Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Chapter 348: Chapter 335: Abyssal Power

A deep, mocking voice spread on the night wind, carrying a chill like rusted iron.

Anno’s pupils contracted sharply. He stared intently at the tall figure in the darkness, his voice raspy from vigilance and the backlash of his own power.

"Who are you?"

"Me?"

Roland’s reply carried a strange sense of ease, almost as if he had just proven a theory.

His gaze swept over Anno’s surroundings.

The smoke and dust were gradually settling, revealing the corpses strewn about the ground.

Looking at all this, Roland breathed a long sigh of relief inwardly.

The vicious battle with Leonard had given him his first taste of the astounding boost in strength from the Giant Dragon Bloodline. But only now, after having completely integrated it, did he truly understand what this power meant.

Killing these ordinary Transcendents was like cutting grass.

He calmly assessed the results of the battle.

’Even if they were at full strength, as long as they’re Knights—a Profession whose every strength and weakness I’ve already thoroughly analyzed—I’m confident I could have eliminated them all. Of course, if they were from other, more unpredictable Professions, it might have taken a bit more effort...’

As his thoughts raced, he flicked his wrist, shaking the warm drops of blood from his blade. His eyes, however, remained locked on Anno’s every move.

"Just an ordinary student from one of the study-tour groups from the River Domain."

He slowly stated his identity.

"A student? You’re saying... you’re one of those insects from the River Domain?"

A muscle in Anno’s face twitched. The absurdity and disbelief almost shattered his vigilance.

’Those nobodies I casually issued arrest warrants for?’

’Those ants I never gave a second thought, who I assumed were long since cleaned up.’

’One of them...’

’...is now standing before me, exuding a heart-pounding pressure, with the bodies of my elite guards at his feet?’

’Why would a powerhouse of this level need to hide his identity and blend in with a weak study-tour group?’

’This is a joke in the worst possible taste!’

The immense absurdity and the rage of being fooled caused his focus to snap.

In that instant, a cold glint flashed in Roland’s eyes.

Without warning, his tall figure tore across the short distance separating them.

The longsword in his hand, freshly sated with blood, ripped through the night wind with a sharp whistle, thrusting straight for Anno’s heart.

Utterly exhausted, Anno’s pupils shrank. His battle-honed instincts made him retreat diagonally backward while desperately mustering his remaining power to parry.

CLANG!

The piercing screech of metal on metal erupted, sending sparks flying.

The moment their swords clashed, a monumental force crashed down his blade.

Anno’s entire arm went numb. The web between his thumb and forefinger split open, and blood instantly stained the hilt of his longsword.

He staggered back several steps, each one carving a deep pit into the hard ground. His insides churned violently.

’A complete overpowering by pure strength?’

Anno was horrified.

That strike had no finesse; it was all absolute superiority in speed and Power. This wasn’t the kind of strength a young student should possess.

But Roland’s assault didn’t pause for a moment.

His thrust parried, he pressed closer. With a flick of his wrist, his blade drew a sharp arc, slashing upward toward Anno’s ribs.

Speed, angle, Power—everything about it was precise and ruthless.

In just a few breaths, the two had clashed several times.

"So... relentless!"

Anno gritted his teeth, his knuckles white as he gripped his longsword.

His opponent’s control over his Power was simply exquisite.

The seemingly ordinary longsword was sometimes wreathed in sharp Sword Qi that could tear through anything, and at other times, it felt as heavy as a mountain crashing down. Occasionally, it would even erupt with high-frequency vibrations that disrupted his rhythm.

Contrary to Anno’s shock and suspicion, Roland’s mind was clear, but his actions were far faster than his thoughts.

The complete fusion of the Giant Dragon Bloodline didn’t just bring a leap in his Attributes; it was a total sublimation of his control over his own Power.

He could clearly perceive the exertion of every inch of his muscles. Numerous Combat Skills came to him effortlessly, switching between them as if they were extensions of his own limbs.

Traits and buffs that he previously had to consciously activate could now be used fluidly with a single thought.

Anno was forced to respond with all he had. The glow of his pure Fighting Spirit protected his body, and his Sword Techniques were steady and seasoned. He relied on his vast experience and meticulously honed Combat Skills to neutralize Roland’s ferocious attacks within inches of his body.

Their blades clashed at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye, the reports echoing without end. The impacts from the collision of pure Power and exquisite skill constantly shook the surroundings, cracking the ground and sending shattered stones flying.

After a violent collision, the two suddenly separated.

Anno gasped for breath. The deep wound on his chest had split open again, soaking his robes with blood.

He stared fixedly at Roland, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

’This guy... What kind of monster is he?’

’When did the River Domain produce someone who could reach this level relying solely on physical strength and combat instinct?’

Roland was also rapidly assessing the situation in his mind.

’As expected of a Duke with real power. He’s this hard to deal with just based on his peerless Knight Combat Skills and pure Fighting Spirit.’

