After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Such sharpness was something he had never experienced before.

His spirituality surged within him, and his blood rushed through his veins. At that moment, the world before Ryan's eyes slowed down, with only that streak of silver light rapidly approaching, magnifying in his pupils.

"clang--!"

A shockwave, visible to the naked eye, spread out, and a figure was forced back by the impact of the silver light, leaving two clearly visible grooves on the deck. In an instant, wood chips and dust flew everywhere.

"One-Eyed" Santas raised his hand and grabbed, his palm pulsating with spiritual energy, trying to recall the silver spear. To his surprise, his summons was answered, but the silver spear did not fly back, as if it were stuck by something.

This unusual sight caused Santas to frown deeply, his eyes fixed on the figure that remained standing amidst the flying wood chips.

As the sawdust dissipated, the pirates opposite and "One-Eyed" Santas could clearly see the young man raising his sword to block in front of him, and the silver spear firmly held in his other hand, which was not holding a sword.

The silver spear vibrated rapidly, trying to break free from the youth's grasp, but the youth's hand was like a firmly fixed iron clamp, and no matter how the silver spear struggled, it could not break free.

Ryan grinned at the one-eyed Santas opposite him: "Want it? Here you go!"

"call out--!"

The silver spear, tinged with a hint of dark blue, shot straight out. By the time it left Ryan's hand, Santas on the opposite side could no longer sense the spear's response.

This phenomenon caused Santas's expression to change drastically.

In just a few short seconds, the opponent managed to break his connection with the silver spear?!

Was he an alchemist? Or a scholar?

The idea flashed through Santas's mind, but now was not the time to think about it.

The flying silver spear aimed directly at his chest, and despite having little spiritual power, it emitted a terrifying shriek.

Pure brute force?

Santas noticed this and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

The distance between the two sides was only a few dozen meters. For a flying spear, this distance would not even take a second. In this critical moment, Santas remained calm despite his alarm.

He opened his mouth, and in the next instant, spiritual sound waves spread out.

That's the exclusive class ability of the [Tier 1 Pirate] - [Soaring Battle Cry]!

With the powerful spiritual blessing, this [Soaring War Cry] was exceptionally powerful. The spiritual sound waves, visible to the naked eye and tinged with a faint light blue, forcibly fixed the flying silver spear in mid-air.

The same professional skill, when used by a second-tier elite professional, is far more effective than when used by a first-tier regular professional.

Before Santas could even catch his breath, a figure had already stepped over the silver spear and arrived in front of him; it was none other than Ryan, wielding a silver-blue greatsword.

Ryan opened his mouth slightly, and spiritual sound waves spread out from his mouth as well. Although the effect was far less than that of Santas, it was able to reduce most of the effect of Santas's [Soaring War Cry]. The remaining sound waves fell on Ryan, but could no longer affect him, who had a monstrous physique.

In Santas's wide-eyed gaze, the silver-blue greatsword crashed down like a giant wave, with immense force.

The strong wind from the sword made Santas's hair fly wildly. In the moment of life and death, the spatial ring in his hand flashed again, and a silver spear of the same style appeared in his hand, attempting to block the falling sword.

The instant the greatsword made contact with the spear.

Santas's eyes were bloodshot, almost bursting out of their sockets. A tidal wave of power swept over him, causing his hands, which were holding the spear, to go numb instantly. He was then sent flying backward, crashing into many pirates along the way. These pirates he hit also spat out blood. Santas finally managed to stop himself when he hit the bulwark.

"Hu Chi... Hu Chi..."

His breathing was rapid, his throat filled with the strong taste of blood, and Santas felt his vision blurring.

"What... terrifying power...is this a monster?"

He looked at the young man dragging a greatsword as he walked towards him step by step, and fear appeared in his eyes.

Having traversed the ocean for so many years, this was the first time Santas had ever encountered such a freak. Rather than calling the young man a professional, it would be more accurate to say that he was a monster in human skin!

Even "monster" doesn't quite do it justice; it's more like a "sea monster" in human skin!

The fragmented memories of the sea monster that resurfaced in Santas's mind intensified his fear.

Just then, he felt a strange sensation in his calf, and instinctively, he looked down.

But on the skin of his calves, dark blue lines snaked and coiled upwards, like sinister venomous snakes, ready to devour him.

"!"

Santas's only pupil shrank to the size of a pinhead.

At this moment, disregarding his severely injured body and the blood overflowing from his body, all the spiritual energy within him erupted, and blood vessels appeared all over his body. One could even see a faint blue spiritual energy flowing within them, attempting to expel this strange, dark blue power.

This is the exclusive class ability [Storm Body] of the second-tier class [Storm Fighter] of the "Pirate Path" - which allows the "Storm Fighter" to enter a state of highly activated spirituality.

The [Storm Body] skill took effect immediately upon activation, greatly slowing the spread of the eerie blue lines that were constantly rising along Santas's legs.

Before Santas could even catch his breath, Ryan, wielding a greatsword, was already in front of him.

