Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Chapter 349: Chapter 336: Aberration

The moment the Holy Light and Darkness became entangled and the light was gradually eroded by that bizarre Abyssal Power, alarm bells screamed in Roland’s mind.

Without hesitation, he shot backward, simultaneously shouting a sharp warning in Gloria’s direction.

"Get back! Don’t come any closer!"

But his warning came a moment too late.

Anno, now completely driven by the Abyssal Power, displayed a terrifying speed and Agility that defied all logic.

He had just clashed with and forced Roland back, yet his body was somehow able to twist violently in mid-air with nothing to push off of. Defying the laws of physics, he abruptly changed direction, transforming into a Residual Shadow wreathed in ominous black smoke and lunging straight for Gloria.

He moved so fast that he left only an afterimage on the retina.

"Protect Her Highness!"

Sven let out a beast-like roar and, at nearly the same instant as Fide, took a step forward, unhesitatingly shielding Gloria with his body.

The Blood Qi in their bodies erupted. It wasn’t the Fighting Spirit that came from cultivation, but a boiling Blood Qi originating from the very source of life, filled with wild power. It coiled around their burly frames like crimson flames.

Sven’s Giant Axe whirled wildly with a shriek that tore through the air, while Fide’s Heavy Sword erupted with a profound pressure. One on the left and one on the right, they were like two indestructible, blood-red ramparts, fearlessly meeting the inhuman monster head-on.

However, now that he was using the Abyssal Power, Anno’s power level completely crushed them.

"BAM!"

"CLANG!"

Two muffled bangs rang out in quick succession.

Anno didn’t even use any refined Sword Skills. He simply swung his arms, wreathed in Abyssal Energy, from side to side at a speed that was impossible to follow with the naked eye.

The pitch-black Power and the boiling Blood Qi collided violently, producing a corrosive sizzling sound.

Sven’s Giant Axe was knocked from his grasp by an unimaginable force, and his entire arm twisted at an unnatural angle.

Fide’s Heavy Sword was shattered on impact. He spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered backward.

In just a single exchange, the two powerful Barbarians were instantly defeated.

What was even more terrifying was that the searing Blood Qi escaping from their wounds seemed to be drawn by an unseen force, transforming into wisps of red silk that were greedily absorbed and devoured by the Darkness surrounding Anno.

"Ugh... AAAAAHHH!"

Anno threw his head back and let out a roar that no human could possibly make, a sound mixed with pain, fury, and a kind of horrifying satisfaction.

He leaped into the air, looking down imperiously at Roland, the injured Sven and Fide, and Gloria, who was being tightly protected behind them.

A bone-chilling contempt, as if looking at inanimate objects, flashed through his pure, dark eyes.

Immediately after, a skin-crawling, wet, tearing sound came from his back.

It was as if something was desperately struggling to break free from the shackles of his flesh.

Before everyone’s horrified gazes, a pair of deformed, fleshy wings—covered in a viscous membrane and interwoven with dark red flesh and jagged, pale bone—violently tore through the clothes and skin on his back.

Dripping with dark blood, they slowly yet inexorably unfurled.

In that moment, Anno’s skin was completely covered in dark red, magma-like cracks. His eyes were like two bottomless black holes, and what extended from his fingertips were no longer nails, but sharp, black talons.

He floated in the air, his twisted wings beating gently, showering down a nauseating, foul wind.

Although he barely maintained a humanoid silhouette, he now more closely resembled a terrifying creation that had crawled up from the lowest depths of the Endless Abyss, a fusion of human and Demon.

Roland gazed at the floating Anno, keenly noticing that in addition to the boiling Blood Qi plundered from Sven and Fide,

the silvery-white Fighting Spirit of a Knight that originally surrounded him, forged through a Breathing Technique, was now also being slowly but surely eroded and assimilated by that viscous Darkness, as if being converted into a part of the Abyssal Power.

And in the very instant he was observing this bizarre phenomenon,

the Anno in the air moved.

He ignored Gloria to the side, who had already activated her Holy Mark Power and stood ready, shimmering with a pure glow, as if she were utterly insignificant.

His target, from the very beginning, seemed to be locked on Roland, the one person who could face him head-on.

"HISS!"

With a piercing sound that tore through the air, Anno dove from above like a hawk from the Abyss that had locked onto its prey, bringing with him a suffocating pressure.

His twisted, fleshy wings ripped through the air, letting out a sharp screech like tearing fabric.

"CLANG!"

The Claw Sword clashed violently once more, erupting in a roar far wilder and more piercing than before.

