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Chapter 47: Level 45 Black Knight

The enormous underground chamber fell into complete silence. The corpse of the stone giant still lay split cleanly into two halves, its massive body already beginning to dissolve into countless emerald particles as the dungeon reclaimed it, while the jade serpent’s severed remains lay nearby, dark blood flowing across fractured stone before gradually evaporating into spiritual mist.

Only four Bosses remained — the masked mage, the six-eyed wolf, the wounded Emerald Scorpion King, and the black knight. Level 45. The undisputed ruler of the Emerald Cavern.

Dan Moriarty stood with Night Sovereign lowered at his side. He did not immediately attack, and neither did the knight. The two swordsmen simply observed one another. When two masters finally met, conversation became unnecessary — the grip upon a sword, the position of one’s feet, the rhythm of one’s breathing, and the steadiness of one’s gaze already revealed more than lengthy speeches ever could.

Dan slowly exhaled.

"So..."

"You’re a swordsman."

The knight offered no response, yet its posture subtly changed. Its massive greatsword, previously resting upon one shoulder, slowly descended until its tip lightly touched the ground.

CLINK...

Such a tiny sound, yet the atmosphere throughout the chamber immediately became heavier. The remaining three Bosses quietly withdrew several dozen meters — even monsters understood. This battle belonged to someone else.

The livestream exploded.

[@DrunkenSwordImmortal: Finally... this is what this immortal has been waiting for! Brat, forget everything else. Focus only on the sword in front of you.]

[@GoldenFeatherPrincess: Look at the remaining Bosses... they’ve actually retreated. That knight possesses authority even monsters acknowledge.]

[@StoneGiantKing: Do not underestimate him simply because he has remained still until now. Warriors who wait are often far more dangerous than those who rush.]

[@ShadowWarden: His darkness feels... different. Be careful.]

Dan quietly stored every warning. He had already reached the same conclusion. The knight radiated no overwhelming killing intent, no arrogance, no fury — only absolute composure. That alone made him infinitely more dangerous than the monsters Dan had already defeated.

The knight finally moved. One step — THUD — then a second — THUD — each footfall echoing like a great bell ringing throughout the cavern. Dan remained motionless as the distance gradually shrank. Fifty meters, forty, thirty, twenty. Still neither attacked. Dan’s heartbeat remained steady as the Dao of Darkness quietly flowed through his mind. Observe, understand, act — never reverse the order.

The knight stopped ten meters away. Then, without warning, it vanished. Dan’s eyes widened.

"So fast—"

Instinct screamed. Night Sovereign immediately rose.

CLANG!!

A deafening explosion erupted throughout the cavern as shockwaves surged in every direction and the emerald floor shattered beneath Dan’s feet. His entire body slid backward nearly twenty meters before finally stabilizing, his arms tingling.

"...Heavy."

Very heavy. The knight hadn’t used any flashy technique — only a single downward slash — yet the force behind that slash exceeded anything Dan had encountered before. The knight calmly resumed walking as though nothing had happened. Dan flexed his fingers around Night Sovereign.

"My strength..."

"...can’t meet his directly."

That much had become obvious. A battle wasn’t won by insisting upon one’s strengths — it was won by exploiting the opponent’s weaknesses while avoiding one’s own.

The knight attacked again, this time horizontally. Dan immediately ducked, and the gigantic blade swept over his head as a distant crystal pillar simply disappeared — not broken, not shattered, but gone. The sword had sliced completely through it. Dan narrowed his eyes.

"Incredible cutting power."

He counterattacked immediately, Night Sovereign flashing upward, yet the knight twisted its wrist and intercepted effortlessly with a CLANG! before Dan’s sword rebounded. Before he could recover, the knight’s armored elbow drove toward his chest.

BOOM!

Dan crossed his forearm just in time, and the impact launched him across the chamber, his boots carving two long trenches into solid stone before he finally stopped. He looked down — his sleeve had torn apart, and beneath it his forearm had already begun bruising.

"...He combines swordsmanship with close combat."

That was unusual. Most greatswordsmen relied almost exclusively upon overwhelming swings, yet this knight used every part of its body — shoulder, elbows, armored frame. Everything was a weapon. Dan smiled.

"...Interesting."

