Chapter 627 Wild Hunt Transformation Ritual

"You just said, 'The raging spirits cannot be appeased'?"

Aiwass keenly noticed the details in Merlin's words: "What is going on? Is my soul still in the world?"

"……Yes."

Although Merlin felt a little embarrassed to say this to his former hero.

But he still straightened his chest and told Sir Heleqin the truth: "It is obviously impossible for the giants of the past to hold a funeral for you. Even if some people have collected some of the remains, not only is it impossible to distinguish which part belongs to which person, but it is also impossible to invite elven priests from the Theocracy to Avalon Island to hold a funeral.

"These restless souls have transformed into undead due to their powerful resentment. They are even more terrifying and powerful than they were in life.

"...and among them, the most violent undead is you."

Merlin said frankly, "That is why our king is holding the still-experimental Heroic Spirit Summoning Ritual. Summon the heroic spirits who once battled the giants to fight alongside us."

"After the battle is over, we can rely on your connection to the dead souls to forcibly cleanse them. After all, heroes of the past shouldn't be transformed into feared and hated undead simply because they died without a burial place...

"...But I think we don't have to wait until the battle is over. To fight an apostle, using only the 'Heroic Spirit' might not be enough. The best way I can think of is to use the Heroic Spirit as a medium and transform your former soul into the Wild Hunt..."

Listening to Merlin explain his plan and watching him begin to arrange the ceremony, Aiwass gradually understood.

——The word "heroic spirit" originally referred to those dead souls who retained their rationality.

Generally speaking, the undead are either lost and harbor hatred for the living, or are transformed by great resentment.

However, there is one exception: becoming a spirit while maintaining a clear mind. This requires a strong willpower to resist the invasion of the soul by the twilight... and those who can do this are generally heroes. Therefore, these undead are called heroic spirits.

True Heroic Spirits are extremely rare. Furthermore, if left unprotected, they will gradually lose their sacredness over time, degenerating into ordinary undead spirits.

The only "true heroic spirit" that Aiwass currently knows of is the one sleeping in the red-handled sword.

—It must be one of the knights currently in Arthur's camp. Its continued existence as a heroic spirit is due to its continued slumber, sealed within the holy sword.

The so-called "summoning of heroic spirits" does not actually summon real heroic spirits.

This skill will belong to the magic of the Path of Authority in the future. It is a professional ability exclusive to the profession of "Acolyte" in the Path of Authority, and its advanced profession "Heroic Spirit Commander".

They can summon some "spiritual weapons" with simple self-awareness; or through some special weapons that have been sacrificed for a long time, they can summon light-attributed spirits that can control the weapon.

These heroic spirits certainly couldn't be the true souls of the weapons' owners... they were merely fabricated shadows. Or rather, they were the "holders" in people's minds. They were a fleeting afterimage, a moment of falsehood transformed into reality, a reflection that carried with it expectations and admiration.

Typically, this skill is used for gatekeeping. For example, if you need to guard an important warehouse but are worried about burglary, you can summon a Heroic Spirit to create a sleepless Heroic Spirit that is immune to invisibility and illusions and stand guard at the door.

For example, if people built a shrine or temple to worship Sir Heleqin—even if the real Heleqin had transformed into a violent undead and could never be summoned—then, by using "Sir Heleqin's weapon" in the temple as a medium, they could still summon the former clear-minded and gentle Heleqin.

This is not only related to the Path of Authority and the Path of Transcendence, but also to the Path of Beauty and the Path of Twilight. Necromancy has a similar ability, allowing the souls of the deceased, or even those who have been reincarnated, to be briefly manifested again.

——And in this era, there is no path to authoritarianism at all.

Aiwass is supposed to be the world's "first summoned Heroic Spirit," the one summoned by Arthur himself.

"No wonder he entered a brief time-stop zone when he came out..." Aiwass thought.

It was probably just like when Aiwass had come into contact with Lancelot I during the Ceremony of the Shadow of Avalon.

What Merlin has to do is to replace Sir Heleqin with a fake one.

The "Heroic Helechin" summoned by Arthur replaced the undead Helechin who had lost his rationality in the signing ceremony... and thus sold himself to Weizhe in a conscious manner and became a Wild Hunt under Weizhe.

Rather than summoning a large number of heroic spirits of energy level three or four, it is better to directly transform the undead Heleqin into a wild hunt.

Hatred is an extremely valuable nutrient for the undead. Transcendents who harbor immense resentment and become undead are often much more powerful than they were in life.

Just like the earthbound spirit sealed in the Phantom Demon Card by Aiwass - when she was a human, she was just an ordinary little girl, but under great resentment, she leaped into a fifth-level Phantom Demon.

