It felt so good to be close to the witch!

The urgency of the situation put Roy's brain at an unprecedented speed, and he quickly extracted useful information from it.

First, the relationship between the Second Prince's forces and the Border Dukes' forces is not one of absolute cooperation. What maintains their "trade" is the A-grade forbidden item—the Lost Ice Coffin. In other words, it makes no difference to the Border Dukes' forces who obtains the A-grade forbidden item—the Lost Ice Coffin.

Of course, there are some minor issues here, such as why Blood Fortress Robert would openly obstruct the Second Prince's people, but these are minor issues that we will explore further later.

Secondly, in order to obtain the A-level forbidden item - the Lost Ice Coffin, it is inevitable to release the sealed "her". Although we do not know who "she" is, there is no doubt that the strength of "her", which makes the forces of the Second Prince and the border dukes so wary, and even dare not mention her real name, is definitely not comparable to that of a Golden Knight in the extraordinary stage, even after being weakened by a hundred years of sealing.

Therefore, it would be pointless to take the Healing Witch back now. Once "she" emerges from the A-level forbidden object - the Lost Ice Coffin, absolute control will compel Shanika to go towards "her" again. "She" could even come directly to him, and Roy would have no power to resist.

Therefore, there is only one way to truly save Shanika: stop the Second Prince before his men open the A-level forbidden artifact—the Lost Ice Coffin!

But to do this, someone must enter the sealed space.

No one knows what the situation is like inside the sealed space. The Second Prince's men have been inside for some time now, but they still haven't been able to open the A-level forbidden item - the Lost Ice Coffin, which means that the situation inside is definitely not that simple.

"call……"

Roy took a deep breath and looked at the Shadow Witch Lilia beside him: "Lilia, would you like to come with me into the sealed space?"

"Lord Roy, the situation inside the sealed space is unknown. It would be too dangerous for you to go in. I'd better go in by myself," said the Shadow Witch Lilia anxiously.

In Lilia's eyes, Roy was just a "weak" bronze knight, and the risk of entering the unknown sealed space was far too high.

“No, I have to go in.” Roy shook his head. “There’s no point in you going in by yourself. If I’m not mistaken, my talent will be very useful inside.”

“Let’s go in together. Use your talent to help me conceal my presence and form, and try not to be discovered by the golden-armored knight who went in first.”

Facing Roy's bright eyes, the Shadow Witch Lilia remained silent for a moment before finally nodding.

Seeing this, Roy turned his gaze to the Ice Witch Ais and said seriously:

“Miss Ais, I would like to ask you to block the entrance to the sealed space as much as possible to buy time for me and Lilia. Please do not let the Crimson Sword Callus and the hooded figure in black robes enter... If you really cannot stop them, retreat immediately.”

“…I promise you.” The Ice Witch Ais looked deeply at Roy: “But you must also promise me one thing: no matter what, your safety is the most important thing.”

In Ais's mind, Roy's safety was far more important than healing the witch Shanika.

Even though Shanica had healed her, it still couldn't compare to Roy's "weight" in her heart.

If possible, Ais would like Roy to leave Shanika alone.

But when their eyes met, Ais saw an unwavering determination in Roy's eyes. She knew that even if she tried to dissuade him, it would probably be of no use. So, she could only follow Roy's instructions and do her best.

“…I understand.” Roy said in a deep voice, “Time is precious, let’s set off immediately.”

"Be careful to avoid the area they're in; the perception of a Golden Peak Knight is extraordinary," the Ice Witch Ais warned.

The Shadow Witch Lilia nodded, reached out and took Roy's hand. The next moment, she and Roy's bodies disappeared simultaneously, merging into the shadows.

Looking at the spot where the two disappeared, the Ice Witch Ais showed a hint of amazement in her eyes.

Although the Shadow Witch Lilia's talent evolution was not as complete as hers, her ability to conceal herself was greatly enhanced. If she hadn't known of the two's existence beforehand, she wouldn't have been able to detect their presence beyond a radius of five meters, even with her perception abilities.

With a single step, the Ice Witch Ais entered "Grand Elementalization" state, her body dissipating into countless azure light spots that vanished into the air and sped towards the center of Star Lake.

-

(Tomorrow is Saturday! I finally have time for a big update! Dear readers, please look forward to it.)

Chapter 88 The Ice Witch's Assault

(5,000 words, please subscribe!)

(Chapter title: The Ice Witch's Assault. -- I don't have permission to edit this at the moment. Sorry, I can only edit it when the editor is back at work on Monday. Waaah!)

