40: Chapter 40 A Sudden Attack! The Extreme Cold Star Meteor Arrow! Annihilation!

Rowan walked to the center of the study, stopped about five steps from the desk, and bowed slightly.

Viscount Gladstone slowly turned around.

His complexion was somewhat pale, with bloodshot eyes, but his gaze remained sharp as an eagle's as it landed on Knight Daniel.

"Knight Daniel, while I was away, has everything in the castle been well?" the Viscount asked, his voice low.

"Replying to you, my lord, everything is as usual. The guard patrols have not been lax, and the town is also peaceful." Rowan replied, his tone steady, though in his heart he was contemplating the timing for his attack and Viscount Gladstone's current state.

A Peak Knight, even when injured, was by no means an easy opponent.

It was best to kill him in one blow.

Or at least cripple him until he lost the ability to resist.

"Hmm." Viscount Gladstone nodded, seemingly satisfied, but his brows remained tightly locked, clearly indicating his mind was not on this matter.

He took two steps forward, seemingly wanting to approach the desk, which also brought him closer to Rowan.

"A major event has occurred in the Mist Forest. More than one Peak Knight-level magical beast has appeared in the border area, we have suffered heavy losses, and Knight Derek has also sustained serious injuries..."

Now!

The moment the Viscount leaned slightly forward—

Rowan moved!

The dark red light point inside his body, representing the [Blood Rage] trait, exploded like ignited dynamite!

It was not a gradual process; he directly burned nearly one-third of his battle aura in exchange for terrifying power, speed, and explosive force that instantly surpassed his peak!

His originally blue-white battle aura was instantly dyed with a layer of violent dark red, and the blood vessels on his skin slightly bulged, bringing tearing pain and an extreme sense of overwhelming power!

The Frost Heart Realm was simultaneously pushed to the limit; his thinking became as cold as ancient ice, magnifying the weaknesses captured by [Insight] infinitely!

Flash Snow Step combined with Frost Heart: Flash Ice Stab—

The eternal silence verdict appeared in his hand instantly, transforming into a cold line of death, pointing directly at Viscount Gladstone's chest!

A sneak attack!

Without warning, without reservation, a full-force explosion!

Viscount Gladstone's pupils instantly shrank to needle points!

The life-and-death intuition of a Peak Knight screamed crazily at the last moment!

He had not expected "Knight Daniel" to launch a sudden attack.

And he certainly hadn't expected this attack to be so terrifying, so rapid, and so precisely aimed at his most lethal weakness at this moment!

"You dare—!!!"

Viscount Gladstone let out a roar of mingled shock and rage, while his body, driven by instinct, made an extreme reaction.

He didn't have time to draw his sword, nor even enough time to fully mobilize his battle aura; he could only frantically pour the majority of his Peak Knight battle aura toward his chest, forming a hasty shield, while twisting his body to the limit, attempting to avoid the vital spot.

"Boom—!!!"

The tip of the eternal silence verdict collided fiercely with the hastily condensed azure battle aura shield!

There was no clear sound of metal clashing, only the dull roar of an energy explosion.

The shockwave exploded from the two of them as the center, tearing the thick wool carpet in the study, causing the books on the shelves to tumble down with a clatter, and the flames in the fireplace to suddenly stifle!

"Crack... Sizzle!"

A sound like something shattering seemed to ring out.

Viscount Gladstone's battle aura shield, in front of the [Blood Rage]-enhanced Frost Heart: Flash Ice Stab, lasted less than half a breath before shattering with a bang!

The tip of the sword, its momentum undiminished, fiercely pierced into the hideous claw wound already present on his chest!

"Puff—!"

Blood splashed out!

But it wasn't bright red; it was a bizarre color mixed with dark red corrosive energy and blue-white freezing cold!

Viscount Gladstone let out a muffled groan of pain, his body reeling backward as if struck by a heavy blow, crashing fiercely into the massive oak desk, shifting the heavy piece of furniture.

The expensive ink bottles, documents, and decorations on it scattered all over the floor.

He covered his chest with one hand, blood gushing wildly between his fingers.

That wound was already severe, and now it was even worse; the freezing cold and a bizarre, scorching blood energy were frantically invading his body, eroding his meridians and internal organs!

Viscount Gladstone's complexion instantly turned as pale as paper, and his aura visibly withered.

But he was a Peak Knight after all; even under such heavy injury, he had not completely lost his combat capability, and hysterical madness and resentment erupted in his eyes:

"You are not Knight Daniel! Who are you?!"

"This aura... the Shadow Demon Breathing Technique of the Night Crow Society?!"

Rowan said nothing, pressing his advantage.

The duration of [Blood Rage] was limited, or it would cause physical damage; he had to finish this quickly!

He pushed off with his feet, his figure lunging forward again.

The eternal silence verdict transformed into a curtain of cold, murderous sword light, the killing moves of the Winter Oath-Keeper Swordsmanship flowing continuously, specifically attacking the Viscount's battle aura nodes and defensive gaps, which were malfunctioning after his injury.

Viscount Gladstone was both shocked and furious.

The injuries on his body severely affected his speed and battle aura mobilization; he could only struggle to cope in a sorry state, retreating while fighting.

The study was a mess, with sword qi and battle aura crisscrossing, leaving deep marks on the walls and ceiling.

"Bastard! Go to hell!!!"

Viscount Gladstone was forced into a corner, with nowhere left to retreat, a flash of desperate madness in his eyes.

The azure battle aura around his body instantly became incomparably violent!

"Wind Breath: Prison of Locked Space!"

