HoG - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Storm Knight

At this juncture, Byron followed the promotion ritual's guidance and closed his eyes, returning to the spiritual realm where his 'Spirituality' had first awakened. He reverted to the form of an "amphibious reptile" emerging from the deep sea, gazing upon the vast world.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The grand, distant sound of bells accompanied him.

Before him, the vast spiritual radiance coalesced into magnificent buildings steeped in history, within the Law Network. There were towering skyscrapers, military fortresses bristling with weaponry, courts of justice with hanging swords, majestic and solemn. There were snow-white temples surrounded by countless angels, endlessly singing hymns; there were solitary, ancient lighthouses silently emitting bright light.

Each structure represented one of Byron's prerequisite knowledge areas, a sequence of supernatural careers he could pursue. From these, numerous pure white luminous avenues—the 'Stairways of Glory'—extended.

With a glance over the undulating sea surface, images of 'Storm Knights,' 'Pirates,' 'Paladins,' 'Fortress Guardians,' 'Navigators,' 'Explorers', 'Artillery Experts', 'Musketeers,' 'Jurists,' 'Naturalists,' and other supernatural professions came into view.

Byron, his decision already made, was not swayed by the allure of other professions. He declared with resolve, "Storm Knight!"

The storm dragon emblem on his chest immediately shot out a luminous anchor rope, fiercely hooking onto the Stairway of Glory representing the Lighthouse Sequence, allowing him to step onto it.

In an instant, Byron felt himself being lifted by a powerful force. Sublimation!

But then, his vision was obscured by a black storm and dark clouds, and his ears were filled with the sounds of raging winds and waves. Shhh... His 'Spiritual' body swayed in the storm, as if about to be swept back into the sea by the surging waves.

At this precise moment, solemn oaths laden with iron and blood echoed in Byron's ears. They helped stabilize his mind while attempting to align his aspirations with their creed, pulling him fully into their fold:

"Fearless in the face of a strong enemy! Courageous and loyal, without regrets before the Holy Father! Frank and straightforward, preferring death to deceit! Protecting the weak, without defying the laws of heaven!"

"Humility, honesty, compassion, bravery, justice, sacrifice, honor, faith!"

"I will treat the weak with kindness; I will face the strong with courage; I will fight against sinners without reservation; I will fight for those who cannot fight; I will help those who need my help; I will not harm women and children..."

Byron immediately understood that to navigate through the storm, he must undergo a test of the heart. The knightly path he had chosen stemmed from the church's paladins. This was a path of spiritual cultivation centered around oaths.

The stricter the adherence to the precepts, the greater the power. And once an oath was broken, the power would rapidly decline.

The church's 'Paladins' stood at the pinnacle of all knights because they strictly adhered to all virtues and precepts! But this also meant they had to isolate themselves from the secular world, embracing a life of asceticism devoid of desires or demands. Otherwise, there would be a violent conflict between ideals and reality, leading to a split personality before one could even grow.

Byron had once pondered what he would become if he suddenly possessed abilities beyond those of ordinary people. Would he become a superhero upholding justice, or an evil indulging in power? Upon reflection, he knew he couldn't be a superhero like a saint, with guns pointed at his head by ordinary people, for his moral standards weren't that high. Nor could he be an evil gone mad with power; despite life's beatings in both his past and present lives, he always held a bottom line in his heart.

Uncontrolled power would first turn against oneself. This is the necessity for all supernatural individuals to adhere to their maxims and maintain a bottom line!

What suits oneself and can be practiced throughout life is the best.

Not wishing to become an ascetic detached from the secular world, he did not choose the Eight Virtues or the Paladin's oath. Nor did he choose the ambiguous justice of other noble knights.

Instead, he used all his strength to shout out the Lancaster family's Maxim: "I am the vanguard!"

The vanguard of battle, adventure, exploration, the era... This perfectly aligned with his ideal of exploring the world and pursuing freedom, and it was identical to the path of the 'Navigation Log' in deciphering the unknown.

Immediately, the knights' shouts were replaced by cries of "I am the vanguard." These were the marks left by each of the Lancaster ancestors in the 'Silver Laws.' Among them were legendary knights of high sequences and crowned kings, no weaker than the orthodox knightly maxims.

