Masked Knight

The lake might have been cold and dark, but Diane could not see a single creature in the lake. It was such a big lake, yet it did not have a single fish or aquatic plant. However, because she did not have enough time, she did not dive deeper or further into the lake. She had only searched near the sh.o.r.e. Nevertheless, she only saw bare rocks at the bottom of the lake.

"This is just a dead lake!" Diane spoke, feeling uneasy. "I have never seen anything like this in the water before."

They thought of the Mythical Beasts and what the vampire they met earlier had said. "The lake is strange and suitable for the growth of the Mythical Beasts."

The three of them showed an unnatural expression when they thought of all that. Darke pondered for a moment and said, "What do you think? What should we do next?"

Diane hesitantly replied, "Should we just go back? Tonight, we have found Mythical Beasts and vampires. There would still be a lot of other things to do after we go back..."

Rody was silently thinking of something. After a moment, he looked at the calm but frightening lake before saying, "I want to go down there and take a look!"

"What?" Diane and Darke blurted out.

Rody spoke with a firm tone and said, "I want to go down there and take a look!" He turned around to look at his companions and said, "There must definitely be something strange in this lake…I have a premonition that we would find something unexpected tonight! If we just go back like this, I would feel uneasy! There must be something hiding underwater…I want to go down there to take a look!"

Diane could not help but loudly protest, "You don"t know how to swim! Besides that, there are only stones down there…"

Rody shook his head and replied, "Maybe there would be something at some distance away."

Diane was extremely concerned and said, "Only G.o.d knows what else is down there…Didn’t you find a monster here yesterday? You…I know you are powerful, but underwater is different from the sh.o.r.e!"

Rody laughed as he looked at Diane and leisurely said, "There is nothing to worry about. The vampire also said that there were only three Mythical Beasts. I have already killed one and the remaining two are over here. There should be no more monsters underwater…"

"But…but even the vampire said that the lake is weird…" Diane anxiously said.

Darke also asked, "Rody, are you sure about this?"

Rody nodded and said, "Since there is something strange here, I must investigate it!" He then continued with a strange tone, "A suitable place to raise Mythical Beasts is not a trifling matter."

The three of them argued for a while, but Rody insisted on going. Finally, Diane loudly said, "Fine! If you insist on going, I am coming with you!"

Rody furrowed his eyebrows and was about to speak when Diane spoke again. "What’s wrong? Do you think you are very formidable? Let me tell you. It is already considered good if you could use ten percent of your ability underwater! If something bad happens, you would still need me to save you!"

Darke also wanted to say something, but Diane’s ferocious glare made him turn silent. Diane was persistent no matter what Rody said. Finally, they all decided that Rody and Diane would go and take a look in the lake while Darke would remain on the sh.o.r.e to pull the rope and watch over the two Mythical Beasts. Rody had insisted that the rope be tied to Diane’s body.

Before going down, Rody whispered to Dark, "If you feel something wrong, immediately pull her back up to the surface! You don’t need to care about me!"

Darke looked at Rody’s eyes with a complicated expression and then said, "You must be careful…No matter what, you must bring her back safely. I have already gotten used to this little girl bullying me every day."

Rody then took a look at Diane. Taking advantage of the fact that Diane was not nearby, he whispered, "Later, when it is necessary, I will give you a signal. If you see the rope shake and flash with a golden light, you have to immediately pull her back."

The two men firmly shook hands. Rody and Diane then went into the lake.

The lake was really cold even though it was not winter. As they went deeper into the lake, Rody could feel the cold as if it were countless needles p.r.i.c.kling his body. He realized then that Diane had a tough time when she went into the lake by herself.

They walked in deeper until the water was above their chests. Rody and Diane then exchanged a look and took a deep breath before going in.

The cold lake water flooded Rody’s ears with a gurgling sound. At that moment, Rody felt a strange feeling.

He slowly opened his eyes but saw that it was dark and he could only see a few meters away from himself. Fortunately, he was holding Diane’s hand, making him feel a little calmer.

Rody stretched his body and swam clumsily according to the little bit that Diane had thought him earlier. Both of then swam deeper while holding each other’s hands.

One was proficient in water while the other was powerful. They held their breaths for a long time, but it was not something unbearable.

The lake was just as Diane had stated. It was completely silent and devoid of life. Ordinary rivers and lakes would have common fishes and aquatic plants, but this place was empty. There were some large and small bare stones at the bottom of the lake. As it had been eroded by the water from the lake, the stones were smooth, yet the stones could not hide how lifeless the lake was. Even the crevices had no moss.

At the beginning, Diane had been pulling Rody forward, but Rody’s movements gradually became smoother and natural. The two of them then swam side by side. The deeper Rody went, the stronger his strange feeling became. He somehow felt like there was something awaiting him at the bottom of the lake.

