Chapter 363 - 357: Ronin, Outskilled

In the dead of night, two powerful Meteor Knights faced off in a dilapidated attic.

Ronin was bathed in a scorching aura, his Flame Armor glowing like a lantern and illuminating the surrounding space.

They had just exchanged several blows. While their Power was evenly matched, his opponent had managed to suppress him to some extent with extreme speed.

Fortunately, Ronin’s keen senses allowed him to keep up.

"Ever since I left Wushan Castle to strike out on my own, the assassination attempts have been endless. From Bronze to Gold, and now a Meteor Knight... I’m very curious. Who wants me dead so badly?"

As he spoke, he summoned his panel and allocated all 1159 of his Attribute Points to Knight Registration.

Meanwhile, Ramsay’s astonishment had yet to subside.

He was certain the man before him was Ronin, but how could he be Meteor Level?

An eighteen-year-old at Meteor Level?

’What a joke!’

Suddenly, a thought struck him: ’It’s precisely because Ronin possesses such heaven-defying talent that Wushan Castle feared someone would harm him before he could fully develop, so they had him pretend to be useless.’

’Lurans, what a deep scheme. We were all fooled by him!’

He looked at Ronin, his gaze filled with cold killing intent.

Not even Crown Prince Garrett could compare to such talent. If he didn’t seize this opportunity to eliminate Ronin today, in another year or two, he probably wouldn’t even be able to suppress him.

"You die today!"

He roared and charged forward, a slash of his sword sending an arc of Fighting Qi spreading through the air.

SHLICK! CRASH!

Any tables, chairs, or walls touched by the arc were sliced apart, as fragile as if they were made of paper.

Ronin’s expression remained unchanged. As he swung his Flame Stream Sword, violent flames erupted from it.

With a cast of Instant Flame, the temperature in the room shot up, scorching the nearby floorboards.

Their attacks met in mid-air, erupting with a startling wave of Energy.

The fiery blast and the arc of Fighting Qi collided and dissolved one another with a SSSZZZZT.

The aftershock from the explosion further ravaged the predominantly wooden building.

However, this was only the beginning of the fight.

Ronin and Ramsay didn’t pause after that initial clash; their figures weaved and collided amidst the chaos.

As their longswords clashed again, Ramsay felt his arm grow heavy. ’What’s going on? Why does his Power feel stronger?’

"Surprised?"

Ronin chuckled, turning the tables from being faintly suppressed and launching his own offensive.

Sharp Sword Auras formed from Fighting Qi flew out in all directions with every clash.

SHLICK!

With a sharp tearing sound, Ramsay’s Fighting Qi Armor was rent asunder. The gash tore through his clothes and flesh, revealing a long wound from which blood seeped, staining the area red.

SHINK!

In the exchange, his opponent thrust straight, piercing Ronin’s Fighting Qi Armor. Although Ronin dodged in time, the sharp blade still left a cut.

His opponent was a Meteor Knight, through and through. Besides his immense strength, his combat experience was also profound. The Sword Skills Ronin had honed for so long with Ridder and Macken weren’t giving him much of an advantage.

Although Ronin now had the advantage in Power, his opponent could immediately counter by relying on speed and deflecting his force.

’If we keep fighting just with our Knight abilities, this will probably drag on for a while.’

Ronin wasn’t in a hurry, but Ramsay, in his dog-headed mask, was growing anxious.

At first, he’d planned for a single, fatal blow. After discovering Ronin was a Meteor Knight, he aimed for a quick victory. But now, with the building collapsing around them, he still couldn’t gain the upper hand, and his opponent hadn’t revealed any fatal openings.

If this dragged on any longer and he got surrounded by the Fifth Knight Order from Shore City, he would be in grave danger.

’One more move. If I can’t win with this, I’ll retreat!’

Ramsay’s gaze turned exceptionally sharp, and the aura around him suddenly became frigid.

He tapped his toes on the ground and leaped back, creating distance.

’Is he trying to escape?’

Ronin was a little surprised, but he keenly sensed the fluctuations from his opponent’s body intensifying. ’No, he’s about to unleash a big move.’

His mind focused. He hadn’t yet mastered his strongest move, Scorching Beam. For now, his best attack was the Seventh-level Combat Skill Lurans had taught him, Fire Snake Frenzy.

Without hesitation, he immediately executed the Combat Skill.

On the other side, blue Water Fighting Qi and cyan Wind Attribute Fighting Qi swirled around Ramsay, forming a two-toned, blue and green watery tornado.

"Wind and Water Tornado!"

Ramsay roared. His body began to spin wildly, and the Dual Attribute Fighting Qi around him instantly formed a powerful cyclone, lifting him into the air.

The Wind and Water Tornado grew more powerful as it spun, easily tearing apart everything in its path, whether it was the roof, the floor, or the hard rock of the ground below.

From the air, Ramsay directed the Wind and Water Tornado to sweep toward Ronin.

WHOOSH—

The Flame Fighting Qi on the Flame Stream Sword surged like molten lava. With a swing from Ronin, a massive fire serpent, ten to twenty meters long, leaped from the longsword and coiled rapidly around the Wind and Water Tornado.