The knight charged again. Dan disappeared — not backward, but sideways — as his first self-created technique naturally unfolded. His presence became strangely elusive, and the knight’s crimson gaze followed, then hesitated. For a brief instant it lost track of him. Dan appeared behind it, Night Sovereign descending.

SHHK!

The blade scraped across black armor as sparks exploded and a shallow mark appeared — nothing more. Dan immediately retreated.

"...Even tougher than the scorpion."

The armor itself rivaled defensive treasures. The knight slowly looked toward the scratch, then back at Dan — no anger, no surprise, only acknowledgment. As though silently admitting: you are worthy. Dan’s smile widened.

"So you can think."

Battles against intelligent opponents always taught more than battles against beasts. The knight attacked once more, yet Dan no longer relied solely upon dodging. Instead he began weaving — one step left, half-step forward, a pivot, every movement concealing another. The Dao of Darkness wasn’t merely making him difficult to perceive. It was changing how he perceived battle itself. The knight’s swings became lines, its movements became patterns, and its breathing became rhythm.

Slowly, Dan entered that peculiar state once again. Everything appeared calmer, and time itself seemed to slow. There — the knight always shifted slightly onto its front foot before committing to a heavy strike. There — its left shoulder lowered almost imperceptibly before horizontal attacks. And — its armor around the neck was marginally thinner than elsewhere. Tiny observations, yet battles were often decided by tiny observations.

The knight suddenly accelerated, far faster than before, its greatsword unleashing a relentless storm.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Dan blocked one strike, dodged another, and parried a third as the chamber echoed continuously and sparks illuminated the darkness. Stone exploded beneath every collision. Then Dan gradually realized something — this wasn’t random. The knight wasn’t simply attacking. It was testing him, exactly as the Guild Master had tested Rowan, each strike forcing Dan toward a different response as every exchange became another lesson.

"So..."

"You’ve walked far upon the sword."

The realization brought excitement rather than fear. Dan’s own attacks gradually changed — he abandoned unnecessary strength, abandoned flashy movements, and instead everything became simpler, cleaner. One slash, one parry, one step. The knight’s crimson eyes flickered faintly, and for the first time its sword accelerated again. Dan laughed softly.

"So you approve?"

He welcomed the challenge. Darkness gathered around Night Sovereign — not explosively, but quietly and patiently — as his second self-created technique emerged once more. The thin black edge detached from the blade and crossed the battlefield instantly. The knight reacted, its greatsword moving with astonishing precision.

CLANG!!

The black edge collided against the massive blade and shattered into countless wisps of darkness. Dan wasn’t disappointed.

"...As expected."

The knight possessed enough understanding to defend against it, which only meant he needed to become more creative. Darkness didn’t insist upon repeating failure — darkness adapted. Dan stopped launching the technique directly and instead released several smaller strands approaching from different angles — above, below, left, right. The knight calmly intercepted every single one, yet that wasn’t Dan’s true objective. His true attack had already begun.

While the knight focused upon those black strands, Dan himself disappeared into the surrounding darkness — not invisible, not intangible, simply unexpected. The knight blocked another dark edge. Then its instincts suddenly erupted. Too late. Dan emerged beneath the knight’s sword arm, Night Sovereign thrusting upward.

SHHK!

For the first time, black armor cracked. A thin crimson line appeared beneath the shattered plate. The knight immediately leaped backward, and Dan didn’t pursue — instead he quietly observed.

"So..."

"It can bleed."

The knight slowly looked toward the damaged armor, its gauntleted fingers brushing the wound. Then something unexpected happened. The crimson flames inside its helmet burned brighter, and its enormous sword slowly rose as a strange pressure spread throughout the cavern. The masked mage unconsciously retreated another hundred meters, the six-eyed wolf lowered itself completely against the ground, and even the wounded scorpion trembled violently. Dan’s smile disappeared.

"...You’re serious now."

The knight assumed a completely different stance — one hand, not two. Its massive greatsword was now held with only its right hand while its left arm relaxed naturally at its side. Despite abandoning one hand, its pressure multiplied. Dan instinctively tightened his grip around Night Sovereign as the two swordsmen looked into one another’s eyes, neither blinking, neither moving.

Then both stepped forward simultaneously, their swords crossing through the darkness.

CLANG!