After going into the sea, I met the witch.

After becoming a [Gluttony Hunter (Tier 1)], ordinary food could no longer satisfy his appetite. Only the meat of monsters among monsters and special species could satisfy his ravenous stomach.

Such meat was naturally not suitable to be served in front of the two women, so after symbolically eating a fish, he devoted himself to grilling fish for them.

"Mr. Ryan."

As Ryan was grilling the fish, he heard the witch's clear and melodious voice. He instinctively turned his head and was immediately met with a pair of bright, star-like eyes.

"We've known each other for so long, and I don't think I've ever asked you that question."

"What is your goal on this long voyage?"

Ryan paused for a moment when he heard the question.

"The target...?"

To be honest, he himself hadn't really thought about this issue properly.

Since his transmigration, he has been constantly pursued, and even now, he remains in the shadow of the Black Knights' pursuit.

After a long silence, Ryan averted his gaze from the girl and looked at the ever-wavering waves in the moonlight, saying softly, "This world is vast and wonderful."

"But to be honest, I don't have any specific goals."

"Lady Freyne..."

“Just call me Frey, or even Captain.” The wide brim of her hat cast a shadow over the girl’s face, obscuring her expression. “We’re partners, aren’t we? Calling me ‘sir’ or anything like that is too formal.”

“…Alright.” A faint smile appeared on Ryan’s lips. “Captain, I am grateful to you for allowing me to survive the storm that day.”

"It was also with your help that I was able to step into the world of professionals."

"I remember your goal was to go deep into the sea and reach the Golden Tree, wasn't it?"

"Although I don't know what you're going there to do, but..."

"Before I find my own goal, can I stay by your side and see the beautiful scenery along the way?"

"Crash..."

The sound of waves crashing against the beach was clearly audible, and a cluster of flames exploded on dry firewood.

Freyne stood up abruptly, pressing her hands down on the witch's hat on her head, and turned around as usual, walking towards the cave behind her.

However, her increasingly rapid pace betrayed a hint of panic in the girl's heart.

"up to you."

Watching the girl's departing figure, Ryan smiled and suddenly felt that the personality his captain had always displayed might just be a disguise, and her true self had been gradually frozen by the cruel external environment.

As the two spent more and more time together, this solid layer of ice was quietly melting away, like spring water seeping into the soil.

The knight girl beside her was still puffing out her cheeks, eating the grilled fish in big bites. In less than three seconds, a grilled fish in her hand was reduced to clean fish bones. Her fish-eating skills were superb.

Watching Freyne's retreating figure, she blinked, glanced longingly at the grilled fish on the grill, and finally stood up with a heavy heart, following Freyne away.

"Hey, Cecilia."

Ryan called out with a smile, "The last batch of grilled fish is ready. Take it with you."

Miss Wolf Girl's face remained unchanged, but her eyes brightened considerably.

Sitting alone on the beach, Ryan's gaze drifted into the distance.

"My goal... it's such a luxury..."

After enjoying the sea breeze for a while, he stood up and walked towards his "small abode".

With midnight fast approaching, it's time to begin a new round of travel.

……

The vision in front of me changed from black to bright, and the feeling of weightlessness and falling gradually disappeared.

Ryan opened his eyes and saw eleven miniature, bronze-colored trophies hanging from the mast of the raft.

Ryan paused for a moment as his gaze fell on the eleventh piece of loot.

Speaking of which, after successfully defeating the Bone Armor Dragon on his last expedition, he collected the loot, but due to the sneak attack by the [High Rank] Bloodclaw Dragon, he hadn't had a chance to check it yet.

As Ryan stared intently, the skull-shaped trophy revealed its specific attributes.

-

[Loot: Bone Armor Dragon's Hard Skull]: Bronze-grade loot, the incredibly sturdy skull of the Bone Armor Dragon. Comes with the special skill [Stun Enhancement Lv.1]: Your attacks are more likely to stun monsters.

-

Upon seeing the [Stun Enhancement] skill, Ryan's eyes lit up with joy.

"Stun" is a very useful abnormal status for him when fighting monsters. Every time a monster is in a "stun" state, it is the perfect opportunity for him to charge up his greatsword and unleash his attack.

Now, with the addition of the special skills [Sword Drawing Technique - Power] and [Stun Enhancement], it's very easy for him to make monsters "stunned" if he attacks their heads.

Nodding in satisfaction, Ryan walked to the campfire and selected teleportation.

As the scattered sparks drifted before his eyes, Ryan first went to the [Campfire Point - Gap in the Giant Tree] to check on the dragon egg.

After several days of nourishment from the "Crimson Crystal", its condition improved significantly, and the panel displayed the exact incubation time.

【71:22:46】

It took about three days.

"Not bad."

Ryan nodded. As for what to do with the dragon eggs after they hatched, he already had a preliminary plan in mind.