The experience of walking in the shadows is unique and magical, especially after Roy learns that there is a world in the shadows that is completely different from reality, which gives him a whole new understanding of shadows.

Under other circumstances, he might have taken a closer look out of curiosity, but unfortunately, the situation was urgent. The golden-armored knight in the sealed space might open the A-level forbidden item - the Lost Ice Coffin at any time, so he had to hurry.

As they passed near the Healing Witch Shanica, Roy made the Shadow Witch Lilia pause briefly.

Standing a dozen meters away in the shadows, Roy could clearly see Shanika, her eyes empty and lifeless, on the shore of Star Lake.

A faint red glow still lingered on her body, and deep red and milky white flickered alternately in her pupils. The blue veins rising from her neck indicated that Shanika was doing her best to resist "her" control.

Her once healthy, rosy face had turned pale, and the large white bow on the back of her black and white maid outfit, which she hadn't yet changed out of, had slumped to one side, like a butterfly with wings soaked by heavy rain, weak and helpless.

Roy's right hand, which wasn't being held by Lilia, unconsciously clenched into a fist, his lips pressed tightly together. Memories of his time with Shanika flashed through his mind:

The girl's intellectual elegance as she sat at her desk, sipping tea and reading; her excitement as she cleansed him of impurities in the secluded place; her gentleness and concern as she treated him…

In truth, the two haven't known each other for very long, but in Roy's heart, Shanika is already one of the closest people to him in the world.

Roy gazed intently at Shanika, then gently squeezed Lilia's hand: "Let's go, let's go."

Feeling Roy's hand tremble slightly with anger, the Shadow Witch Lilia nodded gently.

The surface of Star Lake has few shadows, making it impossible to jump directly through shadows.

Lilia's method was to dive into the water. Compared to the surface of the lake, the shadows on the bottom of the lake were almost continuous, making it exceptionally easy to traverse.

Soon, the two arrived at the center of Star Lake, at the edge of the mysterious sealing array.

While being led through the shadows, Roy couldn't see what was happening outside. But the moment he emerged from the shadows and his vision returned to normal, he was stunned by what he saw.

In the center of the surging lake, there is a huge hollow pillar with a radius of ten meters, seemingly blocked by an air wall, preventing water from entering.

Inside the hollow pillar are eight giant metal pillars, each one meter in radius and thirty meters tall. Unlike the metal pillars described by the Ice Witch Ais in the past, these giant metal pillars now have dense cracks on their surfaces, as if the destruction of the seal has caused these eight metal pillars, which serve as the foundation of the seal, to suffer severe damage.

Looking towards the center of the eight cracked metal pillars, what comes into view is a large, irregular, deep red crevice, two meters high and large enough for an adult to enter.

"This must be the Demon-Sealing Array..."

Roy muttered to himself as he and the Shadow Witch Lilia stood beside the waterless, hollow pillar, not in a hurry to enter.

He was waiting, waiting for news from the Ice Witch Ais.

Nearly five minutes have passed since Ais met up with him. They must ensure that the Crimson Sword Callus and the black-robed, hooded figure, whose strength is no less than the former, have not yet entered the sealed space.

Otherwise, Roy and the Shadow Witch Lilia would be committing suicide by facing three Gold Knights in the sealed space, including one Gold Three-Star and two Gold Peak Knights.

Roy didn't have to wait long. About ten seconds later, the Ice Witch Ais appeared beside him and said in a cold voice, "They are still in the same place and have no intention of moving for the time being."

“In that case, I’ll leave the rest to you, Miss Ais.” Roy nodded solemnly to the Ice Witch Ais, then looked at the Shadow Witch Lilia beside him: “Let’s go.”

The shadow magic, like flowing black liquid, began to rise from the feet of the Shadow Witch Lilia, eventually spreading along their clasped hands to Roy's body, enveloping him completely.

Lilia's experience of entering "other dimensions" multiple times made her very clear that it was impossible to remain in shadow form, or "semi-elemental form," when passing through spatial portals.

Therefore, instead of taking Roy into the shadow realm, she used the method of enveloping her entire body in shadow magic to enter the sealed space.

The purpose of doing this was to allow her to quickly take Roy into the shadows after entering the sealed space, reducing the probability of being discovered. At the same time, the existence of shadow magic could also protect Roy from being swallowed up by the surging tide of magic when he entered the waterless hollow pillar.

Watching Roy and the Shadow Witch Lilia arrive at the irregular crimson rift and enter it, the Ice Witch Ais withdrew her gaze, her body transforming into azure light spots and dissipating.

