The wizard starts by trimming the donkey's hooves

Chapter 320: Continuous Killing (Two chapters in one)

Inside the Imperial Camp in Fishing Port Town.

Viscount Felke's face became serious, and he said, "Sir Ryan, is the situation so serious? Do you need to rush over in person?"

Ryan nodded and said, "Yes! I suspect it is probably someone from the Secret Snake Cult."

"The Secret Snake Cult? I heard that the main activity area of ​​this evil cult is within seven or eight provinces in the central part of the empire. Why did they come to Münster this time?"

"But I heard that this evil cult is very powerful and not easy to deal with. No wonder you, Lord Ryan, want to go there in person."

Viscount Felke had already had a new respect for Ryan.

Especially when His Highness Menia presented the dragon scale to the other party, Felke knew that if the young Viscount Ryan in front of him did not die young, he would definitely become a legendary strong man in the empire in the future, so he naturally had to make friends with him in advance.

"Well, Lord Ryan, in that case, I will have my adjutant go with you now."

"The patrolling griffin knights just set out not long ago. It will probably take nearly an hour for them to come back."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Lord Felke." Ryan thanked.

Immediately, Ryan had no intention of staying at the banquet. After greeting the major general in charge of the camp, he came to his team members.

"Everyone, I need to go to Mayest County City immediately. Someone from the Secret Snake Cult may have appeared."

Everyone was stunned when they heard it, and then they started talking at once.

"So fast? Didn't you say before that the other party had concealed his whereabouts?"

"Isn't it inappropriate to let the captain go alone?"

"Yes, why don't we set off together now!"

Ryan glanced at everyone. Unlike him, they were not able to recover after a few minutes of practice. Therefore, even Neoro and the others who were not injured looked exhausted at this moment.

After all, the battle with the Blood Curse Naga was not easy at all for them!

Not to mention the injured Remiel and others.

So, Ryan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll take the griffin first. You guys can recover first and come back tomorrow morning."

"Captain, you must be careful!"

"Yeah!" Renn nodded.

At the same time, Ryan also saw Anna in the crowd. At this moment, her big eyes were looking at him with a rather lost look.

After thinking for a while, Ryan took the initiative to walk up to Anna, ruffled her hair, smiled, and said, "Don't worry! Anna, don't you still believe in my strength?"

"Come back tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Yeah!" Ryan's intimate behavior immediately swept away Anna's original loss. She nodded shyly and said nothing more.

When Ryan arrived at the Griffin base, he discovered that Felke's adjutant was actually a rare female knight with blonde hair and a pretty face.

This surprised him quite a bit!
"Lord Ryan, I'm Julie, Lord Felke's adjutant." Julie stepped forward and said.

"Hello, Julie, thank you for your hard work."

"It is my honor to serve you! Lord Ryan, shall we set off now?"

"Ok!"

Ryan, who was sitting on the griffin, had no intention of chatting with Julie. At this moment, he focused his attention on the system panel.

In the battle with Celinis, Ryan discovered that the intermediate secret skill "Shadow Step" was very applicable and could be combined with the attacks of various weapons.

Although Shadow Step is most effective when holding a light weapon such as a dagger or a knuckle, it can still be performed when holding a heavy weapon. The only difference is that the number of phantoms will be reduced and the effect will be weakened.

"But this can actually be compensated by improving the level of mystery."

"If I can upgrade Shadow Step to a high-level skill, I should be able to maintain at least five phantoms while holding a lance or a two-handed hammer." Ryan thought to himself.

After a little thought, Ryan looked at the remaining 22 gold skill points on the attribute panel and immediately decided to upgrade "Shadow Step" to the advanced level.

"Since we are likely to face battle again, there is no need to save up too many gold skill points."

Since the Fire Dragon Breathing Technique has already reached level 18, it has greatly exceeded the prerequisites for upgrading the 'Shadow Step' to a high-level secret.

So, after Ryan spent two gold skill points to improve Burak's assassination dance and another two gold skill points to break through, the system prompt sounded:
[Congratulations, you have mastered the advanced secret of Burak's assassination dance: Shadow Step! ]

Although the name has not changed much, the icon of 'Shadow Step' on the Weapon Master (Legend) panel has undergone significant changes.

In the icon, the thin man who was attacking with a dagger has now become seven people, and their attack postures are also different and lifelike.

That is to say, in addition to the real person, the phantom was upgraded from four to six.

This point was confirmed again by Ryan in his textual description of the advanced secrets:
Shadow Step (Advanced Secret) Effect: Use a special step that combines the Force with leg strength, leaving six additional phantoms within a ten-meter radius around oneself to confuse the enemy.

