Swoosh——

At this moment, Aiven's body was almost parallel to the tree canopy beneath his feet. His extraordinary speed made the surrounding scenery in his vision seem to twist and distort, appearing only as a long, slender phantom advancing at lightning speed.

In merely the span of a breath, he flashed in front of Rudolph, his longsword transforming into the Thunder God's heavy hammer. By the time Rudolph barely managed to raise his sword to protect his chest, it had already struck heavily.

Boom!

The crushing force left this "two-faced" bearded man with no suspense. His feet left the ground, and he was once again blown away.

At this moment, what Aiven wielded in his hand was no longer the White Sail Swordsmanship he had practiced for nearly ten years since he was eight years old.

Instead, it was the incomplete version of [Desperate Thunder Swordsmanship], obtained from the lost city Poseidya in the Spirit Realm during the process of continuously slaying black insects, lacking the Extraordinary Secret Technique parts!

His own swordsmanship expertise was already at a half-step master level, making swordsmanship that didn't involve Extraordinary Secret Techniques no challenge for him.

With the assistance of "Data Visualization," a mere one to two months of practice led him to achieve a highly advanced level.

Moreover, Aiven discovered...

Compared to the [White Sail Swordsmanship] focusing on agility and balance, he found himself somewhat addicted to this kind of straightforward and impactful combat style!

Especially when his physical attributes could overwhelmingly crush his opponent, the feeling of power being fully unleashed was utterly exhilarating.

Bang——!

The forcefully struck Rudolph was sent flying, crashing through the canopy that undulated like green hills, until his back heavily hit a towering sky-reaching tree standing 50 meters tall, finally halting his momentum.

"Wow!"

He spat out a large mouthful of blood, clearly indicating that his internal organs had been damaged.

"Cough cough..."

Rudolph barely struggled to get up, his military uniform tattered like rags around his upper body, with a purplish bruise on his back.

Even though both were Peak Knights, his physical attributes, level of Physical Liberation, and swordsmanship were all vastly inferior.

Even trying to use the once indomitable "Jel Pipe Organ" to break the stalemate was ineffective, and his fate was already sealed!

Rudolph was evidently aware of this as well, hearing the gunfire and shouts beneath the canopy gradually thinning.

His originally gloomy face flushed with an abnormal redness, his eyebrows furrowed tightly as he let out a thunderous shout:

"Ha!"

With a forceful push against the tree trunk behind him, he charged at the strong enemy who was already closing in like a true knight making the last charge.

[Dener Swordsmanship·Secret Technique: Defense in Attack!]

"Dener Swordsmanship?

It's rare to see someone within Hilus's military who doesn't use the Swift Sword on the battlefield.

However, the outcome will not change!"

With a slight adjustment to his breathing, he too transformed his stride into lightning, charging head-on against Rudolph like a Heavy Knight.

At this moment, even the raging wind couldn't keep up with his pace.

The two, much like knights wielding lances, decided the outcome in the instant they passed by each other, with no room for tricks.

Clang!

Aiven flicked the "white mist" slowly flowing from his Hand Half-Sword, then sheathed it.

Ssss——

The strong heart muscle throbbed, a scalding mist of blood spurting out, and Rudolph's eyes widened abruptly, uttering the final whisper in disbelief:

"Uh... Master of... Swordsmanship...!"

Thud——

A step misstepped, his body fell like a stiff stone from the canopy.

Crack!

Behind him, a faint sword mark quietly appeared on the towering tree that required three people to encircle it, and then, driven by gravity, the upper half of the tree slid down along the smooth cut.

Crash...

In the continuous roar of birds taking flight and branches snapping.

The virtually impenetrable canopy of the rainforest was shattered open by the gigantic falling crown, allowing the plants beneath to finally bask in sunlight they had never faced directly.

Perhaps an unremarkable young tree in the undergrowth of the rainforest will seize this opportunity to grow robustly, transforming into a new towering tree, occupying this scarce living space.

Just like at this moment...

The White Knight poised to step onto the stage, trampling over the dignity of Hilus!

"Now's the time to reap the rewards."

Hearing the commotion on the road below gradually calming down, understanding that there should be nothing left for him.

Whoosh!

Aiven bounced between the branches in the rainforest, easily landed on the ground.

First, he confirmed that Rudolph had been killed, dropped a "Little Elf" to burn his body thoroughly, preventing the Peak Knight's Extraordinary Traits from spawning any bizarre phenomena.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the "Jel Accordion," fallen not far away and golden as though an artwork, had already landed in his grasp.

The red cherry wood gunstock, comfortable to the touch and with a glossy sheen, had a silver plaque at its base inscribed with gunsmith Jel's name, number 2, and the manufacturing date, Sea Origin Calendar 154.

