It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could understand the principles behind it and make good use of them?

As an "otherworldly being," Roy did not resist or reject "magical weapons" like the traditional knights of the Radiant Empire. He was a pragmatist and would use whatever was useful.

Of course, these are all for later.

Now all he needs to do is make a move and take down the gray-robed man who is trying to escape.

"call……"

As Roy exhaled softly, crimson-gold flames suddenly ignited in his eyes. This was a phenomenon that would spontaneously appear when he fully activated the [Explosive Flame] and [Extreme Bloom] special effects of his Flame Breathing Technique.

The surging battle qi circulated and compressed in his abdomen in a specific way before bursting out.

"Burning Heart" Secret Technique, activated!

"Boom-"

Like a thunderclap rising from the ground, the earth cracked open, and a spiderweb-like fissure with a radius of several meters appeared centered on Roy's landing point.

After absorbing the "Blood Soul Essence", Roy's physique officially entered the Gold realm. Subsequently, his comprehension of the [Extreme Bloom] trait further elevated his physique. Coupled with more than a day of arduous training, his physique made further progress. According to his own estimation, under normal circumstances, even if his physique has not yet reached the level of Gold Two Star, it is not far off.

Based on this, what level of physical strength will he achieve by using the "Burning Heart" secret technique?

Roy himself didn't know, but the grey-robed man must have understood it deeply.

Almost instantly, Roy overtook the gray-robed man who was fleeing in panic into the distance.

In Roy's vision at this moment, the gray-robed man appeared to be moving in a slow-motion manner, taking steps, panting... every movement was like a slow-motion movie, passing by frame by frame.

He could clearly see the gray-robed man's pupils widening little by little, and he could also see the hand holding the "magic sniper rifle" that he wanted to raise and fire at him. Unfortunately, his physique was only at the Silver Two-Star level, no, it was slightly inferior to the Silver Two-Star level of the Radiant Empire. Compared to Roy, whose physique strength had now surpassed the Gold Two-Star level and was moving towards the Gold Three-Star level, there was already a gap of more than one major realm.

A difference of more than one level means an all-round, flawless, and unquestionable crushing victory!

Roy stretched out his hand, made a knife shape with his fingers, and gently chopped at the gray-robed man's neck.

Fearing he might accidentally kill the gray-robed man, he used less than 30% of his strength in this attack.

"Boom!"

The slow-motion world as Roy sees it is a completely different story in the eyes of the gray-robed man.

In his vision, a dark shadow flashed, and Roy appeared beside him. Then, a sharp pain accompanied the darkness as a large number of nerve centers in his neck were severely impacted, causing him to instantly faint.

Not only that, the immense force carried by Roy's hand chop caused the gray-robed man's feet to sink deep into the ground, his skin torn open, and blood spurting out.

"Was it a bit too forceful?"

Roy said something with some distress.

Lacking experience in fighting against those weaker than him, he didn't quite grasp the proper measure. Fortunately, he only exerted "a little" more effort. Although the gray-robed man looked miserable, he wasn't dead yet. With the Silver Knight's vitality, this injury shouldn't be a big problem.

Roy bent down and lifted the unconscious gray-robed man, then looked at the slender gray-robed figure confronting Ais on a distant tree branch.

To call it a standoff wouldn't be accurate; to be precise, it was the trembling of the slender figure in the gray robe on one side.

Roy stared at the slender figure in the gray robe, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

He sensed a strong stench of pollution emanating from her.

And this polluted aura was exactly the same as the wisp of polluted aura that clung to the letter that Red sent back.

Previously, after Ais entered the Red Ridge area, she followed the fluctuations of this polluted aura to find her way here.

The witch of the Kolei Empire?

To be honest, Roy was very curious.

The majority of witches within the Radiant Empire are controlled by the temple, while the rest are either hunted down by the Divine Punishment Knights within the territory or have fled overseas. So what is the situation in the Kolei Empire?

The witch from the Kolei Empire, who wore a hooded gray robe to conceal her face, had a magical energy fluctuation similar to that of Lilia in the past, around 60, which was not considered particularly strong even among witches.

Of course, such strength is already comparable to a Silver Three-Star, and is a step above the gray-robed man who fainted in Roy's hands.

Such strength was enough to easily suppress even Roy himself, let alone Ais, who possessed Grand Rank power.

Roy could sense that the witch from the Cole Empire was instinctively terrified in the face of the Grand Witch's pressure, but even so, she did not give up the idea of ​​resisting. If it weren't for Ais's "Grand Domain" suppressing her and making her unable to move at all, she would have launched a counterattack long ago.

"interesting."

A glint of malice flashed in Roy's eyes.

This witch from the Kolei Empire didn't seem like a flesh-and-blood human being to him; instead, she had a cold, mechanical feel to her.

"Ais, freeze her. We'll take her back and interrogate her slowly."

Upon hearing Roy's words, Ais nodded slightly. The next moment, a thin layer of frost appeared on the surface of the witch's body, and in a very short time, it expanded into a huge block of ice, completely freezing her inside.

The witch of the Colei Empire tried to struggle, but alas, before absolute power, any struggle was futile. Even before Ais had ascended to the Grand rank, she could easily suppress Lilia, whose strength was roughly equal to that of the Colei Empire's witch; let alone now.