Santas noticed that the greatsword Ryan was dragging was different from before; it emitted a hazy white glow, as if some kind of secret technique had been used.

There are too many secret techniques in this world. For a moment, Santas had no way of knowing what Ryan was using. He could only force his heavily injured body to raise the silver spear and use offense as defense, intending to throw it at Ryan's heart.

However, just as Santas was about to unleash his spiritual power, the dark blue patterns that had just been suppressed suddenly erupted, causing his body to stiffen.

In that short time, Ryan's attack arrived.

The dragging greatsword rose to its highest point, then fell heavily, a mournful sound rang out, and even the air seemed to tremble and groan before this sword strike.

Having barely suppressed the turmoil of the azure patterns and regained control of his body, Santas found it too late to attack. Left with no other choice, he switched to defense, holding his spear in front of him in an attempt to block the attack.

Chapter 80 Rank Limit Theory

The previous struggle made Santas very clear that, in terms of pure strength, he was no match for the young man in front of him who appeared to be human but was actually a monster.

But the person he is now is not the same as the person he was just now.

After activating the [Storm Battle Body], his highly activated spirituality not only amplified his spiritual power, but also made his physique even stronger.

If it were at that level, Santas was confident he could barely hold off.

"Escape! We must escape!"

"What is the origin of this nameless pirate crew? It's too mysterious!"

At this moment, Santas had lost all will to fight and only wanted to escape.

He had already made his plans. He intended to use the force of the attack to retreat, jump into the sea, and then swim back to the Whirlpool Islands by hand.

He didn't want the "One-Eyed Ship" or the pirate crew members anymore.

Although the young man with the greatsword was formidable in combat, carrying such a heavy greatsword meant he would sink straight to the bottom of the sea if he entered the water. Therefore, jumping into the sea to escape was his only chance of survival.

In the blink of an eye, the silver-blue greatsword slashed down from above, leaving behind specks of icy mist in mid-air before colliding with the silver spear.

"Crack——!"

Santas's expression changed drastically. The moment the weapons made contact, he tried to use the force to retreat, but the force from the greatsword was too great and too fierce, leaving him no room to use it. It was crushed down in an overwhelming manner.

The power was so terrifying that even the low-level magical spear in his hand could not withstand it and bent and deformed.

In fact, different weapons have different focuses.

As a throwing weapon, the spear was not originally designed for head-on combat like it is now.

The greatsword is different. As a heavy weapon, it is best suited for slashing, and because it is made of thick materials, it is very durable.

It's rare for a normal person to be foolish enough to fight a greatsword with a one-handed weapon. Even if the two are of similar strength, the one using a one-handed weapon will be at a great disadvantage.

The bent spear shaft slammed into Santas's shoulder with such immense force that his legs could no longer support him, and he fell to one knee.

Ryan's expression remained calm, but a faint doubt lingered in the depths of his eyes.

Isn't "One-Eyed" Santas far too weak?

Compared to the Black Knight, they are not even in the same league.

Santas's face was flushed and red as he desperately tried to lift the greatsword, but he couldn't manage it at all.

"Tear..."

Just then, Santas heard a sound of flesh being torn apart.

He turned his head with difficulty to look behind him.

Suddenly, a girl wearing a fluffy blue-white gradient witch's hat appeared behind him and thrust her right hand into his left chest cavity from behind.

Santas could even clearly feel his heart being gripped tightly by an icy hand.

"It's...you?"

Upon seeing the girl, Santas finally understood where the dark blue markings on his body came from.

But knowing this now is meaningless.

The dark blue lines spread upwards from Santas's calves, eventually converging between his eyebrows to form the curse mark.

Ryan silently sheathed his greatsword, and when Freyne withdrew her hand, she thoughtfully gave Santas a quick heal.

This action did not bring Santas any joy; instead, it made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

He could clearly feel that his spirituality was being controlled by a curse mark hidden under the skin between his eyebrows, a feeling that drove him almost mad.

He tried to escape, to launch a sneak attack on the seemingly relaxed young man and woman wielding greatswords, but in the end, he dejectedly let go, allowing the silver spear to fall onto the deck.

He doesn't dare to gamble!

He... is afraid of dying.

Ignoring the distraught Santas behind them, Ryan and Freya turned their attention to the terrified One-Eyed Pirates.

Before the two men could even make a move, the pirates all knelt down and surrendered.

Even the second mate, "The Ripper" Edge, a first-tier professional, knelt down without hesitation, not caring about his reputation at all.

After all, even a captain with the strength of a second-tier elite had knelt down, so they had no psychological burden in surrendering.

Thus, this encounter in the waters east of the Whirlpool Islands came to a dramatic end.

……

【Black Rose】, Captain's cabin.

Freyne sat on the captain's chair, her hands casually crossed on the wooden table, while behind her stood Ryan, carrying a greatsword.

Standing before the two was a dejected "One-Eyed" Santas, and "Twilight," the alchemist captured from the One-Eyed pirate ship.

“Santas, I believe you have also sensed the presence of the cursed seal.”