[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-knight-from-apprentice-to-the-almighty":3,"chapter-knight-from-apprentice-to-the-almighty-knight-from-apprentice-to-the-almighty-chapter-196":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1847910,2453,"Chapter 196 - 184: A More Dangerous Existence","knight-from-apprentice-to-the-almighty-chapter-196",196,"\u003Cp>’The Brain-Eating Monster... Could this be the unknown Demon that Trevor mentioned, the one Teresa discovered during her reconnaissance in Wailing Gorge? But...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the Pirates, who stood as stiff as string puppets, Roland’s brow furrowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Is it because the assimilation isn’t complete?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his thoughts raced, his shout boomed like muffled thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teresa! Galvis!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No more words were needed. An unspoken understanding was reached in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dormant [Nameless Breathing Technique] inside Roland roared to life, and a torrent of Fighting Spirit, hot as Magma, coursed through his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held nothing back. His Sword Momentum transformed into a violent curtain of light, forgoing precise strikes for sweeping attacks filled with the power of Destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he called out, a silver flash tore through the gloom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teresa’s figure moved so fast it left a Residual Shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Foil in her hand became a blur of deadly silver serpents, precisely striking the joints and wrists of the \"puppet\" Pirates left unprotected by their Armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each thrust was accompanied by the sickening thud of severed nerves, instantly neutralizing several Pirates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Galvis’s fingers danced across his instrument’s strings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A beautiful melody struck the surging puppet Pirates like an invisible sledgehammer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The movements of the Pirates controlled by the Brain-Eating Monsters faltered. As if pulled by unseen forces, their limbs twisted, and they let out agonized howls, their assault descending into Chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The combined power of the three experts far exceeded the limits of what these parasitized husks could withstand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle turned into an efficient slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Broken puppet bodies fell one after another, the sickening thuds of rending flesh and bone and the hum of weapons becoming the main symphony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, just as Teresa’s Foil pierced the last few puppet Pirates’ throats and Roland’s Longsword split their chests, something unexpected happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The slimy, grayish-purple bodies of the Brain-Eating Monsters, exposed within the shattered skulls, did not perish with their hosts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like enraged, eyeless vermin, they shot out from the wreckage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their targets were not the powerful trio of Roland, Teresa, and Galvis, but the terrified, weaker crew members behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The disgusting lumps of flesh trailed viscous, purple-glowing threads of slime as they moved with astonishing speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They traced several ominous, grayish-purple arcs through the air, lunging straight for the faces of the nearest crewmen, whose reactions were slowed by Fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The circular maws at their centers gaped greedily, revealing dense rows of sharp teeth. Their goal was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To burrow into new skulls and find new hosts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the grayish-purple masses, reeking of death and slick with slime, were about to touch the crewmen’s horrified faces, an invisible power erupted from Roland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a sharp breath, his chest heaving violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, the lingering Sparks from clashing metal, the mists of splattered blood, and even the despairing death-cries of the puppet Pirates and the terrified gasps of the crewmen were all seemingly snatched by a giant, invisible hand and drawn madly into Roland’s expanding lungs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These violent battlefield Elements were smelted and purified within his body, transforming into countless fine, brilliant golden embers, like scorching sparks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They did not erupt outward. Instead, like a golden mist, they spread silently and swiftly from Roland, precisely enveloping the dozen or so terrified crewmen a few steps away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Embers Echo], activate!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the golden embers merged into the crewmen’s bodies, the effect was immediate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unfocused light in their eyes instantly ignited, replaced by a tangible, blazing will to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their fatigue vanished, their bodies felt flooded with inexhaustible strength, and their hearts hammered in their chests like war drums, dispelling the chilling dread of the unknown monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Limbs that had been frozen with Fear were suddenly filled with power, and their reaction speed soared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"ROAR!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burly sailor, the one closest to being attacked, who had been moments from having a Brain-Eating Monster pounce on his face, let out a deafening roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no longer a roar of Fear, but one filled with ignited fury and the will to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this powerful willpower, like a returning stream, flowed back along the path of the golden embers into Roland’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The molten-gold aura of Roland’s Fighting Spirit flared intensely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His speed, Power, and Perception all surged in that moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, [Echoing Forge] activated!