After teleporting again, when Ryan opened his eyes, he had arrived at [Campfire Point - Corruption Outpost].

A faint stench of decay filled his nostrils. Ryan glanced in the direction of the "Rotten Miasma," hesitated for a moment, and then abandoned his plan to hunt down the [High Rank] Bloodclaw Dragon first.

Compared to the [High Rank] Unicorn Dragon, the [High Rank] Bloodclaw Dragon is more like a bloodthirsty killer hidden in the thick miasma. Coupled with the effects of the poisonous miasma, the process of hunting it will undoubtedly be more difficult.

Comparatively speaking, it's more reliable to defeat a [high-ranking] unicorn dragon that has already clashed with one before.

Ryan looked up at the hole above the campfire.

The cave walls are covered with tough vines, making it easy to climb up.

"Since we're going to the ground anyway, why not climb up from here and take a look?"

With that thought in mind, Ryan immediately began to act.

With a powerful leap, he bounded high into the air, grabbed a vine with one hand just before falling, and quickly climbed up.

The entrance to the cave was rather narrow, so Ryan had no choice but to store his scales into his spatial ring before he could climb out successfully.

The blinding, scorching sunlight made him instinctively squint.

Only after his pupils adjusted to the change in light did he begin to look around.

At this moment, Ryan was standing on a small rocky hill protruding from the desert, surrounded by rocks of various sizes and shapes.

"The second petal area?"

Based on the general terrain, Ryan made a preliminary judgment about the area where he was currently located.

High above, Ryan quickly located the cliff separating the "first petal" and the "second petal".

He jumped down from the small rocky hill and cautiously surveyed his surroundings, but he did not see any monsters, or even any trace of life where creatures had settled.

Ryan could understand this.

After all, compared to the "favorable" environment of underground caves with abundant water sources and no exposure to the scorching sun, the environment on the surface is far too harsh.

Even monsters with strong physical abilities would find it difficult to survive in such an environment.

However, the monsters that can survive in this environment are all monsters among monsters, such as the [High Rank] Unicorn Dragon.

There should be a similar "second petal area," otherwise the [superior] unicorn would not have returned out of fear.

With a stride, Ryan headed towards the cliff face at the border between the two places.

He searched and soon discovered the gap left by the impact of the former [superior] unicorn.

Looking at the hole that was more than ten meters high and the cracks that stretched for dozens of meters across the cliff face, Ryan took a deep breath.

"call……"

Before stepping into the "first petal zone," he checked his equipment.

The [Umbrella Fire Scale Armor Set] is fully equipped, the [Light Crossbow - Ice Shatter] has plenty of bolts, and the [Bloody Flintlock Pistol] is ready to be used at any time. The [Black Corrosion Ring] and [Energy Resistance Ring] are worn on both hands. As for the most important main weapon in this battle, the [Greatsword - Ferocious Ice]... cough cough, no, it's the dark gold blood-patterned gloves [Blood Embrace] that I'm wearing, which can also be activated at any time to materialize the "Blood Greatsword".

After confirming that everything was in order, Ryan walked into the gap in the cliff and stepped into the "first petal area".

A howling wind swept in, carrying thick yellow sand.

Compared to the "second petal area", the "first petal area" experiences stronger sandstorms, which may be closely related to the scarcity of water and the open terrain of the "first petal area".

Such dense sandstorms greatly impaired visibility; even with Ryan's superhuman physique, he could hardly see anything beyond fifty meters.

Standing on the beach, Ryan didn't blindly search for the [High-Rank] Unicorn Dragon. Instead, he took a deep breath and roared, "Unicorn Dragon, come out!"

In their last encounter, the unicorn dragon was able to accurately track him even after burrowing underground, making Ryan realize that this monster's hearing and perception of vibrations were exceptionally acute.

Ryan didn't waste his energy setting up "pitfall traps." Firstly, pitfall traps were simply impossible to set up in the desert, and secondly, even if he managed to set one up, such traps would be useless against monsters that could burrow underground.

"Come out...come out...come..."

Ryan's voice carried on through the strong wind.

About three minutes later, a huge black shadow slowly approached from the distant sandstorm.

The crimson spiral unicorn pointed diagonally towards the sky, like a spear, as if it wanted to pierce a hole in the heavens.

Those wings, hardened and roughened by years of wind and sand, are the knight's strongest shield.

Spears and shields clashed as the desert knight walked slowly toward the "provocative one."

Ryan raised his right hand, and a crimson light appeared on the dark gold glove. In the next instant, a crimson greatsword with serrated blades appeared in mid-air, and he firmly grasped the hilt.

The greatsword pointed diagonally at the ground, forming a perfect parallel line with the crimson horn.

Ryan took a step and walked towards the [High-Rank] Unicorn Dragon.

Head-on confrontation, without yielding or backing down.

This is the most romantic greeting between knights!