Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16: The Knight's Vigil, The Crucible of Will
The Magic Core flared with a blinding azure light the instant it touched Caesar's skin.
The next moment, it didn't transform into gentle energy, but shattered like broken glass, turning into a frigid, razor-sharp torrent of energy composed of countless tiny wind blades that savagely bored into his body!
“Ngh!”
Excruciating pain struck instantly. Caesar's body went rigid, his jaw clamped shut, veins bulging on his forehead.
The rampaging wind elemental energy rampaged through his meridians like thousands upon thousands of invisible carving knives attempting to flay his flesh-and-blood body from the inside out, inch by inch!
Had this happened to any ordinary Squire Knight, in that instant their meridians would have ruptured, reducing them to a cripple.
But Caesar's body was no longer mortal flesh.
The golden dragon blood lurking in the deepest depths of his bloodline, inherited from the founding ancestor of House Valerius, was instantly provoked by this external challenge!
“ROAR—!”
A silent dragon's cry seemed to resound from the depths of his soul. The black-gold Battle Energy vortex coiled in his dantian Qi Sea suddenly accelerated its rotation, transforming into a ravenous black hole that actively surged toward that rampaging torrent of energy!
The black-gold Battle Energy moved like an utterly domineering sovereign—faced with rebels invading its territory, it showed not the slightest appeasement, only the most direct, most brutal suppression!
It forcibly dragged those scattered, raging wind elemental energies into the vortex's center, using matchless power to grind them down, flatten them, tame them, then devour and assimilate the purest energy particles within.
In mere minutes, that azure-green Magic Core lost all luster. With a CRACK, it transformed into a handful of ash-white powder that slipped between Caesar's fingers.
And within his body, the bottleneck of late-stage Squire Knight had already been eroded to the point of collapse.
But it wasn't enough!
A glint of ruthlessness flashed through Caesar's eyes. Without the slightest pause, he directly grabbed the earth-yellow Tomb Iron Boar Magic Core and pressed it against his chest!
“Absorb!”
Another completely different torrent of energy surged into his body.
If the wind element was a sharp blade, then this earth elemental energy was a heavy, viscous, suffocating mudslide!
It flooded into his meridians, not seeking destruction but attempting to completely clog and solidify his meridians, to transform this living being into a soulless stone statue.
Worse still, when this dense earth elemental energy reached his Qi Sea, it collided violently with the wind elemental remnants that hadn't been fully digested!
Wind amplified earth's momentum, becoming even more violent; earth bound wind's form, becoming even more stagnant.
Two energies of completely opposite natures triggered a violent explosion within his Qi Sea!
“Pffft!”
Caesar spewed a mouthful of fresh blood, his complexion instantly turning deathly pale.
Unprecedented agony, like red-hot iron rods churning through his internal organs, threatened to tear his very soul in two!
Just as his consciousness was about to be drowned by this boundless torment, the dark red Sword-Devouring Dragon tattoo at his heart suddenly blazed to life!
Under its will, the black-gold Battle Energy surged explosively, no longer a vortex but directly transforming into a dragon's maw vast enough to blot out the sky, swallowing both those still-conflicting energies and the chaos they'd triggered in one gulp!
Within the Sword-Devouring Dragon's domain, there was no attribute conflict, no energy rejection.
Whether wind's sharpness or earth's density, before this utterly domineering dragon power, there was only one fate—to be smelted! To be assimilated!
He forgot time, forgot pain, his entire consciousness immersed in this soul-level forging.
Until all the energy, all the comprehension, all the will converged into one at this moment.
In the center of his dantian Qi Sea, at the core of that rapidly spinning black-gold Battle Energy vortex, a flame smaller than a grain of rice yet more dazzling than the noonday sun… a golden flame, quietly ignited!
It wasn't energy, but the condensation of will; it wasn't flame, but the sublimation of spirit.
It was the Knight's Heart! The fire of glory that ignites oneself to illuminate the path forward!
This was the mark of a true Knight!
A power more than ten times greater than before flooded through Caesar's entire body.
He slowly rose to his feet. The internal injuries suffered from the energy conflict were healing at a visibly rapid pace under the illumination of this inexhaustible Knight's Fire.
He raised his hand and gently clenched his fist.
“SNAP!”
A pocket of air was crushed in his palm, releasing a crisp explosive sound.
He knew that from this moment onward, he had truly gained the first cornerstone for standing firm on this man-eating wasteland.
……
Outside the tent, beside the bonfire.
Roland, who was patrolling the camp to ensure no disturbances, suddenly froze.
He whirled around, staring at Caesar's tent with an expression as if he'd seen a ghost.
Just moments ago, he'd sensed a Battle Energy fluctuation brimming with vitality and glory flash from that direction.
Though the fluctuation wasn't yet powerful, its quality… that will like steel forged through a thousand refinements—without a doubt, it belonged to the realm of true Knights!
Nineteen days!
From a frail noble without the strength to truss a chicken, to a squire who could condense his first thread of Battle Energy!
Then to this moment of igniting the heart's fire, forging his own Knight's Heart, and stepping into the true Knight's realm!
The entire process took only nineteen days!
Roland's body trembled slightly from extreme excitement.
This wasn't genius… this was a divine miracle!
This was House Valerius's golden bloodline, dormant for nearly a thousand years, thoroughly awakening in ways mortals couldn't comprehend within this exiled young heir!
He didn't approach to disturb, but silently retreated into unnoticed shadows. Facing the tent's direction, he solemnly placed his right hand over his heart, knelt on one knee, and offered his most exalted respect to his lord and to the family's rising future.
A long while later, Caesar emerged from the tent.
He'd changed into clean linen casual wear. Though his complexion remained somewhat pale, those deep purple eyes shone like the wasteland's most brilliant stars, capable of piercing through hearts.
“Roland.”
He spoke calmly.
Roland emerged from the shadows, his form straight as a spear.
“My lord.”
“You sensed it?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Roland's voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.
“Congratulations, my lord, on igniting the fire of will and forging your Knight's Heart.”
Caesar made no comment, walking to the bonfire. From Barrett's hands—Barrett still immersed in joy—he accepted a slightly charred potato chunk and ate in silence.
The camp's atmosphere grew even more fervent and orderly due to his appearance.
People spontaneously paid him respects, using the most simple methods to express reverence toward this lord who had granted them food and hope.
The well-fed soldiers gathered in small groups, wiping down their weapons with animal fat, faces bearing anticipation for the future.
In the distance, that ugly earthen wall seemed to have grown more solid under the firelight's reflection.
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
Caesar finished the last bite of roasted potato, stood up, and dusted off his hands.
He gazed at this embryonic territory, at these subjects who regarded him as a deity.
In his eyes was no satisfaction, only a tranquility as cold as the night itself.
He raised his head, his gaze crossing the bonfire, crossing the earthen wall, looking toward the deeper reaches of the Blackspine Mountains—that realm even moonlight couldn't penetrate, representing endless unknowns and bountiful rewards, cloaked in darkness.
The first cornerstone had been laid.
Next, it was time to hunt for more stones to build his castle.