It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Chapter 85 Healing the Witch Shanika's "Abnormality" (Please subscribe!)

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The rising smoke and dust, blown by the night wind, quickly dissipated to a level that did not affect visibility, and the situation inside was clearly presented on the black and white projection in front of Roy's eyes.

In the center of the spiderweb-like depression, the blood-soaked fortress Robert, whose crimson armor was covered with fine cracks, lay supine.

His eyes were dull and lifeless, and the flames of his battle aura had dwindled to a mere wisp, just as his condition had plummeted to its lowest point.

Robert the Blood Fortress struggled to get up, but with extensive tears in his muscles, broken bones in his torso, and damaged organs, even breathing was excruciatingly painful, let alone getting up.

After struggling for a few moments, he not only failed to prop himself up, but also exhausted his last bit of energy.

The faint flames on his body went out, his mind became hazy, and his vision began to darken. Blood Fortress Robert roared with resentment, but reality is not a game. If you can't do it, you can't do it. No matter how unwilling he was, he couldn't control his consciousness as it gradually fell into darkness.

At the edge of the giant crater, the golden-armored knight looked at the unconscious and dazed Blood Fortress Robert, slightly pulled up his helmet visor, clutched his abdomen, and vomited several mouthfuls of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

"As expected of the Crimson Knights..."

The golden-armored knight's voice carried a hint of admiration.

The Crimson Knights are an elite knightly order that has been stationed on the borders of the empire for many years. They are extremely powerful in combat. Robert the Blood Fortress, as the vice-commander of the Crimson Knights, is one of the best among them. Even though the Golden Armor Knight had a huge advantage in level, it still took a heavy price to take him down.

A Gold 3-star fighter defeated a Gold 2-star fighter, only winning after activating his Extraordinary True Form and sustaining severe injuries.

No one would believe it if the news got out.

But it is what it is.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the golden-armored knight stepped down into the giant pit and came to the side of Blood Fortress Robert. He raised his knight's sword, the sharp tip of which was aimed at Robert's brow.

Even someone with the vitality of a golden knight will surely die if their brain is damaged.

"I'm sorry, I gave you a chance..."

The golden-armored knight's voice was tinged with regret. To be honest, if he could, he would not want to lay a hand on a knight like Robert, who guarded the border from the Blood Fortress.

Border knights guard the safety of the empire, and everyone who enjoys the empire's peaceful life must be grateful to them.

But many things are not a matter of right or wrong, but rather a matter of perspective.

They had to go to the bottom of Star Lake; it was something they, as knights of the Second Prince's faction, had to do. But with a Golden Knight like Blood Fortress Robert, determined to stop them from entering, it was inconvenient for them to do anything, and it might even cause their plan to fail. Therefore, Blood Fortress Robert had to die!

"Feel sorry."

The last two words were uttered from the mouth beneath the helmet, and a high-speed spiral of water appeared on the knight's sword in the golden armor, before it was thrust down fiercely.

"Qiang!"

The unique tactile sensation of metal piercing through bone, combined with the immense force of the sweep from one side, caused the knight's sword, which was only centimeters away from piercing Blood Fortress Robert's brow, to swing violently.

The golden-armored knight's eyes narrowed sharply beneath the slits of his helmet. A burly figure suddenly appeared between him and Blood Fortress Robert, and what knocked his knight's sword away was the crimson greatsword held in the burly figure's hand with one hand.

A sharp pain shot through his abdomen, and the terrifying force sent the golden-armored knight flying backward for nearly twenty meters before he could barely stop his momentum.

"Thorn-"

With his feet carving a long trench in the ground, the golden-armored knight ignored the nearly shattered armor on his abdomen and stared intently at the burly knight who appeared in front of Blood Fortress Robert. The knight wore the same crimson armor as Robert, but with a bright crimson-gold "Bauhinia Sword" emblem etched on his chest.

Robert the Blood Fortress was already quite imposing, standing at 2.2 meters tall, and nearly 2.3 meters with his helmet, but compared to the knight standing in front of him, he was much smaller.

