Facing Ekzykes's dragon roar, the veteran commander, Niall, didn't even flinch. He simply shook the war banner in his hand, the tattered red lion flag fluttering from it.
"Ekzykes, those who hunt dragons eventually become wicked themselves. But unlike my lord, who was afflicted by the Scarlet Rot, you chose to accept its power and become the blight you now breathe."
"Having witnessed the atrocities you have committed against this city and this land, I know you are utterly mad, devoid of any conscience towards humanity."
"I should not have stopped until I saw my sovereign, but your actions are truly abhorrent to me. I believe that Lord Radahn, in his right mind, would approve of my killing you here."
"Come then, Ekzykes, who 'walks in corruption'!"
Niall shook his war banner, and it summoned the spirits of several banished soldiers, who stepped into the Rot lake with a puff and quickly advanced towards Ekzykes.
Banished soldier archers and crossbowmen led the attack with arrows, but the bolts were shot and, failing to pierce Ekzykes's thick scales, ricocheted into the lake, only serving to enrage him further.
Ekzykes roared again, twisting his draconic body. His long tail whipped through the air, easily scattering several banished soldiers who had approached wielding great axes, turning them back into spirit dust.
He spread his wings, suddenly launching himself from the surface of the Rot lake, leaping towards Niall standing on the shore. He stretched out his neck and snapped his dragon's jaws at the seemingly defenseless veteran.
Neither the instantaneous destruction of the banished soldiers nor Ekzykes's close-range dragon strike frightened Niall.
He calmly leaped, evading Ekzykes's ferocious bite. The ground itself was shattered by the impact of Ekzykes's jaws!
Niall seized the moment, landing on the dragon's head. The tip of his war banner—his halberd—thrust forward, aiming straight for Ekzykes's vertical pupil!
Ekzykes reacted swiftly, suddenly jerking his dragon head up and whipping it around, not only dodging Niall's halberd thrust but using the momentum to throw the unbalanced Niall to the ground.
Bam——
Niall crashed to the earth.
He dared not be careless and immediately rolled aside, just in time to see Ekzykes opening his maw towards him!
Fwoosh——
Ekzykes's Rot Breath!
The roaring dragon exhaled like smoke and dust, a concentrated torrent of Scarlet Rot aura rushing towards Niall!
Niall had once been trapped alone in the Scarlet Rot that severely blighted Caelid. The fact that he survived to this day without succumbing meant he had his own methods.
One of them was the war banner in his hand.
Gripping the halberd in both hands, he spun it, himself the center of the circle. Soon, he conjured a whirlwind that rolled back the Scarlet Rot spray Ekzykes had exhaled, dispersing it!
The crisis was momentarily averted!
Unable to land a single blow, Ekzykes gave Niall no respite. He immediately soared upward, and upon reaching a certain height, showed an inclination to dive back down.
Niall's heart grew cold. He leaped back, creating distance, and waved the war banner in his hand, summoning the spirits of another group of banished soldiers.
But he truly didn't know how to counter this strike descending from the sky.
However, no matter how deep his despair, as a member of the Redmane Knights, especially a veteran commander, he would never retreat.
"Come on, Ekzykes—"
As if answering him, Ekzykes vibrated his grey-white wings and was just about to dive towards Niall on the ground.
At that moment, both man and dragon simultaneously heard a strange dragon's roar, a sound coming from the sky above.
Both Niall and Ekzykes couldn't help but look up. They saw a massive black shadow streak across the sky, hovering in their field of vision, growing larger and larger.
It was another flying dragon. Its scales were grey-black, inlaid with one dark-violet glintstone after another. It flew over Ekzykes, and the dragon's head roared towards him, spewing a great cloud of icy crystal aura!
Ekzykes was attacked from above by the flying dragon. Although he reacted very quickly, twisting his draconic body and veering away, one part of his tail was still frozen by the ice crystals.
With his tail frozen, Ekzykes couldn't maintain his balance in the air. He tumbled headlong into the Rot lake, sending a huge wave of Scarlet Rot surging.
The flying dragon that had exhaled the ice crystals flew low, then pulled up its body and soared back into the sky.
A flying dragon...
And...
Niall's eyes, beneath his helmet, vaguely recognized the figure standing on the dragon's back, clad in the armor of a Carian Knight.
Thus, a suspicion formed in his heart about the identity of this flying dragon.
The guardian dragon of the long-lost "Lunar Princess" Ranni, the "Glintstone Dragon" Adula. And a Carian Knight who could stand on a flying dragon's back without being thrown off.
Had Lord Radahn's sister learned of the situation here and, unable to come herself, sent someone to assist?
In any case, he had indeed been struggling to fight Ekzykes alone. With reinforcement from a knight and a dragon, this was a favorable turn.
Niall's spirits lifted. Holding his war banner aloft, he laughed and advanced towards Ekzykes, who had fallen into the corruption lake.
---
Niđhöggr rode on the back of the Glintstone Dragon Adula, looking down from the air, observing the brief battle between the man and the dragon in the Rot Lake. He quickly identified the veteran's identity.
He could stand by and watch from the sidelines, ultimately reaping the benefits as a third party, or he could intervene. The choice depended on which course of action was more advantageous.
Niall was a veteran of the Redmane Legion. He might very well have some idea where the spatial rift to Redmane Castle was located.
Moreover, he held in his hand an item necessary to realize Rennala's attempt.
Without hesitation regarding which side to take, Niđhöggr communicated his decision to Adula. Adula, without hesitation, flew down and launched a surprise attack.
After Adula pulled up from his dive, he circled around and saw Ekzykes rise from the Rot lake, lift his dragon head, and roar at Adula. Adula naturally roared back, unwilling to be outdone!
The two flying dragons roaring and threatening each other was still a fairly rare sight.
Ignoring Niall and the spirit soldiers on the ground, Ekzykes soared upward. His frozen tail had thawed in the Scarlet Rot, and he was about to face a greater threat!
He flew towards Adula, and Adula also swooped down. It seemed the two wyverns were about to collide!
However, the imagined collision did not occur, because Ekzykes hadn't noticed the figure of the knight standing on Adula's dragon head until he flew a little closer and realized something was wrong.
Niđhöggr leaped from Adula's dragon head. He drew a sword hilt, resembling a sword, from the imprint on his chest, grasped it in his hand, and shot towards Ekzykes like an arrow!
Clink, clink——
As Niđhöggr descended rapidly and neared Ekzykes, the surface of the sword shattered inch by inch. Countless pieces of iron fell away, revealing the hidden Dark Moon Greatsword within, radiating its icy aura!
Ekzykes sensed something was amiss, but everything was so close that he had no choice but to exhale his Scarlet Rot at Niđhöggr!
First, Niđhöggr used Thops's Barrier to deflect the oncoming torrent of Rot aura.
Then, the flames of the Hundredfold Scar spread across his back. He nimbly glided under the remnants of the dragon's Rot breath and, with incredible speed, closed in on Ekzykes, thrusting the Dark Moon Greatsword home!
Shhk——
The left half of Ekzykes's wings was severed in response. Dragon blood sprayed forth!