The unknown material of the metallic barrel was adorned with intricate flame patterns, and the hardness granted by Alchemy made this exquisite weapon still shine brightly even thirty years later.

"Not bad, not bad."

Even though Seagull had followed the treasure transport team for quite some time, Aiven indeed had no idea that this guy was hiding such a good thing.

After all, he didn't have the peculiar habit of peeking under old men's clothes to see what they're hiding.

Although it no longer served much purpose for him now.

But even if it were merely an antique in the history of firearms development, it still had extremely high collectible value. Despite the fact that reality had already proven that the double-barreled firearm he got from the "Blood Hand Gang" had the best overall performance.

However, it would be a pity for such a rare weapon to sit on a shelf as a mere collectible.

Better to give it to some weakling for self-defense; given his combat power hasn't grown much, if he were to be attacked by a senior-level knight up close, it would be curtains for him.

He toyed with it for a little while before putting it away.

When Aiven walked out of the rainforest again, the ambush squad's battle had also nearly come to an end.

Clang! Clang! Clang!...

The last major officer in the escort team was strenuously blocking the combined attacks of Gary and William with his standard-issue hand half-sword, bloodied body heaving with each breath, and stumbling backwards with every step.

Being merely at the senior knight level, managing to hold off two Tier 2s for this long was already quite impressive. This way, the ordinary soldiers in the escort team only had to face Milan alone.

However.

At this moment, the final cries in Hilus language around him abruptly ceased, making his perseverance lose all meaning.

"Huff... Huff..."

The major officer, who had long been exhausted, finally let out his last breath.

His longsword was sent flying by Gary's axe, and as his defenses crumbled, he was pierced through the chest by William's dual blades!

Splat—

The major officer's face, covered in blood marks, finally showed a grim smile as he gathered the last of his strength to shout:

"Billiver, you damn bastard who should have gone to hell long ago!

If you don't make a move, they're going to take the treasure away.

Then, you won't get a copper plate's worth of commission!"

"Haha, anyway, the contract I signed with you all states that as long as I protect the treasure it's fine, waiting until you've weakened the enemy to the maximum before stepping in is the same...

Besides, if you don't all die, how would it show the enemy's strength so I can charge more? Ahahaha..."

A sneaky voice nonchalantly said words that sent others to their deaths.

Boom!

Meanwhile, a seemingly ordinary wooden crate lying on the ground on the post road suddenly exploded with a loud crash, and the lid was blown off by a great force.

Hiss—

Amidst the rising white steam.

"Damn! You guys are such losers, couldn't even take down a single enemy extraordinary!

However, as the most reputable mercenary of the New Continent, once Lord Billiver takes action, everything is no problem.

Unless... the Pirate King himself comes here!"

A figure, dressed in shabby clothes but with a body shining with golden light, stepped out from the crate and nonchalantly waved away the water vapor obscuring his vision.

Nevertheless.

When this figure, named Billiver, turned his head, he discovered that the last major officer had already breathed his last, and a group of "pirates," led by three extraordinaries, was surrounding him with predatory eyes.

"You... what are you?"

Once the steam had slightly cleared and his appearance was visible, "Iron Bone" William instantly raised his dual blades with a wary stance.

It was no wonder William reacted so aggressively.

Not only did this guy spew "venom" that made even enemies want to punch him for his companions, but his appearance was truly indescribable.

Though humanoid in shape and dressed in tattered clothes, he sported an impeccably bright metallic head.

From the nose up, his entire head was a metal structure, with telescopic eyes glowing red like binoculars.

Glimpsing through the gaps in his tattered clothes, one could see his golden-shining bronze-like body and the metal spine behind him.

One could hear the clicking sounds of tightly wound springs and gears turning within his body if one listened carefully.

"Clack... Clack..."

To a world where steam technology had just started developing, such a character was almost akin to a steel monster in human cognition.

"Huh? You 'pirates' are not very professional! You don't know my name? I am...."

Thinking the battle was over, Zinaro, the Arawak guide organizing his tribespeople and recovering the scattered mules, passed through the surrounding crowd, and upon seeing this metal monster, instantly blurted out:

"You are... the strongest mercenary of the New Continent, 'Clockwork Man' Billiver?!"

"Open fire!"

Hearing the word "strongest" from Zinaro's mouth, Gary unhesitatingly ordered to shoot, having long taken Aiven's advice to heart that "villains die from talking too much," and he would never commit such a basic error.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!...

Instantly, gunshots thundered and smoke billowed as blazing lines of fire surged toward the "Clockwork Man," who viewed everyone as grass while still posing.

Clang! Clang!

In the moment the hot leaden balls approached, Billiver's two thin-bladed straight swords at his waist instantly unsheathed, his wrists twisting to form a bright silver fan-shaped storm.

Easily blocking the torrential lead bullets firmly outside!

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