Although Heleqin and his followers were slaughtered by the giants when they were alive...but after they died and turned into undead, the giants dared not provoke them.

This is probably why the giants set up the rarely visited "Beheading Valley" as a place for executions.

Essentially, it's like burying polluting waste somewhere uninhabited—if the place is truly haunted, the worst that can happen is that the ghosts won't come back. Anyway, the undead can't get far, so there's no need to worry about them chasing you.

"That's a good plan, Merlin."

Arthur echoed, "It's up to you, Sir Helechin. We need your help—in your undead form, you possess great power beyond the 'Wall of Balance.' If you could become a Wild Hunt, it would be very helpful in our fight against the 'Tyrant.'"

—Huh? Am I coming? Are you not coming?

Aiwass was stunned for a moment and looked at Arthur.

His expression was impassive, still that calm and composed poker face.

Although his tone was so flat that it seemed as if he was just reciting a line, it was clear that his usual personality was similar. The other Knights of the Round Table were completely unaware that there was actually another actor inside this Arthur - the future Arthur.

Arthur winked at Aiwass, as a gesture of reassurance.

——Don’t be afraid, speak your mind.

So Aiwass settled down.

"...Using the false me as a sacrifice and medium, so as to complete the ritual with the real Heleqin?"

Aiwass coughed lightly and said seriously, "If it's to fight against the Supreme Heaven and its apostles... I'm happy to cooperate with your ritual."

Hearing this, Merlin also breathed a sigh of relief.

If "Sir Helechin" is more conservative and does not agree with this matter, then he actually has no way to force Helechin to transform into a Wild Hunt.

Perhaps he couldn't do it... or perhaps he didn't want to. After all, Helechin was his idol.

...Then we can only fight to the death.

When Arthur and Helechin both nodded in agreement, Merlin's plan received the full support of the knights.

With the help and assistance of the knights, Merlin completed his ritual site at full speed.

——It was a ritual array composed of sixteen huge stones.

First, the four shortest stone tablets were inserted in the four directions of east, west, south and north of Aiwass, followed by slightly taller stone tablets inserted in the outer circle at a 45-degree angle, then the even taller four stone tablets in the east, south, west and north were inserted in the outer circle, and finally the four in the outermost circle.

It looks like a crosshair.

And Aiwas saw it clearly - the four innermost stone tablets recorded Heleqin's experiences from childhood to adulthood.

From his birth, education, and experiences as a child and teenager to his adventures, growth, and love in his youth. The third stone tablet records his achievements, and the fourth stone tablet records the cause of his death.

The four staggered and angled stone tablets are inscribed with words of respect for the great philosopher.

Merlin drew the sword from his waist and raised it above his head.

"—I call upon the Great Master, the God whose sacred number is four!

"The God who sees the truth, the God who is silent and unspoken!"

He raised his voice and said, "When the rainstorms of the seasons come, the hounds of life and death are heard. The unburied dead of war howl from the storm -"

As Merlin prayed, a thick bolt of lightning, as deep blue as the deep sea, fell from the sky and landed on the sword in his hand.

Deep blue electric light waves connected with all the stone tablets. The words on each stone tablet brightened, and deep blue electric light flashed on them.

The words leaped out from the stone tablet and appeared in the void, with electric nets connecting them.

At this moment, the sky gradually became gloomy.

Without any warm-up or transition, heavy rain poured down in the blink of an eye!

It was a storm so intense that even the light blurred his vision, making it impossible to see anyone. As the rain fell, the lightning formed a ball, enveloping Aiwass.

In the storm that obscured all vision, dark clouds surged on the horizon and blurred into black herds of horses and hounds.

Faintly, Aiwass heard two barkings of hounds.

One sound is loud and full of life and energy, while the other sound is deep and dark with a hint of echo. Each sound is always closely accompanied by the other.

For death always accompanies life—just as hunting is for living, and it always brings death.

The Wild Hunt is the opposite: it hunts for death, but brings hope of life to people.

"Those who are dead but whose souls remain must be stripped of the six realms! Due to their death, they possess the way of dusk; due to their strength, they possess the way of power; due to their existence, they possess the way of adaptation!

"In the name of the Great Sage, I will reshape your path of wisdom and beauty for you!

"I give you the privilege of speech and song! I give you the privilege of thought and wisdom!"

"You shall not attack or enter any room with the lights on and the door closed! You shall not enter any area near a church where a bishop is stationed. You shall not attack the sick, pregnant women, or disabled people! You shall not destroy libraries and schools. You shall not harm the brave people who play the piano and sing to you!

