Chapter 381: Rock Mountain Jiedian — Past Wars and a Ridiculous Misunderstanding

Knight Lanisha heard the other party's words and immediately performed a knight's salute: "Greetings, Knight Dailisi. Forgive my presumption, but may I ask what brings you and your companion to visit this place so suddenly?"

Knight Dailisi, however, walked around and looked at this small Jiedian: "That is the question I should be asking you. What exactly are you and your subordinates doing on these ruins at this moment?"

"Ruins? It is like this: this is a forward supply Jiedian for my campaign against the Northern Border wolves that harass the villages and roads. I have one other such Jiedian, right by Umi Lake." Seeing Knight Dailisi's skeptical expression, Knight Lanisha explained in detail: "It is mainly because we cannot pinpoint the location of the wolf dens where the Northern Border wolves raise their pups in the Forest, so my subordinates and I must repeatedly patrol the Forest or search for clues."

She pointed to the unwashed bloodstains on her armor: "These bloodstains were left behind when we killed a large number of wolf pups."

"Northern Border wolves, huh." Muttering under her breath, Knight Dailisi squinted and gave Knight Lanisha a meaningful look: "Is that your story? If that is the case, then you cannot establish a Jiedian on these ruins."

Knight Lanisha was somewhat displeased and immediately asked: "Why? What is here? There is clearly nothing here; if it is just for staying for a short period during the winter, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

Knight Dailisi was somewhat displeased; she pursed her lips and then looked toward the area above the Rock Passage.

There, following the sound of footsteps, a tall knight wearing armor somewhat similar to Knight Dailisi's was walking over slowly.

"I have calmed Nake down; it is windy up there, and it quite likes it." The newcomer had a deep, resonant voice, and one could tell at once that he was a male knight: "So, what exactly is going on with these people?"

Knight Lanisha introduced their identities and mission to this newly arrived male knight once more.

"Campaigning against Northern Border wolves? What is there to campaign against with those little things." This male knight was somewhat dismissive; to a combat knight with his skill and equipment, so-called Northern Border wolves could be taken out one arrow at a time.

Clearly, this knight had an all-metal knight bow strapped to his back that was a full size smaller than he was; the massive bow body naturally had to be paired with larger arrows, and his specialized Bow and Arrow were all packed on the Gryphon.

"My lord knight, those Northern Border wolves have been continuously moving south in recent years to attack villagers and merchants; this has greatly affected the production and life in my fief, and has even brought obstacles to the development of the entire northern part of Kendall County." Knight Lanisha declared righteously.

"Fine, fine, fine, what you say makes a lot of sense. Little girl, even so, this place is not where you and your subordinates should be. It is very dangerous here; staying here is not good for you or your people." The two Gryphon knights said this, then walked to the campfire and sat down as if no one else were there, naturally taking a piece of hard, dried beast meat from the leather storage pouch at their waists and placing it on a stone by the fire to roast.

Knight Lanisha was not to be outdone; she waved to the hunters behind her to disperse, then sat down beside the two Gryphon knights and asked: "Still the same question, why? Once I have a forward Jiedian here, I believe I can find the other Northern Border wolf dens in less than a month. After killing those pups, I believe their wolf king will not be able to sit still and will definitely come out to retaliate, at which point I will wipe them all out!"

The two Gryphon knights looked at each other and exchanged glances. After sitting down, the male Gryphon knight also lifted his Helmet visor, revealing a face that was clearly of the Empire's Eastern race.

The Empire's Eastern race had brown skin, a tall stature, and always wore a smile on their faces, looking quite handsome. It was just that this Gryphon knight clearly had scars on his face; it was unknown how they were left, but a small portion of his face had traces of having been corroded and then healed.

Knight Dailisi chuckled and said: "Good girl, the problem is not about you dealing with some Northern Border wolves. Pfft, forgive me, how could you call those little wolves Northern Border wolves? This isn't even very far north, is it?"

Knight Lanisha's face turned red in an instant, and after stammering twice, she managed to explain: "It was named by the villagers; after all, the wolf packs all come from the north of Umi Lake."

