After going into the sea, I met the witch.

"Ding--"

The powerful thrust forced Il back several steps, his hand trembling.

What bothered him more than the internal injuries from the backlash after his [sword skill] was interrupted was the psychological frustration.

As a renowned swordsmanship master in Silvermoon Bay, he was now being toyed with by someone using a rapier, a feeling that drove him almost to madness.

Even in his anger, Il's swordsmanship allowed him to calmly consider one thing—he was probably no match for the female knight before him.

In just one exchange, if it weren't for the blessing of the War Poems, he probably wouldn't have been able to switch moves in time, and the only consequence of not being able to switch moves would be death.

The clashes between cold weapons are like this; they may not look particularly dazzling, but every move contains deadly intent.

Looking at the knight girl standing ahead with her sword, strangely not launching a pursuit, Il felt a pang of doubt. Just then, he heard a series of thuds from behind.

"Puff! Puff!"

Il quickly glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye, and the scene that came into view made his pupils contract sharply.

The wooden deck was now covered with deep blue veins, like a giant spider web. All the sailors trapped in it were like poor mosquitoes that had accidentally gotten caught in the web. Their bodies were entangled in the deep blue "spider silk". No matter how much they struggled, it was all in vain. They could not even scream and could only fall helplessly to the ground.

Unbeknownst to them, only he and Lord Slop remained from the White Dove, unharmed by the "Deep Blue Web".

A long-forgotten sense of fear welled up in Il's heart.

This deep blue power, which seemed to resemble spirituality, was something he had never heard of or seen before.

"Boom..."

A dull thud came from behind.

Suddenly, a young man appeared on the hull behind them. He lightly jumped and landed on the deck, carrying an exaggerated greatsword that was almost as tall as himself. He walked step by step toward Lord Slop.

He didn't look particularly robust, and was not much different from ordinary people. In fact, his fair and smooth skin suggested that he was a nobleman who rarely experienced the elements.

Yet this somewhat "delicate" young man, when he took a step, gave Il and Lord Slop the feeling of facing a ferocious monster.

Chapter 48 [The Black Cage]

"Tap tap... tap tap..."

Ryan stopped five meters behind Lord Slop.

At the same time, the deep blue veins at his feet surged upwards, forming a perfect body, and the fluffy witch's hat swayed slightly in the sea breeze.

It was Freyne.

Despair was evident in the eyes of Lord Slop and "Swordsman" Il.

Three powerful professionals?

At this moment, the two men understood why "Mountain of Flesh" Salem had disappeared.

Faced with these three, what need is there to say what would happen to Salem, who was merely a "mountain of flesh"?

The "Skull and Bones" that they naively believe has actually already changed hands.

At this moment, Lord Slop, looking at Ryan and Freyne's faces, seemed to remember something, and his expression turned to extreme horror. He trembled and almost groaned as he uttered, "...You are, [Dark Moon Witch] Freyne?!"

"And also, Blood Son, Ryan Reyland, aren't you just an ordinary person?"

"How is this possible? What happened?! The [Golden Rule] can't be wrong, so why are you a professional?!"

Ryan and his two companions naturally had no intention of explaining Lord Slop's doubts to him.

Ryan raised his right hand and gripped the hilt of the greatsword behind him, about to step forward, when Freyne reached out and stopped him.

"Don't go yet."

The girl's voice was as clear and melodious as ever, but it carried a hint of solemnity that Ryan had never seen before.

Upon hearing this, Ryan stopped what he was doing, and his expression turned serious.

The dark blue-clad girl who stopped Ryan didn't linger on Lord Slop and Il for even a second. Looking at the shadow behind Il, she said calmly, "Are you not coming out because you're waiting for me to invite you? Or do you think this level of concealment can fool my eyes?"

"The Black Knight".

"Hehe, I knew I couldn't hide it from you..."

The shadow behind Il began to writhe and twist, and a figure appeared wearing light armor with a black base and silver patterns, a hooded robe over the upper body, and a silver and black metal mask under the wide hood.

"Originally, I just came here to try my luck. I thought that since I hadn't made any achievements for so long, if all else failed, I could capture a Bloody Child to take back and that would be enough to tide me over for a while. I didn't expect to actually have such an unexpected gain."

"You've really made us look for you, Dark Moon Witch, Miss Freyne."

The voice gradually became higher and higher towards the end.

The rich spiritual energy formed visible light black ripples that radiated outwards.

Ryan's body stiffened, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

His gaze was fixed on the figure Freyne called the "Black Knight".

And at this moment, the gray-text prompt appears right before your eyes.

[Zero Stam: 30 years old, 185 cm tall, a member of the New Black Knights, a second-tier [Black Knight], skilled in: Black Knight Sword and Shield (Mastery). —This person's strength far surpasses yours; you cannot defeat him. Please stay away as soon as possible.]

Such an overwhelming sense of oppression...

Second-tier elite professional!