(Note: Phantoms do not have attack power.)
（暗影步提升至顶级奥义，需满足下列条件：一、伯拉克的暗杀舞步lv18以上（专精可抵消部分等级要求）；二、火龙呼吸法lv16以上；三、力量40点，敏捷45点，体质42点以上；四、消耗黄金技能点4点。）
"Hey, the range of the phantom has also been increased. It was originally five meters, and now it is ten meters! In this way, the effect of confusing the enemy will be better." Ryan was delighted.

"I've used up 22 of the 4 gold skill points, and now I have 18 points left." Ryan's eyes flickered.

"The armor-piercing attack is quite effective. It should be very effective against enemies with sorcery defenses."

The biggest difference between the effect of the lance and the two-handed warhammer is that when facing the witchcraft shield, which is a defense with strong toughness or elasticity, the hammer, as a blunt weapon, will absorb a lot of kinetic energy and its lethality will drop sharply.

But the lance is different. It is like poking a balloon with a needle. No matter how strong the defense is, if it only attacks one point, it will still cause huge damage.

"In that case, let's upgrade 'Armor Breaking Strike' to a high-level ultimate skill!"

After Ryan had consumed a total of seven gold skill points, system prompts sounded one after another:
[Congratulations, you have mastered the intermediate secret of the Spear of Longilo: Armor-breaking Strike! ]

[Congratulations, you have mastered the advanced secret of the Spear of Longilo: Armor-piercing strike! ]

At the same time, a flood of 'Armor Breaking Strike' training memories flooded into Ryan's mind!

It was as if Ryan had been concentrating on practicing the lance secret of "armor-piercing strike" for more than 20 years in a mysterious space.

After digesting and absorbing all the memories, Ryan looked at the new icon of "Armor Breaking Strike" on the Weapon Master (Legend) panel.

The pattern within the icon changed from a knight riding a warhorse to a knight riding a griffin.

The knight was riding the griffin in a high-speed dive, and the lance in his hand was stabbing diagonally downward at a speed that tore through the air.

There are many circular lines on both sides of the lance, which seem to indicate that when it is stabbed out, the airflow is like a tornado.

In addition, the text description of the ultimate skill "Armor Breaking Strike" has also changed slightly:
Armor-piercing Strike (Advanced Secret) Effect: Use a lance-type combat skill that combines the Force with piercing power to fire a shot with super penetrating power.

(Note: If you have a suitable mount, the power of the armor-piercing attack will be enhanced.)
（破甲一击提升至顶级奥义，需满足下列条件：一、朗基罗之枪lv18以上（专精可抵消部分等级要求）；二、火龙呼吸法lv16以上；三、力量50点，敏捷45点，体质45点以上；四、消耗黄金技能点4点。）
At this time, Julie, the Griffin Knight who was responsible for sending Ryan to Meister County City, felt a little awkward.

Lady Ryan behind her didn't even say much to such a beautiful knight like her, and after a while, his aura suddenly released, almost scaring the griffin under her crotch.

But Lord Felke had already told her that the lord behind him was extremely powerful and asked her not to offend him, so she naturally couldn't say anything.

But this has happened twice!

Her heart was also beating fast.

If Lord Ryan continues to play like this, she might be able to hold on, but the griffin under her crotch might suddenly lose control!

While she was still hesitating whether to subtly remind the adult behind her, the night lights of Mayster County City gradually appeared in their sight.

When the griffin just flew over the edge of Mayest County, Ryan thought for a moment and said to Julie in front of him:
"Julie, put me down right here."

"Yes, my lord."

Julie thought about it for a moment and instantly understood Ryan's intention.

This is because Lord Ryan does not want to alert the enemy. He probably wants to go to Count Habsburg's mansion quietly.

A few minutes later.

In the study on the second floor of Earl Habsburg's mansion.

The door was suddenly opened silently.

"Who?" Claire, who was behind the desk, stood up immediately, assumed a fighting stance, and asked alertly.

"Don't be nervous, Claire, it's me." A familiar voice sounded.

A tall figure that Claire was familiar with came into her sight!

"Ryan! Why are you here?" Claire's pretty face immediately showed surprise, and then she smiled brightly.

Obviously, Claire was very happy about Ryan's appearance.

"Don't forget, I am your guardian knight. Shouldn't I come when you are in danger?" Ryan said with a smile.

But before Claire could answer, Ryan's face became serious and he continued, "Let's talk about the situation first."

He naturally knew the priorities and now was not the time to chat.

"Well! The situation is like this. At around 2 o'clock this afternoon, Butler Yodel of the mansion disappeared."

"Then, about every hour, a guard, maid, or even a butler would go missing. Right now, the entire mansion is in a panic." Claire nodded and quickly introduced the situation.