After defeating the enemy, Roy turned to look at the Blackrock Knights who had survived the ordeal.

Upon seeing Roy appear as if descended from heaven and swiftly resolve the powerful enemy who had been wantonly slaughtering them, the knights' eyes revealed respect and gratitude, and they knelt on one knee: "Lord!"

“Hmm.” Roy nodded and ordered in a deep voice, “Gather the wounded together and I will treat them. Collect the remains of the fallen and give them double compensation. After a short rest, continue escorting the grain back to Blackrock Territory.”

"You will temporarily take charge of the grain purchasing team."

Roy pointed to a familiar-looking knight. He remembered that this knight was named "Tom" and was the strongest among the knights present. In the three-battle agreement with Lord Denham of Iron Mountain, this knight was the one who fought in the first match.

Upon hearing Roy's command, Tom, who was clutching his bleeding shoulder, loudly responded.

"Yes!"

Roy walked over to him, reached out and pressed his hand on his shoulder. As a faint white light appeared, the wound on Tom's shoulder quickly stopped bleeding.

"Go and carry out the order."

Feeling his arm regain feeling, Tom's face lit up with joy, and he quickly agreed.

Soon, all the wounded gathered in front of Roy.

In this battle, ten of the twenty official knights were killed, and the remaining ten were all wounded, differing only in the severity of their injuries.

The apprentice knights who did not directly participate in the battle fared better, but a small number of them were temporarily deafened by the aftershocks of the battle.

The casualties were devastating.

This made Roy's gaze toward the gray-robed man he had thrown to the ground grow even colder.

If it weren't for the fact that this guy still had intelligence value from interrogation, he would have wanted to torture him to death on the spot.

Before long, after Roy's initial treatment, the wounded soldier's condition was basically stabilized.

The knights were amazed by Roy's "healing method," but they weren't surprised.

Some "magical items" possess healing abilities, so it's not surprising that Roy, as a lord, possesses such items.

As for what kind of prop it is?

Please, they are just ordinary knights, how could they possibly know so much?

"You are all excellent, worthy of the honor of knights."

"When we return to Blackrock Territory, I will bestow upon you rewards and honors commensurate with your glory!"

Roy spared no praise for these surviving official knights.

If these knights hadn't risked their lives to buy time, Reid probably wouldn't have lasted until his reinforcements arrived, and would have died at the hands of the grey-robed man.

It just so happens that he is preparing to form a team of extraordinary knights, and these ten official knights are excellent candidates.

After conducting a thorough investigation and confirming that there are no issues with their actions, we can proceed with the plan.

Upon hearing Roy's words, the ten knights vaguely guessed what was going on, and a hint of excitement appeared in their eyes.

"I swear to serve my lord!"

"Hmm." Roy nodded in satisfaction and looked at Ais: "Red's condition is very serious. I can only stabilize his condition for now. To truly cure him, Shanica will have to step in."

"You take Red and these two back first, I'll guard the grain purchasing team."

"I will be right back." Ais did not refute, reached out and lifted the unconscious Reid, her figure turning into fragments of azure light and disappearing from the spot.

At her speed, it wouldn't take her long to go back and forth.

This is the best decision to make right now.

The knights stared in awe at the spot where Ais had disappeared.

Lacking sufficient status, they only knew that some territories had serving witches appointed by the temple to assist the local lords, and each of these witches possessed terrifying and divine powers that knights could not even imagine.

As for the question of which witch serves in Blackrock Territory, the knights naturally couldn't possibly know.

After a short rest and preparation, the grain purchasing team set off again.

Roy sat on a warhorse and glanced back in the direction of Red Ridge.

Lord Thunberg, the lord of Red Ridge, was highly suspicious, and he suspected that he knew about the two spies from the Corleone Empire.

If it weren't for the urgent matter of transporting grain, he would have insisted on going to Chiling to have a "good chat" with Lord Thunberg.

"Gulu gulu..."

The cart wheels started turning again, slowly moving towards Blackstone Territory.

……

Two days later, the grain purchasing team arrived safely at Blackstone Territory.

Red, who had been waiting for a long time, rode up on his warhorse. Looking at Roy, he said with a guilty expression, "I'm sorry, Lord Roy, I've disappointed you."

"For such a simple matter as purchasing grain, you have to trouble yourself to handle it personally, I..."

Roy shook his head and raised his hand to stop Red from continuing: "No one could have predicted such an unexpected situation. Your safety is the best outcome."

"Uncle Red, I'm going back to the lord's manor now. I'll leave the grain storage and distribution to you from now on."

"Take care." Red nodded emphatically.

"You should all go and rest. As for the rewards we mentioned earlier, we'll honor them tomorrow when you're all recovered." Roy said this to the ten official knights behind him.

Upon hearing this, the knights, who looked exhausted from traveling for a long time due to their injuries, perked up. The knights who came to meet them looked on with envy, but not with jealousy.

They had witnessed the casualties of the grain purchasing team. If they were to carry out the mission, it was uncertain whether they would survive. This was a reward earned with their lives!

After finishing his chores, Roy, led by Ais, arrived at the lowest level of Blackrock Prison.

The grey-robed man and the witch of the Kolei Empire, whom he captured alive, were both frozen here by Ais.