After going into the sea, I met the witch.

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(Tomorrow's the weekend, yay! I'm going to be updating like crazy!)

Chapter 115 Upper-Rank Conquest, Silver-Level Loot! (8k-word chapter)

The swirling yellow sand could not conceal the proud figure of the knight.

On the desert, a man and a dragon walk towards each other.

The crimson horn sliced ​​through the raging sandstorm, leaving sword marks on the ground where the blood-red greatsword had passed.

At one point, the man and the dragon simultaneously began to accelerate.

"boom!"

The desert roared, yellow sand flew everywhere, and the [superior] unicorn charged in, its huge horn carrying immense force. Even a giant rock tens of meters high would only be shattered to pieces in the face of such a collision.

The wind whipped his hair wildly, but Ryan remained calm. Even as a terrifying monster, as tall as a three- or four-story building, charged towards him, no fear appeared in his eyes.

With the blood-stained greatsword resting on his shoulder, he began to gather his strength.

"Rumble..."

The sand swirled and surged forth, but the [Advanced] Unicorn Dragon paid no heed to Ryan's actions. For it, there was only one thing to do: charge, charge, and charge again until it smashed the enemy in front of it into dust!

The distance between the man and the dragon was rapidly closed. Looking down from above, one could see a long corridor made of flying yellow sand leading straight to where Ryan was.

When the distance between them was less than two meters, and the huge crimson horn was clearly reflected in his pupils, Ryan roared and, still in a charging stance, charged towards the [high-ranking] unicorn dragon that was right in front of him.

On one side is a colossal creature over ten meters tall and nearly thirty meters long, and on the other side is a tiny ant less than two meters tall. The outcome of their collision is a foregone conclusion for anyone.

The tonnage difference between the two sides has become so large that it is difficult to measure.

The same thought was held by the [superior] unicorn, one of the two colliding forces.

As the overlord of the "first petal area" of the rocky wasteland, it has never seen any creature dare to confront it head-on since its birth, let alone an "ant" that is not even as tall as its knee.

A hint of human-like disdain flashed in the dragon's enormous eyes, and its charging motion not only did not stop, but became even faster.

As a proud desert knight, it never shys away from any form of confrontation.

Just before his flesh and blood clashed with the crimson horn, a crimson glow appeared on Ryan's body. The instant the two made contact, the crimson glow suddenly erupted, creating an incredibly terrifying recoil force.

Even the [high-ranking] unicorn dragon, which charged with ferocious momentum, was forcibly stopped in its charge by the explosive recoil force, and its huge horn on its forehead was shaken upwards.

On the other side, Ryan's face also turned somewhat pale—the ferocity of the [Advanced] Unicorn Dragon's impact far exceeded his expectations. Even the "blood membrane," which had only slightly rippled when facing the full-force attack of the Tier 3 Hero Professional - "Iris Knight," disintegrated into countless blood-colored light particles after taking the impact of the [Advanced] Unicorn Dragon for less than half a second.

The remaining force surged into his body, causing Ryan's internal organs to tremble considerably.

Fortunately, this level of injury did not interrupt his power-building process.

[Higher Rank] The unicorn staggered back two steps, its huge horn falling back down. Ryan's eyes turned solemn, and he unleashed the full power of his greatsword, which he had been holding at the "second stage" limit.

"kill!"

A crimson sword shadow swept through the air, striking the head of the [Superior] Unicorn Dragon—or more precisely, its massive horn.

It wasn't that Ryan didn't want to slash other parts, but given his height, this was the easiest spot for him to hit. Other parts, such as the "legs," would not only cause very little damage, but also require him to run under the unicorn dragon, making him vulnerable to instant death.

"clang--!"

The greatsword clashed with the unicorn horn, producing a sharp, metallic clang.

Ryan could clearly feel that when the Blood Greatsword in his hand struck the Crimson Horn, it was as if he had struck an extremely hard metal block. Although it left a deep wound, the force of the recoil still made his hands go numb and he took a few steps back.

