Chapter 358: Ronin, One Step Inferior in Skill

In the deep of the night, two mighty Meteor Knights stood locked in confrontation atop a ruined attic.

Roning was bathed in a scorching aura, his flame armor shining like a bright beacon that illuminated the surrounding space.

Having just exchanged several bouts, he found himself evenly matched in pure strength, yet the adversary used supreme speed to exert a certain degree of suppression over him.

Fortunately, Roning possessed keen senses, which allowed him to cope with the onslaught.

"Since I left Castle Ushan to establish myself, assassinations have been incessant. From Bronze to Gold, and now to a Meteor Knight, I am truly curious as to who is sparing no effort to desire my death."

As he spoke, he summoned his status panel, allocating all 1159 attribute points into his knight rank.

On the other side, Ramsay’s bewildered state of mind had not yet subsided.

He was absolutely certain that the man before him was Roning, but how could the opponent be of the Meteor rank?

An eighteen-year-old Meteor Knight?

What a ridiculous joke!

Suddenly, a thought struck his mind: it was precisely because Roning possessed such heaven-defying talent that Castle Ushan, fearing someone would harm him before he matured, had forced him to feign being a useless waste.

"Rulance, what deep calculations, we have all been deceived by him!"

He glared at Roning, his eyes filled with icy murderous intent.

Such talent was beyond even Crown Prince Gareth’s comparison, and if he did not seize this opportunity to eliminate the boy today, he would likely be unable to even suppress him in another year or two.

"Today, you must die!"

He roared, his body lunging forward as a sword scar formed by battle qi spread through the air.

Puff, crash!

Any tables, chairs, or walls touched by the sword scar were instantly severed, as fragile as if made of paper.

Roning’s expression remained unchanged, the Flame Current Sword rising with violent fire as he swung it.

The moment Instant Burn was unleashed, the temperature in the room surged abruptly, and the nearby floorboards were scorched to a char.

The attacks of the two men collided in mid-air, erupting with terrifying waves of energy.

The flame impact and the sword scar crashed and dissolved into one another, making sizzling sounds.

The residual aftershocks of the explosion further devastated the wooden building, which was constructed primarily of timber.

However, this was merely the beginning of the battle.

Neither Roning nor Ramsay halted their steps because of this single clash of attacks; their figures darted and collided amidst the chaos.

When the long swords clashed once more, Ramsay felt his arm sink, "What is going on, how does his strength feel even greater now?"

"Are you surprised?"

Roning chuckled softly, reversing the previous situation of being slightly suppressed to take the initiative in the assault.

Sharp sword lights formed by battle qi splattered in all directions with every wave of collision.

Puff!

Amidst a sharp tearing sound, Ramsay’s battle qi armor was sliced open, exposing a long gash along with his clothes and flesh, from which blood oozed and stained a wide patch.

Chie!

During the exchange, the adversary made a straight thrust with his sword, piercing through Roning’s battle qi armor, and though Roning evaded in time, he was still scraped with a wound by the sharp blade.

The opponent was indeed a Meteor Knight; aside from his formidable power, his combat experience was also highly seasoned, so Roning's sword techniques, honed through long practice with Rydal and Maken, did not gain much of an advantage.

Although he held the upper hand in strength, the opponent was immediately able to rely on speed and force-deflecting methods to counter the clashes.

Continuing to fight relying solely on a knight’s strength would likely drag the encounter out for some time.

Roning was in no hurry, but Ramsay, wearing the kobold mask, grew anxious.

He had initially intended to kill with a single strike, and upon discovering Roning was a Meteor Knight, he wanted a swift resolution, but having fought until now, the building was collapsing yet he could not temporarily gain the upper hand, nor did the opponent leave any fatal openings.

If this dragged on until they were surrounded by the Fifth Knight Order of Shore City, he would be in grave danger.

"One chance, if I still cannot win, I retreat!"

Ramsay’s gaze turned exceptionally sharp, and the aura around his body suddenly became utterly freezing.

The tip of his foot tapped the ground as he pulled back to create distance.

"Trying to flee?"

Roning was somewhat surprised, but he keenly sensed that the fluctuations on the opponent’s body were beginning to grow violent, "No, he is about to unleash a major move."

His mind grew alert; he had not yet mastered Scorching Ray, his strongest technique, and currently his best presentable skill was a level-seven battle technique, which was also the "Fiery Serpent Wild Dance" passed down to him by Rulance.

No longer hesitating, he instantly executed the battle technique.

On the other side, Ramsay was enveloped in floating blue water battle qi blended with green wind-attributed battle qi, forming a blue-and-green water-wave tornado.

"Wind-Water Tornado!"

Ramsay roared fiercely, his body spinning frantically as the dual-attribute battle qi around him instantly formed a powerful whirlwind, lifting his entire being up into the air.

The Wind-Water Tornado grew more powerful as it spun, easily tearing apart roofs, floorboards, or hard rocks on the ground wherever it passed.

In the air, Ramsay manipulated the Wind-Water Tornado to sweep toward Roning.

