Thump, thump, thump…
"Quick, run..."
Terrified by the colossal beast, Karl and the others ran wildly, sprinting for over ten minutes before they finally dared to stop.
Haa, haa... Karl bent over, leaning heavily against a tree as he gasped for air.
"M-My Lord, the giant beast didn't chase after us," A knight stammered.
"Let's go back and report to His Highness." Karl glanced back, his heart still pounding with lingering fear, before taking the lead to head back.
They had just witnessed the miracle of the Divine Kingdom. Perhaps this was an opportunity—who could say for sure?
It took them over ten minutes to return to the temporary camp, where they met with Santner.
"Why are you back so quickly today?" Santner raised an eyebrow. He remembered that their previous hunting trips had taken half a day at the very least.
"Your Highness, we have discovered a miracle," Karl said in a deep voice.
"What? A miracle?" Santner asked suspiciously.
"Yes. Just now, we encountered a giant beast several meters tall, and we also saw the miracle of the Divine Kingdom..." Karl recounted everything they had seen and heard along the way.
"The Divine Kingdom? Isn't that just a legend?" Santner's mouth fell open. He didn't place much trust in tales of immortality and the like.
"Your Highness, if we climb a little higher, perhaps we can still see the miracle," Karl hurriedly suggested.
"Let's go." Santner stood up immediately. If immortality was truly possible, who would bother looking for some mundane treasure?
"Yes." Karl immediately took the lead, hacking a path toward the summit of a nearby mountain. Their current camp was situated in a low-lying depression, completely blocked by towering peaks on all sides.
Tap, tap, tap...
Half an hour later, Santner, Karl, and the others reached the summit. There, they saw the ethereal projection hovering in the distant sky.
"It's real!" Santner's eyes widened, staring at the miracle in the sky in sheer disbelief. He cried out, "Could it truly be the Divine Kingdom? Is the legend true? Is the Divine Kingdom really hidden within the Forbidden Mountains?"
"Your Highness, what do we do now?" Karl asked, his eyes burning with absolute fanaticism. Who wouldn't desire immortality?
"We move. We head straight toward it." The corners of Santner's mouth turned up. Pointing at the ethereal projection in the sky, he shouted, "Immortality is right before our eyes!"
Yes, the temptation of eternal life was far too great. He had decided to chase after it. What if he actually succeeded?
"Yes, Your Highness!" Karl and the men shouted, their motivation completely restored.
"Let's go." With a grand wave of his hand, Santner marched in the direction of the projection in the sky.
He firmly believed that as long as they followed the direction of the Divine Kingdom's projection, they would inevitably reach the holy mountain where it resided.
Phew... Karl quietly breathed a sigh of relief. They were carving out a new path, completely avoiding the area where the giant beast lurked.
Tap, tap, tap...
The depths of the Forbidden Mountains were incredibly primeval, and the terrain was treacherous. The group did their best to pick out relatively flat paths as they pushed forward.
They hiked for half a day straight. No one complained of fatigue; even Santner was brimming with enthusiasm, no longer demanding to stop and rest every short distance.
Rustle...
The brush parted, and the knight who had been scouting ahead returned.
"Your Highness, we found human bones and armor up ahead."
"Human bones? Armor?" Santner's eyes lit up, and he quickly ordered, "Go, take me to see them."
"Yes, your highness."
Santner, Karl, and the others followed the knight for about ten minutes until they reached a patch of rocky, gravel-strewn terrain.
"Your Highness, it's right here." The knight pointed to the human bones scattered among the rubble, alongside a set of rusted armor and a snapped longsword.
"Why would there be human bones here?" Santner stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"Your Highness, based on the layout, it seems this person fell from that cliff up there while they were still alive," Karl said after a brief inspection.
"A cliff? Why would they fall from up there?" Santner's curiosity was piqued.
"Your Highness, the style of this armor resembles the gear used by human knights in the Chaotic Lands," Karl explained. Having previously fled through the Chaotic Lands, he recognized the distinctive design.
Every kingdom's armor had its own unique characteristics. Any experienced and knowledgeable knight could deduce a great deal of information from it.
"Armor from the Mancha Kingdom?" Santner asked in surprise.
"Your Highness, the Mancha Kingdom was destroyed decades ago. That region is now a chaotic battlefield ruled by three principalities," Karl reminded him.
"If that's the case... then the rumors about Grand Knight Amos of the Mancha Kingdom—the ones saying he led an order of knights into the Forbidden Mountains to find the Divine Kingdom—are they actually true?" Santner's breathing immediately grew heavy.
Rumors in the outside world claimed that Amos was the man who had come closest to the Divine Kingdom; otherwise, Amos's Note wouldn't have driven so many people to madness trying to find it.
"It is highly likely that we have stumbled upon the very path Amos once walked," Karl said gravely. It was, of course, just a deduction.
"Hahahaha..." Santner suddenly burst into wild laughter. Was this finally the light at the end of the tunnel?
He had heard rumors that Amos's Note had appeared in Pentos City, only to vanish again. But now, he doesn't even need the note! He could find the Divine Kingdom on his own. This was a godsend!
"Your Highness, shall we continue to follow this trail?" Karl's pupils flickered.
"Of course we will," Santner said with a broad smile.
He had no way back anyway. Of his original two to three hundred knights, only a few dozen remained. Simply making it out alive would be incredibly difficult. His only choice was to risk it all. If they truly found the Divine Kingdom, eternal life would be a reward greater than anything else in the world.
"Move out." Karl exhaled in relief and immediately took the lead to clear the path. They needed to find a way up the cliff to trace the route Amos's expedition had taken.
He had absolutely no intention of giving up on immortality. Had Santner refused to press onward just now, Karl had fully intended to find an opportunity to take his closest confidants, abandon the prince, and search for immortality on his own.
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