Knight Dailisi waved her hand: "Alright, no matter what those animals are called, we actually don't care. If you establish a Jiedian elsewhere in the Forest, we won't care, and we might even welcome it. However."

The other male Gryphon knight took over the conversation: "However, not here. This place belongs to a Jiedian from an earlier alien race; they exerted their power and raised this place from the earth to serve as a bridgehead for invading your Kingdom."

"Don't you always have patrols on the Kingdom's border? How could they establish a Jiedian here? I have looked at the map; this is still a long distance from the border, isn't it?"

"Little girl, our enemies have far more patience and perseverance than us Humans." This male Gryphon knight pointed to the ground with his finger: "They dug downward from outside the border, and then dug all the way here from underground, completely bypassing the range of the God's Miracle steles set up by the gods."

Knight Lanisha fell silent for a moment.

After a while, the old hunters finished cutting the wild boar meat; they put some of the pig bones into the iron pot they carried to boil soup, and placed some of the lean meat on wooden platters, bringing them over for the three knights to eat.

The lean wild boar meat had all been skewered with thin wooden branches and rubbed with crushed Coarse Salt; it looked decent.

In order not to disturb the three knights' conversation, the hunters spared no wood to light another fire on the other side of the Jiedian and began to boil Bone Soup.

"We hunted a wild boar, please eat some of this meat first; after all, it is such a cold day, but this is all we can offer." Knight Lanisha took the wooden platter handed to her by an old hunter, then divided the stacked meat skewers into three portions and handed them to the other two Gryphon knights.

Unexpectedly, the two knights only took one-third each to roast; the remaining lean meat was taken off the wooden skewers and handed entirely to Knight Dailisi, who returned to the top of the Rock Mountain above the Rock Passage.

"Ah, don't mind it; she went to feed some to her Gryphon. Although Gryphons have a relatively fixed diet, they will still eat if the rider goes to feed them." The male Gryphon knight chuckled and began to use the meat skewers to roast for himself and Knight Dailisi.

Knight Lanisha nodded: "I haven't asked for your name yet, my lord?"

Unexpectedly, this knight waved his hand: "Eh, I'm just a nobody, the name doesn't matter. Unlike Dailisi, who comes from a great family, I'm just an ordinary person."

Speaking of this, Knight Lanisha then told the story of the so-called alien invasion Jiedian beneath their feet.

"I only heard about it, after all, I've only been transferred to the Kendall Northern Knight Order for a few years." This Gryphon knight from the Empire's East seemed quite talkative: "The ones who discovered this back then were the mages attached to the order. You know, whoever it is, the Magic power required to make such a huge rock rise from the earth is no small amount. So it was those mages who discovered it first."

"Afterward, we urgently coordinated the surrounding Knight Order units, and then, with the cooperation of the Gryphon knights, we surrounded this place." He pointed to the weapon slash marks left on the rocks all around: "Look at these; you can imagine how intense the battle was at the time. After all, not all alien races like to give up living space to Humans for nothing. They always have to try to see if they can take it back."

"But this land was promised to our King by the gods. His Majesty the King's merits deserve such a reward." Knight Lanisha immediately said firmly.

"Ho ho, little girl, that's what they say. But if the alien race had succeeded back then, the map of your country today would certainly have changed. Your country was newly established, so it was a reality that you had to accept even if you didn't like it." The Gryphon knight said this while turning the meat skewers: "I have seen many wars with my own eyes, although I don't participate in them. Many times, the two sides of a dispute don't end up winning based on how many reasons you have, but rather win based on final strength and results."

"In short, at that time, they were driven back underground, and a Priest of the Heiliu yu Hubo zhi Zhu who was traveling here performed a God's Miracle, causing the lake water from afar to backflow into the underground passage of this Jiedian."

"Drowned them all?" Knight Lanisha immediately thought of the result of this action.

"Of course, otherwise why do you think those alien races never use this place again. They are afraid of water and don't know how to swim." The Gryphon knight shrugged.