Hoo~

The flame battle qi on the Flame Current Sword was like surging magma; as Roning swung it, a massive fire serpent, a full fifteen to twenty meters long, broke free from the long sword and pounced out, coiling around the Wind-Water Tornado at extreme speed.

"Good heavens, what terrifying combat is this!"

The patrolling guards had already rushed over, but they were all struck with awe upon witnessing the scene before them.

A couple of bolder individuals wanted to charge forward, but before they could even approach the core area of the battle, they were forced back by the raging, fierce winds.

Everyone understood that this was not something they could intervene in.

Rydal and Joffrey had also rushed to the scene.

"This is..." Joffrey looked utterly bewildered.

Rydal, however, knew very well, "This is a battle between Meteor Knights, the Lord is in danger!"

He darted inside; though he was a late-stage Gold Knight and could not contend with a Meteor Knight who mastered offensive powers, he was the strongest among those present, and only he possessed a sliver of qualification to go up and help.

Right at that moment, the giant fire serpent bound the Wind-Water Tornado like a rope and then tightened, as if the Wind-Water Tornado were prey it wished to strangle to death.

Ramsay within the Wind-Water Tornado clearly felt the constricting power.

He roared deeply and fiercely, his erupting power tearing the flaming fire serpent into pieces!

The exploding flames splattered everywhere like fire meteors in the sky, igniting a roaring blaze.

The Wind-Water Tornado was indeed a secret technique, its might surpassing that of the Fiery Serpent Wild Dance.

Yet despite breaking free from the confinement and shattering Roning’s attack, its own power was greatly diminished.

Carrying the residual force, Ramsay descended from the sky, his long sword aimed directly at Roning, who was forced backward by the impact.

"Die!"

With momentum like a falling meteor, this strike was meant to slay the opponent.

At that moment, wind and fire elemental forces converged before Ronin.

Before him, four spells—tiny flames, fireball, wind blade, and wind shield—materialized instantly.

The first three surged toward his opponent; the last encircled Ronin in a protective barrier.

This was the instantaneous spellcasting of a Grand Mage. With Ronin’s current strength, he could only cast first- and second-tier spells instantly, and even then, only with a brief interval between identical spells.

Ramsay’s eyes flickered with confusion. How had four spells suddenly appeared before Ronin?

He had seen no spell scroll, no incantation, no gesture.

“First- and second-tier spells? What good are they?”

Ramsay brought his sword down in a devastating slash—the martial technique, Whirlwind Cross Sword—shattering the spells with ruthless precision.

But Ronin seized that fleeting opening, barely stabilizing his stance as he unleashed the Instant Burn martial art.

Yet, being the one to react, he was at a disadvantage—the point of impact was too close. The shockwave slammed into him with brutal force, churning his internal organs, hurling him backward, and crashing him hard against the ground.

Ramsay, too, was thrown back by the blast—but landed firmly on his feet.

“Though you distracted me with magic, your fate remains death.”

He activated Wind Instant Step, becoming a blur as he lunged toward Ronin.

But at that instant, Riedal stepped between Ronin and the assassin, raising his sword to meet the attack.

“Get out of my way!” Ramsay roared.

Their blades clashed. Riedal felt his arm go numb; his palms split open, blood spraying into the air.

The sheer force sent him flying.

A late-stage Gold-tier warrior stood no chance against a Meteor Knight.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Arrows sliced through the air, streaking toward Ramsay.

“Protect the Lord!”

“Protect the Captain!”

The arriving knights rallied, their squad leaders launching ranged attacks to disrupt the enemy’s movements.

“A nest of rats!”

Ramsay could ignore the arrows—but dozens of martial techniques hurtling toward him demanded a response.

Again, this bought Ronin precious time.

Groaning, Ronin staggered to his feet, stunned that a single martial misstep had plunged him into such peril.

“I must master the Heat Ray Secret Technique immediately!”

He drew a deep breath, watching the assassin evade the attacks and close in on him. He cast the third-tier spell, Swift Step.

Ronin felt his body grow impossibly light—far more potent than the Light Body spell.

“Kill!”

Whoosh!

He became a streak of shadow, hurtling toward his foe.

Ramsay’s brow furrowed. “Ronin’s speed has increased too—Third-tier Swift Step?”

They clashed again, both now wearier than before, locked in a stalemate.

“No good. I can’t stay here any longer.”

Using the momentum of the clash, Ramsay spun around, activated Wind Instant Step, vanished in a series of blinks, and fled the battlefield, sprinting swiftly toward the outer edge of the fortress.

To him, the assassination had failed—but he had uncovered Ronin’s true capabilities. Tonight’s mission was still a success.

“After him!”

The knights shouted in unison.

“No need to pursue!” Ronin barked.

Ramsay had been wounded, yes—but even Riedal couldn’t withstand a single blow. Sending these men after him would be suicide.

He had already contacted Karllos, ordering him to come at maximum speed.

“Geoffrey, organize your men to clean up here. The rest, guard the castle—no one enters or leaves without permission. Riedal, come with me.”

“Yes!”

Ronin and Riedal set off at a run, following the path Ramsay had taken.

He would not let this man escape. (End of Chapter)