After going into the sea, I met the witch.

"Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound echoed through the narrow alleyway.

Under the gaze of the black-robed man number 3, whose pupils shrank to needle-like size, the pitch-black vortex shield shattered the moment it touched the greatsword, exploding into countless fragments. The greatsword, undiminished in its momentum, slashed down heavily, tearing through the black robe, ripping the skin, and shattering muscles and bones, cleaving the black-robed man number 3 in two along the center line.

They went without stopping at any point.

It wasn't until he had been cut in two that the black-robed No. 3 belatedly realized the "abnormality".

He glared angrily at the middle-aged man with the greatsword in front of him, his lips moving silently as he said, "Kill me, and you won't get away with it either."

Just as Ryan cleaved the number 3 black-robed man in two, the number 2 black-robed man's palm, brimming with dark spiritual energy, had already reached behind him, only a centimeter away from his back.

Seeing this, the number 1 black-robed man in the distance relaxed – the fighting power of this middle-aged man with the greatsword was far beyond his imagination. The number 3 black-robed man was only slightly weaker than him, but he didn't expect that he couldn't even withstand a single sword strike. The seemingly primitive and rough greatsword in the opponent's hand seemed to have an extremely powerful effect on breaking through shields, and it must be a rare artifact of amazing quality!

No matter how fierce the middle-aged man with the greatsword was, once he was hit by the "Heart-Eating Seal," the outcome of the battle was already decided.

However, at that moment, the black-robed man number 1 saw a red light.

It was a vibrant, intense red light of life, and the source of this red light was none other than the middle-aged man with the greatsword who was about to be struck by the "Heart-Eating Seal".

Just as the second black-robed man's right palm was about to strike, it was blocked by the red light. The next second, an unimaginable shockwave struck, causing the eerie black spiritual energy in the second black-robed man's hand to dissipate. His right hand was also shaken upwards, and his body tilted backwards.

"what happened?!"

At this moment, the number 2 black-robed man's eyes were full of doubt, but he had no time to think, because a domineering sword light had already occupied his entire vision.

The sound of flesh tearing apart was accompanied by a shower of blood. Ryan stood beside Qingling, who was sitting against the wall, his greatsword on the ground, his gaze fixed on the black-robed figure number 1 in the distance, whose pupils and body were trembling slightly.

On the ground, black mud surged, and two large clumps of black mud emerged, forming the bodies of the number 2 and number 3 black-robed figures. However, compared to before, their exposed arms had become thin and withered, white and gray. Clearly, they had paid an extremely terrible price for "escaping death" using some kind of secret method.

"Oh, he's still alive?"

Ryan's eyes lit up with interest.

He was certain that his two sword strikes had shattered the brains and hearts of the two men, yet even so, the two men in black robes were still alive. With such regenerative abilities, it was questionable whether they could still be called "human."

The three men in black robes looked at Ryan with extreme apprehension, caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

The situation suddenly became somewhat awkward.

Just then, a streak of deep silver light appeared in the distance, and behind it were several similar spiritual figures.

It was the Libra Knights who rushed over after noticing the huge commotion.

The three men in black robes had ugly expressions, and then black mud swamps began to appear beneath their feet, causing their bodies to sink rapidly.

They are leaving.

The black-robed man number 1 didn't utter any harsh words, but simply stared intently at Ryan, as if trying to imprint every detail of him firmly in his mind.

"You think you can just leave like this?"

Ryan chuckled softly, then took a step forward.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the earth shattered, and terrifying cracks spread out. Under the force of the recoil, Ryan's figure leaped high into the air in an arc, and he angrily smashed his greatsword toward the three of them.

"boom--!"

The alleyway, paved with hard stones, crumbled layer by layer. The terrifying shockwave ripped up layer after layer of the ground, and amidst the billowing dust, a severed arm could be seen flying through the air.

Amidst the ruins, Ryan glanced at the spot where the three men in black robes had disappeared, his eyes sharp.

The severed arm that fell to the ground gradually turned into black mud and eventually disappeared without a trace.

The black mud and bloodstains left at the battle site also dissipated and disappeared in the same way.

So weird...

Ryan narrowed his eyes, glanced up at the increasingly approaching "deep silver light" in the distance, flashed back to Qingling's side, picked her up, and then quickly left the area.

With the "Day of Abundant Stars" approaching, there's no need to provoke the Libra Church at this time.

By the time the "deep silver light" descended, both sides fighting in the alley had already fled, and not a single person could be seen.

The young man, dressed in dark silver light armor with a pale gold "scale" and three weights marked on his chest, looked at the mess on the ground with an extremely ugly expression.

A few seconds later, several Libra Knights arrived at the scene: "Third Arbiter, the 'Holy Eye' cannot detect the traces of either side in the battle. They are suspected of carrying some kind of powerful interference artifact."

The third arbitrator took a deep breath, his face gradually regaining its composure: "It's happening again."

“Very few artifacts can block the lock of the ‘Holy Eye’, and this group of people is very likely the same organization that was at the city gate last night.”

"Don't let me catch you, or else..."

Chapter 120 The Assassin's Curiosity, Night Moon and Black Cat (Please Subscribe)

In the dimly lit room, only a single candle provided faint light.

Qingling felt like she had a very, very long dream.

In her dream, she fell into a bottomless swamp. No matter how hard she tried, it was to no avail. In fact, the more she struggled, the faster she fell.

Just as she gave up struggling and resigned herself to death, a ray of sword light appeared before her eyes. It tore through the darkness and brutally ripped apart the muddy swamp. Then, a warm and powerful hand reached out from behind the sword light and grasped her hand, which had fallen limply in despair.

The darkness before my eyes gradually faded away.

Qingling opened her eyes, and the dim yellow wooden ceiling was reflected in her pupils.

