Chapter 593: Chapter 384 Autobiography
"Are you sure this book in my hands is indeed the original of the Giant Mountain Breathing Method? Is it the Breathing Skill obtained by your ancestors all those years ago?"
Colin caressed the Giant Mountain Breathing Method, then spoke up again to ask.
"Sir, it’s been so long, I cannot be certain..."
Conmonds’ face showed difficulty; it had been over three hundred years ago, how could he be certain.
Colin bowed his head again to flip through the Breathing Skill.
Whether the ancestors of the Wood Family had fabricated a tale, or if there was truth to it, it was indeed hard to discern after three hundred years.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of defeat in his heart, but deep down he still hadn’t completely given up, so he said to Conmonds:
"Tell me about the demon invasion that happened three hundred years ago."
"Of course, sir." Conmonds nodded, paused to organize his words, and then began:
"About three hundred and twenty-six years ago, without any warning, scores of underground demons emerged like a black tide rushing toward Intuo City, rushing toward the Roon Kingdom—this is what we usually call the Cave Monster invasion."
"On that day, Intuo City, unprepared, held out for only two minutes before the city gates were breached."
"Fortunately, fifteen minutes later, the kingdom’s wizards arrived to support. Soon after, the wizards from Neustadt City also came to aid. Together, they took just over an hour to annihilate all the invading Cave Monsters."
At this point, Conmonds paused and sighed: "Unfortunately, just a measly fifteen minutes was enough for Intuo City to be declared destroyed, the Cave Monsters had taken over the entire city, with fewer than twenty percent of the population surviving.
The first arriving kingdom wizards could only stop most, some scattered Cave Monsters continued forward, even destroying much of nearby Balk and Buke City."
"So, is the Intuo City we see now rebuilt afterwards?"
"Yes, sir."
Colin nodded slightly, a trace of shock on his face.
Though over three hundred years had passed, just hearing Conmonds’ description alone was enough to imagine the severity of the scene back then.
"But that day was only the first wave of the Cave Monster invasion." However, Conmonds continued.
"For the next three years, Cave Monster invasions occurred frequently, historical records indicate that, including the first time, there were nearly three hundred occurrences, varying in size, with some even surpassing the scale of the first invasion.
Over those three years, countless lives were lost, even wizards were not spared, and three of the Roon Royal Family’s wizards died!"
"At that time, Alec’s ancestor was simply an Advanced Knight, forcibly conscripted by the Royal Family, having no choice but to defend the front line against the Cave Monsters.
Yet it was precisely due to this that in those three years, the ancestor not only fortuitously obtained the Giant Mountain Breathing Method but also successfully advanced to Great Knight!"
"Afterward, as the demon invasion gradually ended and Intuo City was rebuilt, the ancestor, using his strength as a Great Knight and his outstanding military achievements, continuously secured victories, thereby establishing our Wood Family."
After saying this, Conmonds turned and took a new book off the shelf behind him and handed it to Colin.
"This is the autobiography written by the ancestor himself; it may be of assistance to you, Sir."
On the golden book was written in large letters, "Alec Wood’s Biography," with a smaller line underneath—"From the day the demon invasion began, I realized that I am unique and extraordinary."
Colin raised an eyebrow and reached out to accept the biography.
The biography was not short, being as thick as a palm, Conmonds suggested moving to a more comfortable place for him to sit and read.
But Colin refused.
For him at the present, books like these, even of such thickness, would only require ten minutes for a thorough reading.
The Wood Family’s secret chamber had excellent soundproofing.
When Colin began to read, the only sounds left in the entire chamber were the rustling of his fingers turning pages, and the breathing of a few people nearby.
Onions stood silently to the side, his peripheral vision glancing at the spear behind Orkot, a bitter knot in his heart.
Colin’s casual demeanor simultaneously relieved him and, for some reason, seemed to make him feel worse, as if more heavy stones were pressed onto him.
"Martina..." Onions murmured inwardly, complex emotions seeping through the cracks of his hardened heart, filled with a bitter taste.
He should never have lost the spear.
In fact, after obtaining the spear, Onions had almost ceaselessly carried it with him, clutching it tightly even in his sleep.
He would never wager such a precious spear!
"Your ancestors lived to be 142 years old?"
At that moment, Colin suddenly spoke, his voice full of confusion.
"Yes, my lord," Conmonds nodded.
Colin frowned deeply. "You do know the downside of the Giant Mountain Breathing Method, don’t you?"
"I do, my lord," Conmonds nodded. "Although the Great Knights of our family are unrivaled in combat, most of them die around the age of a hundred due to the flaws of the Giant Mountain Breathing Method.
Alec’s ancestor indeed was the longest-lived Great Knight recorded in our family’s history."
Conmonds paused, "But it’s commonly believed in the family that this was because Alec’s ancestor switched to the Giant Mountain Breathing Method midway."
"Are there other examples?"
Conmonds was slightly taken aback, "Since then, indeed, others in the family have tried to switch, but so far no one has succeeded, making Alec’s ancestor the only example."
Conmonds didn’t sense anything unusual.
Although changing one’s Breathing Skill to that of a Knight’s is not as demanding as switching to a Wizard’s Meditation Method, it’s still exceedingly difficult.
Failing to break through to Great Knight after conversion was, in his view, quite normal.
But Colin didn’t think it would be that simple; he flipped through the autobiography in his hands once more.
Before obtaining the Giant Mountain Breathing Method, Alec’s life had been very ordinary. Although he made his experiences out to be extraordinary in his autobiography, he couldn’t quite mask the mundaneness beneath.
But after acquiring the Giant Mountain Breathing Method, the knight’s life soared as if he had been given a cheat code.
During the three-year hellish Cave Monster defense battle, the casualty rate among regular Knights was extreme, to the point where barely one in ten survived.
Not only did Alec manage to stay alive, but he also repeatedly distinguished himself and even fortuitously saved a high-born Knight.
This Knight from the Royal Family later brought Alec substantial rewards.
Then, after the three years of demon tides, Alec thrived in noble society, with his favorite activity being dueling.
Moreover, he was almost undefeated.
Of course, the most unusual thing was Alec’s lifespan.
A regular Great Knight could live over one hundred fifty years with no problem.
However, if one practiced the Giant Mountain Breathing Method, it was not so, as Conmonds had mentioned. Living to around a hundred was the norm.
This was mainly due to the unending physical augmentation brought by the Giant Mountain Breathing Method.
No matter how much one tried to delay it, at around the age of a hundred, Great Knights who practiced the Giant Mountain Breathing Method would mostly find their bodies suddenly breaking down and dying.
And even for someone like Alec, who had switched to the Giant Mountain Breathing Method midway, it made no difference to the outcome!
Colin closed Alec’s autobiography, firmly convinced—
’Alec Wood definitely has some secrets hidden away!’
’Or rather, the people of the Wood Family before me are concealing something from me...’
His face betrayed nothing as he glanced at the Wood Family before him and quietly said,
"I need a guide to take me to the battlefield of those days, could you arrange one for me?"