’If he weren’t exhausted and injured, with his movements and Power circulation so sluggish, suppressing him wouldn’t be this easy.’

Roland clearly determined that, based on the level of Fighting Spirit Cultivation and Combat Skills Anno was currently displaying, his strength at his peak would be at least comparable to, or even slightly greater than, Graham’s before he activated his Bloodline Secret Technique.

Realizing this, Roland’s gaze grew sharper.

’I absolutely cannot give Anno a chance to catch his breath.’

He let out a low shout and charged forward again, his Sword Momentum like a hurricane that completely enveloped Anno.

The Giant Dragon Power surged. Every slash carried the weight of a mountain, forcing Anno to constantly block and dodge, putting him in one perilous situation after another.

The battle was clearly tilting in Roland’s favor, but Anno was like a reef being battered by a stormy sea.

Though he seemed on the verge of collapse, he always managed to stabilize his footing at the most critical moments with the simplest, most effective Combat Skills.

He even managed to occasionally launch a precise counterattack based on his astonishing experience, striking at the minor flaws in Roland’s assault and forcing him back on the defensive.

Clearly, this was a fierce battle where one side held the upper hand through absolute physical advantage and newfound power, while the other desperately held on through deep fundamentals and vast experience.

If Anno had been at his peak and full of stamina, the outcome would have been uncertain.

But now, the scales were irreversibly tipping in Roland’s favor.

Realizing that if this continued, he would inevitably be worn down and killed here by this bizarrely powerful young man, a look of extreme struggle and ruthlessness flashed in Anno’s eyes.

’I have to use *that*...’

’Even if the price is eternal damnation, it’s better than dying at the hands of these insects.’

Just as the thought formed and he was about to unleash the terrifying, untamed power within him...

"Duke Anno, your army has scattered, and your escape route is cut off! Lay down your weapon and accept judgment!"

A cold, majestic female voice rang out from behind.

Gloria appeared, flanked by Sven and Fide.

The firelight illuminated her young yet resolute face. Soldiers surged forward like a tide, completely sealing the valley’s exit.

Anno’s movements faltered slightly. He turned his head and saw the heavily protected Gloria. Instead of despair, his face twisted into a sneer of extreme contempt.

"Surrender? Judgment? You think *you’re* worthy?"

His voice was hoarse, yet filled with vicious sarcasm.

"Gloria, you still reek of your mother’s milk. What right do you have to stand there and lecture me?"

His words were harsh and insulting, meant both to infuriate his opponent and to buy himself that final moment of time.

Gloria’s face was like ice, unmoved by his words, but the surrounding soldiers were already showing their anger.

Roland, however, paid no mind to their conversation. After catching his breath for a moment, he launched his attack once more.

And in that brief opening, Anno no longer hesitated.

"URGH!"

An inhuman, agonized roar erupted from the depths of his throat.

With almost no warning, a dense, tangible pitch-black Energy erupted from his body, moving faster than anyone could react.

That Darkness was not a simple mist, but a viscous, writhing Shadow, like a living thing, that rapidly coiled around Anno’s body.

Strange, crimson patterns like cracks in magma appeared on the surface of his skin. His eyes turned a pure, bottomless black with no whites, radiating an all-consuming malevolence.

His fingernails grew long, sharp, and black. A suffocating, ominous pressure emanated from him.

Though he still vaguely maintained a human form, the Anno of this moment was more like a Demon that had crawled out of the Abyss.

"Die!"

Driven completely by Abyssal Power, Anno let out a roar as his speed and Power suddenly surged to a terrifying level.

He no longer used exquisite Sword Skills. Instead, he simply wreathed his longsword in overwhelming Dark Energy, transforming it into a black thunderbolt that tore through space as it smashed down toward Roland.

Everywhere it passed, the ground was corroded and scorched, and the air hissed as it was eaten away.

Just as the ominous, corrosive Dark Energy was about to swallow Roland, he was already prepared.

The faint glow on the Mithril Longsword in his hand suddenly blazed, like a cold star ignited in the dead of night.

Holy Energy surged from the blade, meeting the oncoming abyssal tide head-on.

Supreme Slash!

However, what happened next was completely beyond his expectations.

The searing, brilliant light of the Supreme Slash collided violently with the viscous, writhing Darkness, but it did not produce the scene of Annihilation he had anticipated.

The two diametrically opposed energies did not instantly cancel each other out. Instead, they bizarrely became entangled, emitting a cringe-inducing sizzling sound, as if matter was being slowly torn apart and corroded.

Even more unnerving was that the sacred radiance not only failed to dispel the Darkness, but seemed to have sunk into an invisible mire. Its light visibly dimmed and grew sluggish.

The Abyssal Energy, like a living creature, coiled around, permeated, and even...

...began to slowly erode the Positive Energy that should have been its natural enemy.

’The Holy Light... was actually in retreat?’