He opened the heavy wooden door leading to the corridor.
The creak of the rotating door hinges was particularly clear in the quiet corridor.
At the entrance, two knights who were on night watch to avoid disturbances stood with their backs to the door, leaning on their halberds, their heads slowly nodding off.
Hearing the door open, they woke in shock, dazed by the late hour and alert after their duties, and quickly turned around.
However, when they saw that the person exiting the door was Karl, something unexpected happened.
The moment their eyes met Karl's, it seemed they saw something that deeply stirred their hearts.
The flush on their faces instantly vanished, replaced by uncontrollable fear born from their instinctive life.
This fear came so quickly, completely beyond the reach of their reason and will.
CLANG! CLANG! Two clear sounds.
The long halberds in their hands slipped from their grips and crashed heavily onto the stone floor.
Immediately after, these two knights, who had undergone training and fought before and were not novices, began to tremble violently, like sifted chaff.
Their legs buckled and shook, and with a dull thud, they knelt directly before Karl.
They opened their mouths, their teeth chattering up and down, making a clattering sound.
Their faces were deathly pale as paper, their eyes vacant and frightened. They mustered all their strength to squeeze broken syllables from their chattering teeth.
"Ka... Karl... Sir..."
Karl slightly raised his brows, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. With a thought, his bio-field gently helped the two limp knights up from the ground.
"What's going on with you two? Such a strong reaction? You're not novices, and this isn't the first time you've met me." Karl spoke with a hint of questioning.
Supported by the bio-field, they barely stood upright, but the fear deep inside did not disappear.
One of the knights still trembled uncontrollably, his voice broken, full of doubt and confusion: "No... I don't know, sir..."
"We... we saw you... In my heart, suddenly my heart beat... Suddenly, uncontrollable fear appeared..."
"It seems... it seems I'm not looking at you... Yes, it's a kind of... indescribable... existence, the body... the body itself... and then it knelt down..."
The other knight quickly nodded, still shaken, and added: "Yes... yes, Lord Karl... Yesterday..."
"Last night, you passed by us and entered the prayer room... Returned... And it was all fine... As usual... Why are you... now?"
With these reminders from them, Karl's mind filled with thoughts, instantly connecting all the clues.
Everything was normal until entering the prayer room last night, but after he absorbed the soul origin and strengthened it, this happened when he came out...
"Perhaps it's the pressure of the soul?" A word came to his mind.
When the power of the soul significantly exceeds that of the surrounding life, the unconsciously exerted soul field creates a sense of oppression in weaker souls.
This causes the other person to feel instinctive fear, awe, or even direct psychological shock.
Even if not intentional, it was a natural effect of the enhanced soul.
Just as the sun naturally radiates light and heat, the dragon makes all beasts slumber.
Moreover, judging by the reactions of these two knights, the pressure he unconsciously exerted seemed quite strong.
Need to control... Karl immediately understood this – he couldn't have everyone weakly kneeling before him in the future.
He closed his eyes again, no longer focusing on the external world, but concentrating all his attention inward.
Especially this newly enhanced soul essence, which still seemed a bit lively and exposed.
He began to try to sense the soul fluctuations he was emitting, learning to restrain this new gap at the soul level.
Standing still, time passed. The two knights nervously watched Karl, who was deep in thought with his eyes closed, not daring to breathe.
Gradually, they felt that the pressure which had made them tremble and fall down gradually weakened, receded, and finally... completely disappeared.
When Karl opened his eyes again, they were still deep, but no longer carried the terrifying force that made people afraid to look directly and penetrate the soul.
The two knights immediately felt lighter all over, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and their breathing became much calmer.
Although their respect for Lord Karl had not diminished at all, this instinctive, uncontrollable fear had vanished.
They quickly bent down, picked up their halberds from the ground, and resumed their guard duty. Their faces still showed fear and confusion, but their postures had regained their composure.
Karl watched their transformation, an apologetic smile appearing on his face, and he nodded to both of them.
Without further explanation, he left the temple, leaving the two to look at each other with lingering fear.
......
When Karl's figure reappeared in the main banquet hall,
Everyone, chatting and enjoying their food, turned their gazes, their eyes clearly showing surprise.
Geralt put down his wine glass, his cat-like eyes sweeping over Karl.
He spoke first, expressing concern: "Karl, is the matter resolved? Need help? Everyone is here."
He signaled to Triss, Hen, Eist, and the other attendees, indicating that if necessary, this was a force not to be underestimated.
Following Geralt's words, Triss, Keira, Hen, Mousesack, and even Eist, who was arm-wrestling with a Skellige warrior,
all paused for a moment, focusing their gaze on Karl, awaiting his answer.
Especially Triss, whose eyes flickered with slight question, but she didn't ask aloud.
Karl felt everyone's concern and shrugged nonchalantly, a relaxed smile appearing on his face.
"It's just some people from Nilfgaard causing trouble down south. It's already taken care of, so nothing serious."
"Nilfgaard?!" Hearing this, Eist's thick brows shot up, and a clear expression of anger appeared on his face.
He released his arm-wrestling hold, and his opponent took the opportunity to win the round and shouted applause.
Eist didn't care about winning or losing; he suddenly slammed the table.
"Hmph! Those black sun bastards with their nostrils in the air!"
"In the Skellige sea area and along the coast, our families have fought and bled alongside them many times!"
Karl raised his glass of beer before him, signaling to Eist, his words encouraging and comforting.
"Hmm, relax, Eist. The rare feast isn't over yet – don't let the southerners spoil the mood."
"They're temporary... He should have behaved himself for a while longer." He added meaningfully.
Eist was stunned, looking at Karl's calm but confident gaze, and remembered what he meant by "it's already taken care of."
He seemed to understand something, his anger subsided a bit, and he burst into laughter, grabbing the huge wine glass beside him.
"Haha! Right! We can't let those disgusting guys spoil our enjoyment of the alcohol!"