"This is where?"

She propped herself up, her eyes still slightly dazed from just waking up. But soon, memories from before she lost consciousness flooded back: being ambushed by the man in black robes… losing control of her body under the influence of the "Heart-Eating Seal"… the fierce sword light that pierced through the air before her vision went dark…

Instinctively, Qingling tensed up and reached for the dagger at her waist, but she quickly realized something was wrong.

Despite being afflicted with the "Heart-Eating Seal," she should have been weak, powerless, and spiritually depleted even if she were conscious. However, her condition was unexpectedly good at the moment.

Not only was the "heart-devouring mark" completely removed from the body, but the spirit was also in a state of abundance.

Will the man in black robes kindly heal her wounds after capturing her?

The answer is obviously no.

and so……

"you're awake?"

Just then, a male voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Qingling rang in her ear.

The moment she heard the sound, Qingling turned to look at the source of the sound. What she saw was a middle-aged man leaning against the wall, carrying a greatsword on his back.

"...Zifeng?"

Upon seeing the person before her, Qingling's tense nerves relaxed instantly, and this relaxation almost caused her to collapse. Fortunately, she had the support of her arms, which prevented her from becoming embarrassed.

"Thank you."

After a brief silence, Qingling whispered.

The moment she saw Zifeng, she roughly understood why she was there and in good condition—without a doubt, the dazzling sword light she saw before she fell unconscious came from Zifeng, and it was he who saved her from the three men in black robes.

Qingling had many questions in her mind.

For example, how did Zifeng, who could only injure Green Tide when he was careless and would definitely not be a match for him in a real fight, defeat three black-robed men who were not even her match?

But at this moment, dwelling on this is pointless.

"No need to thank me. As a member of the organization, I will lend a helping hand within my capabilities. Of course, according to the rules, you will need to pay sufficient compensation."

A deep voice came from Ryan's mouth, completely different from his usual tone.

“…Of course.” Qingling nodded. “Let’s take the information about the underground labyrinth in my SOS letter as one of the rewards.”

"But before I get to that information, Zifeng, may I ask you a question? What about those three men in black robes?"

“They escaped.” Ryan shook his head slightly: “Although I severely injured those three, their abilities are very strange. Even if they die, they can be resurrected at some cost. In the end, they even fell into the black mud to escape.”

"That strange black mud is somewhat like a teleportation array. Although they are no match for me, they escaped at the cost of serious injury, and I couldn't stop them."

"Did they escape..." Qingling let out a soft sigh, whether it was regret or pity: "This time I was ambushed and struck by the 'Heart-Eating Seal'. Next time, I will definitely avenge this."

After composing herself, she looked at Ryan and said, "In addition to the information about the underground labyrinth, I will also give you a rare item as compensation. Is there anything you need?"

Hearing this, Ryan's eyes flickered slightly: "I want a space ring with a larger capacity, do you have any?"

“Yes.” Qingling nodded, took out a ring from her bosom that was mainly silver and decorated with blue, and tossed it to Ryan: “This [Azure Sky Ring] is a storage ring that I specially asked a spirit blacksmith to make. Its capacity is 10 meters in length, width and height.”

Ryan examined the ring in his hand with a satisfied expression.

The spatial ring Frey gave him was just a standard, ordinary spatial ring, with a capacity of about 3 meters in length, width, and height, much smaller than the one Qingling gave him.

A spatial ring with a capacity of 10 meters in length, width, and height, in terms of quality, it is comparable to a fine-quality, low-grade rare item.

It is undeniably precious.

With this [Azure Sky Ring], he could dismember even an entire [High-Rank] Unicorn Dragon and store it intact.

Now, we no longer have to worry about wasting materials!

Thinking of this, Ryan was in a great mood, and his gaze toward Qingling became kinder.

Although this "frank" female knight—or more accurately, the female assassin—had "marked" him in the past, making him a little unhappy, their positions were different then, so there's no need to be too demanding.

It's not because of the [Azure Sky Ring]!

Seeing that Zifeng accepted the ring, Qingling let out a soft breath, organized her thoughts, and slowly began to speak:

“After parting ways with you yesterday, I followed the clues I had and went alone to the center of the island—the St. Fila Underground Rift Valley—to investigate.”

"Wait, where is this 'St. Feller Underground Rift' you're talking about?" Upon hearing the first sentence, Ryan frowned: "There is no such place name on the map I have."

The map in Ryan's hand came from the Beast Witch Meloye of the Witch Guild. The information was much more detailed than what was available on the market. However, the name "Saint-Filler Underground Rift" sounded quite large. If it really existed, why was it not shown on the map at all?

“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it.” Qingling wasn’t surprised by Zifeng’s question and explained, “In fact, the vast majority of island residents, from birth to death, never know that such a place exists on the island.”

“‘Saint-Filler’s Underground Rift’ is a sealed place, and its deepest part is the entrance to the underground labyrinth.”

"As for where the entrance to this hidden area is, it is estimated that only the Libra Holy Church and the Saint Tos royal family know it."

"By chance, I obtained information about a new entrance to the 'Saint-Filler Rift' and successfully infiltrated it."

"To my surprise, the environment inside the 'Saint-Filler Rift' was extremely poor. Even the flowing water was filled with filth and black spots. When I arrived at the entrance to the 'Underground Labyrinth,' I saw about a dozen people in black robes gathered there, seemingly performing some kind of ritual. But before I could get a closer look, I was attacked by the three people in black robes."

At this point, Qingling let out a soft sigh: "Realizing that something was wrong, I immediately used the short-distance teleportation artifact that I had prepared in advance, but the black-robed man's 'Heart-Eating Seal' seemed to have a positioning function, and before long, they caught up with me."