You are all my wings...

The water arrow hit the defensive shield.

With a tremendous impact, the defensive shield began to fluctuate wildly, clearly unable to withstand the powerful water arrow, and was on the verge of breaking.

Even after killing a third-tier knight, it still managed to cause so much damage to this defensive magic.

Judging from the stance, it was just a basic magic attack combined with chest and abdominal strength—a throat and tongue water arrow.

However, with the enhancement of rank, power, and magic, its power becomes quite astonishing, comparable to the destructive power of intermediate magic.

The terror of a powerful fourth-tier monster is undeniable.

Lower resource consumption, stronger attack.

"Retreat! Don't stop!"

"Everyone, retreat to the 24th-floor passage with all your might, and use the terrain to block their movement!"

Leon picked up Iris, who was using enhanced magic to maintain her defensive spells, and darted backward.

The others immediately followed.

As Lyon ran, he glanced back out of the corner of his eye and saw a knight still putting up a desperate fight on the battlefield being swept away by a Water-Swallowing Ape's leg, sent flying into a corner, coughing up blood, his life hanging in the balance.

In just a short while, these four fairly strong third-tier knights were wiped out right before their eyes, a truly tragic scene.

This scene also shocked the other riders, who realized that retreating at this moment was definitely the right choice.

1 seconds later.

Bang! ! ! ! !

The defensive shield shattered like glass, and a second water arrow shot from behind.

Iris was already quite adept at being carried by Leon, without losing her balance. Before the defensive shield shattered, she had already gathered a second wave of magic and activated the defensive shield again, successfully blocking the second water arrow.

This time, she increased her magic consumption at the beginning of the spell, making the defensive shield more stable.

Judging from the impact ripples of the water rocket and the light shield, this time it will probably last two or three seconds longer than before.

As one of the spells she is most familiar with, after the practical experience in the dungeon last time, she not only became very proficient in casting without incantation, but after consulting with Leon, she also began to train in the direction of high-speed casting.

Previously, after the first wave of defensive shields shattered, the only options were to use shield-like equipment for defense or try to dodge them.

But that would prevent them from protecting their teammates.

Soon, thanks to their exceptional agility, the group retreated to the descending passage between the 24th and 25th floors and quickly returned to the entrance on the 24th floor.

Just as the group was about to continue running, Leon shouted and said quickly:

"Use the terrain to engage the enemy here!"

"The Water-Swallowing Ape is adept at hiding and surviving. It possesses a certain level of intelligence and will relentlessly hunt down any intelligent species that discovers its existence. The knights just now clearly found it on a lower level, yet they were caught on this 25th floor. Their fate serves as a warning; don't harbor any illusions!"

"This battle must be fought; the time has come for you to demonstrate your noble chivalrous principles!"

The knights stopped.

The words "Show your noble knightly code" seemed to awaken a stirring deep within their souls. Even knowing that the monsters ahead were difficult to defeat, they still turned around resolutely and waited with bated breath.

Regardless of any previous opinions about Leon or how eccentric his personality may be, these knights who were chosen to become Paladin reserves were all warlike!

Berylita remained silent, but her gaze became serious.

Ahead, the sound of thunderous footsteps grew closer and closer.

After taking down four knights, it indeed gave chase. Although it was initially several tens of meters away from the group, it caught up in the blink of an eye.

"You four, stick to the previous formation and guard the entrance to the passage from the side. Don't defend it from the front. Wait for it to come out, then unleash your strongest combat skills to suppress it and buy some time!"

"Remember this: the Water-Swallowing Ape is incredibly strong, with excellent physical and magical resistance, and exceptionally high attack power. Don't be stingy with your magic and stamina. Whoever holds back will die!"

Leon quickly gave the order, and the four of them immediately understood the meaning and moved to the side of the passage as instructed.

Then Leon gestured with his eyes to Iris, whom he was still holding in his arms.

Elizabeth understood, waved her wand, and began to chant.

Boom!

Before the water-swallowing ape even left the passage, a violent water arrow shot out.

The group had positioned themselves to the side beforehand, so they weren't hit by the attack.

But the surging air currents generated by the high-speed water flow that brushed past their faces almost made them lose their footing, which was quite shocking.

At that moment, the ground began to shake.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

A fleshy paw gripped the wall, and the tall body of the Water-Swallowing Ape appeared at the entrance of the passage.

"Now!"

Milo and Mark, one on the left and one on the right, moved at the same time, leaping up, infusing the second-level magic sword in their hands with magic power to activate the sharpening enchantment, and using the jumping potential to launch combat skills.

Tier 3 combat skills!

Cross cut! Diagonal cut!

The sword flashed three times.

The water-swallowing ape's thighs had red marks on its fur, but no obvious tears appeared.

Both of them displayed top-tier attack power for a third-tier fighter, but given the Water Swallowing Ape's physical condition, it's estimated that they could only lose a maximum of 1 point of health each.

The difference was truly terrifying, and both of them wore expressions of disbelief.

Bovary made his move.

He swung the sword blade, drawing a circle.

At the same time, wind-attribute magic was activated, triggering the wind blade enchantment on the second-tier magic sword.

In an instant, several sharp wind blades extended from the sword blade, generating extremely strong cutting force under his power, slashing at the bloodstains Mark had just left.

Tier 3 combat skill: Whirlwind Slash!

laugh!!!!

This sword strike, building upon the previous attack, finally drew a bloody gash two or three centimeters in diameter.

Leon estimated that this attack should take away 2 points of the Water Ape's health.

