Way of the Knights

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"The next time you do something like that, I swear I'm going to tie you up on a tree and leave you behind. Understood?"

*Hiss* *Hiss*

"Good! Now behave and sleep." 

Venus transformed into a white scarf that wrapped around Raven's neck, she then closed her eyes and started sleeping to digest the food she ate just now. 

Raven sighed and rubbed his temples. He can't believe that he became this stressed because of his pet. 

He was honestly not expecting her to behave like that at all. It's not like he was starving her, so why would she do something reckless like that? While it may be true that she's still a child, but still it that was dangerous. He really didn't want to be strict with her but it seems that he needs to give her some tough love. 

If they were within the Yellow Zone, he would've just left her alone since nothing in there could endanger her anyway, but they were inside the Red Zone, anything can happen here and she will endanger the both of them. 

Raven sighed and said: "Forget it. It already happened anyway."

After saying this, Raven looked around and walked away from the scene. It's nearly night time so he had to search for a shelter since it's dangerous to travel at night.

***

Raven sat inside a shelter made out of twigs and leaves. 

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to find a nearby cave so he decided to search for an isolated spot and build a temporary shelter in there. He spread some beast repelling powder around the perimeter of the shelter and erected a simple isolation array in order to ensure his safety for the night. 

The twigs and leaves that he used for the shelter are strong enough to protect him from the harsh winds of the forest and could keep him dry in case of a rain. 

Raven's body glowed with a shining gleam. His body was covered with an armor with a shining steel finish. As his chest rose and fell, the gleam of the armor did so as well. 

His helmet was of a typical design which has gaps wide enough for him to see through the helmet and breath while wearing it. If anything, it fashions a long blue mane-like ponytail on its top, making it look like it was Raven's own hair. The chest plate he wore covered him from his neck all the way to his groin, it has a steel finish and looked rough due to it seemingly made out of scales. 

His pauldrons were large and took the design of a lobster's shell, making his shoulders look bigger that they actually were. A pair of vambrace attached to gauntlets were also a part of his armor, including a battle skirt, and greaves. This armor is worn on top of his usual black attire, making him look intimidating and valiant.

As he displayed his armor, one could see some traces of silver finish here and there. Signifying that Raven is very close to breaking through the Silver Knight boundary. 

Of course, Raven could make a breakthrough anytime he wants to but he wants it to happen naturally. This has been how he was doing it and rushing his cultivation won't do him any good anyway. Raven has time and he's young, there's no reason for him to rush for now. 

Raven dispelled the armor and exhaled. He opened his eyes and stretched his body, he then gazed at the vast sky and observed the stars, thinking:

"It's still a long way to go before reaching the Withered Forest." He said to himself, "I'll have pass through several areas first, and from what I can remember, there is a pretty strong Lair nearby. It would be nice if I could just go around it."

"Hmm?"

Raven frown since he felt some strange fluctuations all of a sudden. 

He rotated his head, trying to search for the source of that fluctuation but he failed to see anything. He activated his spying techniques and looked around once more. With his eyes flashing with a rainbow colored light, he saw something that made him really curious. 

In his eyes, his environment is filled with wisps of faded blue fog coated with a red outline. These are the energies present in the Red Zone. He calls these berserk energies, something that a human can absorb but has to do so with outmost care since it's polluted with berserk natures. 

He could also see faint aura's of living things around him, enabling him to identify if he's running towards a beast or not, this also tells him their approximate size. However, it was none of these that peaked his interests. 

There is another type of energy that's showing up in his vision, and Raven has no idea what it is since this is the first time that he had seen this. 

It appeared as though it was a mix between a very bright purple and pink. The traces were vary faint but he could somehow tell that it was coming from a nearby location. 

Raven pursed his lips and thought for a bit. Debating to himself whether to take the risk of going outside his camp to soothe his curiosity or stay and ignore that. And as if to help him to decide, he felt yet another fluctuation around him, causing him to smile wryly and stand up. 

He made necessary preparations and concealed his presence before stepping out of his camp. With his ocular technique still active, Raven followed the trace of that foreign energy while staying low and alert. 

As he followed the trace, he could see that it's becoming more and more concentrated. Which means that he must be close to origin of this thing. 

After walking for about ten minutes, he reached the place where the strange energy originated. 

"Huuuk!" *Hic* *Hic* "Huuuk!"

Raven frowned and listened closely. He could've sworn that he heard a pitched squeaks, but it was so distant that he might've misheard it. 

"Huuuk!" *Hic* *Hic* "Alp!"

There it was again, however this time Raven caught it and confirmed that he wasn't just hearing things. He frowned and figured out that the origin of the sound seems to be coming from where this strange energy was coming from. 

Raven decided to walk forward in order to investigate what it was. And as he does, he couldn't help but feel something sticky around him which is somewhat making it difficult for him to move forward. He frowned once more and looked around him carefully. And under the gleam of moonlight, he discovered something…

"Spider silk." Raven murmured, "No, this not just any ordinary spider silk."

He picked up some strands and brought it closer to his face. The silk was almost transparent, making it hard to notice due to the darkness of his surroundings. He tested it's tensile strength and surprisingly, he needed a decent tug before breaking a strand. From this alone, Raven could already tell what kind of spider these comes from. 

"Queen Arachne." Raven murmured. "Troublesome." 

As if fighting spiders weren't already troublesome enough, he just has to encounter a Queen Arachne. 

These Demonic Spiders are not only big in size but they also swift. Queen Arachne's carapace are strong enough to ignore any attacks that are below Knight Realm in strength. Not only that, but it could also spit out globs of spider silk that could completely immobilize someone who gets caught, they are also extremely venomous to boot. 

Queen Arachne are not a fun enemy to deal with. And Raven was actually considering to retreat to the safety of his camp but€¦

"…body!" *Hic* *Hic* "…alp! Huuuk! Waa~"

"A human?" Raven face changed. "No! It's not our language. I don't remember what it is but I can understand it."

Sucking a deep breath, Raven clicked his tongue and kept moving forward. He covered his body with fluctuating Chaos Force to make his movements easier. 

As he exited the bushes he was in, he finally saw where the strange energy is coming from. 

There was an empty field with a hole on the ground. The surroundings are filled with thick strands of spider silk, covering the trees and even the ground itself. There's also a huge spider web, woven horizontally. Raven could see some bundles of spider silk, probably victims that the Queen Arachne caught with her web. 

He could see some rotten carcasses, shredded pieces of limbs, wings and skeleton scattered all over. Raven couldn't see the Queen Arachne anywhere no matter how hard he searched for her. 

As he went closer, his nose was assaulted by foul odor around the area, causing him to frown. Raven searched for the source of the sound but he couldn't here anything. He could also see the energy that he had been following along coming from the hole on the ground. 

*Hic* *Hic*

Raven's head snapped to the source of the sound. As he searched for the origin of the sound, he almost couldn't believe his eyes. 

There, trapped in thick strands of spider silk. A tiny creature struggled to free itself while sobbing. 

"A Pixie?"