Seeing Ryan appear, Claire felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she saw him.

My whole mentality suddenly became much more relaxed.

Although she knew that the enemy was lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity to attack, she was not that worried.

"Every hour?" Ryan frowned and confirmed.

"Yes." Claire nodded.

"You never tried to find out where the other party was hiding?"

"No, I tried a few times, and the other party's methods are very secretive. Unless everyone is in the same hall, otherwise, there will always be a time when one thing is neglected while another is taken care of." Claire shook her head helplessly and said.

Ryan nodded. He could understand this. With such a large earl's mansion, including guards and servants, there were more than 200 people. It was impossible to take care of everything.

"So how long is it until the next attack?"

"Uh, about ten minutes later." Claire glanced at the wall clock and said, "Okay! I'll give it a try this time."

Ryan's mind moved slightly.

In the dark sky above Earl Habsburg's mansion, a bird of prey suddenly flew across the sky. It was the Bloodfeather Hippogryph 'Bloodfeather'.

It also has dark vision and a near-perfect field of vision in the night sky, making it the best scout there is.

Because even for Ryan, it is indeed difficult to fully monitor such a large area as the Earl's Mansion, but if Xueyu helps, it will be different.

"Yeah!" Claire nodded and said.

Seeing that Ryan was concentrating on thinking, Claire naturally did not go forward to disturb him, but turned around to pour Ryan a cup of tea.

"I think we found it!"

A smile appeared on Ryan's face!
But when he turned to look at Claire, he was stunned.

He saw the other person bending over the coffee table, apparently pouring him tea.

Pouring tea was nothing special, but Claire, who was wearing a tight hunting suit, had her back to him at the moment, exposing a very pleasing curve of her hips and legs in front of Ryan.

The buttocks are large and curved, and the legs are straight. They are slightly thinner than wine glass legs, but more powerful and elastic.

Long-term knight training gave Claire an extremely well-proportioned body. Coupled with the aristocratic etiquette training she received since childhood, her temperament was even more outstanding.

Naturally, seeing this scene, Ryan was a little dazed.

It was just that at this moment, Claire happened to turn around with a teacup in her hand. When she saw Ryan's expression, she immediately realized something and her pretty face turned red.

"Cough before drinking. I'm going to go out for a while!"

Ryan, who was caught red-handed, was naturally embarrassed to stay in the room. Coincidentally, he also discovered clues of lurking enemies, so he immediately made an excuse to leave.

"Yeah!" Claire smiled slightly and watched Ryan quickly disappear by the window.

In the Earl's Mansion, near the toilet in an auxiliary building (servant building) in the southeast corner.

Di Gano looked at his black anaconda leisurely, and slowly appeared behind a maid who was about to go to the toilet.

He planned to wait for the maid to squat down before letting the black anaconda bite her.

"What are you doing here?" A strange male voice sounded in Digano's ears!

Suddenly, Di Ganno was frightened like a frightened rabbit. He jumped three meters away and quickly turned his gaze to the direction where the sound came from. His eyes widened and he looked like he had seen a ghost!
Although Di Ganuo is only a first-level wizard, he has reached 90% atomization. After a few more years, he will be able to become a second-level liquefied wizard.

He hadn't noticed anything just now and the enemy was getting close to him. It was simply unbelievable to him!
So, even after he saw clearly that the other person was a tall knight wearing silver armor, he was still a little frightened.

"How did you show up?" Digano said, still a little frightened.

"I was the one who asked you the question first, and you haven't answered my question yet." Ryan smiled and didn't care that the other party was keeping his distance.

"Hmph!" Di Ganno's face darkened. Suddenly, he took out a whistle from his arms and put it to his mouth and blew it.

An infrasound wave that is difficult for the human ear to detect quickly spreads in all directions.

"Are you calling your companions?" Ryan asked calmly.

"Hey, no matter who you are, you'll be dead when Master Icosela comes!"

Digano was holding a short staff, looking like he was going to hold Ryan back.

"I understand. That is to say, in a while, the Lord Icosela you just mentioned will come over. Is that right?" Ryan repeated with a smile.

"That's right!" Di Ganno didn't know whether the other party was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. He clearly saw that he was calling someone, but he was still chatting with him so slowly.

Naturally, he was very happy about the other party's time-wasting behavior.

"Then you're useless!" Ryan nodded.

"Hmm?" DiGano showed a hint of doubt.

But the next second, he was stunned!
"Shh!"

I saw that somehow, a three-meter-long lance suddenly appeared in the opponent's hand. At the same time, a black lightning struck his neck.

The speed is so fast that there is no time to react!

"Boom~"

The black film was like a bubble and was burst in an instant!