At that moment, the Water-Swallowing Ape reacted and threw a punch at Bovary.

The punch landed just as Bovary was activating his combat technique, his power exhausted, and there was a brief moment of lag before the ground hit the ground.

Carl was prepared and charged straight in.

The magic sword in his hand was as wide as a door panel, so it could be used as both a shield and a sword.

BOOM!!!

The water-swallowing ape slammed its fist into Karl's shield and sword, pushing Karl away from the passage entrance. Its thumbnail rubbed against the sword's surface, sending sparks flying.

With one hand holding the sword and the other pressing down on its spine, Karl was struck by the immense force of the Water-Swallowing Ape, causing his arm to go numb and his internal organs to tremble violently. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the hard rock beneath his feet, and his combat boots dented seven or eight centimeters into the ground. He was forced to retreat, and two three-meter-long furrows were plowed into the ground.

He couldn't hold it in and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The force of the squeeze caused him to lose at least 4 health points.

If you don't defend against it, one punch can take away more than 20 points of his health, instantly killing him.

Lyon also made his move from the side.

A suction wind!

Having honed his skills through repeated dungeon explorations, he was now able to fuse magical imagery and activate it directly, without needing to activate fireballs and cyclone spells separately.

Magic -3!

Now that a bloody wound has been created, let's stick to the old ways and suck out its blood, which contains a lot of magic!

Chapter Sixty-Three: Demonic Piercing Strike

A rapidly spinning gust of wind appeared on the Water-Swallowing Ape's thigh, and it began to suck in air at high speed.

Whoosh!

Blood gushed out like a small fountain.

The water-swallowing ape roared, realizing the strangeness of the thing, and waved its hand to disperse the sucking wind.

Lyon made another move, raising his hand and waving it.

Basic Combination Magic: Small Swamp!

Magic -2.

The foot of the water-swallowing ape suddenly turned into a mud pit nearly 90 centimeters in diameter. It exerted a lot of force, and suddenly one foot sank deep into it, causing it to lose its balance. Its palm struck empty air, failing to catch the wind that was drawing in.

It is a small swamp formed by combining a basic earth magic softening spell with a basic water magic water sphere (imitating an intermediate magic swamp).

This move was not very powerful. Although the dungeon floor was damp, there was not much mud. The ground was hard, and two basic spells could only create a small swamp less than a meter wide.

Especially around the Water City, the ground is many times harder than here.

This is another reason why Leon didn't stay put and fight the Water Swallowing Ape.

One reason is to trap the opponent at the entrance of the passage, and the other is that the ground here is prone to creating mud.

When Leon, with his high precision and high-speed casting skills, unexpectedly cast the spell, the effect was outstanding.

"You guys seize the opportunity and inflict even more wounds on it!"

While expending magic to maintain remote control of the suction wind, keeping it aimed at the Water-Devouring Ape's wound, Leon gave orders to several knights.

The knights were invigorated at the sight and immediately launched their attacks.

Whirlwind Slash! Cross Slash! Diagonal Slash!

Their combat skills all evolved from physical combat skills. After advancing to the third level of combat skills, they can mobilize more magic power to enhance the effectiveness of their combat skills and increase their lethality.

If it were just pure physical combat skills, I estimate that a single sword strike wouldn't even be enough to leave a bloodstain on the Water-Swallowing Ape.

Karl took the punch head-on among the four, and the numbness in his limbs had not yet fully recovered. He could only use his magic to accelerate his body's recovery.

Two seconds later, he rejoined the battle.

As the strongest rider among the four, even though he is in the worst condition now, it is still quite remarkable that he can maintain such a state after taking a punch from the Water Swallowing Ape.

If it were any other knight trying to parry, even if they managed to block, they would probably lose seven or eight points of health and be stunned for three or four seconds.

"The time has come to show our strength to the Holy Maiden!"

Karl gritted his teeth, his muscles bulged, magic gathered, and a faint magical glow appeared around his body. Then, his face suddenly turned red.

Then, he leaped up, using the gravitational potential energy to combine with the strength of his entire body, and chopped down the door panel sword.

As the sword slashed, the magical radiance became increasingly pronounced, as if a sharp light was wrapped around it.

Fourth-tier combat skill, Demonic Piercing Strike!

BOOM!!!

The Water-Swallowing Ape's large hand suddenly shot out, blocking the door-panel sword before it had fully charged.

Blood flowed from the water-swallowing ape's hand.

Although it was a fourth-level combat skill, it had not been perfectly mastered yet. The forward sway was obvious, and the Water Swallowing Ape seized the opportunity and caught up with it in advance.

Although Karl already possessed the strength and conditions to advance to the fourth rank, he was not actually at the fourth rank. He forced the attack while injured, and although he managed to reduce the Water Devouring Ape's health by a few points, the result was clearly not worthy of a fourth-rank combat skill.

Although the other three also met the requirements to advance to the fourth rank and learned the fourth-rank combat skills, they clearly knew that their rank was not high enough and their proficiency was insufficient. In this situation, they lacked suitable opportunities and it would be difficult to hit their targets, so they had not activated their fourth-rank combat skills.

In fact, Karl's skill level was already quite good, but the Water Swallowing Ape could clearly see that this move would cause him considerable damage, and acted swiftly.

This level of intelligence is indeed extraordinary.

Lyon was not surprised to see this.

Based on his understanding of this water-swallowing ape, he knew it couldn't do that; in fact, he found it strange.

He took the opportunity to cast the spell again.