Chapter 2: Heavenly Rank Knight
His explosive energy was effortlessly dispelled by a single, exquisite move from his opponent. A brilliant spark flashed in Sorenberg’s deep eyes—this kind of battle was what truly mattered. Past fights, whether against his companion Vladkov or against Shatima, paled in comparison to this stunning move. Only battling skilled opponents could truly lead to improvement, and now Sorenberg’s fighting spirit was even more ignited.
Suddenly, he lifted the tail end of his spear, rising like a black dragon suddenly unleashing its fury. Roaring, it generated layers of gusts of wind from below, while the spear shadows multiplied amidst the surging combat energy, instantly locking their opponent in again.
“Huh!” The arrogant Heavenly Rank Knight finally showed a hint of surprise. Though he had expected his opponent not to be knocked down so easily, the fact that they could quickly regroup their attacks in such a short time was enough to make him reconsider them.
It made sense—if those daring to challenge the Inquisition were too rare, it wouldn’t make sense. Although the Inquisition had become somewhat paranoid due to misunderstandings of their doctrines, their strength hadn’t been greatly affected. Both Nojora and Lorenzo were outstanding among local priests, and even Lord Vazinki held them in high regard.
“Now!” The Heavenly Rank Knight’s eyes gleamed fiercely as he locked his gaze on a glint of light among the endless spear shadows. With one hand, he pressed down on his spear, causing a roar of energy to condense into a solid mass that pressed downward with brutal force. With his other hand, he swiftly formed a strange gesture, aiming at a point in midair.
Sorenberg felt as though his knight’s spear had suddenly plunged into a space filled with glue—every inch of movement required immense effort. Meanwhile, the opponent’s rapidly descending spear struck fiercely against the solid tip of his own illusionary spear.
A clear, resonant impact sound spread outward. Sorenberg’s teeth almost bit into his lip. Several waves of energy were transmitted through that instant collision, violently pouring into his body. For a moment, it felt as though all his bones might shatter. A strong urge to vomit rose from his chest and abdomen to his throat, and a faint metallic taste filled his mouth and nose.
What an amazing Light Combat Aura! It can even combine with magical attacks at the same time! From the very beginning, it dealt a severe blow to Sorenberg. If the first attack only made Sorenberg realize the opponent’s strength, the second attack truly made him understand the huge gap between them. This powerful strike knocked away a large part of Sorenberg’s confidence and pride. Such a gap cannot be bridged merely by confidence and tenacity—it requires years of cultivation and practice.
Komer noticed something unusual when his opponent suddenly released his gun with his left hand, but he still didn’t expect this Heavenly Rank Knight to have such profound mastery in magic. While there are those who excel in both magic and combat, most of them are unremarkable figures. Throughout the continent’s history, only a few have truly achieved success in both areas. Perhaps Kenifer III could be counted among them, but those are mostly historical figures. At least on the continent right now, it seems no one has mastered both skills yet—but today, Komer finally witnessed it.
Although it was just a simple space compression technique, which isn’t even considered a highly advanced spell in space magic—with a short duration and easily countered by other spells—it was unleashed suddenly as the opponent attacked with a gun in one hand. It was equivalent to a magician and a Heavenly Rank Knight attacking Sorenberg together. How could Sorenberg, who was already at a disadvantage in strength, withstand such an attack?
A faint white light silently flowed from Komer’s hand into Sorenberg. The cool airflow spread throughout Sorenberg’s body along his meridians, instantly dispelling the blood smell from his mouth and nose. He had almost made an irreversible mistake due to carelessness. While feeling ashamed, Sorenberg’s will to fight grew even stronger—he could still fight. Komer’s restoration technique quickly healed Sorenberg’s injuries. His already shaky Dark Iron Magic Gun, fueled by his anger, became like a furious dragon suddenly raising its head, unleashing countless terrifying dragon heads to attack his opponent!
Glancing briefly at Komer, the Knight of the Heavenly Stairs could clearly see that his opponent had received magical support from his companion. Yet he was still surprised that the opponent could recover so quickly. After all, he rarely used his combined magic and martial arts tactics, but when he did, it was always to deliver a decisive blow. Yet the opponent had managed to withstand the surge of blood loss and still receive magical support—otherwise, even if Komer had the power to turn the situation around, he wouldn’t be able to restore the opponent’s ability to fight instantly.