In her "Grand Elemental" form, her gaze was fixed on the Crimson Sword Callus and the hooded figure in black robes, her eyes as cold as winter.

……

Above the dense forest canopy, a kilometer away from Xinghu Lake.

Gazing at the situation at Star Lake, especially at the Healing Witch Shanica who stood motionless on its shore, for a full five minutes, Crimson Sword Callus, seeing that Shanica still did not make any move, turned his head again and focused his gaze on the figure in the black robe and hood.

The silent gaze made the figure in the black robe and hood take a deep breath.

"It seems that a small accident may have occurred within the sealed space."

"A century has passed, and the situation inside may be quite different from what is recorded."

"Lord Calles, why don't we go inside and take a look together?"

Faced with the invitation from the hooded figure in black robes, Crimson Sword Callus shook his head expressionlessly: "Until I obtain the A-grade forbidden item - the Lost Ice Coffin, there is no real deal between us."

"I have no need, nor any obligation, to take such a huge risk to enter the unknown 'Demon-Locking Array' sealed space."

"Heh..." Upon hearing what Crimson Sword Callus said, the hooded figure in black robes was not annoyed, but merely gave a sarcastic laugh.

Scarlet Sword Callus's words were straightforward, but they also fit the style of a frontier knight like him in the Crimson Knights—pragmatic and direct.

The invitation from the hooded figure in black robes was merely a casual question. If Crimson Sword Callus accepted, it would be a pleasant surprise; if he didn't, there would be no loss.

Seeing that he showed no intention of moving, the black-robed, hooded figure lightly touched the ground with his toes, unleashing a burst of icy blue battle aura that propelled him towards the starry lake, leaving only a lingering echo in his voice: "Then you'll be in charge of guarding the Healing Witch Shanika's side..."

Watching the black-robed, hooded figure fall into Star Lake enveloped in battle aura, a look of disgust flashed in the eyes of Crimson Sword Callus.

If it weren't for... he simply refused to cooperate with such a cowardly and secretive person, which resulted in his comrade-in-arms and subordinate, Blood Fortress Robert, being seriously injured.

His gaze fell on the healing witch Shanika, and he waited quietly.

Just as he just said, the "deal" between the border duke's forces and the second prince's forces hadn't truly begun until they obtained the A-grade forbidden item—the Lost Ice Coffin...

……

The lake water, brimming with magic, receded to either side before the surging battle aura. The figure in black robes and a hood did not choose to enter directly from above the waterless cave. To ordinary people, it was nothing, but to the extraordinary knight, it was a terrifying pillar of magic rising into the sky. To withstand the impact of the pillar of magic and enter the sealed space at the bottom of the Star Lake? Even a fool would not choose to do that.

Less than five seconds after falling into Star Lake, the figure in the black robe and hood sank to the bottom of the lake, stepping on the sticky black mud.

A little over a hundred meters ahead of him was a waterless, hollow pillar.

Without hesitation, the figure in the black robe and hood took a step forward and rushed ahead, aiming directly at the irregular deep red crevice at the bottom center of the waterless, hollow pillar.

As long as he wasn't going against the flow of magic power, which surged upwards from the deep red rift, the simple magic power surge posed no challenge to him.

One hundred meters... fifty meters... thirty meters...

Just as the figure in the black robe and hood was only three meters away from the waterless hollow pillar, a chilling sense of crisis rose in his heart.

The intense threat to his life caused his pupils to shrink to pinpoints in an instant.

Before they could even process the origin of the crisis, the figure in the black robe and hood acted instinctively.

Suddenly, his fighting spirit erupted outwards, causing the lake water and the silt at the bottom to churn wildly.

No matter who the attacking enemy is, they will inevitably pause for a moment when faced with this fierce impact of battle aura, even if they are not repelled. And that is exactly the pause that the black-robed and hooded figure wanted.

The crisis came too suddenly, and he was caught off guard and had no time to make any other response. He needed time, even if it was just a tiny 0.1 seconds.

The black-robed, hooded figure reacted swiftly, and the shockwave of his battle aura was quite powerful, but he was still a step too slow.

"Thorn-"

The sound of flesh being torn apart rang out, and a bloody stain appeared in the murky lake water.

“Ahhhhh——!”

The black-robed, hooded figure roared, unleashing an even more powerful shockwave of battle aura from his body. Moreover, within the boundless battle aura, a ferocious monster slowly emerged, rapidly circling around him.