Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

"Kill!"

With a roar, Roland advanced instead of retreating.

The moment [Fermented Battle Intent] activated, the Secret Silver Longsword in his hand seemed to come alive.

Every curve of the blade, every shift in its center of gravity, every subtle vibration from the friction with the air, all transformed into the most intuitive "language," flooding into Roland’s Perception.

And almost in the same instant the longsword hummed, Roland’s body was already in motion.

It was not a rigid retreat or a stiff charge, but a fluid "flow" that perfectly matched the weapon’s sharp edge.

Combining [A Knight Does Not Die Unarmed] with [Martial Combat Step], the flash of his sword became a silver arc tearing through the gloom, thrusting straight for the enemy’s head.

The purple light in the nameless monster’s eyes flared violently. The Spiritual Shock it was about to gather was forcefully interrupted by this lethal thrust, and one of its tentacles hastily whipped back to parry.

"CLANG!"

Sparks flew!

At the very moment the blade and tentacle collided...

Roland used the force of the impact to spin like a top. As he deflected the blow, he channeled all his body’s rotational momentum and Fighting Spirit into his left fist.

His clenched fist was now like a heavy Siege Hammer.

The reef beneath his feet cracked.

It was a simple, unadorned punch, carrying the pure Power to shatter mountains and crack stone. He ruthlessly slammed it into the opening on the nameless monster’s chest and abdomen, exposed by its parry.

"THUD!"

As the heavy sound echoed, the nameless monster’s towering body shuddered violently.

It seemed utterly unable to comprehend this Heavy Strike, a combination of pure physical momentum and exquisite footwork.

An invisible Force Field fluctuated wildly, whining as it barely managed to disperse some of the force. But the remaining, terrifying impact still solidly penetrated its body, a form not built for physical combat.

A silent spiritual shriek erupted. The immense force sent its entire body stumbling backward in a "drifting" retreat, its movements becoming fatally stiff.

’Just as I thought. In close combat, it’s nothing but a paper tiger!’

Elated, Roland stepped forward again.

As if teleporting, he precisely intercepted the nameless monster’s path of retreat.

A thrust to the wrist! The tip of his sword jabbed like a viper at the fragile connection point at the base of the tentacle, forcing it onto the defensive.

An upward slash to the armpit! The blade sliced toward a gap that resembled a joint, causing the Force Field to flicker under the relentless attack.

A chop to the knee! Infused with Fighting Spirit, the blade whistled heavily as it hacked at the creature’s lower body, destabilizing its center of gravity.

"BAM! BAM!"

"CLANG! CLANG!"

"SCHLICK!"

On the rocky shore, the explosive crackle of Fighting Spirit, the clang of metal, and the muffled thuds of flesh hitting the Force Field echoed ceaselessly.

The nameless monster was pushed completely onto the defensive, more so than ever before.

Its two deadly tentacles seemed clumsy and slow against Roland’s fluid, seamless assault, a close-quarters onslaught where offense and defense were one and every move was an aggressive press.

It tried in vain to gather its Spiritual Power, but Roland’s blade would always strike its most "uncomfortable" spot the instant its spirit fluctuated, forcing it to abort the attempt.

It wanted to slip away with its speed, but the Combat Skill [Martial Combat Step] allowed Roland to stick to it like an inescapable shadow, every step landing on the critical point of its power transition.

The suffocating, terrifying pressure from before was torn to shreds by Roland’s superb combat technique, leaving behind only offended fury and a trace of...

...unbelievable desperation.

The line between hunter and prey had been completely blurred.

And this small, earthen-yellow patch of land had seemingly become Roland’s personal gladiatorial arena.

The perfect symphony between his weapon and body had forcibly dragged this desperate battle into a rhythm where he controlled life and death.

The Secret Silver Longsword transformed into a continuous silver Storm, each slash and thrust landing precisely on the weak points of the nameless monster’s defense or in the gaps between its movements.

The nameless monster’s tough tentacles struggled to keep up, and its invisible Force Field flickered under the fierce assault of Fighting Spirit, emitting a hum as if on the verge of collapse.

The cold purple light in its eyes flashed violently. It had clearly realized that its prized Spiritual Attack was almost useless against this human.

’I can’t let him tie me down any longer!’

Realizing this, just as Roland unleashed a powerful diagonal slash, the blade tearing through the air to viciously chop at the relatively fragile connection point of its waist and abdomen, the nameless monster made an extremely risky, yet incredibly shrewd decision.

It didn’t attempt a clumsy dodge or parry. Instead, it thrust a slippery tentacle directly into the path of the deadly sword light.