Roland’s arm dipped, and the ground beneath his feet fractured and spiderwebbed.

He could clearly feel that Anno’s Power was now on par with his own, fully fused with the Giant Dragon Bloodline, and was perhaps even more ferocious.

Even more troublesome, the exhaustion Anno had shown from the difficult battle and his injuries was completely gone. His stamina seemed to have returned to its peak, or perhaps even surpassed it.

In the space of just a few breaths, the two had already exchanged more than ten blows in a rapid-fire flurry.

Phantoms of his sword and sharp claws wreathed in Darkness clashed violently, sending shockwaves of Energy outward. Every collision sent a tremor through Roland’s very core.

Anno’s attack patterns had changed completely. He no longer used the masterfully refined techniques from before. Instead, he employed a brutish and direct, yet incredibly effective, fighting style made possible by his absolute speed and Power.

This was intermixed with the all-pervasive, erosive nature of the Abyssal Energy.

For a moment, Roland was completely suppressed, sliding back step by step, clearly at a disadvantage.

However, despite this unfavorable situation, there wasn’t the slightest hint of panic in Roland’s eyes.

He blocked and dodged, calmly observing his opponent’s every detail, his mind racing.

’The explosive increase in his Power and Agility was within my predictions... but this Abyssal Power can actually strengthen itself by eroding and absorbing other forms of Energy? It converted Sven’s and Fide’s Blood Qi, and even his own Fighting Spirit...’

What put Roland on higher alert was that Anno had clearly not lost his mind, but his temperament seemed to have undergone a drastic change.

The cold calculation of an Upper Duke had been replaced by a nearly frenzied, arrogant pride that looked down on everyone.

Just as a heavy chop from Anno caused Roland to falter for a split second, revealing a minuscule opening,

Anno could have pressed his advantage with a fierce assault.

But he didn’t.

The figure, covered in dark red cracks and radiating an ominous aura, abruptly stopped his pursuit.

He hovered a short distance away, his twisted, fleshy wings beating slowly. His pure black eyes swirled with the unconcealed, mocking contempt of a cat toying with a mouse.

It was as if he were admiring Roland’s somewhat battered state and savoring this feeling of absolute dominance.

He even waited, waited for Roland to readjust his footing and assume a defensive stance.

Only then did he let out a low laugh—a mixture of inhuman rasping and mockery—before once again transforming into a black thunderbolt and lunging forward.

This sudden and completely unnecessary "mercy" confirmed Roland’s suspicions.

’The Power of the Abyss is infinitely amplifying some of the most extreme aspects of his inner nature.’

Flashes of sword light and Shadow clashed madly, every collision making the air hum.

The blood in his body was already boiling, and the Secret Silver Longsword in his hand was radiating an unprecedented, scorching brilliance that nearly dispelled the surrounding Darkness.

But even so, Roland’s heart remained as still as a deep pool, utterly calm.

’Anno is drunk on the gifts of the Abyss, but I too have a hidden edge.’

While steadily blocking the fierce strikes imbued with Erosion Power, Roland calmly analyzed the battle and his own condition.

’All the various Traits and buffs I’ve awakened that are applicable in combat, I’ve already used them all.’

’All that’s left is the Forbidden Power rooted in the deepest part of my bloodline... the Bloodline Secret Technique.’

’And... the Dragon’s Breath I awakened after becoming a Dragon Descendant.’

’If I activate the Bloodline Secret Technique and supplement it with Dragon’s Breath, I have absolute confidence I can tear this twisted monster apart.’

’However, since the day I obtained them, I have never used either of these two powers in a real battle.’

’What kind of unexpected side effects might they have?’

’No one knows.’

’What’s more, using them would mean exposing all my secrets for everyone to see.’

’But now is clearly not the time to worry about such things.’

’My mind is made up.’

Roland suddenly exerted his strength, using his sword to parry Anno’s smoke-wreathed claws and using the momentum to retreat half a step.

As the thought took form, a steady stream of Positive Energy flowed back from the blade of his Secret Silver Longsword and into his body. After some profound transformation, it was reapplied to the Longsword, gathering into a light even more brilliant and dangerous than before.

He prepared to use Supreme Slash once again.

Not to defeat the enemy, but simply to buy that single instant of time needed to activate his final Power without interruption.

However, in the very instant before he could unleash this Power...

a voice, without any warning, sounded beside his ear.

It was as gentle as the first ray of dawn piercing through thick clouds, yet so resonant it seemed to directly soothe the soul. And mixed within it was even a hint of...

a faint, playful mockery, as if it had witnessed the endless changes of time.