Demon Hunter and His Cabin
Chapter 317 - Chapter 317 Chapter 317 Fairy Tale Story

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Fairy Tale Story Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Fairy Tale Story In the depths of the forest.

A group of riders stopped on a clearing.

“Let’s do it here.”

The bearded middle-aged man leading them spoke in a deep voice.

“Go check the surroundings, make sure no one accidentally stumbles in.”

Upon hearing his command, several young men dismounted and quickly disappeared into the woods.

After some time, the young men returned.

“Sir, it’s very secluded here. Once we begin, we’ll have someone stand guard around the perimeter,” one of them reported.

“Good. The commander takes this selection very seriously. The Knights need fresh blood, but we mustn’t lower our standards for that.”

“How many candidates do we have this time?”

“Two.”

“Excellent,” the middle-aged man nodded. “You’ll be responsible for leading them in there shortly. Remember to be cautious and not let them spot any flaws.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Layhader.”

The young man was a bit excited. “If I may be so bold to ask, sir, which page are we using for the selection this time?”

Upon hearing this question, everyone perked up their ears.

“Is that something you should be prying into?”

Mr. Layhader raised his whiskers in mock anger.

“Ha-ha, sir, we’re just curious.”

The young man wasn’t concerned.

“After all, we also went through the same steps to get here.”

He looked around. “Don’t tell me you’re not curious.”

The young man pointed at a black guy wearing a hat. “Ryerson, when you were selected, which page were you given?”

The one called Ryerson chuckled lowly; looking at Layhader and seeing no objection, he held up a finger with a grin.

“The first page.”

“Oh?”

“Everyone became interested.”

“What was the story about?”

“Frog Prince,” the black guy replied. Then a pained expression crossed his face.

“Damn it, it took me so long to forget about that huge, ugly, pus-filled toad…”

“Hell, you just made me remember that dreadful experience again.”

From his expression, it was clear he wasn’t joking.

“Ha-ha,” everyone burst into laughter.

“As I recall, not everything in the Frog Prince was about hideous monsters. It’s indeed hard to forget the sight of the prince turning into a monster.”

“But the story also had a kind and lovely princess,” someone spoke up.

“Oh, heavens!”

Ryerson let out an exaggerated cry. “Look what you brought up, the princess, damn it, I never want to hear that word again.”

“It completely ruined all my fantasies about princesses.”

“At first, I really thought I could spend a flirtatious night with that beautiful princess, but in the end…”

Ryerson shivered.

“Heavens! Can you imagine the feeling when a mass of pus-filled blisters burst and plopped all over you?”

“Stop, no more!”

Everyone cried out in unison.

Just then, someone suddenly asked, “Among you, did anyone get the twelfth page during the examination?”

“The 12th page? What’s that story about?”

“Cinderella.”

“Wow, the Crystal Shoe, sounds pretty nice.”

The crowd exchanged glances, but they all shook their heads.

“What’s the matter? Is there something special about this story?”

The first person to inquire shook his head as well.

“To be honest, I don’t know.”

“A friend of mine happened to have this story during his assessment, and no one knows what he experienced in there.”

“Anyway, after he came out of there, he started liking men.”

“Oh, the poor child.”

Someone sighed, “Perhaps he was injured by the Crystal Shoe of a princess… in the buttocks.”

At the thought of that horrifying image, everyone involuntarily shuddered.

“Alright, shut up, lads.”

“Get to the real work. Our assessment is about to begin.”

Layhader put an end to everyone’s jesting.

“But sir, you haven’t told us the page number for this assessment’s story?”

“That’s a secret!”

Layhader glared, “I can only tell you after the assessment begins, and for those of you participating, you must not reveal a single word.”

“Don’t worry, sir.”

Everyone’s expression became serious, and they spoke in unison.

Layhader nodded in satisfaction.

“Is the rule still the same as every year?”

Someone asked.

Layhader nodded.

“By killing monsters, we can judge the overall strength of the assessees, but it’s their choices and judgments throughout the process that will reveal their character.”

“For the Round Table Knights Order, that is an even more important aspect.”

“I hope you all remember that.”

“Alright, start preparing.”

Upon Layhader’s command, everyone started to get busy.

“Matt.”

Layhader called out softly, “Take those two kids over to get ready.”

“Be careful with the extent, and be cautious.”

The young man known as Matt nodded and soon brought two somewhat nervous young people.

Embroidered on the sleeves of their arms was a shield, its background a brown color with some wooden textures.

The upper half depicted two crossed swords with the tips touching, symbolizing the oath and war of the Round Table Knights.

The two swords together resembled a dome sheltering from wind and rain, underneath which was a crescent half-arc, with an inverted Y-pattern passing through the middle of the crescent arc.

From the outside, it looked like the figure of a person kneeling on the ground with arms outstretched, praying for protection, combined with the crossed swords above and the shield that formed the entire outline.

The meaning represented by the emblem was self-evident.

This was, indeed, the emblem of the Round Table Knights Order, and these two people, although they had not yet entered the Order, were already fully prepared.

For their actions, Matt chose to turn a blind eye; after instructing them for a bit, he led them through the bushes in a certain direction.

“It’s about to start.”

Everyone’s expression became tense.

Standing on a hillside, Layhader blew a whistle, its crisp sound carrying with the wind.

But what no one knew was, just as Matt led the two Reserve Knights into the depths of the woods, a figure resembling a withered tree flashed out of the forest.

By that time, night had begun to fall, and the faint figure seemed to merge with the surrounding environment. He waved his hand, and the plants by his side appeared to come to life.

In places unseen by anyone, the scenery began to change.

Unaware of all this, Matt continued to walk forward, but what he didn’t know was that he had unwittingly deviated from his original direction.

Calculating the time, Matt discreetly blew his neck whistle without making a sound, and distant Layhader knew everything.

His expression grew solemn as he solemnly took out a black box, ripping off the twine wrapped around the surface of the box, Layhader pulled out a slightly yellowed piece of paper.

At the most conspicuous part of the page, a line of words was clearly revealed.

“16–Little Red Riding Hood.”