Chapter 721: Chapter 363: If You Truly Wish to Break Free, Stake Your Life on It
The countless invisible strings within the space were stirred by Ronan’s spear, a vast and ancient force pressed down, and the torrents of energy between heaven and earth converged at the spear’s tip.
The intricate patterns crisscrossing on the Eight-blade Spear all lit up, more black aura surged from the spear’s body, accompanied by a touch of dark red.
Driven by instinctual combat awareness, Ronan’s figure was like smoke, elusive, thrusting his spear towards the Black Nightmare Knight behind him.
In an instant, a brilliant beam formed from countless interwoven black lightning shot out, silently piercing through the void, reaching the Black Nightmare Knight in a flash.
The latter blocked horizontally with his spear, forming seals with both hands, overlapping the spiritual field and defense energy field of a Level 5 Late Stage Wizard, which condensed into a wall of magic solid wall in front of him, but within a breath, it shattered under the terrifying spear light.
The spear light pierced straight through the Black Nightmare Knight’s forehead, and he, along with his Black Nightmare Warhorse, disintegrated into countless ghostly blue flames.
"Whew—"
Almost simultaneously, the battle between the two erupted in another position in the void.
The battle entered another phase, Ronan and the Black Nightmare Knight moved so fast that they were impossible to catch with the naked eye.
Like light and shadow, like fog and electricity.
One could barely determine their approximate positions from every strike Ronan made, the dense black light paths like veins of the void formed by the Eight-blade Spear, and the ghostly blue flames around the Black Nightmare Knight.
The two tyrannical forces collided repeatedly in the sky, accompanied by the neighs of the Black Nightmare Warhorse, the terror of the battle aftermath stirred waves of energy tides and raging hurricanes in the sky and on the earth below.
As the only observer of this battle, Jason kept retreating back.
As a Level 4 Dawn Wizard, he didn’t even have the right to observe closely in this battle, even getting slightly closer would cause his body and soul to be simultaneously torn with agonizing pain.
On the gray-white wasteland, the wind and sand stirred by the battle grew larger, affecting the weather, countless dark clouds rolled, covering the already not so strong daylight.
Amidst the dimness, from time to time terrifying forbidden aura-laden energy lightning would fall.
For a moment, the high sky lit up, and you could vaguely see two ancient demon-like figures fiercely intertwined in combat.
Time had passed unknowingly, and at some moment, suddenly, with a loud "boom", a human figure was thrown out of the raging storm like a cannonball.
Jason’s heart tightened, he abruptly stepped forward two steps, but when he completely saw the person slowly standing up from the sand which seemed to have been plowed over many times and unnaturally shortened, he froze suddenly.
The Black Nightmare Knight was seen slowly wiping the corner of his mouth, his eyes flickering intensely, part of the armor on him was shattered, large areas of runes dimmed, and even the Black Nightmare Warhorse that had been inseparable from him had vanished.
The chaotic storm at the center of the battle shattered, several lightning bolts tore through the sky, illuminating the figure of Ronan standing silently with his spear under the sky.
Ronan looked much more miserable than the Black Nightmare Knight.
The Titan Armor on him was almost out of shape, all sixteen pairs of golden feather wings on his back were withered, and there were some apparent injury marks on his exposed body...
But his eyes shone astonishingly, layers of black aura around him surged like the Dead Sea, continuously rolling out more red, the dark red patterns on the wounded Eight-blade Spear in his hand interwoven, almost climbing to the middle segment of the spear.
Even Jason could clearly feel the surging battle intent erupting from Ronan at this moment, his long black hair like ink behind him fluttered like an immortal banner.
"Again."
In the high sky, Ronan uttered a hoarse and deep voice, holding the spear with one hand, stepping down towards the Black Nightmare Knight below step by step.
His presence was dominating, sharp like a drawn blade.
The Black Nightmare Knight narrowed his eyes and suddenly lightly patted his chest.
Followed by a peculiar rune fluctuation spreading from his body, ghostly blue flames surged like tides, quickly rising, gradually condensing into a huge pattern-like array in the void.
"Inheritance Array?..."
Ronan’s eyes flickered, his steps paused.
Yet quickly regained calm, slowly gripping the Eight-blade Spear in his hand tighter, his strides unwavering.
As the array pattern continuously took shape, the Black Nightmare Knight’s aura rose step by step, torrents of heart-pounding energy flowed out inexplicably from that array pattern, rapidly forming an oceanic trend, constantly lifting his body upward...
The Golden Titanium emitted a gentle ringing, inside, the Spiral Palace shook, and conch horns moaned.
Ronan felt the pressure in the void growing heavier, slowly licking his lips.
Before his eyes appeared the illusion of the black Dead Sea again—the Dead Sea was surging wildly, thick dark red like blood was being brought up from below the sea surface, dyeing his pupils with threads of red.
Just when the pressure and aura of the Black Nightmare Knight were reaching a peak, suddenly....
The ghostly blue array behind him quietly collapsed, all energy retracted, the terrifying aura vanished instantly like smoke.
"Heh..."
A light laugh came from beneath the bronze mask.
The Black Nightmare Knight shook his head, speaking with a bit of self-mockery, "I actually thought of using the power of the Inheritance Array against a small Level 4 like you... how ridiculous is that?"
Ronan frowned slightly, couldn’t help asking as he saw the opponent’s battle intent receding like a tide, "What do you mean?"
"The game’s time should’ve ended long ago."
The Black Nightmare Knight slowly removed the mask from his face, revealing the mature and handsome face of a middle-aged man with two handsome little moustaches.
