Ailiya, who was almost asleep, was jolted awake by the waterfall, and then seeing the Black Knight, she instantly became alert. There was no doubt this person was the 'Black Knight' Pike Brown had mentioned to them before.
Ailiya immediately drew the stone sword from her waist, her expression wary. The situation became a standoff.
Fi was also hesitant. If he could, he certainly didn't want to fight the opponent right now, but that wasn't up to him; it depended on whether the opponent was willing to let them leave.
Fi looked at the opponent. The bloodstains on the Black Knight's plate armor and sword blade were still flowing and dripping, indicating he had likely just killed someone recently. Fi recalled what Pike Brown had said: 'wandering near Stone Pine City, attacking passersby without reason.'
Only Saifei'er looked at the Black Knight with a rather curious expression, as the opponent was quite different from what she imagined. She had thought a Black Knight would be a burly man, similar in build to Douglas, but now it seemed this Black Knight's physique was unexpectedly... 'petite'?
Just then, Ailiya charged forward with a swift stride. The stone sword in her hand glowed golden as she preemptively launched an attack.
The Black Knight reacted extremely quickly. He raised his hand and held his sword to block Ailiya's path. The black blade and the golden blade collided, emitting a crisp hum.
But the next second, the Black Knight twisted his wrist, swinging in an arc, like performing Tai Chi, drawing Ailiya's blade to his side. The Black Knight then swiftly retracted his sword and swung again, aiming for Ailiya's abdomen.
This was a difference in sword skill!
Before becoming a Holy Knight, Ailiya was just an ordinary farm girl after all. She hadn't received any sword training. In all her previous battles, she had relied on her strength, speed, and the powerful Holy Strike to overpower opponents.
But this Black Knight was different. His strength and speed were not inferior to Ailiya's, and it was clear from their first exchange that he possessed extensive sword-fighting experience. Thus, in an instant, Ailiya found herself at a disadvantage.
However, Ailiya wasn't alone. Fi's spell was complete, and a golden beam of light shot from his fingertip, reaching the spot where the two were fighting in the blink of an eye. However, this beam was not aimed at the Black Knight, but struck Ailiya.
In an instant, Ailiya's speed surged. She quickly retreated, easily dodging the Black Knight's swing, and even counter-attacked in the brief moment the Black Knight's swing missed, striking the Black Knight's shoulder plate vertically.
Speed Boost, a three-ring Transmutation spell, has a very simple effect: it doubles the speed of the recipient. If Ailiya could previously run ten meters and swing her sword once per second, now she could run twenty meters and swing twice per second. The only drawback is that after the spell's effect ends, the recipient will feel intense fatigue and weakness to compensate for the previous 'burst.'
However, the effect of this magic is not truly a doubling in the literal sense, but rather a drastic increase in 'values.' If Fi used this magic on Saifei'er, Saifei'er's speed would not double, because she was already very, very fast. It would probably be like going from running one thousand meters per second to one thousand and ten meters per second?
Of course, under normal circumstances, the effect of this spell is still very powerful. From Ailiya's perspective, it was as if she had entered an extended 'bullet time,' where everything around her seemed to slow down by half.
"Clang—"
Ailiya's sword struck the Black Knight's shoulder with a crisp clang, then her sword bounced off, having no effect. That plate armor was simply too hard!
In this world, swords are not controlled items, but full sets of armor are. A person wielding a long sword might kill another, but they could also be killed by another person wielding a long sword.
But if a person wears a full set of armor, he can kill several times his number of enemies, and even retreat unharmed after the battle.
"Clink-clank-clang—"
The sound of metal colliding rang out continuously, many of them being the clash of blades, and many being Ailiya striking the plate armor. In just a few seconds, the two exchanged blows more than a dozen times.
Clearly, with Ailiya's speed doubled, the Black Knight's pressure increased dramatically, and he began to fight and retreat. But Ailiya clearly had no good way to deal with this 'iron turtle.' If Douglas were here, his great axe might pose a greater threat to the Black Knight.
"Holy Strike!" Ailiya seized the opportunity and unleashed another Holy Strike, but this move had a brief wind-up. Before this, Ailiya had already used Holy Strike three times, but even under the Speed Boost, none of them had directly hit the Black Knight; they were either blocked by his long sword or dodged.
However, this time was different. The moment Ailiya raised her hand, a surge of black magical energy also erupted from the Black Knight's blade.
'A move with a curse effect; once struck, the wound cannot heal, and one eventually dies in agony.'
This was the intelligence Pike Brown had provided. At first glance, it seemed similar to the negative energy wounds caused by skeletons, but it was actually different, because negative energy wounds could be easily healed by priests, but the Brown family had sought out priests, and they were completely helpless.
Recalling this intelligence, Ailiya showed no sign of backing down. She gritted her teeth, increasing the efficiency of her magical energy release, and the golden light on her blade intensified.
The next second, black magical energy and golden magical energy collided, but at the same time, for the first time since the battle began, Ailiya heard the Black Knight's voice. He spoke in a hoarse, low voice, like a broken bellows:
"Holy Strike—!"
"What!?" Ailiya's eyes widened instantly, revealing an expression of immense shock. Immediately after, accompanied by an explosive roar, the ground within a five-meter radius, centered on where their blades collided, suddenly caved in as if crushed by something heavy.
After a brief delay, a massive repulsive force directly sent Ailiya flying. She couldn't even hold onto her stone sword, which flew out of her hand.
However, before Ailiya landed, Saifei'er arrived at the spot where she was about to fall, catching her in a princess carry and holding her in her arms.
At the same time, Saifei'er looked at the Black Knight with confusion. She had naturally heard what the opponent just said: Holy Strike. This was a skill unique to Holy Knights, meaning that this Black Knight, like Ailiya, was also a Holy Knight.
......
PS: The blood on the Black Knight was actually wild boar blood.