Masked Knight

"What happened?" Rody rushed out of the cabin and grabbed the sailor who was screaming in panic.

"Roland people! Warship of the Roland people!"

Suddenly, there was another loud bang as the other ship fired again. The shot did not hit Rody’s ship, but a five to six meters high column of water shot out from the port side of the ship, spraying water everywhere. The hull of the ship also shook violently and the sailor fell down onto the deck.

"Behind us! They are behind us!" The signalman on the observation platform atop the mast shouted. Sure enough, at a distance behind Rody’s ship was a Roland warship.

The warship looked bigger than Rody’s ship. It was a typical Roland warship with its cannons pointing up from both sides of the warship.

After the two shots, the other party stopped firing. It sailed over at maximum speed.

"What happened?" That Roland envoy scrambled frantically out of the cabin. The sailor then shouted, "They are sending flag signals!"

Before Rody could speak, he heard someone beside him shouted, "What did they say?" The person who shouted was the ship’s captain. He was about forty years old and was from the Sharp Metal Lane.

"They said that those two shots were just warning shots. They want us to immediately stop the ship and surrender. Otherwise, they would fire directly at our ship."

Rody loudly asked, "Who are they?"

A sailor from above replied, "I do not know! They are flying a black flag!"

The captain shouted again, "Tell them that we are merchants from Sharp Metal Lane of the Radiant Empire!"

The sailor on top of the ship signaled with his flags for a while. After that, he loudly said, "They insist that we stop our ship!"

Rody gritted his teeth. He grabbed the Roland envoy who was standing beside him and asked, "Do you know what is going on?"

That Roland envoy turned pale and trembled. "No, I don't know. That is not the ship of the Sauron Kingdom!"

The captain gloomily looked at Rody and softly asked, "Your Excellency Earl, what should we do?"

Rody looked back and asked, "Can we return fire?"

The captain shook his head and replied, "Your Excellency, we are just a merchant ship from the Sharp Metal Lane. We do not have such cannons on our ship and would definitely not be able to win."

Rody frowned as he asked again, "What about escape? Can we escape?"

The captain sighed and said, "It is very difficult! You also know that the ships of Roland people are more advanced than ours. We do not have an advantage in speed." The captain then looked at the Roland envoy and saw panic in his eyes. The captain showed an expression of disdain and said, "Your Excellency, I will have my signalman delay them. During that time, we will try our best to escape as far away as possible! We cannot just wait here for their cannons to fire at us!"

The captain was evidently a veteran for the Sharp Metal Lane’s ship. He made a gesture, ordering the signalman at the mast to stall for time. He then shouted to the sailors to get to work quickly.

Everybody on the deck became busy. The strong sailors hauled the ropes and all the sails were raised. The captain then kicked aside the helmsman and personally took control of the ship's helm.

The sails billowed and the ship gradually accelerated. The Roland people behind them and their signalman had been negotiating. When they realized that Rody's ship was attempting to escape, they started chasing.

There were two loud bangs as the enemy fired again. One of the cannon shells hit the surface of the ocean by the side. The ocean waves pushed the hull of the ship and almost turned it over. The second cannon shell hit the deck of the ship. Two sailors were blasted before they could even scream. Their blood and flesh splattered in every direction. Another two more sailors were injured from the scattering splinters of wood.

The captain cursed as his hands accidentally pushed the helm to the extreme left. The entire ship had swerved and turned violently almost causing a few men to fall into the sea. The whole ship had turned to starboard and charged ahead.

"Turn the sails! You idiots! Turn the sails!" As the captain steered the ship, he shouted, "They are using the cannons on the right. Let's sail to their left!"

Rody grabbed the envoy by his collar and shouted, "Why are the Roland people intercepting our ship?"

"I-I don't know! Perhaps they are pirates…" The Roland envoy shivered.

"Pirates?" Rody grunted coldly. "Are there pirates in your sea?"

Two more shots were fired from the cannons. Rody shouted loudly and kicked the Roland envoy into the cabin. The cannon shells exploded at his side. Flesh and blood flew everywhere on the deck. A big hole was also blown open on the side of the ship.

The Roland people were not prepared when the enemy suddenly changed their direction to charge into them. The enemy had directed the attack on the other side of the ship. It was totally unexpected. After hastily firing two shots, the enemy soldiers moved to set up the other cannon. After they had refilled the cannon and set the sights, the enemy's ship was already closing in. The next two shots were fired. One of the shots hit Rody's ship, punching a big hole in the stern. One of the cable frames supporting the mast was also damaged by the shot such that the sail crashed immediately.

After losing a sail, the ship slowed down. Fortunately, they were already out of the cannon's effective range of fire.