"Gods, what kind of terrifying battle is this!"

The patrolling Guards had arrived, but they were all stunned by the sight before them.

One or two who were bold enough to try and charge in were forced back by the turbulent winds before they could even get close to the heart of the battle.

Everyone understood this was not a fight they could interfere in.

Ridder and Joffrey also rushed over.

"This is..." Joffrey’s face was a mask of astonishment.

But Ridder knew exactly what was happening. "This is a battle between Meteor Knights! The Lord is in danger!"

He flashed forward and charged in. Although he was a Late-stage Golden Level Knight and couldn’t contend with a Meteor Knight who had mastered the Power of Attack, he was the strongest person present. He was the only one even remotely qualified to help.

Just then, the giant fire serpent bound the Wind and Water Tornado like a rope and tightened its grip, as if trying to strangle its prey.

Inside the tornado, Ramsay clearly felt the constricting power.

He let out a deep roar, and an explosion of power tore the Flame Snake to pieces!

The exploding flames scattered like Fire Meteors in the sky, starting a raging inferno.

The Wind and Water Tornado truly lived up to its name as a Secret Skill; its power was greater than Fire Snake Frenzy.

However, even though it had broken free and shattered Ronin’s attack, its own power was greatly diminished.

Ramsay descended from the sky, carrying the remaining force of his attack, his longsword aimed at Ronin, who had been knocked back by the blast.

"Die!"

The attack descended like a meteor, aimed to kill his opponent in one strike.

But just then, the two Elemental Powers of wind and fire gathered before Ronin.

In front of him, four Magic spells instantly materialized: Small Flame, Fireball Skill, Wind Blade, and Wind Shield.

The first three shot toward his opponent, while the last one shielded Ronin’s body.

This was the instant-cast Magic of a Great Mage. At Ronin’s current strength, he could only instantly cast first and second-level spells, and there was a cooldown for casting the same spell.

A flicker of confusion crossed Ramsay’s eyes. How had four Magic spells suddenly appeared in front of Ronin?

He hadn’t seen him use a Magic Scroll or cast anything.

’What can first and second-level Magic do?’

Ramsay swung his sword down, and his Combat Skill, Tornado Cross Sword, sharply crushed the spells.

But Ronin used that brief opening to steady himself and execute his Instantaneous Burning Combat Skill.

However, being on the defensive put him at a clear disadvantage. The point of impact was closer to him, and the powerful shockwave slammed into Ronin, churning his insides and sending him flying backward to crash heavily onto the ground.

Ramsay was also pushed back by the shockwave but landed steadily on his feet.

"Even though you used Magic to interfere, you still can’t escape death."

He activated Wind Instant Step, turning into an afterimage as he charged toward Ronin.

But at that exact moment, Ridder’s figure appeared in front of Ronin, raising his sword to meet the enemy.

"Get out of the way!"

Ramsay bellowed.

Their longswords collided. Ridder felt his arm go numb, the web of his thumb splitting open as blood sprayed out.

The immense impact sent him flying as well.

The disadvantage of a Late-stage Golden Knight against a Meteor Knight was glaringly obvious.

SWOOSH, SWOOSH, SWOOSH...

Arrows sliced through the air, flying toward Ramsay.

"Protect the Lord!"

"Protect the Leader!"

The arriving members of the Knight Order provided support. Several Knight Squad captains began attacking from a distance, attempting to disrupt the enemy’s movements.

"A bunch of rats!"

Ramsay could ignore the arrows, but he had to deal with the dozens of Combat Skills hurtling toward him.

This once again bought Ronin some time.

He staggered to his feet, feeling dazed and disoriented. He never expected that losing a single Combat Skill exchange would cause him so much trouble.

’I have to master the Scorching Beam Secret Skill as soon as possible!’

He took a deep breath. Seeing the assassin dodge the attacks and continue charging toward him, he quickly cast the Third-level Swift Magic.

Ronin felt his entire body become lighter. The effect was much stronger than the Light Body Skill.

"Kill!"

SHING!

He transformed into an afterimage and rushed toward his opponent.

Ramsay’s brows furrowed. ’Ronin’s speed has increased too? Third-level Swift Magic?’

Clashing again, both of them were more fatigued than before, and the fight fell into a stalemate.

’No, I can’t stay here any longer.’

Ramsay used the force of the impact to turn and flee. Using Wind Instant Step, he blinked out of the battlefield in a few flashes and sped away from Shore Fort.

For him, although the assassination had failed, he had figured out the truth of Ronin’s strength. Tonight’s operation could still be considered a success.

"After him!"

The Knights of the Knight Order shouted.

"Don’t chase him!"

Ronin yelled.

Although Ramsay was also somewhat injured, even Ridder couldn’t withstand a single blow from him. Sending this group after him was no different from sending them to their deaths.

He had already contacted Carlos and told him to get here as fast as possible.

"Joffrey, take some men and clean this up. The rest of you, guard the castle and prevent anyone suspicious from entering or leaving. Ridder, you’re with me!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ronin led Ridder and quickly gave chase in the direction Ramsay had fled.

He had no intention of letting that man escape.