This was his trump card, a life-or-death battle technique.

Using his source battle aura as a guide, it instantly erupted with several times its usual power, but the cost was enormous!

Countless chains condensed from battle aura phantoms suddenly burst from his body, like crazily growing vines, winding and stabbing toward Rowan, sealing off all room for evasion!

Facing this life-or-death strike, Rowan's eyes remained icy.

Under [Frost Heart Realm], the trajectory of that violent attack was not untraceable.

Without hesitation, he triggered [Blood Rage] again, the dark red light within the blue-white battle aura becoming so Blazing it almost overflowed his skin!

He gripped the eternal silence verdict with both hands, pouring all his strength into this one sword strike!

The sword hummed like a dragon, blooming with an unprecedented deep blue cold light!

Blood Rage · Winter · Extreme Frost Blossom Slash!

There was no flashy trajectory, only an absolute cold light, cutting straight down against the countless azure chains!

"Boom—!!!"

An explosion fiercer than the previous one erupted!

The entire top floor of the castle shook violently!

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the sturdy stone walls, and all the window glass shattered instantly!

The violent freezing sword qi and the chaotic azure battle aura clashed and annihilated each other crazily, turning into a terrifying shockwave mixed with ice crystals and azure fragments, sweeping toward the surroundings!

"Wa—!" Viscount Gladstone bore the brunt of it; his already severely injured body was blasted away like a broken sack, blood spraying from his mouth, even mixed with fragments of internal organs!

He smashed through the already cracked stone wall behind him, and his whole body fell toward the high sky outside the castle!

And Rowan was also pushed backward by the recoil of the explosion.

In this life-or-death moment, the Viscount erupted with an astonishing desire to survive.

The Peak Knight's control over his body was on full display.

He actually managed to twist his severely injured body in mid-air, his feet stomping heavily on the ground, and then he fled outward without looking back.

Rowan walked to the collapsed wall edge, standing on the top floor of the castle, coldly overlooking the figure fleeing in a sorry state below.

His left hand's silver star ring flashed with a faint light.

The "frost speaker" longbow and an "extreme cold star-fall arrow" had already appeared in his hands.

[Insight] locked on.

Drawing the bow, nocking the arrow.

Twang!

The bowstring vibrated!

The crystal-clear "extreme cold star-fall arrow" left the string.

The arrow body trailed a dreamlike icy blue wake, drawing a straight line through the air, faster than sound!

The first arrow pierced through the battle aura barrier Viscount Gladstone had hastily condensed behind him, pinning into his right shoulder, the freezing cold erupting and completely freezing his just-raised arm!

"Ah—!" The Viscount screamed, his body losing balance.

The second arrow followed closely, piercing through his left arm that he was trying to use to protect his head and face, freezing it together with his torso!

The third arrow, the lethal arrow!

In Viscount Gladstone's desperate and resentful gaze, the arrow accurately pierced into his mouth as he was about to curse...

The terrifying power of the Frost instantly froze his brain, completely sealing all his hatred and his final life force within a body rapidly covered in Frost.

Viscount Gladstone, Fergus Gladstone, Peak Knight, lord of the Mist Forest North Plains territory...

From this moment on, he had no life left!

All of this, from Rowan launching the sudden attack to the Viscount being hit by the arrow and falling, took only a few short breaths of time.

Only then did the huge explosion and vibration completely alarm the entire castle!

A shrill alarm sounded, and the panicked shouts and running sounds of guards came from below.

The first to rush to the door of the ruined study on the top floor was Knight Derek, who had come carrying his sword upon hearing the commotion.

He happened to see the final scene of Viscount Gladstone being pierced through the head by the third arrow and dying completely.

He also saw that "Knight Daniel" in the study, slowly putting away his longbow.

"Knight Daniel!!! What have you done!!!"

Knight Derek's eyes were splitting with rage, and he let out a beast-like roar, having no time to think about why Knight Daniel possessed such terrifying strength and bizarre archery.

Rage overwhelmed everything; the Senior Knight's battle aura erupted, and he charged at Rowan with his sword!

"I want you dead!!!"

Rowan looked at Knight Derek, who was rushing over like a mad tiger, and did not want to waste a precious "extreme cold star-fall arrow" on this already injured Senior Knight.

Facing the sword thrust at him by Knight Derek in anger, he slightly shifted his feet with [Flash Snow Step], narrowly avoiding the blade.

The eternal silence verdict swung out silently, without any flashy sword technique, just a simple [Vow of Freezing: Winter Wind Slash] sweeping across.

In his fury, Knight Derek reacted a fraction of a second too slow, and his blocking move had just been made.

The edge of the eternal silence verdict had already swept past his neck without obstruction.

Then, a head flew into the sky!

The face still frozen in unbelievable shock and rage.

Before the blood could spray, it was frozen into scarlet ice crystals by the cold on the sword. The headless corpse fell to the ground with a thud.

Rowan stood holding his sword, his eyes indifferent.

Having killed two knights in a row, especially the Peak Knight Viscount Gladstone, his Frost Heart did not ripple in the slightest.

The study was a mess, filled with the smell of blood, cold, and the charred scent of burned battle aura.

Outside the window, the area below the castle was in complete chaos, with the exclamations, cries, and fleeing sounds of guards and servants mixing into a mess.

Seeing the corpses of the Lord and Knight Derek, panic spread like a plague; no one dared to approach the top of the castle again, and some began to flee desperately toward the castle, toward the town...

Rowan walked back to the broken wall, coldly overlooking the collapsing order below.

Next, it was time to reap the fruits of victory!