The commander of the attacking Roland warship was obviously not at the level of the Roland people’s navy. Obviously, he lacked experience. When Rody saw that the enemy was at a loss momentarily, an opportunity appeared for Rody.

The captain of the ship and the sailors were shouting loudly. Rody also shouted to his subordinates. "Grab your weapons! Get ready to counterattack!"

At that point in time, the two ships were close to each other. Although their distance on the sea was still about a few ten meters away from each other, both sides would almost brush past each other when they finally get nearer.

Rody’s dozen subordinates had long picked up their weapons, waiting at the side of the ship. When the two ships were finally side-by-side, the dozen elite soldiers immediately fired their arrows.

The first volley struck those thinly dressed enemy sailors on the other ship with arrows. After that, the enemy also started to return fire. Separated by twenty meters on the ocean, both sides shot their arrows at each other.

On Rody’s side, they had already prepared a few small cannons on their deck. A round of close-range shots managed to hit most of the enemy.

However, the Roland people’s ironwood warship was really sturdy. Although most of the shots found their marks it did not cause too much damage. On the other hand, the shots fired by the enemies had already caused a few gaping holes in Rody's ship. The hull had begun to tilt and half the crew had died.

"Damn it!" the captain cursed. He then roared out. "Your Excellency, you…" At that moment, a huge ball of light suddenly appeared on the enemy's ship. The ball of light shot out like lightning. The captain's last words were drowned out by the explosion. The huge waves knocked out the nearby people. The captain was obviously dead and the helm was blown off.

"Sorcerers!" Rody’s eyes flashed. Sure enough, he saw about seven to eight black-robed sorcerers. The sorcerers were floating in the air. They raised their staffs and shot out big and small fireballs towards Rody.

"Preposterous!" Rody growled as he grabbed a sword from a soldier’s waist and jumped up from the deck. Instantly, a mass of golden fighting energy appeared from his body. He then slashed his hand sideways. An air wave shot out in a circular arc. The wave seemed to cut the whole sky. Those sorcerers in the sky were sliced into two at their waists. Blood splashed out from their bodies.

However, another seven to eight sorcerers rose above the enemy warship. They all looked at Rody and, at the same time, they fired a series of light balls. There was a loud rumbling sound as those big and small light balls all struck Rody. Rody's body was surrounded and protected by a mass of golden fighting energy. Rody used the sword to deflect all the light balls in front of him. Two of the light balls he deflected flew back and struck the enemy warship.

Rody realized something. A normal Roland warship would not have so many sorcerers. According to what he knew, a normal Roland navy would only have up two to three sorcerers on each ship. Only one force could have so many sorcerers and that was the Roland Temple. When his ship changed direction and approached the enemy, they panicked and reacted slowly. That was enough to show that these were not normal navy ships.

The moment Rody realized that, he leaped towards the enemy ship. He knew that he was at a disadvantage fighting from a distance. The Roland warship was sturdy and normal cannons were ineffective against them. Therefore, a close-range fight would be the best option.

Rody swiftly and severely smashed into the enemy ship. A hole was smashed open on the ironwood hull. After that, he rushed into the ship's hold. Immediately, cries of killings erupted from within. The enemy ship was in chaos.

Then, Rody broke out through the deck, covered in blood. Wherever he went, flesh and blood flew. Whichever Roland people stood in his way would not last two or three strikes from his sword. Within a short moment, he had already rushed up to the main mast and suddenly proceeded to cut down the mast!

There was a clanging sound as Rody’s sword was blocked! A black cloaked man blocked Rody’s way with a cross-shaped sword. That person looked like a knight. Rody felt anxious and growled. He slashed three times in succession, but the knight was not weak and blocked all three slashes. However, the knight moved back a few steps and spat out a mouthful of blood. Rody’s face had a murderous expression and both his face and body were covered with blood. He ignored the enemy in front of him and turned around to cut the mast. However, the moment he swung down his sword, he heard a crisp sound of metal breaking and the sword in his hand had broken into two!

Rody was in a hurry earlier and had simply grabbed an ordinary sword from one of his subordinates. After fighting fiercely and recklessly against the high ranked knight, the sword could no longer withstand Rody’s violent fighting energy and strikes. Besides that, the mast was also made of the sturdy ironwood. At long last, the sword finally broke.

Rody secretly cursed, regretting that he did not use the Dragon Fang Sword. After all, he had used that Dragon Fang Sword so much during the war. Rody did not dare to bring that Dragon Fang Sword because he was afraid that he might be recognized. However, it was now too late to get one.