At the same time, a blood-red mark that only Ryan can see appears on the [High Rank] Unicorn Dragon. It is the "Blood Hunter Mark" formed after the [Blood Hunter] hits an enemy. Enemies marked with this mark will take an additional 10% more damage afterward.

The condition of the [high-ranking] Unicorn Dragon is even worse.

The blood-red light had already forced it to halt its charge, leaving it dazed. The subsequent blow to the head made it unable to hold on any longer. It staggered back a few steps before collapsing onto the sand, kicking up a cloud of flying sand.

The combination of [Sword Drawing Technique - Power] and [Stun Enhancement] proved incredibly effective at this moment!

Ryan took a deep breath, activated [Gluttony Heart], consuming "Gluttony Points" to quickly repair the damage on his tiger's mouth and relieve the numbness in his arms.

He strode forward to the fallen [Upper Rank] unicorn dragon's head, shouldered his greatsword, and began a new round of charging up.

Just as the [High Rank] Unicorn Dragon was struggling to get up, Ryan had already completed his charge.

Second stage of charging, slash!

"clang!"

With another piercing buzz, Ryan's blood-red greatsword was deflected once more, but it also left a deeper gash on the crimson horn, cutting in almost halfway!

The pain caused the [superior] unicorn dragon, which had already risen, to let out a tremendous roar, the terrifying sound waves forming violent ripples visible to the naked eye.

Ryan, who was standing nearby, had no time to react before the terrifying sound wave that swept over him made him see black.

Ryan had experienced the roars of special species before, but compared to the roar of the [High-Rank] Unicorn Dragon, it was nothing.

When Ryan regained consciousness, the first thing he felt was excruciating pain all over his body.

Pebbles rolled down beside him, and he became deeply embedded in the cliff face, creating a large crater.

In the distance, a [high-ranking] unicorn dragon slowly reared its tail and stood upright.

"Damn it!"

Ryan could feel that his arm bones and ribs had large areas of fractures, and his internal organs were also injured and bleeding.

Based on the actions of the [superior] unicorn, he initially judged that when he was stunned by the roar, he was swatted dozens of meters away by the [superior] unicorn's tail whip.

Such injuries would have essentially ended the battle for any other hunter.

This is what makes high-ranking monsters so terrifying; a single blow can leave a well-equipped and physically strong hunter in a near-death state, or even kill them outright.

The difference in strength between humans and special monsters is simply too great.

The battle between hunters and monsters can be summarized in one sentence: monsters can make many mistakes, but hunters, even with just one mistake, will perish.

Fortunately, Ryan was no ordinary hunter.

He tossed a "Pearl of Abundance" into his mouth, chewed it into powder, and swallowed it. With the help of the [Heart of Gluttony], his fractured bones were restored to their original state within just two seconds, and his body regained its mobility.

"Crack!"

With a powerful struggle, he pulled himself off the cliff and landed on the sand. Looking at the [high-ranking] unicorn dragon lightly scratching the ground with its claws in the distance, Ryan twisted his neck, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"continue."

Seemingly understanding Ryan's words, the [Advanced] Unicorn Dragon, like a cruel and calm knight, did not recklessly charge again with its "dragon chariot". Instead, it used both its wings and claws to plunge into the sand.

"Boom boom boom..."

The ground trembled as a slightly raised sandbag hurtled toward Ryan.

Under the cover of the intense sandstorm, the slightly raised sand dune quickly disappeared, leaving only the feeling of vibrations rapidly approaching.

Ryan's eyes were as calm as ice, and he focused all his attention on his feet.

A few seconds later, his gaze sharpened, and he jumped up without hesitation.

With a deafening roar, the sand exploded, like a blooming sand flower, and the huge, crimson horn that shot into the sky was the beautiful pillar of this sand flower.