That height was at least close to 2.5 meters! Standing in the crowd, he was no different from a giant.

"Golden Peak, Commander of the Crimson Knights, Scarlet Sword, Karles Riley, what are you doing here?!"

The golden-armored knight's voice trembled slightly with shock and anger.

"Impossible! According to the terms of the deal, you shouldn't be here!"

The Golden Three Stars realm is entirely different from the Golden Peak realm. The former represents the completion of the condensation of the body's main magical organs, reaching the minimum standard for using the Extraordinary True Form. The latter, however, represents countless improvements upon this foundation, and is only one step away from the supreme realm above the Golden rank.

In a battle between a Gold Peak and a Gold Three Star, it would be an exaggeration to say that the former could easily crush the latter, but within ten moves, the former could definitely defeat the latter easily.

Facing a peak-level Gold-ranked being, the Gold-Armored Knight knew he had absolutely no chance of winning. Not to mention his current injuries, even in his prime, with two Gold-ranked Light Gold-Armored Knights attacking him together, he would still be no match for him.

In response to the golden-armored knight's angry questioning, the Crimson Knights' leader, Scarlet Sword Callus, plunged his greatsword into the ground. He then gently bent down and carried the unconscious, dying Blood Fortress Robert on his back. Only after doing this did he turn his gaze to the golden-armored knight, his deep voice slowly spreading out:

“...You can enter Star Lake, but Robert, you can’t move.”

"call……"

After listening to Scarlet Sword Callus's words, the Golden Armored Knight took a deep breath and gradually calmed down.

"So, you don't intend to break the deal?"

Crimson Sword Callus said nothing more, but simply raised the greatsword he had planted in the ground, carried Blood Fortress Robert on his back, and flashed away into the distance, demonstrating his stance through his actions.

Watching the other's figure disappear until the fluctuations of battle aura were no longer within his perception range, the golden-armored knight finally breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was filled with resentment.

He breathed a sigh of relief because he didn't have to face the leader of the Crimson Knights at the pinnacle of their power, and thus his life was spared.

The frustration stemmed from the fact that the leader of the Crimson Knights didn't appear earlier or later, but rather waited until after a fierce battle with Blood Fortress Robert, during which he had only won at the cost of serious injury, before finally appearing just as he was about to finish off Blood Fortress Robert.

It looks like it was done on purpose.

"breathe……"

After taking several deep breaths to suppress his raging anger, the golden-armored knight gradually calmed down. He turned to look at the two pale-gold-armored knights who were hiding far behind him, looking like they were afraid of dying. A look of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Compared to the Crimson Knights, these noble knights, who were used to the "luxury and debauchery" of the empire, were not only far inferior in strength, but also vastly different in spirit and will.

Such a knightly team can manage to win battles when they have an advantage, but when they encounter a formidable enemy, they are the first to flee or even betray.

A shadow of gloom crossed the golden-armored knight's mind, but he showed nothing on his face, simply asking, "How long until the Fertility Festival?"

"Sir, there are three minutes left."

Two knights in pale gold armor approached awkwardly. One of them glanced at his casually worn silver watch and replied.

"Three minutes..."

"Let's go down first."

After speaking, the golden-armored knight arrived at the edge of Star Lake. His battle aura surged once more, forming an ellipsoidal water-attribute battle aura shield. He then stepped into the lake.

Upon seeing this, the two knights in light gold armor did not hesitate. They activated their battle aura shields and then plunged into the Star Lake.

……

The Blackrock Lord's Mansion, a hidden place.

Roy's expression was extremely solemn, and not only him, but the other witches also looked rather grim.

"Golden Peak, Commander of the Crimson Knights, Scarlet Sword Calles."

"trade……"

From within the white conch shell, came the voice of the Ice Witch Ais, clear and cold as frost.

The "black and white projection" presented by the shared vision of the Shadow Raven is silent. If one is proficient in lip reading, one can read some information, but Roy and the other witches do not have this ability. Fortunately, the Ice Witch Ais is near Star Lake. With her hearing, she can hear clearly even from hundreds of meters away if she is focused.