Knight Lanisha had a flash of inspiration: "Then, according to what you say, isn't there no danger here at all? Although there might have been a tragic battle decades ago, look, after so many years, besides the mottled marks left on the rocks, what else is there? Those alien races no longer use this place, so there shouldn't be any problem with us living here temporarily!"

"Hmph, you make it sound easy. When we flew over from the sky earlier, we clearly discovered some unusual situations here. At the time, we thought it was ice crystal reflection or some natural mysterious phenomenon. But not long ago, Dailisi and I saw abnormal glowing here from afar again! Perhaps it is ghosts of those who died in the war causing trouble, or some dangerous Forest Magic Beast, or perhaps something even more dangerous."

The Gryphon knight sized up Knight Lanisha's relatively slender arms and legs, then looked at the hunters: "It's not that I'm being blunt, but you might not be able to handle any of those things. I heard you and Dailisi seem to have some connection, so it's better to leave this place early. To deal with those squeaking little animals, you can try raising more hunting dogs and use the hunting dogs to find the dens of the animals that are hiding."

Knight Lanisha was somewhat angry; she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, wanting to say that she had considerable skills herself and had already defeated a huge Magic Beast with her subordinates before. But thinking that no matter what, the other party would certainly not believe her, she kept her mouth shut and said nothing.

She sulked.

At this time, Jier, who was feeding fodder to the horses, walked over hesitantly, looking like he had something to say.

Taking a breath, Knight Lanisha looked at Jier and signaled for him to speak: "What is it, Jier? If you have something to say, just say it. I'm listening."

Jier first gave an awkward smile, then performed a salute to the two knights: "My lords knights, there is something I must clarify."

Originally not paying attention to Jier, this very young lad, the Gryphon knight was concentrating on roasting the meat skewers. But he heard Jier use 'my lords knights', which included a plural term, so he looked at Jier, wondering what this young lad had to say to him as well.

"It is like this: I feel that something I did earlier may have caused a misunderstanding for the Knight Order's Gryphon knights." Jier said hesitantly.

"Misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding?"

The two looked at each other, both stopped what they were doing, and then said in unison: "What misunderstanding?"

Jier took off the Hunting Sword buckle from his waist and held the Long Sword in his hand: "Knight Lanisha, you know that you rewarded me for my merits in the last job, giving me the opportunity to re-forge my Long Sword."

"I know, I didn't expect you to be quite wealthy, you guy." Knight Lanisha replied.

"Yes, I was quite lucky; when dealing with Bandits, I obtained two valuable treasures and sold them for some money in Bingxun Pass, where there are many Merchants. Then I bought all the Magic Material recommended by the Craftsman."

"You added them all into your sword?" Knight Lanisha was also somewhat surprised.

"Five out of six were added. Thus, my Long Sword gained some rather special abilities." When Jier said this, Knight Lanisha was not stupid; she immediately thought of what would follow, then she glanced at the Gryphon knight across the fire, remembering what the other party had said earlier.

"I understand!" She looked at the Gryphon knight opposite: "Jier's Long Sword has the Blessing Ability of the Sun God Church; it seems that what you saw from the sky earlier was the light emitted by his sword!"

The male Gryphon knight raised his eyebrows.

At the same time, the Griffin Rider Dailisi returned after feeding the little snacks to the Gryphon: "What are you all talking about? Do you know what that unusual glowing object we saw earlier was?"

"Yes, look." After saying this, Knight Lanisha grabbed the Long Sword Jier was holding and pulled it out in one motion.

However, after being unsheathed, the Long Sword only revealed its reforged gray blade. A glance at the smooth blade was enough for an experienced Knight to judge that this was a weapon that would not be considered inferior even if they used it themselves.

"The Long Sword is nice, and then what?" Knight Dailisi asked calmly, crossing her arms. Beside her, the male Griffin Rider shrugged, his hands never stopping their work on the meat skewers while he watched.

Knight Lanisha blushed. She tapped the blade with her finger, but other than producing a steady resonance, the blade not only failed to emit the white light she had expected, but it did not even vibrate in the slightest.