Ryan tensed all his muscles, his hands bracing against the blood-red greatsword in front of him. On the other side of the greatsword, a crimson horn bursts forth from the earth.

If it weren't for the Blood Sword, Ryan would have been pierced through the chest by that blade.

It must be said that the Blood Greatsword manifested by the [Relic: Embrace of Blood] is of really good quality. Even when it was hit head-on by the [High Rank] Unicorn Dragon's thrust, it did not break. Of course, this was not without its price.

The "Blood Embrace" artifact only had 100 points of "Blood Energy". It used 50 points to materialize the "Blood Greatsword", and after blocking this thrust, the "Blood Energy" dropped by half again, leaving only 25 points.

It can be said that if the Blood Greatsword were to suffer such an attack again, its "blood energy" would be reduced to zero, and at that time, the Blood Greatsword would be in danger of collapsing at any moment.

Using the force of the Crimson Horn's thrust, Ryan's body soared dozens of meters into the air.

Standing in mid-air, watching the [high-ranking] unicorn dragon gradually shrink below, Ryan grinned and began charging up his power right there in the air.

By the time he reaches the top and is about to fall to the same height as the [high-ranking] unicorn dragon, he has completed the "second stage of charging".

"boom!"

The giant tail, like a double-headed iron hammer, swung horizontally towards Ryan. The force of this swing was so strong that the air itself emitted a terrifying explosion.

Seeing that he was about to be hit by the giant tail, blood light burst out on Ryan's body surface, and the [Special Sword Skill - Charge Impact] was activated again.

The dragon's tail was jolted back by the blood-red light. Ryan's eyes narrowed, and seizing this fleeting opportunity, he gripped the Blood Greatsword tightly with both hands and slashed hard at the end of the dragon's tail.

"Stab!"

Unlike its incredibly sturdy horn and head protected by a shield, the [High Rank] Unicorn's tail does not have heavy armor protecting the connection between it and the sturdy double-headed hammer. This is because the [High Rank] Unicorn needs to swing its tail flexibly.

With the sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking, blood splattered everywhere, and a severed tail of a double-headed hammer flew into the air.

The [superior] unicorn, having suddenly lost its tail, also lost its balance during the tail-swinging process and fell into the swirling sand.

"boom!"

Ryan's feet hit the ground, his face pale.

The use of special sword techniques twice in a row had placed an extremely heavy burden on him, but fortunately, [Gluttony] was in effect, consuming "satiety" to help him recover his strength.

After landing, Ryan dared not linger for a moment. He suppressed his mental and physical exhaustion and rushed to the [High-Rank] Unicorn Dragon, charging up his strength once more.

Losing its tail had a significant impact on the [superior] unicorn. It struggled for several seconds before it could barely adapt and stand up again, only to be met with a fully charged sword strike from Ryan.

As the crimson sword flashed, another section of the [High-Rank] Unicorn Dragon's forehead horn was severed, leaving only the last quarter to completely sever it.

The enraged [high-ranking] unicorn is about to unleash another terrifying roar, but this time, Ryan, who was prepared in advance, will not let it have its way.

Before the [superior] unicorn dragon could react, Ryan opened his mouth, and the spiritually charged sound waves spread out in layers.

—【A triumphant battle cry】!

"kill!"

Under the effect of [Gluttony], Ryan's fatigue quickly subsided. He roared, charged up for a few seconds, and unleashed another powerful "double-charge" strike.

With a crisp "crack," the massive crimson horn, after withstanding three charged sword strikes, could no longer hold on and snapped off.

This spear, a symbol of the pride and glory of the desert knight, was completely destroyed in the fierce battle!

The intense pain of having its horn destroyed forced the [superior] unicorn to awaken from its "stunned state" ahead of schedule.

Its dragon eyes reflected the crimson horn that had fallen to the ground, and the crest on its head began to swell with blood due to extreme anger, covered with red flares.