Sorenberg, acting out of fury, no longer needed to hold back at all. Failure was inevitable, so he would make sure to fail in a more honorable manner. Even if he was at a disadvantage, he would make the opponent pay a heavy price. His Dark Iron Magic Spear locked onto the opponent’s constantly shifting figure in mid-air, but it was always just out of reach to truly catch up. This “shifting shadows” technique was one of the aerial movement skills, each with its own advantages compared to “seemingly close yet worlds apart.” Although Sorenberg could launch attacks from the air, he was clearly inferior to his opponent in terms of aerial movement skills. The cold light emanating from the spear tip reached three feet out, creating intense sound waves that were deafening.
As Sorenberg took a sharp breath, the temperature in the air dropped abruptly, and a thick layer of icy mist formed in the space where the two were fighting. The cold light from the spear tip generated solid white ice spikes, which gathered together to form deadly weapons!
Amidst the chaotic mist and winds, Sorenberg, who was constantly moving to pursue his opponent, became extremely solemn. His deep blue eyes showed blurred shifts in light and shadow. His hands gripping the Dark Iron Magic Spear trembled violently, causing the spear to twist strangely. The ice combat energy accumulated over time erupted violently through the spear.
The countless ice spikes in the air were fully activated by Sorenberg’s concentrated power, creating a world like a frozen wasteland. The ice spikes swirled in the air, and their ear-splitting howls turned the entire square into a ghostly realm.
Even though the Knight of the Heavenly Stairs possessed extraordinary skills, he never expected Sorenberg to suddenly explode with power after suffering heavy injuries. Sorenberg’s ice combat energy instantly turned the water elements in the air into ice spikes, and the sudden release caused the spikes to explode rapidly. At this moment, the Knight of the Heavenly Stairs had nowhere to retreat or avoid—there was only the option to face it head-on.
The milky-white light martial aura gradually expanded, turning into a dazzlingly holy halo that tightly enveloped the Heavenly Rank Knight’s body. The ice spikes that rushed in lost their momentum as soon as they entered the halo’s range, and their intense screeching sound became somewhat muffled due to its excessive harshness, reaching straight to the forehead. Under the powerful resistance of the light martial aura, countless ice spikes turned into water droplets or ice dust, filling the entire combat space with swirling mist. Yet, Sorenberg’s all-out attack wasn’t entirely ineffective—the hastily summoned light martial aura shield couldn’t protect every area, and the ice spikes flew back from unexpected angles to strike, inevitably hitting the weaker points of the aura. The bloodstains on his white robe proved Sorenberg’s success, but the anger on the Heavenly Rank Knight’s face and his agile movements also showed that the damage was mostly superficial rather than substantial. Especially when the opponent’s transparent knight spear unleashed endless storms of attacks, Komer knew their duel was coming to an end. The black iron demon spear stirred up turbulent waves of dark air, but against the fierce onslaught like a stormy wind, the cold ice martial aura dispersed under the screeching sound of air friction, and the two knight spears met again. “Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!” A series of clear ringing sounds of clashes reached everyone’s ears. With each collision, Sorenberg was forced to take a step back. Though he bit his lips until they were bloody and braced himself like a drawn bow, the immense force still forced him to retreat in frustration. It would be foolish to insist on strength at such a moment. In a true contest of strength, there were no tricks—no matter how unwilling Sorenberg was, he had to admit that this battle had to end in such an embarrassing manner. With the final fierce strike crashing in, a proud smile appeared on the Heavenly Rank Knight’s lips. He carefully retracted his knight spear, threw it gracefully into the air, and it spun beautifully before landing precisely in the spear pouch on his back—so accurate and steady that even Komer couldn’t help but marvel. Blood surged upward in waves; Sorenberg had already retreated six steps. On the last step, he wanted to grit his teeth and hold on, but his flushed cheeks revealed the danger to Komer. With a light leap, Komer formed a strange gesture with his fingers and pointed it at Sorenberg’s forehead, while simultaneously pressing his other palm firmly against Sorenberg’s back.
With a “pfft!” sound, a large gush of blood sprayed out, and Sorenberg staggered, having to use the tip of his gun for support to stay upright. Meanwhile, Komer’s white magic penetrated deep into Sorenberg’s body.