Way of the Knights

Chapter 618: Valley of Despair

“114 Avatars, 6th Level of Myriad Incarnations Scripture as well as 6th Stage of Voidwalking Manual. I made some improvements with my skills and achieved Mid-stage Saint Knight Realm within this seclusion too. Mn! I’m ready for the next big task.” Raven nodded in satisfaction as he wrapped up his seclusion by spending some time to recover his exhaustion. 

After cleaning himself up, he ate and slept to make sure he was in his peak condition. 

Once his seclusion time was up, Raven exited the Crown Palace and returned to the real world, specifically in his own room. 

He peered at the window to roughly check what time it is. Several rays of sunshine was starting to emerge from the shadows, meaning that he still has some time left. He used this time to check all of his belongings one last time before he leaves for the trip.

After double checking everything, Raven nodded to himself and said: ‘Okay, I got pretty much everything I’ll need.’ 

He once again peered through the window and saw the sun was already peeking. Raven got up from his bed and exited his room after removing all the seals he placed before. 

Once he got out, he saw Kyrie already up and was arranging food on the table. She noticed him and greeted, telling him that breakfast was ready. While Raven did ate enough food already before exiting his seclusion, he wouldn’t say no to this. 

He joined Kyrie for breakfast, left some reminders to her and two of his Avatars to deal with the upcoming batch of paperwork and anything that would need his immediate attention. After finishing his food, Raven got up from his seat and went towards the Storm Dweller’s Peak to meet the people he’ll be leaving with. 

When he got there, he saw that the Sect Master, his wife, Elder Fallon and Henry was already there. Raven was momentarily surprised so he asked:

“Oh. Am I late?” 

“No, no.” Henry said with a pleasant smile on his face. “You’re just in time, I’m the ones who’s early.” 

“I see.” Raven nodded, he then sat beside Henry in order to receive briefing from the Sect Master about this trip. 

“Alright, since all of us are here. We can start the briefing.” The Sect Master said while clapping his hands. “Now, just to remind you all. The place we’ll be visiting is a dangerous one. Make sure to stay close to the group and keep some life-saving tools with you.”

“Today, we’ll be visiting the Valley of Despair – it is a place where the Ten Commandments – servants of the Devil Emperor, are imprisoned. Our goal is to patrol the area and check for any recent changes. I’ve given you some array discs that contains recent images of what the valley looks like a few days ago, I trust that you all had already seen them and memorized every detail in there.”

“Once we get there, wait for my signal. Once I gave you the signal, you follow your own patrol route and begin taking snap images of what your patrol route looks like. Whatever you do, never stop moving. I repeat, never stop moving. Follow the route faithfully knowing that it is the correct one. If you ever feel like danger is coming close and you have no way to defend yourself, flare your aura and hold your ground for as long as you can until someone reaches you. Am I clear?” 

“Yes, Sect Master!” 

“Good! Once you’ve followed your route to it’s end and you’ve recorded images. Tear this seal in half and it will transfer you to a safe place. Don’t be reckless and explore the area. Remember we are going to a very dangerous place. One wrong step and you’ll lose your life. We leave with five members so I hope that we return as five as well. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Sect Master.” 

“Good! I’ll be opening the gate that will take us there.” The Sect Master then stood up, followed by the team.

They then went to the front yard where the Sect Master began chanting a profound passage. Soon after that, the space ahead began contracting until a tear emerge. 

An heavy and malignant aura began seeping out of the spatial tear, causing Raven’s body hairs to stand on each end. His face abruptly went solemn as he silently drew the Brush of Wisdom and raised his vigilance. It wasn’t just him, even the others also raised their vigilance once they felt the malignant aura seeping through the spatial tear. 

As the Sect Master continued chanting, the Spatial Tear began expanding until it was large enough to fit all of them at the same time. The Sect Master finished the ritual by then. 

“Alright, let’s go.” The Sect Master said, all members stayed relatively close to each other as they began moving towards the Spatial Tear. 

Once they entered, the spatial tear disappeared behind them, as for them they were now surrounded by a barrier placed by the sect master keeping the heavy aura from pestering them. 

The light that was being emitted by the barrier was the only form of light there is here. They’re currently amidst an endless see of darkness, unable to see a thing aside from themselves. 

“The darkness around here is artificial.” Elder Fallon whispered next to Raven, causing him to pay attention. “It is created in order to keep any prisoners from escaping, or at least hinder them long enough for us to send someone to catch them. The malignant aura you feel here is coming from the prisoners here. Mixed with the darkness and the whole things turns into something incredibly unsettling.”

“I see.” Raven nodded with a whisper. Checking it once more, it turns out that it’s true. 

The malignant aura and the darkness of this place doesn’t work in harmony, meaning that the y weren’t being released by the same source. It might be coincidence but it could also be an intentional act. 

The group moved with the barrier for quite some time before arriving to their location. The darkness of their surroundings decreased considerably, allowing them to somewhat see where they at. 

They are now standing at a mountaintop, allowing them to see the blurry view of the valley below. Raven could see some traces of civilization below. From where he’s at, he could spot some houses, rooftops and paved roads. Sadly, even with his ocular technique active, the amount of things he could see within this place are very limited. 

“Okay, we can see each other just fine.” Sect Master said, “Don’t forget about the plan. We will all go down at the same time, split and search for the routes assigned to us and begin following it while also recording images of it. Once your done, tear the seal I gave your earlier in half and you’ll be transported back to the Storm Dweller’s Peak. Any questions?” 

“Uh…” Raven raised his hand, catching the attention of the sect master. “Just want to clarify. All of them are sealed, right?” 

“I certainly hope so.” The Sect Master’s reply didn’t certainly didn’t make Raven happy. “Although the darkness in here was meant to hinder them, it hinders us too. So far we couldn’t do anything about it. It’s a bit hard to check whether the seals on their prisons are still intact or not. Which is why we are searching for clues.”

“I see. Alright, I keep an eye out for anything out of place.” Raven replied. 

“Okay, since everyone’s ready. Then let’s move!” 

Once the Sect Master gave out the order, everyone started descending from the mountaintop. Once they were close to the civilization, they began splitting up into different locations. Raven went straight down since that’s the area he’s designated to patrol. 

However, he didn’t rush ahead unlike the rest. He slowed down his pace the closer he got, he didn’t stop moving due to the warning of the sect master but he slowed down just enough so that he can make sufficient preparations. 

Waving the Brush of Wisdom around, numerous runes appeared in his body. Slowly but surely, Raven’s silhouette began merging with the environment. His presence had almost disappeared completely but he was still there. Additionally, he boosted the power of ocular technique with the power of runes and started recording images. 

Right now, Raven was using two recoding array discs, one was given to him by the sect master and one he made which is directly connected to his eyes. The recording array he made will record everything he sees but instead of snap images, it will play out like a memory. 

With the help of his runes, Raven’s ocular vision strengthened, allowing him to see more clearly. The darkness wasn’t hindering him so much anymore. Now, he could see the place just fine. 

The moment his vision got better, two things became very clear to him. 

One, there are exactly ten massive blocks on solid concrete next to each other situated at very core of this place. He could see these and the colors they suffuse before but now he could. 

And two, 3 out of those 10 blocks, are in dire need of repair.