With a single, effortless strike, Scarlet Sword Callus repelled a three-star gold-armored knight by twenty or thirty meters. The power he displayed was overwhelming and unparalleled.

"Miss Ais, if the opponent is Crimson Sword Callus, are you confident?"

When Roy asked the question, the white communication conch sent back only four simple words: "I'm not sure."

Uncertainty... means that the Ice Witch Ais is not confident, and engaging in battle rashly would be dangerous.

Upon hearing this, Roy let out a deep breath.

The Crimson Sword Callus, at the peak of the Gold Saints, moved without a trace. With deliberate concealment, even the Shadow Ravens circling high in the sky could not detect him. Even the Ice Witch Ais did not sense the fluctuations of his battle aura before the Crimson Sword Callus made his move.

In fact, their strength far surpassed that of the three Golden Knights dispatched by the Second Prince.

However, compared to the strength of Crimson Sword Callus, the information revealed in his conversation with the Golden Armored Knight was what truly alarmed Roy.

When the golden-armored knight met the leader of the Crimson Knights, he said, "Impossible! According to the terms of the deal, you shouldn't be here!"

Subsequently, Crimson Sword Callus demonstrated through his actions that the Frontier Dukes he represented had no intention of breaking the deal.

The transaction and agreement indicate that the Second Prince and the Border Duke have reached a secret agreement regarding the mysterious sealing array beneath Star Lake, which he is unaware of.

However, there was one thing that puzzled Roy.

If the two sides really reached an agreement, why would Robert, the commander of the Border Duke's Blood Fortress, appear by Star Lake to prevent the Second Prince's men from entering?

This doesn't make sense.

Moreover, Crimson Sword Callus, the leader of the Crimson Knights, only showed up when the Golden Armored Knight was about to kill Blood Fortress Robert. If the Golden Armored Knight hadn't ultimately killed him, Crimson Sword Callus probably wouldn't have appeared at all.

What is his purpose in hiding in the shadows?

If the Border Duke's side has a powerful knight like Scarlet Sword Calles hiding in the shadows, does the Second Prince's side also have a powerful figure lurking in the dark?

The current situation seems to be becoming clearer, but in reality, it is becoming increasingly complicated.

However, one thing is certain: whatever the true purpose of the Second Prince and the Border Duke may be, they cannot escape the mysterious sealing array beneath Star Lake and the [Arrogant Magic Source] magical items within it.

The appearance of the Crimson Sword Callus, a golden-level expert, coupled with the possibility of powerful figures secretly existing within the Second Prince's forces, led Roy to reconsider one of his original plans—to have the Shadow Witch Lilia and the Ice Witch Ais attempt to enter the Crimson Rift on the day of the Fertility Festival.

The enemy has not yet fully revealed themselves. Taking action rashly would not only alert them but also cause our "dark advantage" to disappear.

We can only wait and see, and wait for an opportunity...

At that moment, the Shadow Witch Lilia spoke up: "The Festival of Abundance has arrived..."

The sound that reached his ears startled Roy slightly. He glanced at the floor clock beside him and found that, without him noticing, the hour and minute hands had overlapped and were both pointing towards "12".

0:00

The Fertility Festival is here!

Roy's gaze grew increasingly serious as he turned back to stare intently at the black-and-white projection in front of him, not daring to miss a single detail.

What Roy didn't notice was that at the moment the Feast Festival arrived, the healing witch Shanika, who was standing behind him, gradually became vacant in the eyes, with a faint red light flashing within them.

Just a dozen seconds after the arrival of the Fertility Festival, an anomaly occurred in the black and white projection.

……

Time goes back to three minutes ago.

Led by the golden-armored knight, the three golden knights dived together into the depths of Star Lake.

The protective shield formed by the battle aura of the Gold Rank allowed the three to be protected from the effects of the water. Propelled by the battle aura, they arrived at the mysterious sealing array in less than two minutes.

Even though the three golden knights were prepared, they were still shocked when faced with the magnificent and mysterious sealing array.