59: Chapter 59 A Silent Funeral! Three Arrows in Succession! A Frosty Slash!

Two days later, in the inner circle of the Mess Mountains.

A group of about a dozen people was walking through the forest.

The two leading them were Ravenna and his friend Kyle.

Ravenna was wearing a dark green hunting outfit today, covered by enchanted leather armor, with a magic short staff hanging at his waist.

Kyle, beside him, looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, with brown hair and blue eyes, tall and sturdy, wearing a well-maintained suit of chainmail.

Behind them followed seven or eight fully armed guards, their steps steady as they moved.

To the side, there was also a middle-aged man with a cold, hard face, carrying a sheathless, thick-backed machete at his waist.

At the front of the group, Ravenna boasted to Kyle: "According to the intelligence I bought at a high price, that Green-Crowned Vine Python is entrenched in the Mist Vine Valley ahead."

Kyle smiled upon hearing this, a flash of eagerness in his eyes: "Thank you, Ravenna. That Green-Crowned Vine Python's gallbladder is exactly the main ingredient I need to make the Green-Crowned Erosion Secret Potion..."

Meanwhile, in the rear, in the shadows of the dense forest, beyond the group's perception, Rowan was trailing behind unhurriedly.

He used the [Shape-shifting] trait to alter his appearance and aura, and through the perception of [Insight], he followed silently.

He had already gauged the auras of Ravenna's group almost completely.

"One Second-circle Mage, two Senior Knights, eight high-level Apprentice Knights... Not a bad setup. It's more than enough to hunt a Peak Knight-level magical beast."

After weaving through the dense forest for a while, Ravenna's team, guided by the intelligence, soon arrived at Mist Vine Valley.

It was a narrow canyon surrounded by towering rock walls.

It was filled with mist all year round, and the light was dim.

"Be careful, that beast is likely hiding behind some vines, or it has used [Mimicry] to become part of the rock wall."

Kyle, familiar with the habits of the Green-Crowned Vine Python, said in a deep voice, while signaling the guards to form a defensive formation.

They advanced slowly.

Soon they reached the depths of Mist Vine Valley.

Suddenly, a large patch of seemingly stationary vines on the left rock wall moved violently!

The Green-Crowned Vine Python!

Its massive body was over fifteen meters long, as thick as a water barrel, with a surface of varying shades of greenish-brown.

On its triangular snake head grew a cluster of conspicuous, greenish-blue fleshy crest spines.

It had been there the whole time; its perfect [Mimicry] had even deceived the perception of the Senior Knights and the Second-circle Mage!

"Hiss—!"

A piercing hiss rang out, carrying an effect of mental shock.

The giant python's massive body ejected with a speed inconsistent with its size, its bloody maw lunging straight at a guard on the team's flank, a foul wind hitting their faces!

"Careful! Defend!"

The guard captain, Harold, let out a roar, his battle qi erupting as he swung his machete to meet it, fiery red battle qi flames ignited on the blade, attempting to force the giant python back.

Kyle also moved instantly, a scorching radiance rising on his longsword as well, and an arc of flame sword light slashed toward the python's body.

Ravenna quickly retreated, his mouth chanting, waving his short staff, and a scorching orange-red fireball quickly condensed in the air above.

The battle erupted instantly, becoming extremely intense, but the Green-Crowned Vine Python feared fire-attribute attacks the most, and under the siege of the well-prepared team, it was eventually killed.

The battle lasted for nearly half an hour, and the canyon became a mess, with the smell of burning, stench, and blood mixed together.

Three guards had already fallen, one was in a deep coma from poisoning, and most of the others were injured as well.

Harold and Kyle were panting slightly, their battle qi consumption not insignificant, while Ravenna's face was a bit pale; continuous spellcasting had been too much for him as well.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at the giant python's corpse, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes.

Kyle was the ninth son of Duke Witton and could help him a lot in the upcoming Magic Council in the provincial capital; the price paid now was simply not worth mentioning.

He glanced casually at the fallen guards, then averted his gaze, preparing to tell Harold to extract the poison sac and snake gallbladder.

Meanwhile, a few hundred meters away from this location, on a protruding rock of a steep cliff, Rowan had watched the entire battle.

He had to admit that this Ravenna's magic level was actually quite impressive; he was the absolute main force of this operation, but unfortunately, he was blocking his path.

He took out the [frost speaker] longbow, then took out an [extreme cold star-fall arrow] shimmering with a deep blue luster and nocked it onto the bowstring.