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guided by Roland’s [Material Synesthesia], the golden embers that had merged with the crewmen instinctively flowed toward the weapons they clutched and the Armor they wore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like liquid gold, they swiftly coated and permeated the gear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sailors’ equipment, which had been slightly damaged in the fighting, was instantly plated in a layer of flowing golden light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint hum came from their blades, as if they had been re-honed by an invisible hand, their edges glinting with an unprecedented, sharp light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even old scratches on their Leather Armor were smoothed over by the flowing golden light, making the armor more resilient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kill all these disgusting monsters!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rescued crewman roared, his eyes no longer holding any trace of fear, only ignited rage and the desire to protect his comrades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if time had been slowed down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the enhanced senses of the crewmen, the pounce of the Brain-Eating Monsters no longer seemed so deadly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The roaring, burly sailor moved as fast as lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of trying to retreat, he faced the lunging Brain-Eating Monster and swung the Curved Saber in his hand—now wreathed in golden light and exceptionally sharp—in a fierce upward arc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flash of his blade, like a bolt of white silk, precisely struck the slimy mass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"TCHSS!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not the dull thud of cleaving rotten wood, but the harsh sizzle of a red-hot brand plunging into grease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Curved Saber, enhanced by [Echoing Forge], easily tore through the Brain-Eating Monster’s grayish-purple, viscous skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nauseating mass of flesh was split nearly in two, and viscous fluid, shimmering with a faint purple light, splattered everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It went into a violent, silent convulsion, its central maw opening and closing uselessly as it fell limply from the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other crewmen also roared and counterattacked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roland did not stand by idly, either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite the slight dizziness from the rapid consumption of his Spiritual Power, the boost to All Attributes from [Embers Echo] pushed his strength to a new height.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having witnessed the horrific sight of the Brain-Eating Monsters surviving after leaving their hosts, he immediately switched targets, his blade aimed straight at their slithering, true bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the fierce counterattack of the crew, the situation was reversed in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remains of sliced, pierced, and flattened Brain-Eating Monsters littered the clearing and the deck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They twitched, making a nauseating sizzling sound, their severed parts flickering with a faint, ominous purple light, like dying vermin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming there were no remaining threats, Roland took a deep breath and deactivated [Embers Echo].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everyone! Get back to the ship, now! We’re setting sai—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The order to retreat was on the tip of his tongue, but Roland’s voice abruptly stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His brow suddenly knitted tight, as if he had felt an invisible prick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eighteen points of Spiritual Power granted him a perception far beyond that of an ordinary person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He now clearly detected an indescribable, yet extremely unsettling, presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was cold and slick, carrying a malice like mud from the Deep Sea, far more profound than that of the dead Brain-Eating Monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This presence wasn’t coming from the wreckage before him, but from...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze shot toward the deeper, thicker Darkness within the cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, he did not see the expected tide of more puppets controlled by Brain-Eating Monsters, only a single figure standing silently at the edge of the Shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was abnormally tall and slender, almost blending in with the Darkness, yet it radiated a bizarre sense of presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dim light, its smooth, wet head shone with an unsettling grayish-purple hue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several slick tentacles, their tips twitching slightly, dangled from its face, swaying gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those eyes...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...if the two orbs pulsing steadily with an ominous purple light in the Shadow could even be called eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were staring coldly and emotionlessly in Roland’s direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold consciousness—immeasurably purer, stronger, and more profound than that of the Brain-Eating Monsters—spread out like a silent, invisible tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It carried a pure, inhuman calculation and scrutiny, along with a malice that could freeze the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merely by standing there, it seemed to be the very source of the cave’s darkness—a living, intelligent nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roland’s blood felt as if it had frozen solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never seen such a being, but his intuition was screaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’This is nothing like a Brain-Eating Monster.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’This is a completely new, unknown, and extremely dangerous entity!’\u003C\u002Fp>",1456,"2026-06-09T07:01:39.615Z",1,"novelbin.me","9adf48b7cb28a795764e5912eb02b45285359878464288ecc482cce38e57203b","knight-from-apprentice-to-the-almighty-chapter-197","knight-from-apprentice-to-the-almighty-chapter-195",216,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fknight-from-apprentice-to-the-almighty-cover.jpg"]