The cold lake had started to make his body feel numb and frozen. Rody felt something and instinctively circulated his fighting energy. A soft warm current started to flow through his body and the suffocating feeling eased.

As if it was an illusion, Rody could feel his sweat pores all over his body breathe in air. Fresh air flowed into his body through that warm current. As Rody went deeper, his movements became smoother and finally, he was the one that pulled Diane forward!

Both of them did not know how deep and far they swam, but both of their bodies suddenly felt startled as the water around them became turbulent. Their surroundings were no longer calm like earlier and the rapid flow of water wrapped around them as if a tremendous force was tearing them apart. Rody grabbed Diane’s hands in fear that she would be washed away and tried very hard to keep going forward and downward. They could almost see some whirlpools at the bottom of the lake. After pa.s.sing through the whirlpools, they could see a strong undercurrent of darker colored water was.h.i.+ng away the sand, but they could not see where the water came from...

Diane immediately pulled Rody’s hand and pointed to the front. Rody nodded, indicating that he had also seen it.

The two of them were unsteady from the turbulent movements of the water and could only hold each other. Rody suddenly pulled Diane’s hand. He stretched out his finger and wrote on her palm, "You go back up first."

Diane shook her head. She pulled Rody’s hand and wrote, "No!"

Rody felt helpless and grabbed the rope behind Diane in his hand. He then emitted his golden fighting energy. Like a snake, the fighting energy traveled along the rope and spread to the other end, causing the whole rope to turn golden...

Diane was stunned and had not reacted. Suddenly, she was startled as a fierce force pulled her from behind. She instantly understood what had happened and the contents of the two men’s secret conversation.

The moment she saw Rody let go of her hands, she started to get pulled back up. Feeling anxious, she suddenly took out her short dagger and cut off the rope tied to her waist with a backhand swing.

Once the rope was cut off, Diane turned around and swam back to Rody. Although they were underwater, Rody could see the grudging look in her eyes. Diane then took Rody’s hand and wrote, "I am staying with you!"

Rody felt helpless and wrote back, "How are you? Do you need to get some air first?"

Diane shook her head.

The two of them then carefully swam down and tried to resist the enormous pulling power of the water undercurrent from all directions. Grabbing the stones at the bottom of the lake, they moved towards the crevice at the center of a whirlpool.

Suddenly, there was a strong force pulling from the left. They could not help but be swept along with the wave. Rody reacted quickly and grabbed onto a huge boulder with one hand. Diane was in a state of confusion as her body was being pulled by the undercurrent. However, they were still holding on to each other"s hands.

Rody spontaneously used his fighting energy again, but his body was suspended in water and was not able to utilize it. He was powerful but right now, he seemed to be standing in a void, his powers not usable. Rody’s fighting energy became stronger and stronger, but his hand suddenly slipped. The boulder had been in the lake for a long time and had eroded so much that it was smooth and slippery, making it difficult to grasp. When his hand slipped and lost control, it was as if he was blown away like a leaf. They were hanging onto each other as they were swept away in circles and eventually entered the center of the whirlpool. After that, they were swept to the center of a rapid undercurrent and disappeared instantly without a trace...

They drifted with the undercurrent, tossed up and down, but both of them could not open their eyes due to the raging water. All they could feel was their bodies being thrown about. They could not help but hold onto each other tightly as they heard the waves around their bodies become more intense, was.h.i.+ng over them in an indistinct thunderous roar.

Suddenly, they felt their surroundings turn dark. The undercurrent had carried them into a tunnel at the bottom of the lake. Rody was startled as his head b.u.mped into a sharp edge. Although he was strong, the collision still hurt and caused him to be confused for a moment. After that, he felt his body occasionally b.u.mp against some stones. Rody realized that the water current had sent him into a narrow place. It would be bad if Diane was injured by all this b.u.mping and collision.

Instinctively, Rody hugged Diane tightly and used his own body to protect her. Rody collided with more stones along the way. Although this could not harm his body, the tunnel was not straight. There were two quick bends in the tunnel, and the current that carried him threw him hard into the sides each time. The violent collision was like a huge hammer ruthlessly hitting the body. The impact was almost comparable to Paladin Fielding’s strikes during his duel at the Thunderous City. After the second collision, Rody had almost fainted and spat out blood.

Suddenly, Rody felt Diane’s body twitch violently. She grasped to Rody tightly and trembled. Her head was firmly thrust into Rody’s chin. Rody immediately realized that she was drowning.

In a confused state of mind, Rody made a quick and desperate decision. He lowered his head and kissed her on the mouth. He felt Diane stiffen up, but he could no longer worry about it. He stuck his tongue out to forcefully open up her teeth and then he slowly gave her his breath...

In the turbulent waters, they thus became intimate with each other; it was like an electric shock. Time seemed to pause as they kissed and embraced each other.