The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 275

Chapter 276
Helchin’s Retinue
“Sister, do you know how many points of contention there are in what you just said?”
Eivass’s brow twitched involuntarily, and Lily subconsciously disbelieved the words, unable to help but ask:
“Undead… what?”
“Legion—”
Haina nervously stomped in place, wanting to run forward but also not wanting to abandon her friends and run alone: “Try to get to a house with lights. If you can’t… remember to be quiet and silent when they appear!
“Remember, you must stop immediately, be quiet, and be silent! Otherwise, you might get captured!”
After hearing Haina’s words, Eivass understood what was about to happen here.
— The Night of the Wild Hunt.
This is a phenomenon that occasionally occurs in Avalon and its surrounding countries.
It generally happens in places where the boundary between life and death is weak. Valorous warriors who died on battlefields or at the guillotine, if not properly buried and without funeral rites performed by priests, may transform into Night Walker Knights.
Night Walker Knights acting alone are harmless.
People occasionally see a single White Horse silently passing by on cold winter nights. They have no self-awareness and will simply charge from start to finish along the route of their last battle before they participated in, and then dissipate on their own.
This is also a relatively common type of ordinary Phantom Demon, a yellow-named unit—if you don’t attack them, the Night Walker Knights will even actively avoid pedestrians. Their strength fluctuates greatly, and they are usually weaker than they were in life, ranging from the Second Tier to the Fourth Tier.
But if a powerful Phantom Demon named “King of the Wild Hunt” is born nearby, the situation is different—
After hearing Haina’s words, Eivass grabbed Sherlock and rushed along with Haina…
But they were still a step too late.
A bone-chilling cold permeated the air. Eivass’s steps abruptly halted, and he looked up.
It was a magnificent night scene—
Under the icy moonlight, black fog billowed upwards.
It was black fog that slowly seeped out from the muddy road. Eivass clearly felt a bone-chilling cold rising from the soles of his feet and spreading upwards along his bones.
He felt as if his feet were frozen—to describe it, it was like walking in thick snow wearing cotton slippers with poor waterproof performance.
That cold, like clutching ice, quickly turned into a mild but persistent pain.
— If Eivass could see his HP bar, he would surely see it slowly and steadily decreasing section by section.
The black fog rose like smoke, covering the entire street.
From the tightly shut doors all around, lamps extinguished one by one, as if swallowed by living darkness. However, strictly speaking, it wasn’t that the lamps were extinguished, but rather that they were in this unnatural darkness and could no longer see the lights outside.
This darkness looked like some kind of tiny insect—it spread in particle form, like smoke.
Then, countless pale cavalry appeared in the air like thin shadows.
They looked as if they were growing from the black fog—first, silvery-white vague armor condensed, followed by the silhouette of ghost horses. Then the black fog merged into them, filling their inner selves, gradually becoming refined and sharp.
Once fully manifested, they instantly gained life.
These cavalrymen shone with pale light, and beneath their varied armor were pale skeletons. In one hand, they held standard skull-faced round shields, and in the other, they held various weapons.
Their pure white ghost horses under them restlessly pawed the ground, and noisy sounds came from all directions.
The rough laughter of the knights, their shouts, and the neighing of the horses all rose together.
Despite being in a deserted night, it was as noisy as a carnival.
Eivass quietly reached out and took Lily’s hand, giving her courage and telling her not to panic.
He gazed forward in silence, trying to remain as still as possible.
The others also followed Eivass and Haina’s example, stopping in the middle of the road and remaining motionless.
Finally, with a flash of lightning, a rumbling thunder accompanied by a long horn blast sounded. The noisy sounds of the knights gradually subsided, and became deathly silent.
After a long while, a second flash of lightning struck.
Accompanied by the deep thunder of the horn, it sounded again. The undead knights excitedly struck their shields with their weapons, making a violent noise. At the same time, they shouted loudly, emitting shrill cries like ghost wails.
With the third flash of lightning—the knights finally began to move.
Amidst the rumbling thunder and the faint sound of the horn, these Night Walker Knights sprinted forward.
They passed Eivass’s group, spontaneously clearing a path. They galloped past on both sides of Eivass’s group.
Intense cold enveloped their bodies from both sides.
But even so, Eivass clearly felt their excited and malicious gazes.
Almost every Night Walker Knight who passed him excitedly struck their weapon against their shield as they approached Eivass, making a loud noise to intimidate them.
Some undead acted like acrobats, almost falling from their horses—standing up on their horses, tilting their upper bodies, and leaning close to Eivass’s group. They swung their hands past Eivass’s head, bringing waves of cold wind.
However, Eivass remained motionless.
He simply looked forward with a cold expression, not moving at all throughout the entire process.
Finally, all the Night Walker Knights had passed them.
They soared into the night sky with black clouds—flying towards some place outside.
As the surrounding temperature gradually rose, the lights in the streets and alleys lit up again, and Haina finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Fortunately, Sir Helchin wasn’t here…”
— Helchin?
Eivass finally heard a familiar name.
He suddenly realized—it was that Ghost Knight Legion!
After Eivass entered Eagle Cape Village, he was completely in the dark. He had never encountered this Dungeon in the game. Even the main quests had never led him here.
Perhaps it was a side quest, or perhaps Eagle Cape Village was already gone by then, or something had changed.
But now, hearing the name Helchin, Eivass knew where he was—
“King of the Wild Hunt” Helchin is a well-known World Boss.
Eivass couldn’t quite recall the specific quest trigger point. But he remembered it should be a World Boss from one of the Data Packs 1 to 3, an enemy encountered after defeating Shadow of Avalon and before the Heavenly Envoy was vanquished.
He was the second King of the Wild Hunt encountered by players. He was also the first Seventh Tier Undead encountered by players after the World Tier cap was raised to sixty.
Since there was a Fifth Tier World Boss, also a King of the Wild Hunt, before him, Helchin was also called “The Great King” by players.
Night Walker Knight Legions appear every night, but only on Saturday nights does the King of the Wild Hunt accompany them.
On Saturday nights, he initiates the Wild Hunt, appearing from a certain point and proceeding along a specific route, killing anyone who dares to move within the hunting route and capturing their souls—meaning that death in battle cannot be revived; one must wait until the hunt is over to revive.
Then, players must intercept the route of the Wild Hunt in advance to wear down the accompanying Night Walker Knights. Night Walker Knight Legions accompanied by the King of the Wild Hunt permanently carry a darkness aura, which greatly suppresses the Illuminate Spell, as the range of light is suppressed to an extremely low level.
Depending on the type of King of the Wild Hunt, they will carry different effect auras such as “Fear Aura” or “Plague Aura.”
Helchin carries “War Aura” and “Fear Aura,” which cause everyone facing the Night Walker Knights to periodically feel fear, after which the knights will always land critical hits on any enemy whose actions are impaired or who is flanked.
Until all the cavalry are defeated, the King of the Wild Hunt will halt his march. He will then stand his ground and fight the players—if he is defeated, he will laughingly leave behind “The King of the Wild Hunt’s Reward,” release all captured souls, and then dissipate again.
— Eagle Cape Village is precisely the starting point for Helchin and his retinue’s Wild Hunt march!
Damn it, this is a Seventh Tier BOSS!
I had a fever yesterday, the temperature in Shanghai dropped too much…
But after taking Ibuprofen and sleeping, I woke up and the fever was gone, just a lingering dull ache in my back and shoulder blades. Ibuprofen is still amazing!
I just slept in a bit late today, so the second chapter will be a little later! No need to take time off!