The snake's skin was as soft as paper and was torn apart instantly!
"Pfft!"

The tip of the gun pierced DiGano's neck!
Warm blood splattered all over the ground!
As the severe pain in his neck came, Di Ganno could only make a "ho ho" gasp, and pointed his trembling fingers at Ryan, unable to utter a word.

His eyes almost popped out of their sockets and fell to the ground!

At this moment, Digano's mind was blank. He couldn't figure out why his body protection magic and snake-scale skin couldn't resist for even a second.
Ryan raised his lance slightly, lifted up Digano's still twitching body, and gently lifted it into the air.

"Hey!"

Ryan's lance was instantly retracted and quickly turned into a war hammer. Then, he aimed the war hammer at Digano's head in mid-air and swung it with a "bang".

Skull broken!

As the corpse with only half a head left fell heavily to the ground, a transparent shadow with a long tail flame lingered around Ryan several times before being pulled into the war hammer.

"I can stack some soul energy here, so I can't waste it." Ryan said to himself.

At this time, Ryan changed his war hammer into a lance again and used the tip of the spear to lift up the opponent's hood. A middle-aged male face with a unique Ouroboros pattern on his forehead appeared in front of him.

"It turns out that the people from the Secret Snake Cult are behind this." With such obvious features, Ryan naturally recognized it at a glance.

The two men he had killed before also had various snake-shaped marks on them.

After thinking about it, Ryan did not put away his lance, but put it on his shoulder, waiting leisurely for the Lord Icosela mentioned by the other party.

"It's good to have some tactical misdirection."

After waiting for a minute, Ryan looked somewhere and said:
"Now that you're here, don't hide anymore."

"Haha, interesting, quite impressive strength. I didn't expect Di Ganno to die in your hands."

Along with a giggle, a slim figure in a black robe appeared not far in front of Ryan.

Ecosella didn't seem to mind the killing of his subordinate Digano. He just glanced at Digano lying in a pool of blood and walked forward with a smile on his face.

"Oh, you don't mind if I kill your subordinates?" Ryan raised his eyebrows and smiled.

However, as he spoke, he glanced back slightly out of the corner of his eye.

Just now, his danger perception and the blood feathers in the sky warned him that there was an enemy behind him.

"Of course I don't mind, because this proves that you are stronger, and if I kill you, wouldn't it be a profit?" Icosela laughed.

Behind Ryan, the one who cooperated with Icosela to attack Ryan was naturally another black robe - Timshi.

Timshi looked at the corpse lying on the ground from afar, his face uncertain.

Obviously, he felt a sense of grief when his companion Di Ganno was killed.

But when he heard what Icosela said, he was stunned and thought, "Crazy snake indeed! But why does it sound so reasonable!"

"In the duel between you and me, is there someone redundant?" Ryan said with a smile.

"you"

Just as Ecosela was about to say something.

Suddenly, Ryan turned around abruptly, with a short spear in his hand and threw it heavily!

Just hear a "chirp" sound!
Following the sharp sound of breaking through the air, Timshi felt a flash before his eyes and a sharp pain in his heart.

At the same time, the whole person was blown away by a huge force and nailed directly to the wall behind him.

"what!!!"

Timothy couldn't help but scream!
At the same time, he couldn't understand why you shouldn't be fighting against Lord Icosela?

Why did you hit yourself first?
Several phantoms flashed by one after another, and in almost a blink of an eye, Ryan came in front of Timshi, holding a warhammer in his hand.

"Snapped!"

Skull broken!

Immediately, a hideous shadow appeared again, dragging a long tail of flame and was pulled into the war hammer.

"Necromancy! Illusion! Metal Transfiguration!"

"Who the hell are you?"

The furious Ecosela was just about to take action when he was stunned by the sudden appearance of a transparent shadow.

As one of the twelfth Secret Serpent Messengers and a third-level crystal wizard, she naturally regarded the process of Ryan's hammer absorbing soul energy as the effect of some necromancy sorcery.

And the afterimage of Ryan left in the original place was also mistaken by her as the effect of witchcraft illusion.

"Huh? You don't know who I am?"

This time, Ryan felt a little surprised.

Ryan originally thought that the Secret Snake Cult must have investigated him thoroughly when they came to his house this time, as he had killed two of their high-ranking members. However, judging from their expressions, it seemed that they had no idea who he was.

In fact, this was a misunderstanding by Ren.

Icosela did learn from the butler Yodel that the murderer who killed her brother was named Ryan, but the description he got was that he was good at using a two-handed sledgehammer.

He usually carries a two-handed heavy hammer on his back.

Therefore, Icosela did not connect the real Ryan who cast the 'necromancy' witchcraft in front of her with the murderer who killed her brother.

(End of this chapter)