"You shall not drink the wine of the living, nor eat offerings or burning spices.

"You shall not cease hunting, nor cease fighting! Just as the storm never ceases, but only sleeps for a moment—"

I see.

Those who have died but whose remains remain are stripped of the four realms... The Wild Hunt Ritual transforms the souls of these warriors, whose bodies no longer exist, into the bodies of the Wild Hunt, restoring them from the Three Paths to the Five Paths...

But after hearing this, Aiwas's consciousness gradually became blurred.

Fragments of memory flowed through his mind - like a series of incomplete photos floating in his mind. He didn't quite understand what these fragments meant, but just looking at them made him feel a little warm and nostalgic.

Finally, the images slowed down and paused on the photo of Helechin and his wife Fafna.

The image in Aiwass's mind slowly began to enlarge. Heleqin's bright, sunny smile became clearer and clearer, while everything else gradually became blurred.

Suddenly, Heleqin in the photo seemed to come alive, and everything around him became blurry, melted and disappeared.

As Fafner in his arms turned into nothingness, he straightened up with some regret.

Heleqin winked at Aiwass, pointed his thumb at Aiwass, and smiled from the bottom of his heart.

He opened his right hand, which was originally holding up the thumb, revealing a right hand that was much larger than Aiwas's, and stretched it forward.

【Would you like to shake hands?】

The voice that originally served as narration in Aiwas's mind suddenly sounded at this moment.

In a trance, Aiwas stretched out his right hand and slowly shook hands with the hand that was much bigger than his.

The rest is up to you.

Heleqin's gentle and bright voice rang out in Aiwas's heart:

[The Lord of Scales and Feathers said... this level should be enough.]

And "Herchin" in front of Aiwass showed a bright and generous smile for the last time, stretched out his other hand and gave Aiwass a thumbs up again.

【Come on! 】

As soon as the words fell, Heleqin's image suddenly shattered.

Then, the purest "skill" flowed into Aiwass's heart—

——That is the memory of Heleqin’s “riding skills” and “gunmanship”!

Three hundred years of combat experience emerged in Evans' mind intermittently.

Along with four ancient combat techniques that once belonged to the Path of Power but are now influenced by the Path of Dusk and Wisdom—

——Charge of destruction!

——Undead Charge!

——Storm Strike!

——Thunderous wrath!

At this moment, a panel suddenly popped up in front of Aiwas:

Basic occupations——

Heritage Wild Hunt LV2: [Wild Hunt Tactics - Level 1 (0%)], [Undead Martial Arts - Level 1 (0%)]

Then, Aiwass saw in a trance that the sky and the earth turned into a meaningless dimness.

The time of the whole world seems to have stopped here.

Aiwass vaguely saw something in the sky looking at him. However, he couldn't see it at all, and he only felt his mood gradually become calmer.

The moment Aiwass's mood became extremely peaceful, the dim clouds dissipated.

He seemed to see something—

It was a huge eye that looked like a golden turntable.

It looks like an eye, a door, an egg, or some kind of gem.

The moment he looked into His eyes, a great fear arose in Aiwas' heart.

It was a fear that could burn curiosity and freeze hope. Thoughts were emptied in the blink of an eye, and the sense of time froze here.

When Aiwass regained consciousness, he had returned to the material world.

He had transformed into a massive, pitch-black King of the Wild Hunt, with boundless and violent power surging within him. Having never felt such overwhelming power before, Aiwass even had the illusion that he could crush the earth with just a slight effort.

Unable to bear the urge, Aiwass raised his head, clenched his fists and roared to the sky.

As his storm-like roar echoed, rumbles of thunder echoed from the sky. Lightning crackled and spread through the thunderclouds, and a large number of lightning bolts fell violently and randomly around Aiwass.

At this moment, a new panel popped up in front of Aiwass:

Different from his powerful strength at the moment.

That was actually similar to the three-choose-one blue sky and white cloud entry that Aiwass obtained when he first learned the Fire Sacrifice and embarked on the path of dedication.

[Earth Affinity LV1 (Blue): You approach the Amber Egg and comprehend some of the essence of the earth.]

[Earth Container LV1 (Blue): You touch the Amber Egg, and your soul expands.]

[Clear Container LV1 (Blue): You consume the Amber Egg, and your soul expands.]

——It’s amber!

Aihua suddenly understood.

This is exactly the contact from the twilight path!

Update completed! Thanks to the leader of the alliance, I made a thousand yuan from Qidian...

This is a two-in-one chapter, so there is no need to separate it into chapters, meow!

Guan Guan drew an illustration of a pure white saint. I'll post it here first to see if it passes the review!

(End of this chapter)