The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 361: Preparing for future

Chapter 361: Preparing for future

’Was this their goal all along?’

Hex inspected the corpse of the Elder while going over the accounts he had.

’Are they like the Dawnbringers, causing a series of smaller incidents to create an opening for their end target?’

It was a possibility. But even if the Witchkin orchestrated everything, from being caught to being brought before an Elder to be judged, and used it as an opportunity to kill the Elder, how did they know the route they would take? Or that a few Serpents would be available?

’Perhaps they had only intended to be caught and be brought over. They anticipated that they would be stripped of their power.’

Hex stood in the middle of the battleground, pondering about the enemy’s goal.

They were waiting for reinforcements from the camp. Elize and Jonathan were not far from his position. The lifeless body of the Witckin’s leader was still on their opposite side. When Hex had taken a step toward her to inspect and study the body, Jonathan had stopped him.

"Leave it. Don’t touch it. With an Elder dying out here, the investigation will be very thorough. They will check even the remnant elements a person still has on their body, clothes, where not. They won’t leave anything unchecked, no matter how insignificant or trivial it may seem," Jonathan had said. To Hex’s surprise, even he, an Enlightened Knight, had seemed wary about the investigation about to ensue.

They were too busy bickering about something. Hex couldn’t hear a thing. One of them, most likely Jonathan, had sealed off their surroundings.

’I guess this will reflect poorly on both of them. They might be powerful but the Elders represent several political powers, which consists mainly of descendants of Wrixia and the Silver Serpent’s leader. Two being at the Taboo stage.’

All these he had learned through various channels and tidbits he caught up ever since arriving in Wrixia.

’But why do I have to worry? None of this has a direct connection to me. I am not the one leading or commanding anything here,’ Hex mused, breaking almost in a grin.

He wasn’t naive to think that he wouldn’t have to shoulder part of the blame, irrespective of the truth but he also knew that the tallest trees ended up catching the most winds. And in this case, there were two extremely tall trees.

Glancing at them, he noticed they were still busy discussing something. It seemed they would be occupied with it for some time.

’Good. I will keep myself occupied too.’

He kneeled with his back toward them, blocking their sight with his body. In front of him, a few frozen blocks lay, each holding a different serpent inside them.

The body of each serpent was small. Their total length ranged between five centimeters to fifteen centimeters at most. They found seven of these Serpents slithering away from the corpse.

’Let’s see if I can determine the elements and traits each of these has,’ Hex thought. He placed the index finger of his dominant hand on top of the block of Ice. The moment the top of his finger came in touch with the Ice, he detected a faint glint appear in the Ice elemental circle on the back of his hand.

’Like I suspected. The circles react when they come in contact with the respective element. It’s why the Space elemental circle always glows when I move through the layers. I guess, there has to be a minimum amount required to cause them to glow without physical contact. The low quantity of Ice element in this area is the reason why I need to actually touch the element to elicit some reaction from my element circle.’

Motivated by the initial success of his endeavor, he decided to continue. This meant he had to unseal the blocks. This, just so he could touch them.

Under his precise control, a tiny hole the width of his finger appeared in the block. He had chosen a side where the body lay the closest to the surface. And more importantly, at the spot the core most likely formed inside these Serpents.

’Listening to Elize’s extended research results did have some advantages,’ Hex chuckled inwardly. He wriggled his finger inside until it came into contact with the Serpent. While his finger touched it, he focused on the circles on the back of his hand.

’There.’

Hex watched the silvery light glow up.

’Space element. Again. These people sure have a lot of fun with this one.’

He didn’t dwell too long on it. For now he had but one purpose: to determine the elements stored inside these serpents. Determining the potential traits was a minor purpose. He did it to gather information.

’I am sure they aren’t finished yet,’ Hex thought. He glanced at the dead Witchkin’s leader. ’She claimed that the other Elders would suffer a similar fate. The Elders aren’t idiots. With one of theirs dying, they will take precaution. Yet, she shouted it with a lot of confidence.’

’The only genuine opportunity they might have is the competition. By the sound of it, it is a huge deal. So, whether I wish to stay out of it or not, won’t matter,’ Hex thought with a sight. ’Best to prepare in advance.’

Although he thought about all of these, he didn’t slow down. He inspected the other Serpents, hurrying along. From the corner of his eyes he already noticed the discussion between Elize and Jonathan coming to an end.

’Hmm? The remaining ones are divided into two types. One is filled with Nature elements, whereas the other type is filled with Fire. But that’s not all.’

Hex placed all the other boxes back to the spots he had picked them up. Under his precise control he managed to do such a thing without a slightest deviation from their initial place. In front of Enlightened Knights even the tiniest mistake would come at a cost.

He picked one up. This one he had set aside. Unlike the other Serpents that seemed to all be in different shades of black or gray, this one had a slight crimson hue. Its skin was also a bit hotter to the touch.

’This one is different. Although its core has Fire elements within it, its flesh is hot and sturdier than that of the others,’ Hex surmised. ’I think this one has similar traits to the Lava Bat.’