Chapter 209: Weird Valley

Amid the dense forest, a five-man sweep squad of professional knights rested.

Led by Commander Ridal of the Ubei Domain, the team consisted of four junior knights: Tom, George, Warton, and Dandi.

They had traveled north from Black Soil Town and lived within this woodland for nearly a month, their provisions long since exhausted.

But that mattered little—the forest teemed with beasts, wild greens, berries, and low-tier demons; food was never scarce.

On this sweep, Ridal mostly played the role of overseer, leaving all encounters with wild beasts and minor demons to his four junior knights.

This not only cleared threats to the domain but also forged their courage and honed their battlefield prowess.

It was less a sweep than a training exercise.

Ridal’s squad operated thus, and so too did the squads led by Macken and Joffrey.

Now, among Lord Ronin’s professional knights, save Rogner, Krami, and Horn, nearly all were being tempered in these mountains and woods.

Whoosh—

Ridal leapt down from the towering tree, having briefly surveyed the surroundings.

“I heard the sound of waves faintly from up there,” he said. “If we press north a little further, we’ll likely reach the northern edge of Ubei.”

To the west, Ubei was barred by the Wu Mountain Demon Range; to the east and north, it met the sea. Now, hearing the waves, Ridal knew they were nearing its northernmost limit.

“The sea? I’ve never seen it!” Tom murmured, awestruck.

The other three nodded in unison. They had grown up here, had heard tales of the sea, but none had ever laid eyes upon it.

Yet that did not stop them from recounting the strange legends they’d heard—of towering waves, of one crest capable of flipping a bull into the sky.

Ridal listened as the men spoke earnestly, their voices overlapping, and a faint smile curled at his lips.

Strange—he recalled fragments of the sea in his mind, too, though most were memories of horsemen sailing upon its waters, with no destination in sight.

“Enough of your half-baked tales,” the commander cut in.

“Want to know what the sea looks like? Go see it for yourselves.”

The men chuckled sheepishly, snatched up their weapons, and pressed onward.

There’s a saying: seeing a mountain doesn’t mean you’ve reached it.

Even though Ridal had heard the waves, it still took them hours to emerge from the forest.

When night fell, and they climbed the final peak beneath the moon’s glow, the view opened before them like a revelation—“After mountains and rivers seem to block all paths, willows darken, flowers brighten, and a new village appears.”

Descending from the small hill lay a crescent-shaped valley, its mouth yawning toward the vast, endless sea.

“Is that… the sea? The silver shimmer?”

“Good heavens—it’s so wide!”

Though moonlight bathed the scene, the sea itself lay black as ink, save for the crests of waves that caught the glow, glinting like ribbons of silver.

Too bad they’d arrived at night. Had they come by day, the spectacle would have been far more awe-inspiring.

Of the five, only Ridal slowly furrowed his brow.

He sensed a chaotic surge of elemental energy below—the kind that prickled unease in his bones.

And the valley’s hue was wrong.

Though shadows from the peak dimmed the light, Ridal felt the valley was unnaturally gloomy, as if a faint violet luminescence pulsed beneath its surface.

“This valley… is not right.”

Ridal’s grim expression finally caught the others’ attention. They snapped out of their wonder, their joy vanishing as they scanned the surroundings.

But their senses were not as sharp as his. They saw nothing amiss.

“Lord… what is it?” Warton asked cautiously. He had never seen his commander look so tense.

Ridal shook his head slowly. It was only a feeling—nothing concrete.

“Let’s go down and see.”

He stepped forward first, murmuring low, “Stay alert. Watch every shadow.”

Tom was already tensed, swords gripped tight, following close behind.

From peak to foot, they moved with caution—yet encountered no danger.

Until they neared the valley floor.

Then they saw it.

And their blood turned to ice.

Human skeletons—blackened, decayed, scattered everywhere across the valley floor.

Cold moonlight. Salty sea wind. A thousand brittle bones.

Tom and the others had fought through countless battles these past days—nothing ordinary could shake them.

But this… this made their scalps crawl.

“L-Lord… what… what is this?”

George’s voice trembled.

Ridal’s face tightened. He could scarcely believe such a sight existed in the desolate northern reaches of Ubei.

“Don’t panic. Stay vigilant.”

He lowered his voice. “Perhaps this was an ancient battlefield.”

Ridal approached a skeleton, bent, and picked up a rusted longsword. A slight shake—and it snapped in two.

Clearly, these people had been dead for a very long time.

“If they were refugees from some wild tribe… it must have been twenty years ago?”

Two wild tribes fighting to the death in such carnage?

Unlikely. Refugees fleeing for survival—why would they turn on each other with such ferocity?

“Lord… there’s a cave over there.”

Tom pointed to the slope opposite. Indeed, a massive cavern yawned beneath it.

Ridal’s brow tightened. He hesitated only a moment—then walked slowly toward it.

He was a Silver Knight. He could handle most dangers.

And they had come to purge Ubei’s threats. They could not turn back now out of fear.

Tom and the other three followed, knowing it was safer to stay behind their commander than to linger alone.

“This cave… is unnatural.”

The tighter Ridal’s expression grew, the more chaotic the elemental currents became—each step closer made the air colder, as if the cave held within it ice older than millennia.

At last, they stood before its mouth.

“There are footprints!” George whispered in shock.

Inside, a faint violet glow pulsed, casting the cave’s entrance in flickering light and shadow.

In the alternating dark and glow, they saw them clearly—footprints pressed into the soil.

Someone… was inside this cave?

Riedal lifted his gaze inward—danger was certain, yet the thirst for exploration within him grew ever stronger.

Should he go in?

Or should he observe from outside for a while longer?

Just as he hesitated, footsteps echoed from within the cave.

“Damn it, time for patrol again.”

“I don’t get Nebular—no one ever comes to this godforsaken place. Why patrol at all?”

“Shh! How dare you speak that way about the guard officer? Don’t you fear death?”

“Heh heh—he’d have to kill us first, and even then, only if the captain permits. It’s not like he’s the only one with a good bed skill.”

Ordinary words, yet they sent a chill through the hearts of those outside.

“Fall back! Hide!” Riedal ordered swiftly.

The five darted to one side, pressing themselves against the massive boulders nearby, vanishing from sight. (End of chapter)