The tentacle didn’t block rigidly. The moment it made contact with the blade, it curled inward at a bizarre angle to deflect the force. Simultaneously, it channeled a tremendous surge of power from its body through the tentacle, like a fully compressed spring.

"CLANG!"

The ear-piercing shriek of metal was accompanied by a sickening tearing sound.

Amidst a shower of sparks, Roland’s blade bit deep into the tentacle’s tough, chitinous layer, even carving out a gash deep enough to reveal bone.

Thick, oily purple blood instantly spurted out.

But this was exactly what the nameless monster wanted.

It wasn’t passively taking the hit; it was actively using Borrowed Power.

The instant the blade cut into its tentacle, its towering body used the direction of the Sword Momentum and the reactive force from Roland’s burst of Fighting Spirit to "catapult" itself violently backward and upward.

Its speed was far greater than its previous "gliding" or "drifting retreat."

’Dammit!’

Roland’s heart sank as he instantly realized its intention.

It took a sword blow head-on just to buy precious space to escape.

"BANG!"

His leather boot blasted a small crater in the ground as his body shot forward again like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

Although the battle was fierce, the entire exchange—from Roland boldly closing the distance to the nameless monster using the force of the blow to escape—happened in just a few short moments.

On the deck, Teresa was still unconscious.

The short Half-Elf was curled into a ball, moaning incessantly.

Kneeling and clutching his head, Galvis forced his blood-red eyes open a crack, just in time to see the nameless monster sent flying by Roland’s sword, a spray of purple blood erupting from its wound.

His chapped lips seemed to want to shout something, but the intense headache only allowed him to let out a pained hiss.

The other crew members were even worse off, scattered and collapsed on the ground from the aftershocks of the earlier Spiritual Shock.

Just as Roland was about to close in again, while the nameless monster’s flung-back figure had yet to stabilize...

"RUMBLE!"

The ground beneath them—the unusually flat and solid patch of earthen-yellow "earth" that stood in stark contrast to the surrounding jagged black reefs—began to tremble violently without any warning.

In an instant, it was as if the entire seabed of Wailing Gorge was roaring in fury.

The tremor was so violent it felt like the world was turning upside down. The entire "ground" bucked upward like a living creature, tearing itself apart.

Huge, bottomless fissures spread out instantly like a spiderweb.

Rubble, wet mud, and a massive volume of icy seawater were thrown into the air by this terrifying force.

"Ah!"

A chorus of terrified screams erupted from the deck.

The already unsteady crew members tumbled to the deck like rolling gourds.

Galvis was thrown over by the sudden, violent tremor. The back of his head slammed hard against the ship’s rail, and he saw stars. Yet he still struggled, one hand gripping a crack in the ship’s wooden railing for dear life, the other abandoning the Harp beside him to grab tightly onto Teresa’s wrist.

Down on the reef, Roland bore the brunt of it.

His body, moving at high speed, was violently flung into the air by the immense force from below, sent tumbling backward like a kite with a snapped string.

His Secret Silver Longsword instinctively carved a silver arc through the air, plunging deep into a black reef that hadn’t yet crumbled.

Flying rubble sprayed as his momentum was finally halted, leaving him dangling above the churning waves, staring in horror at what was below.

He saw the vast, earthen-yellow "ground" tearing and rising in a way that made his very soul tremble, gradually revealing its true form.

A limb of some colossal creature—its edges covered in thick, bluish-black carapace and encrusted with giant barnacles and coral reefs—rose slowly, like a mountain peak emerging from Hell, breaking through the sea’s surface and the "ground."

The mere act of this limb rising kicked up monstrous waves and produced a low growl like that of an awakening ancient beast.

And the nameless monster, which had used the force of the blow to fling itself away, now hovered above the churning waves and shattered earth, coldly looking down. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The tentacle that Roland had grievously wounded hung limply, dripping purple blood into the sea.

But the two balls of purple light on its smooth head were cold, tinged with an all-knowing cruelty and mockery, locked firmly onto the battered and desperate Roland, who had been thrown by the tremor.

It didn’t even spare a glance for the behemoth that was now fully revealing its terrifying silhouette from beneath the "ground."

Apparently, the awakening of this behemoth, which was powerful enough to destroy the ship, was merely an insignificant First Ring in its plan.

Then, under the cover of the spreading sea mist, flying debris, and monstrous waves, the nameless monster’s figure, like a phantom melting into the Shadow, transformed into a dim stream of purple light.

In an instant, it plunged into the depths of the more turbulent, dark waves in the distance, vanishing without a trace.

Leaving only Roland, dangling from the precarious reef.

Left to single-handedly face the creature below, which had torn away its disguise, its massive body causing a tsunami-like disaster just by rising...

...an unknown, terrifying behemoth.