Rody then heard the sound of the air being cleaved behind him. Rody turned around and felt his chest shake when something slammed into him. His chest had been stabbed at with a large sword. In front of him were two silver armored knights. Both of them were very skilled and had cooperated with each other to attack him. One of them had struck him in the chest while the other swung his sword at Rody's neck.

Rody twisted his body. He seized the sword at his chest with one hand and caught the other sword with the other hand.

The two Roland knights were indescribably frightened. They had never seen such a fierce person who used his bare hands to grab their sharp swords before. Within a short moment, Rody had already caught their swords and kicked one of them in the chest. That knight spat out blood as he flew and fell into the sea. Holding the sword blade, Rody swung the sword hilt at the other knight’s head. That blow dented his helmet and flattened and deformed his head. The knight died without even groaning.

Rody then saw an old man wearing black robes shouting from the stern of the ship. "Stop him! Stop him!"

A few knights by the old man’s side had already rushed towards Rody. Although Rody was not afraid of his enemy, he was entangled by the enemy and was unable to cut down the main mast. Seeing the enemy sailors still loading the cannons with ammunition, Rody rushed forward in quick strides.

Before the surrounding enemy knights had approached, Rody kicked away the two sailors beside him. Noticing that, by then, the light in the burning fuse had almost reached the gunpowder, he forcefully turned the cannon around. Boom! The knight rushing towards him from the left received the brunt of the explosion and was blasted into pieces. Two more knights who were following from behind were also badly mangled!

Rody started to move faster and killed those in his way as he moved along the side of the warship. In less than a moment, he had destroyed six cannons and killed dozens of sailors. A few high ranked knights chased Rody from behind. Rody suddenly roared loudly. He then lifted a cannon with one hand and forcefully threw the cannon. There was a series of tragic yells as the cannon fell and rolled on the deck like a meteor. All those Roland people that the cannon hit or crashed into had their bones broken. It finally punched a huge hole in the side of the ship!

The Roland people were stunned!

'Is this guy human?' He single-handedly killed the people on the ship. In a single breath, he killed so many sailors. Those high ranked knights not only could not stop him. Instead, some were easily defeated! Lastly, that cannon weighed at least a thousand kilograms, yet that guy was able to throw it with just one hand.

'He is not human! This guy is definitely not human!'

Those Roland sailors finally became frightened and no longer dared to reload the cannons. They scattered in several directions away from Rody. Only the loyal and brave knights continued to charge at Rody.

Since Rody was causing trouble in the enemy ship, there was considerably less pressure in his own ship. Although the captain was dead, the sailors of the Sharp Metal Lane's merchant ship were clearly experienced. The first mate had commanded the crew to fight back, but they could not control the direction of the ship since the helm had been blown off.

Rody cut down another knight beside him when he saw his ship gradually moving away. When he was about to turn around to go back, he suddenly heard a loud earthshaking sound.

With a groan, the main mast of Rody’s ship suddenly came crashing down and injured several sailors below. The huge sails also fell and covered the hull, causing the people under it to scream.

Rody looked some distance away and saw two more Roland warships. They looked as if they were going to surround Rody’s ship from a distance.

Black banners also hung on the two Roland warships. Immediately, seven to eight sorcerers per ship flew above their ships and started to cast out a series of light balls.

A soft voice came from the surface of the sea in the distance. That sound was cool and refreshing. It seemed to strongly vibrate in the ears but was incomparably distinct.

"People of the Radiant Empire! We will give you a minute to surrender! Otherwise, we will kill without consideration!"

Rody finally turned pale and asked, "Who is it...that has such strong fighting energy!"

Rody flew up and returned to his ship. He stood on the bow of the ship, took a deep breath, and then he shouted. "Who are you? Are you people from the Roland Temple?"

Rody’s voice boomed over the sea as the sound waves rolled the sea waves backward.

The owner of the voice from the other end seemed very surprised. Perhaps he did not expect his enemy to have such a powerful master.

Rody heard a long whistling sound coming from the ship on the left. The whistling sound had a powerful aura and was sky piercing. After that, in the sunlight, he saw a figure fly up from the ship. His body was dazzlingly golden under the sun. He flew over to Rody’s ship like a golden lightning and landed on the bow of the ship.

That man wore a golden armor. He had a delicate and feminine face. His long and golden hair fluttered as he slightly sneered.

The slender and sharp sword he held in his hand was different from the double-edged swords held by normal Roland knights. That silver sword glimmered under the light. He stood at the bow of the ship with a sharp murderous look in his slender eyes. After looking around, his eyes finally rested on Rody.

Rody coldly confronted the man with a sharp expression. He then heard the man said with a haughty and indifferent voice, "I am a Paladin of the Roland Temple, Amore Hughes. Are you the one who spoke earlier?"