladin, my body wouldn't have so many wounds."

  "Aren't you a Holy Knight?" Du Wei was somewhat surprised: single-handedly killing two ninth-level Knights of the same level as himself, and also killing a top-ranking mage (Judge) in the Temple, although Du Wei didn't know what level that Judge was, but at least above eighth level. In addition, there was an eighth-level Holy Knight, plus several mid-level Knights...

  Hussein has such terrifying strength, hasn't he reached the realm of a Holy Knight yet?

  "I'm still at level 9." Hussein sighed, "I feel like I'm about to break through the critical point, but I've always been short of just one small step... This step is right in front of me, but I don't even know how to take it. Maybe it'll be today, maybe I'll never pass this level in my lifetime, only heaven knows."

  Du Wei took a deep breath: "So... Paladin, what is it like?"

  "I don't know." Hussein shook his head, and his eyes were also somewhat bewildered: "But what I do know is that between the Holy Order and ordinary ranks, there is an unbridgeable chasm. Ordinary knights, whether they are eighth or ninth level, although their strength differs greatly, but it's not impossible to win by challenging a higher level, for example, a ninth-level knight may be stronger than an eighth-level knight, but if several eighth-level knights can concentrate their efforts, they can also defeat a ninth-level knight. However, the Holy Order... that is an unknown realm to me... According to ancient legend, only the Holy Order cannot be challenged across levels, in other words, once you reach the realm of a holy knight, unless there are other holy knights, no lower-ranking knights can be your opponent, even if many ninth-level knights gather together, they will never be able to defeat a single holy knight! The difference between ninth level and holy knight is only one rank, but this one rank represents an enormous, unbridgeable chasm!"

  Du Wei didn't say anything, he seemed to be thinking about something.

  "There are times when I think I'm already strong enough." Hussein said with a bitter smile: "When fighting against Luke Knight and Kaili Knight, my strength was stronger than theirs, but I could only cope with the joint attack of the two. It has reached my limit. But if I were a Holy Knight..." Hussein shook his head and closed his mouth, not continuing to speak.

  Du Wei looked at Hussein and saw that he was no longer speaking, knowing that the guy didn't want to continue talking, so he could only sigh, shake his head, and go help Dadaniel make a fire on the side.

  The next afternoon, the three finally approached the last marked place on the map:

  Canyon.

  The terrain of this place is actually very simple, with two mountain slopes stretching out in front, and the steep slope reveals yellow rock, which is covered with ice and snow, and between the two mountain slopes there is a break, this break is what the map says "gorge".

  The three of them walked to the entrance of the canyon, but all froze there.

  At the entrance of this valley, on both sides, as if intentionally, stand two stone carvings!

  On the left is a human knight, about the same size as an ordinary person. This stone carving is exceptionally exquisite, and the craftsmanship is masterful! The long sword in the knight's hand is still swinging, with an angry expression on his face, his eyes wide open, and the expression is vividly lifelike, almost to the point of being real! The armor on his body is a bit tattered, but even every broken gap is carved with exceptional fineness!

  Gently wipe away the layer of floating snow on top, **the knight's armor that comes out is so exquisite and clear, even with floral patterns!!

  Du Wei stared at this incredibly realistic stone statue, and his face suddenly changed!

  "This... doesn't seem like a stone carving! It wasn't carved out of stone! It's a real person who was petrified!"

  Very quickly, Du Wei and Dada Nil exchanged a glance, and both of them simultaneously spat out a sentence from their mouths!

  "Golden-eyed python!"

  Hussein's face darkened, he suddenly drew his long sword, furrowed his brow and said in a low voice: "Hey! I have that annoying feeling again! There's something lurking in the shadows watching us! ...It seems to be... right here!"

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