Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 36 Puppet (all three chapters will be released at the same time, please read it later)

When Raymond dragged a huge moose into the house, there was no trace of the murderous intent on his face that he had when he was controlled by the man in black robe. He looked completely proud of having returned home with a great reward.

When the family saw the fat moose, their eyes lit up instantly and their joy was beyond words.

"Raymond, you are so capable!" His wife helped unload the moose, her face full of pride.

The mother was grinning from ear to ear and was busy asking everyone to carry the prey into the house.

Since then, Raymond seemed like a different person.

In the military camp, he was no longer the lonely young man who kept to himself. He took the initiative to mingle with other knight apprentices and always had a warm smile on his face.

Every time he led a team out hunting, he seemed to be assisted by God and always brought back various precious prey and rare materials.

"Raymond, how did you find so many good things this time?" asked a veteran knight apprentice curiously.

Raymond just smiled mysteriously, "It's just good luck, and I should pay more attention to the movements in the forest."

Unknowingly, Raymond's strength quietly climbed to the late stage of knight apprentice.

On the training ground, his swordsmanship became more and more sophisticated, his strength and speed far exceeded before, attracting everyone's attention.

"This Raymond is really impressive. He will definitely achieve great things in the future." Kain, who is in charge of Raymond, couldn't help but praise him after watching his training.

Beside the lively campfire, Raymond stood tall and straight, a confident smile on his face, his eyes gleaming with the excitement of having discovered a treasure. He spoke to the young knight apprentices sitting around him, "Brothers, let me tell you, I recently discovered a perfect hunting spot deep in the Black Forest. There's plenty of prey there, and they're fat. Just hunt a few, and I won't have to worry about training resources for the next month! I've thought you've all been very kind to me, so I'm going to take you along this time so we can have some fun!"

His voice was loud and passionate, and his confident expression was very contagious in the light of the campfire, instantly making the young knight apprentices yearn for him.

"Raymond, it's not safe in the depths of the Black Forest. What should we do if we encounter a powerful monster?" A slightly childish voice with worry sounded from the crowd.

Raymond patted the apprentice's shoulder generously and laughed heartily. "What are you afraid of? Don't forget my current strength. Besides, with so many of us together, how can we be afraid of those beasts? I was able to get out safely by myself before, and this time with everyone here, we will definitely be safe! What's more, I have found a hidden route that can avoid most dangers. As long as we act carefully, this is a sure-win business!"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other, their eyes filled with excitement and hesitation.

Seeing this, Raymond struck while the iron was hot and continued to add fuel to the fire. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we reap a rich harvest this time, maybe even our Knight Commander will look at us differently! From now on, we can walk around the barracks with our backs straight and our heads held high! Just thinking about it is exciting, isn't it?"

Finally, under Raymond's strong encouragement, this group of young and passionate knight apprentices nodded, with a desire for harvest and glory in their eyes, and decided to follow him to the Black Forest.

A few days later, the group stepped into the mysterious and gloomy territory of the Black Forest.

Dense branches and leaves, layered one after another, blocked out the sun, making the forest dim. A damp, decaying smell permeated the air, and the occasional low humming of unknown creatures added a touch of eeriness. Raymond calmly led the way, but a subtle chill occasionally flickered in his lowered eyes.

As they were walking, Raymond suddenly stopped and said in a low voice with a serious expression: "Everyone be careful, there seems to be movement up ahead, it might be big prey. Everyone, be alert, don't make any noise, let's sneak over quietly."

Everyone suddenly became nervous, their breathing unconsciously slowed down, they tightly gripped their weapons, their eyes revealing excitement and nervousness, and they cautiously followed Raymond forward.

Just as everyone was concentrating, a sinister voice like a ghost came from all directions, as if piercing through the bones and making people shudder: "Welcome to my territory..."

The man in black robe slowly emerged from the dark corner like a ghost. His figure was looming in the dim light, like a messenger from hell.

Thick black energy instantly surged out of the black-robed man's hands, sweeping towards the crowd like a surging black tide. Wherever it passed, the air seemed to be burned, making a sizzling sound.

The knight apprentices screamed in fear and instinctively wanted to resist, but they found that their bodies became extremely slow under the suppression of this dark power, as if bound by invisible shackles.

Their eyes were filled with fear and despair, the weapons in their hands were shaking, and their steps were staggering.

Raymond stood aside with a strange and twisted smile on his face, watching indifferently as his former companions struggled in pain under the control of the man in black robe.

The black-robed man's hands danced like flowing water, muttering to himself. The black energy was like living tentacles, flexibly penetrating into the bodies of the knight apprentices.

As the black energy invaded, their eyes gradually became empty and lifeless, and their bodies became stiff like puppets, thus becoming puppets of the man in black robes.

The bodies that were severely shattered by the powerful force of the black-robed man during the resistance instantly turned into wisps of strange blood-red mist, as if pulled by an invisible force, slowly floating towards Raymond.

Raymond opened his mouth and greedily absorbed the mist, with an intoxicated and satisfied expression on his face.

As the mist continued to flow into his body, his aura became stronger and stronger, and the already powerful fluctuations of the Force became even more turbulent, with a tendency to break through the current realm.

After a while, everything calmed down.

The new puppets stood there woodenly, their eyes dull and their bodies stiff, waiting for the black-robed man's instructions.

Raymond slowly opened his eyes, a bloodthirsty light flashed in them, and he licked his lips, seeming to be very satisfied with the power he had just absorbed. At the same time, he was also thinking about the next deception in his mind, preparing to lure more knight apprentices into this dark trap.

"Squeak, squeak, well done. They are all just in the early to middle stage of knight apprentices, and many of them don't look like the knight apprentices in the barracks." The black-robed man made a sharp and strange sound, and said playfully while looking at the four knight apprentices who stood up again with empty eyes. His fingers lightly stroked the face of one of the puppets, and a cold arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.

(End of this chapter)