Chapter 1

Whoosh!

A sharp sound whistled through the air, a streak of silver flashing and vanishing.

Click.

A faint sound echoed, like a meticulously set mechanism being triggered. A diagonal mark appeared on a stone wall from top to bottom, followed by a rumbling sound. Nearly half of the stone wall began to slide down slowly, with small stones and sand falling from the crack.

In just a moment, the seemingly thick stone wall was left with only the half connected to the ground, the other half having fallen to the floor.

Dust filled the air.

"Damn it, this isn't scientific!" A young man, who had been hiding behind the stone wall, let out a curse.

This young man looked to be around twenty-two or twenty-three years old. He wasn't particularly outstanding in appearance, but his jet-black, silk-like hair stood out. Although he cursed, his face didn't show much panic. His calm and composed gaze gave him a unique charm. However, he didn't choose to stay behind the stone wall. As the wall crumbled, he quickly picked up his only weapon and ran, then hid behind another wall.

"Shawn! You big liar!" A slightly childish voice suddenly rang out, perhaps due to the urgency and tension, the voice became somewhat shrill. "I won't believe you anymore!"

The owner of the voice was hiding not too far from the young man.

She was a young girl.

Her skin was fair and delicate, a trait that was particularly evident in her. Her features were as finely chiseled as a master's legendary work, and her golden hair, which shone brightly in the sunlight, all indicated that this girl was of no ordinary background. At least in the eyes of the young man, who looked somewhat disheveled at the moment—Shawn—this girl's lineage was undoubtedly very noble.

However, at this moment, Shawn's face was somewhat grim: "You idiot! Didn't I tell you to hide properly!"

Shawn raised his head from behind the obstacle and, as expected, saw the enemy who had been targeting him turn to face the little girl.

"Damn it! I haven't established a stable aggro yet, and now you've pulled the aggro!" Shawn cursed. Seeing the enemy start to walk toward the little girl, he quickly picked up a pebble and threw it at the enemy. "Cecilia, run! Find a place to hide!"

Ding.

The pebble hit the enemy's helmet and bounced to the ground.

But as a method to draw attention, it was sufficient.

The enemy standing before Shawn was a warrior in black full armor. However, this armor was already damaged in many places and, due to a lack of maintenance, had long lost its luster. Even when worn, it only provided protection in some areas, and these areas were not the most critical. The truly vital parts were exposed.

From the surface, this armored warrior could be considered a veteran soldier withdrawn from the front lines.

However, in reality, this was a Black Knight.

【Name: Ruined Black Knight】

【Race: Undead】

【Class: Black Knight (Tier 3)】

【Attributes: Strength: 16; Agility: 8; Endurance: 13; Intelligence: 3; Willpower: 5】

This series of data was what Shawn could see about the monster in front of him.

Under normal circumstances, as a Tier 3 class, a Black Knight would be at level 55. However, this Black Knight had suffered severe and irreparable damage, reducing its actual class to Tier 1. Even so, for most people, this Black Knight was not an easy opponent, as it still retained about one-third of its combat instincts.

Under the influence of these instincts, it would prioritize its targets based on the strength of the enemies within its line of sight.

Shawn saw the Black Knight's gaze finally settle on him, and it began to walk toward him. He frowned, then gripped his longsword and stepped out from behind the stone wall. The current situation deviated slightly from his planned script, but it wasn't too far off. The situation was still within his control. If Cecilia hadn't suddenly appeared and disrupted his plan, dealing with this Black Knight would have been easier.

"Come on!"

Shawn glanced at the longsword in the Black Knight's hand, which had a faint blue glow, and then took a step forward, charging forward!

Charge!

The distance between Shawn and the Black Knight was only six meters, which was the maximum distance this charge could cover.

However, Shawn's speed was fast, and the Black Knight's reaction was not slow.

Almost as soon as Shawn charged, the Black Knight, following its instincts, swung its longsword.

The same sharp sound that made Shawn's scalp tingle, the longsword swung in a half-circle, the pale blue light clearly visible like a crescent moon. The speed of this strike was at its peak. At Shawn's charging speed, he would have become headless by the time he reached the Black Knight. This alone indicated that the Black Knight's combat ability was superior to Shawn's.

However, unexpectedly, just as the longsword was about to slice through Shawn's neck, he made a very noticeable pause, instantly transitioning from extreme speed to complete stillness. The powerful counterforce made Shawn's face contort, clearly indicating that this was not a pleasant sensation. But this move allowed Shawn to completely avoid the decapitation, and in the next moment, the ordinary iron sword in his hand pierced the Black Knight's heart.

Roar!

Two red lights suddenly appeared in the Black Knight's helmet. Despite the sound, Shawn heard an angry roar, as if it came directly from the soul.

However, Shawn showed no fear. He gripped the longsword and pushed it deeper, the tip even piercing through the Black Knight's already dead and stiff back muscles. In the next second, Shawn immediately released his right hand, and as he let go of the sword, a faint white light appeared on his right hand, which he then placed on the Black Knight's right hand, silently thinking: "Allocate skill points, one point to Strength, one point to Agility, one point to Endurance."

The light on Shawn's right hand flashed and disappeared, but only he could see it.

The Black Knight's right hand, which held the sword, swung, but the expected spray of blood did not appear. It only felt a slight difference in its right hand, but with its completely dead brain, it couldn't discern the specific changes.

Stepping back, Shawn now held the longsword that the Black Knight had been holding.

【Check successful, successfully seized the opponent's weapon.】

The Black Knight looked at the longsword in Shawn's hand, then at its own right hand. It couldn't understand why its sword was gone, but as an unintelligent undead creature, this was not a problem for it. It simply looked down at its chest, then reached out and pulled out the longsword that had pierced its chest.

However, when the Black Knight raised its head again, it was met with a barrage of attacks from Shawn.

This series of attacks would not have been enough against a fully functional Black Knight, but against a damaged Black Knight with only one-third of its combat instincts, it was sufficient. Although Shawn's damage wasn't particularly high, and much of it was blocked by the Black Knight's armor, his attacks were fluid, with each set of three strikes forming a continuous assault like a storm.

From the start of the attack, the Black Knight only resisted for a moment before being completely overpowered, thoroughly suppressed by Shawn. Although it tried to counterattack, the ordinary longsword in its hand was no match for the one Shawn had taken from the Black Knight. After a few exchanges, the longsword broke, which was the main reason the Black Knight was completely overpowered.

"Cecilia!" Shawn shouted.

"Got it!" The golden-haired little girl, hiding at a distance, responded loudly.

In the next moment, Shawn immediately ducked to avoid a swing from the Black Knight, then leaped to the side, landing two meters behind the Black Knight. He rolled on the ground and quickly stood up. At that moment, a loud explosion sounded, and a scorching heat wave and shockwave surged, causing Shawn to stagger.

However, his reaction was quick, and he soon regained his footing.

Looking up, he saw the Black Knight had turned into a human torch, but the tenacious life force of the undead did not let it die. Instead, it continued to roar in anger from deep within its soul.

But at this moment, Shawn would not allow this monster any chance to counterattack.

He quickly rushed to the Black Knight, raised his longsword, and a crescent-shaped blue light flashed across the Black Knight's neck. The black helmet, still burning, flew into the air.