Battle qi covered his eyes, and [Insight] was pushed to the limit, and when he saw that trace of a relaxed smile on Ravenna—

Twang—!

The finger gripping the string released, Wind Breath · Winter Curtain · Silent Funeral!

This was an extremely cold arrow in the Silent Pilgrimage Archery, silent and without light, best suited for sneak attacks.

However, on the battlefield, just at the moment the invisible arrow was about to strike—

An emerald pendant on Ravenna's chest suddenly exploded automatically, transforming into an arc-shaped, pale green magic shield.

Crack!

The invisible arrow slammed hard into the shield, causing violent ripples and filling it with spiderweb-like cracks, but in the end, it did not shatter immediately, barely blocking this fatal blow!

"Enemy attack!!!"

Ravenna was terrified out of his wits, screaming, and instantly activated another necklace around his neck, a more solid, pale golden magic shield enveloping his entire body, and at the same time, he threw himself forward, trying to find cover.

"What a pity..."

In the distance, Rowan saw this and sighed inwardly, for the power of the Silent Funeral was still a bit lacking, and if he could have solved the target directly, that would of course have been excellent, but now, he would need to spend a bit more effort.

His movements were fluid, and he drew his bow again, and this time, it was no longer a single-shot snipe; the bowstring trembled at a frequency invisible to the naked eye.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three [extreme cold star-fall arrow]s infused with [Wind Breath] and [Frost] battle qi left the string, Wind Breath · Pilgrimage · Frost Bridge Succession!

The three arrows connected head-to-tail, carving a transient trail of flowing Frost in the air, all of them slamming into the same point of Ravenna's pale gold shield!

This time, it was no longer silent, but emitted a piercing explosion.

Boom, boom, boom—!

The pale gold shield began to flicker crazily, unstable, the first arrow laying the foundation, the second arrow completely piercing through the pale golden shield, and the third arrow, following the breach, went straight through Ravenna's right thigh, pinning him hard to the ground!

"Ah—!!"

Ravenna let out a miserable, piercing scream, the intense pain and chill making him almost faint.

Everything happened in a flash of lightning, and only then did Kyle and Harold fully react, filled with shock and anger.

"It's an archer! On that cliff over there!"

"Charge over and kill him in close quarters!"

Seeing his young master's miserable state, Harold's eyes were about to split, and he instantly judged the situation, roaring as he charged out, while Kyle joined him, erupting with extreme speed, carrying violent killing intent as they dashed toward the cliff where Rowan was hiding!

Rowan looked at the two Senior Knight auras rushing toward him, his expression indifferent, for if they thought he was an archer who wasn't good at close combat, they were greatly mistaken!

In the midst of these thoughts, he gently released the [frost speaker] longbow in his hand, his right hand already gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.

[Blood Rage] suddenly activated, his blood boiling instantly like magma, and beneath his skin, a scorching heat spread rapidly, as if every inch of his flesh was burning.

The [eternal silence verdict] sword unsheathed inch by inch, and on the bright silver blade, a layer of deep blue Frost qi wound and flowed like a living creature.

Kyle and Harold had already rushed to close proximity, the extreme anger on their faces instantly turning into horror when they felt the oppressive force that suddenly erupted from Rowan!

"This kind of sword intent... Peak Knight level?! No, that's not right... Great Knight level sword intent!!!"

Harold was experienced and instantly sensed something was wrong, but Rowan did not give him time to react, and suddenly, the sword blade swept through the air!

Wind Breath · Winter Shock · Frost Flower Slash!

There was no earth-shattering momentum, only a deep blue afterimage, like an aurora tearing through the night sky, instantly cutting between the two.

A perfect and cold deep blue arc swept past, and where the arc passed, the air condensed, and a trail of Frost briefly hung in the void.

Harold widened his eyes, his expression completely frozen, as he was only three feet away from Rowan, as if he could reach out and touch him, but the long machete in his hand could no longer move a single inch forward.

He looked down, his sturdy chainmail having been silently sliced open like thin paper, and a bone-deep slash ran diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen; before the blood could spray, it was frozen by the cold sword qi, the edges of the wound covered in thick white Frost.

The extreme chill instantly permeated his internal organs and froze his blood.

"Ugh..."

A rattling, strange sound came from his throat, his eyes filled with unbelievable despair and confusion.

His tall, sturdy body fell backward like a collapsing mountain of gold and a toppling pillar of jade, crashing heavily onto the damp, slippery forest floor, his life force extinguishing rapidly.

One strike, Senior Knight Harold, dead!