Jier rubbed his nose, reached out his hand awkwardly, and said: "Sir Knight, the Long Sword's special ability can only be used by me. This was mentioned in the instructions provided by the Sun God Church at the time."

"Here, take it." Knight Lanisha kept her mouth shut, flipped the Long Sword in her hand, moved her right hand from the hilt to the blade, and handed the hilt of the Long Sword to Jier.

Jier nodded slightly, then reached out his right hand to grasp the hilt.

The moment Jier grasped the hilt of the Long Sword, the entire weapon instantly changed from being ordinary.

First, the Blessing Prayer of the church on the blade lit up with a rapid white light, and then this white light spread across the entire blade of the Long Sword in an instant. The gray blade immediately vanished, replaced by a strange weapon emitting bursts of white light.

At the same time, the hilt Jier held also radiated a cyan luster that seemed to penetrate matter and nourish life. Even the counterweight metal bead at the end of the hilt emitted a silver-white light resembling a full moon.

Everyone in the Jiedian had their eyes drawn to this weapon. The Hunters were not seeing Jier's weapon show its power for the first time; in fact, this weapon was far less bright than before, as the light released previously had been enough to briefly cause Blinding to everyone.

The other three reacted in different ways.

Knight Lanisha squinted her eyes, muttering something to herself about how "the Sun God Church really has some skills."

And that male Griffin Rider was greatly surprised: "What is this thing? A Magic weapon?"

His companion, Knight Dailisi, explained: "It's a blessed weapon from a divine church. Tsk, it just looks good; how could it be as practical and versatile as a Magic weapon?" As she spoke, she stroked the large red Gems on the short wooden-handled staff at her waist with one hand.

After showing it, Jier hurriedly retracted the light of the Long Sword. The three Knights looked at each other, and it was Knight Dailisi who raised a new question: "When we came over last time, it was the light we saw on top of this place."

Jier hurriedly explained: "This kind of weapon can release all its power at once, but the consequence is that you have to find an open place to charge it under the sun. After all, it is a blessing from the Sun God Church, and that is what the instruction document says. When I came here with my companions before, we encountered an attack by Northland Wolves on the way. The situation was urgent, so I released the blessing ability at full power. We spent the following days traveling on the road until we arrived here and the Jiedian construction was completed. Before I went out Hunting at that time, I stuck my Long Sword upside down in the middle of the platform on top."

The male Griffin Rider looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, and everyone followed suit, looking at the thick dark clouds overhead that could bring snow at any moment: "Can you get sunlight in this kind of weather?"

Jier shrugged: "I was just trying it out at the time, but it seems that as long as it's daytime and you can see the sky, it works, regardless of whether there is cloud cover."

The two Griffin Riders could understand Jier's explanation; after all, they often rode Gryphons above the clouds and knew that no matter how heavy the pouring rain, goose-feather snow, or dark clouds were beneath the clouds,

it was always the same above the clouds—always sunny.

Finally, Knight Dailisi asked: "But until we came over, we saw something glowing on the top from far away?"

Jier scratched his head: "I only returned to the Jiedian with my companions a moment ago, and then I went straight up to take the Long Sword down. Then, when I came back, I heard the flapping of Gryphon wings and the news that Knight Lanisha had returned."

The three Knights all raised their eyebrows and looked at each other.

Jier knew they didn't believe him, as there were rarely such coincidences in life: "There should still be the indentation left by my upside-down Long Sword and the ice and snow that held the Long Sword upright on the top."

As soon as Jier finished speaking, Knight Dailisi slapped her forehead: "I saw those things. When I was feeding Nake just now, I noticed those marks. It seems you weren't lying. Damn it, we've wasted these two days!"

The male Griffin Rider shrugged and focused on roasting the meat skewers in his hand: "Don't be annoyed. Hurry and taste my handiwork. At least in this remote place, being able to eat these meat skewers isn't the worst result."

Rolling her eyes, Knight Dailisi sat on a tree stump chair: "I'd rather bring back the heads of a few Dwarfs than tell the Captain that the two of us made a wasted trip."