THUD—!
The golden halberd pierced the throat of the leopard-like monster and continued to drive deeper until the monster stopped twitching and lay still.
FWOOSH—!
Then, as if deflating, the leopard monster's body rapidly shrank, reducing from its original chariot-like size to a human corpse.
Nidhogg withdrew his golden halberd and turned around.
A point of light flew through the night sky and landed on his shoulder.
"He's dead, right? Seems like you didn't need Puck to make a move." Puck casually swung his two golden needles from Nidhogg's shoulder. "An Apostle is nothing more than this."
"Yeah, yeah." Nidhogg put away his golden halberd.
After meeting Puck, the group of three had headed for the western border of the Kingdom of Midland. They traveled for nearly half a month before crossing the border and arriving at a small country west of Midland.
The Hawk Company had been within Midland's territory, pursued by 70% of the kingdom's forces. The situation was certainly unfavorable. They would need a place to recover. This small country was a likely candidate.
Nidhogg was convinced of this because lately, they had been encountering more and more Apostles—sometimes even groups of them.
Since Apostles were scattered throughout the world, if they wanted to participate in this Eclipse festival, they either needed to arrive on time through special means, or travel thousands of miles beforehand, on foot or otherwise.
Since they were encountering so many Apostles, there was no doubt the Eclipse was approaching.
Nidhogg had killed many Apostles during this time, but his level had only increased by one, reaching LV 87. This was because the experience required for each level was higher than the last.
This was no longer the early stage. Now, killing an Apostle and gaining several levels in a row was a thing of the past.
Furthermore, since unlocking Incantations and Sorceries in the Dark Realm, Nidhogg had been trying to study them.
After Melina had used incantation power on his behalf, he was sure Melina would perform incantations for him. As for sorceries, they would likely be performed by Ranni on his behalf, for unknown reasons.
Regarding incantations, Melina had appeared a few times after the Dark Realm and admitted she had exhausted the power accumulated over the years. Currently, she could only use one incantation for Nidhogg—"Grace and Blessing."
「Incantation: Grace and Blessing」
Envelops surrounding allies, granting blessings and grace, and gradually restoring HP.
As for sorceries, no matter how Nidhogg called, Ranni did not respond. So he had to give up for the time being.
Clop, clop, clop—
The sound of hooves, now very close, interrupted Nidhogg's thoughts.
Nidhogg looked up and saw the skeleton knight on his dark horse, leaping down from a halfway point up the slope and landing before them.
Though this was a small country, the terrain here was not small. So wherever they went, Nidhogg and the skeleton knight had to search for traces of the Hawk Company and then reunite.
The previous days had passed quietly, but this time, the skeleton knight brought good news.
"I saw a city built in a valley. There are scouts everywhere. But I didn't sense the Crimson Beherit or any Beherit aura, so I'm not sure if it's the Hawk Company."
"It's just that there are so many Apostles around here. I think it must be them."
"That's good," Nidhogg said. "Let's go there."
"The walled city is in that direction." The skeleton knight pointed. "I can't go any further. This form isn't suitable for appearing before them... I'll kill the nearby Apostles and arrive in time if needed."
He paused, then added, "Actually, I also advise you to stay on the periphery like me, wait for the Eclipse, and try to penetrate from the outside. There's no need to be in the whirlpool itself."
"I need to see with my own eyes whether it's them or not," Nidhogg said. "Besides, I want to know their current situation."
"That's fine." The skeleton knight thought for a moment and said, "Then you go. Aside from encountering the God Hand and some extremely powerful Apostles, your strength should be enough to protect you."
Nidhogg then turned to Puck and said, "You follow the skeleton knight. I'll go in and have a look, then meet up with you later."
Puck didn't mind. He flew up and landed on the skeleton knight's shield.
Over the past half month, he had gotten to know Nidhogg and the skeleton knight. He was no longer as afraid of the skeleton knight as he had been at their first meeting.
"Then go quickly." Puck stood on the shield and put his hands behind his head. "Make sure you're sure, then we'll decide what to do next."
He was a bit confused, but he generally understood what was happening with the brand and the Eclipse.
Nidhogg nodded, then whistled, summoned Torrent, mounted, and rode in the direction the skeleton knight had pointed.
After a while, Nidhogg saw the valley the skeleton knight had mentioned. It was surrounded by lush trees and vines, which would have provided good cover if not for the opening of a mountain path.
He rode onto the path, deliberately making noise so the surrounding scouts would notice and quickly return to report.
During this time, he and Torrent were agile enough to avoid the traps set along the way.
There were also a few hidden arrows loosed by the scouts, but they couldn't come close to matching Torrent's speed. All of them missed.
Seeing they couldn't stop him, the scouts had no choice but to light signal flares and warn the walled city.
Soon after, Nidhogg rode Torrent across a stream and saw the gates of a simple city built between two cliffs, guarded by a group of armored men and mercenaries.
Nidhogg rode up, then pulled on the reins and stopped before the walled city gates.
The group of mercenaries, seeing a man in a black hooded cloak on horseback, had been warned in advance by the scouts. They didn't panic but simply formed a defensive line.
At the same time, another cavalry unit burst from the walled city, passing through a gap in the defenders and coming into Nidhogg's view.
At its head was a young man with pigtails, two knives at his waist and a set of throwing knives nearby. He frowned and looked at the man before him.
This young man was one of the former Hawk Company's Thousand-Man Commanders—Judeau.
Judeau looked at the "stranger" who had suddenly appeared before him, yet felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He couldn't help but ask, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"It seems the Hawk Company is indeed here."
Nidhogg's words made Judeau nervously reach for a throwing knife. But when he saw Nidhogg lower his hood and reveal his true face, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.
"You... Nidhogg?" Judeau was surprised and delighted. He quickly tucked the throwing knife back into his belt and rode forward. "You're back too? How did you find us here?"
"Hey, I thought it was an enemy attack. I almost made a move. Let's not talk about that now. Come in with me. Everyone's inside. This time, it's the core of our Hawk Company—practically everyone has gathered!"