This was the first time Ryan had ever seen a second-tier being, and the hints following the introduction clearly indicated the enormous gap between himself and a second-tier being.

Despite being nervous, Ryan remained calm.

He's no match for the Black Knight, of course, but he has a powerful ally by his side.

Ryan's gaze swept over Freyne and Cecilia. Even though he had returned from his travels this morning and his strength had increased significantly, the two women's introductions still clearly displayed the same warning as the [Black Knight]: "This person's strength far surpasses yours. You cannot fight him. Please stay away as soon as possible."

Ryan could understand Freya, after all, she was a [First-Order Scholar] and possessed the power of a "Sea Witch," but he couldn't quite understand Cecilia.

Both being first-tier professionals, how could he possibly have no chance of winning? It wasn't until he witnessed Cecilia's battle with the sword-wielding professional that Ryan finally understood.

This swordsmanship must be the "Thorns Piercing Sword Technique (Mastery)" marked on the panel, right?

It seems that learning skills at the "Mastery" level has a much greater impact on combat effectiveness than he expected.

Despite Ryan having learned the Storm Sword Technique - Wave Severing, his Storm Sword Technique is still only at the "Mastery" level on his stats panel.

A series of thoughts flashed through his mind, seemingly numerous, but only for a moment. Ryan looked at Freyne beside him and said in a deep voice, "Lady Freyne, how should we fight?"

"How do we fight?" Before Freyne could speak, the Black Knight opposite her suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed loudly and arrogantly, even bending over with laughter: "Hahaha... Hahahaha... Young bloodthirsty sons, do you think you can survive after meeting me?"

"You should be telling me how to escape!"

Amidst the maniacal laughter, the Black Knight abruptly raised his head. He ignored Ryan and instead turned his bloodshot eyes beneath the mask to Freyne.

The shadows spread out from beneath the Black Knight's feet, wriggling rapidly, and soon formed three shadow hounds that were half a person's height.

The Black Knight raised his hand, and thick black energy settled in it.

"So, are you ready, Miss Dark Moon Witch..."

"Be careful, these are the Black Knight's exclusive class abilities: [Shadow Hound] and [Black Cage]."

"【Shadow Hound】can summon three Shadow Hounds with strength comparable to a Tier 1 professional. They are shadow creatures, and pure physical attacks are ineffective against them."

"The Black Cage can forcibly pull the target and oneself into a special spiritual space. Until a victor is determined, the Black Cage will not..."

Freyne's rapid voice reached Ryan's ears, but before Freyne could finish speaking, the Black Knight slammed his hand, which was covered in black energy, down onto the deck.

Black energy surged, and in an instant, Freyne and the Black Knight vanished simultaneously.

Cecilia, who was not far away, rushed over as soon as the black aura appeared on the Black Knight's hand. Unfortunately, she was a step too slow. The Black Knight's [Black Cage] was too fast. Before she could catch her breath, the three Shadow Hounds had already attacked her.

Lord Slop and "Swordsman" Il exchanged a glance, and in that exchange of glances, they reached a consensus.

The melodious music simultaneously blessed Il and the three Shadow Hounds.

Despite their unremarkable name, the Shadow Hounds are incredibly powerful and fearless. In a one-on-one fight, neither Lord Slop nor Il are confident of victory. With the added boost from the War Poems, three such Shadow Hounds working together would be enough to hold off that terrifying female knight for a while.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the two turned their attention to Ryan.

From any perspective, among the three members of the Black Skull, the "Bloody Son" carrying a greatsword posed the least threat.

Once we've dealt with this person, we can join forces with the Shadow Hound to hold off that terrifying female knight. When the Black Knight returns, everything will be settled!

"call……"

Ryan let out a soft breath, raising his right hand to grip the hilt of the Greatsword Ferocious Ice.

The situation developed in a way that exceeded his expectations.

The sudden arrival of the second-tier black knight disrupted everything.

With Cecilia entangled, the enemy turned their attention to him.

Since that's the case, then let's fight!

He's not someone to be trifled with...

"Chong-"

The sound of the greatsword being drawn was like the roar of a dragon.

I recommend a book called "What is a Red-Temperature Top Laner?"

[Recommendation]: A high-intensity team-up story.

Song Wen travels back to Season 7, and his opening line, "I'm going to take a shower," immediately ignites the enthusiasm of his haters.

What? Their debut match is against the red-hot RNG?

Faced with the "world's number one ADC," Song Wen had no choice but to pull out Jayce and use the world's number one shockwave to punish him.

What? The GSL fans are still not convinced? Song Wen took out Rumble and used his excellent temperature control skills to cool down Uzi.

What? This fake coach Zhu Kai is bossing me around? Song Wen unilaterally fired this fan from IG and took charge of both drafting and training!

"Black, what are your thoughts on winning the LPL Most Popular Professional Player award?"

During the interview, Song Wen was very humble.

"To be honest, I still prefer the way they reacted when they were haters."