Whoosh! The power of the maxim materialized, propelling Byron upward at a rapid pace, breaking through the storm before him in an instant.

When he regained his senses, he found himself in a small lighthouse perched on a rocky shore. Below him stretched an endless expanse of dark ocean. The rock was narrow, and the lighthouse was not tall, but the light at the top was exceptionally bright, illuminating several kilometers of sea surface. This was, in fact, Byron's own spiritual radiance.

After officially taking up his position, he, as a supernatural individual of the Lighthouse Sequence, finally acquired a lighthouse of his own, qualifying him to illuminate others!

Under the light, he clearly saw many semi-transparent luminous anchor chains extending from his chest. These represented all of "Byron Lancaster's" close interpersonal relationships and all of his anchors in this world. Unfortunately, after the disaster of the clan's extermination and the fall of the entire Lancaster family, most of these anchors had been completely severed. Only a few were still struggling to hold on.

The most distinctive, allowing Byron to recognize it at a glance, was a thick anchor chain that shimmered with golden light, appearing indestructible. This was his Oath Knight, Iron Wall Bruch. Oath Knights could be supernatural individuals of any profession. They were not defined by how powerful they were, but by the contracts established through the 'Silver Laws,' becoming absolutely reliable shields and spears for their lord, entrusting their lives!

Even if separated, they could find each other within a certain range, following the connection of the laws. Byron, his late cousin Prince Edward, and Oath Knight Bruch had grown up together and shared a deep bond. They were more like family, like brothers, than a lord and his knight.

Bruch, a knight of the Judiciary Sequence, had been sent back to the Duke of Sorenburg's territory in September. To assist his steward father in handling the autumn harvest affairs on the estate. After the night of the clan's extermination, they, who were in different places, had completely lost contact.

Now, Byron didn't know what had happened to Bruch and the others, but even this anchor chain was becoming thinner, as if it might break at any moment. "I never believed in God before. Now, I sincerely pray that if the Creator truly has great power, may He bless Bruch and the others to escape York's pursuit safely."

Compared to these interpersonal anchors, the anchor chain hooked onto the first layer of the 'Silver Laws' behind Byron was becoming more stable. A steady stream of power, knowledge, and experience began to flow into his body.

Looking back along the anchor chain, behind him was a vast archipelago composed of countless islands, even a continent. It was like the Mediterranean Sea, together embracing a clear body of water. Before his sublimation, Byron's spirituality clearly originated from there.

And along the coastlines on either side, numerous lighthouses were distributed like stars. Some were as short as Byron's, while others were towering skyscrapers, emitting light as bright as the sun. Obviously, each lighthouse represented a supernatural individual of the Lighthouse Sequence, together forming the front line facing the dark ocean!

And the light of the human 'Silver Laws' seemed to be the only brightness in this pitch-black sea. The clear distinction between light and darkness deeply shocked the soul. "This is the spiritual dike of the human race!"

He felt that the sea, blacker than the night, was constantly rotating, surging, and slowly but inexorably devouring this light. He even had a feeling that the sea might be continuously rising, waiting for him to wake up and completely submerge this small island.

In short, the sight of this boundless, mysterious, and unknown deep sea made him feel very uneasy. As if he had developed a phobia of the deep sea. Constantly worrying that from the depths of the ocean, an indescribable behemoth with eyes as large as lakes would suddenly lunge out and swallow him whole.

The oldest and strongest emotion of humanity is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is of the unknown. No written words could describe even a fraction of this feeling!

Only the Law Network behind him and the few anchors hooked onto the Silver Laws, the Ten Pirate Commandments, and interpersonal relationships could bring Byron a sense of security.

As the Law Network completely bestowed upon him the knowledge and supernatural abilities of a 'Storm Knight,' the 'Navigation Log' also displayed the words "Job change Successful."

"Phew, it's finally over."

Just as the vision of the Source Sea began to dissipate and Byron was about to return to reality, he was horrified to see a lighthouse not far from him suddenly go out. It was then abruptly dragged into the sea by something, disappearing without a trace!

And the last deep blue ink on the 'Navigation Log' suddenly bled into an alarming dark black. It issued a sharp warning to him.

—Remember! The great flood of this world has never receded; you must firmly secure your anchor!!!