"Let me introduce myself."
The handsome little moustache smiled slightly, "Thomas Quinn. Do you mind telling me your name?"
Ronan stared at him, seeming a bit unadapted to his sudden change of attitude.
His eyes flickered for a moment, but Ronan eventually answered in a low voice.
"Spirit Lake. Misha."
Jason, afar, hearing this, couldn’t help but pause, then quickly scratched his bald head, pretending nonchalance as he turned his head to the side.
"Spirit Lake... Indeed, I should’ve recognized the emblem of this power long ago."
The man named Thomas showed an expression of realization, then nodded, "Misha, right, I’ll remember this name."
He looked Ronan up and down with an unabashedly appreciative gaze and said, "Among the young brats I’ve encountered in my life, in every aspect, your excellence ranks in the top three..."
The Eight-blade Spear in Ronan’s hand hummed slightly, and he calmly replied, "Among the Level 5 old fellows I’ve met, your toughness also ranks in the top three."
The Handsome Little Moustache’s expression stiffened, and in the next second, he swore with a mixture of a wry smile and a curse, "You little brat..."
He casually pulled out something that resembled a medal, seemingly some kind of Communication Tool, which was glowing faintly.
The Handsome Little Moustache stared at the medal in his hand, frowning slightly, but soon relaxed, his face showing no fluctuations.
"See you again when there’s a chance, little brat."
The Handsome Little Moustache put two fingers to his lips and blew a loud whistle. Soon, the void in front of him rippled like water, and an intact Black Nightmare Warhorse emerged from the void with a snort.
With a dashing move, the Handsome Little Moustache mounted the horse, donned his bronze face mask, looked down at Ronan with a slight smile, and said, "The next time I meet you, I’ll definitely take you back to the Third Army..."
"Is that so?"
Ronan narrowed his eyes.
The Handsome Little Moustache didn’t say anything more. He tugged on the reins, and he and his mount, the Black Nightmare Warhorse, turned into black smoke and disappeared.
Ronan stood there, quietly gazing at the direction where the man and horse had departed. One second, two seconds, three seconds... until half the time of the Hourglass had passed, the Eight-blade Spear in his hand, along with the Golden Titanium surrounding him, simultaneously disintegrated in an instant.
"Crack, crack—"
The whole person, like a deflated balloon, withdrew from the Ancient Mara’s Body state of the Sixfold Spiral Palace.
His black hair gradually reverted to a pale white, and he propped himself up with one hand on the ground. The wounds from the battle stood out on his pale, slender body, particularly striking. The Titanium, like a docile puppy, nestled at his side, a more intense aura of shattering emanating from him...
"Damien!"
Jason rushed to Ronan’s side like a gust of wind, a complex look in his eyes tinged with a trace of concern.
Ronan raised his hand to block Jason’s support, shook his head, and casually took out a square black Stone Box, drawing some power from the Healing Shrine and silently converting it for absorption.
"What a pity..."
Ronan felt the scars on his body gradually fade away, propped himself up, and slowly donned his Magic Robe.
"What a pity?"
Jason couldn’t help but ask.
"It’s a pity I couldn’t force out the power of his Inheritance Array."
Ronan smoothed out the creases on the Magic Robe bit by bit, returning to his original calm and composed demeanor, and said calmly, "Otherwise, I should have been able to achieve the final breakthrough under that pressure."
Jason froze upon hearing this, then subconsciously stepped a few paces back, shaking his head while speaking, "You’re truly a madman... I’m already beginning to regret becoming friends with you, truly fearful that one day you’ll drag us into a dead end."
"Jason Franklin."
Ronan suddenly called Jason by his full name.
He looked at Jason and said blandly, "You should heed my words... If you truly wish to break away from something.
You must have the determination to press forward with all your might."
Jason was startled, then inexplicably lowered his head and fell into silence.
"Let’s go."
Ronan gave Jason time to think and digest on his own, and beckoned him to leave.
The two of them followed the teleportation point mark Ronan had left earlier and proceeded along their original route.
Halfway through their journey, Jason suddenly spoke up.
"Damien, let’s part ways here."
Ronan stopped in his tracks, seemingly not surprised at all by his decision.
"Going back the way you came is indeed a better choice.
The teleportation point I marked connects to an ancient relic, and I’m participating in a certain trial; subsequent actions might not allow me to take care of you.."
"Since when did I suddenly become a waste, needing your care everywhere and only dragging you back?"
Jason chuckled, his expression seeming somewhat bitter.
"Let me know once you find that Golden Rat’s treasure, and if I don’t receive your communication, don’t wait for me.."
Jason spoke to Ronan with a serious face, "Damien, the next time we meet.
I must surpass... well, at least not be regarded as your attendant."
Ronan looked at Jason with a hint of an unusual expression, clearly seeing that his words had left some impression on Jason.
"A fine ambition."
Ronan patted Jason’s shoulder in encouragement, "Then, good luck to you."
"There’s something odd about this..."
Jason muttered to himself, without further farewells, he quickly turned and left in a different direction.
Ronan watched his retreating figure, a slight amused expression on his face; he shook his head and also left on his own.
In the gray and desolate wilderness under a dim sky, the two figures thus parted ways.
...
Ronan didn’t spend much time returning to the position of the teleportation point where he’d originally set the mark.
A simple activation of the Magic Node, a pillar of white light rose up, and Ronan stepped inside.
After a series of changes in the scenery before his eyes, once all fluctuations settled, he returned once more to the dark, decaying, damp Ancient Waterway.