Chapter 726: The Statue Knight

The Church strictly forbids the widespread circulation of Knight training methods, so Henwell needs a way around its restrictions.

He eventually develops a special training system.

He refines traditional Knight training methods and divides them into several stages.

Each stage uses a different form of exercise.

From the day children enter school, the drills in their physical education classes serve as the first stage of the Blood Hill Conditioning Method.

When they reach secondary school, they begin the second and third stages.

By the time they graduate, they are already far fitter than the average person on the continent.

Those who enlist encounter the fourth stage at recruit training camp.

After two years of military training, they are assigned to the various legions. By then, they are effectively as fit as Knight squires.

Once they become full legion soldiers, they begin the fifth and final stage.

From there, nearly all of them can advance to Knight and cross the threshold into extraordinary power within two to five years, depending on their talent.

Henwell plans to implement this population-wide advancement program after he returns.

By the time the Northern Mountain Bandit Crisis erupts, every other nation will be preparing to face its own threat.

Nor will the Western Regions interfere with Peace Haven's expansion. They need Peace Haven to hold the front line, after all.

Ten years from now, Peace Haven will have Knights in great numbers.

An entire army made up of Knights would be a magnificent force!

By then, the Western Federation will have to start thinking about how to retreat.

Of course, even Henwell is daunted by the resources such a plan will require.

For a long time to come, Enhancement Potions will remain too scarce for universal distribution and can only be issued as rewards.

Soldiers who can afford them may also apply to buy them at a heavily discounted price, though the annual allotment will be limited.

For now, an all-Knight army can exist only in his dreams.

At the very least, junior officers at the level of centurion or deputy captain must possess the strength of a Knight. It would be even better if every squad leader could become one as well.

When that day comes, even the so-called ace legions had better watch out!

Beyond those two paths to extraordinary power, Peace Haven is also beginning to build systems of its own in other fields.

Machinery, construction, agriculture, medicine, education...

Ancient technology alone cannot advance any of them. Peace Haven must build each field from the ground up, one step at a time.

That is why the apparatus Solomon is taking away interests Henwell, though he does not consider it indispensable.

While the apparatus is being transported out, the creatures inside the mountain erupt into unrest once again.

At this rate, the disturbance seems to occur roughly once every ten days.

Solomon and his people hurry to move everything out. No one can guarantee that the Chasm Behemoth will not destroy the suspension bridge during the next outbreak.

Something even more terrifying might appear as well, which would be disastrous.

However, as Solomon continues sending supplies out, the members of the other two groups grow increasingly dissatisfied.

Solomon notices the mood souring. Infighting in this hellhole is the last thing they need.

So, four days after the second disturbance, Solomon leads the expedition to open a treasure chamber.

It is filled with gold, silver, and jewels. The costlier objects, including paintings and extraordinary items, have all been ruined by the passage of time.

None of them has survived intact.

Even so, the remaining treasure is enough to set everyone's blood racing.

Henwell's team and the Lady of Calamity's group divide the treasure, pack it into crates, mark their respective shares, and send it out of the ruins.

Moving the treasure from the ancient city to the fortress, down the underground river, and finally onto the mountainside is an exhausting process.

At the same time, supplies must be brought in to sustain those still working inside the ruins.

Aside from the core members, everyone else in the expedition has already rotated out once.

At first, they believe they have enough time to empty the ruins of everything valuable.

Then, almost inevitably, something goes wrong.

When they open the third treasure chamber, they find nothing of value inside.

Philir and his companions are deeply disappointed, but they have no desire to do Solomon's heavy lifting for nothing.

As they leave, Philir silently lets his deputy pull a sword from the floor beside the rubble while no one is watching.

It is one of the twelve swords in the outer ring, a two-handed weapon with gems set into both ends of the guard and the pommel.

The sword looks old, but it is clearly no ordinary weapon.

The instant Philir's deputy pulls it free, a faint tremor runs through the entire church complex.

Everyone senses it and rushes into the hall.

Realizing that he may have caused trouble, the deputy is already trying to put the sword back.

Solomon sees what he is doing and immediately snaps, "What are you doing?!"

Sweat beads on the deputy's forehead. "I barely touched it as I walked past, and it fell over. This wasn't my fault!"

Solomon strides toward him. "Then put it back!"

The deputy fumbles with the sword. "The... the hole it stood in is gone!"

"Useless fool!" Solomon turns to Paleo, a Grand Knight beside him. "Go. Put the sword back in place!"

Paleo takes one step forward, then immediately retreats. His sword flashes from its sheath as he moves in front of Solomon.

At that same moment, Philir's deputy bursts into a cloud of blood.

A gigantic figure appears where he had been standing.

The figure stands nearly three meters tall. It reaches out and catches the ancient greatsword.

The two-handed weapon becomes a one-handed sword in the figure's grasp.

The others rush in at the noise and see one of the statues around the hall holding the sword and absorbing the blood around it.

Before anyone understands what has happened, the statue devours every scrap of flesh the deputy left behind.

Crimson light then ignites in its eyes.

Paleo tries to step forward and fight, but Solomon pulls him back and shouts to everyone, "Run!"

It is already too late. The statue knight charges straight at a Battle Knight under the Lady of Calamity, sword in hand.

The man reacts quickly and draws his sword to block.

The crushing blow splits both the man and his sword in two.

Everyone breaks into a terrified retreat.

The statue moves with terrifying speed. By the time Henwell and the others arrive, it has already claimed several lives.

The more flesh and blood it absorbs, the smoother its movements become, while its sword turns crimson.

The more people it kills, the stronger it becomes.

No one except Paleo can withstand its attacks now.

Worse, the statue is blocking the only exit. Unless it is destroyed, no one can leave.

Solomon shouts, "All combat personnel, prepare to surround that thing!"

"Knights, fall back and guard the others. Battle Knights, watch for an opening and join the fight!"

Everyone knows they must risk their lives now. The construct is already feeding flesh and blood to the other statues around it.

Miller and the others draw their swords and rush forward to stop it.