"This is Redmane Castle?" Niall, carrying his war banner, walked through the ruins of the collapsed walls buried in red sand and Scarlet Rot, affirming in a tone both certain and heavy: "This is Redmane Castle."
Beneath the grey sky, the once magnificent and imposing city walls had long since crumbled. The layout of keeps, towers, and courtyards could only be vaguely discerned amidst the chaotic rubble, as if razed to the ground.
Jerren looked at the ruins with a heavy heart and sighed deeply.
Niđhöggr stood atop a high point, looking out over the crimson plains below the cliff.
The river that once wound through the area was also blocked and filled with red sand and Scarlet Rot. There was no barrier to the Wailing Dunes now; no portal was needed to reach the other side.
On the blood-red Wailing Dunes, silver-white spirit-calling banners still stood tall. The Scarlet Rot only spread to the edges of the dunes, held at bay by raised walls of sand.
One could vaguely make out collapsed siege engines, batteries, ballistas, and the bones of heavily armored soldiers and horses.
"Starscourge" Radahn sat cross-legged on the elevated dunes. His giant body was bristling with broken spears. A helm with a fang-like crest concealed his auburn hair, while his bow and swords lay embedded in the sandy mire.
He seemed to be sleeping, but even from this distance, Niđhöggr could still feel an intimidating, palpable aura.
However, it was clearly not just Radahn himself that made Niđhöggr pause for so long.
Niall and Jerren approached and stood beside him, one to the left and one to the right. They both quickly noticed the anomaly.
"They're gone." Jerren looked around in confusion. "Last time I was here, I saw those two monsters. Why have they disappeared? Where did they go?"
Niall was also surprised. "Could Lord Radahn have killed them?"
"Impossible. I was just outside the rift. Any commotion caused by them, I couldn't have missed it."
"Could Lord Radahn have opened another rift, and they left through it?" Niall offered another, more optimistic idea.
Jerren stroked his white beard and shook his head uncertainly. "If Lord Radahn tore open another rift, there should have been a great disturbance... I truly didn't notice any movement inside?"
"I don't think so," Niđhöggr suddenly spoke, raising a finger to point towards the Wailing Dunes. "Look, in front of General Radahn. What is that?"
Niall and Jerren were startled and looked in that direction.
But they strained to see what Niđhöggr was pointing at, so they all looked at him a bit strangely.
"It's a horse carcass," Niđhöggr revealed the answer.
The two Redmane veterans were confused for a moment before suddenly understanding the true implication of Niđhöggr's words: that horse was no ordinary one; it was Lord Radahn's horse.
This horse was an object of rare tenderness for Radahn.
Radahn's mountainous size was clearly too great to ride his beloved horse, so he used gravity magic to allow the pony to carry him.
Although he had lost most of his sanity to the Scarlet Rot, Radahn could still recognize his pony. He never harmed it, not even showing the slightest aggressive intention, no matter how hungry he became.
It seemed this pony was the sole embodiment of Radahn's humanity after being infected with the Scarlet Rot.
Niđhöggr's statement that he saw the pony's corpse, and the implication contained within, made both veterans shudder.
However, they remained skeptical until they descended the path with Niđhöggr onto the Crimson Plains, then climbed over the raised sand wall and stepped onto the Wailing Dunes, observing up close.
This time, both Niall and Jerren saw the remains of the horse Niđhöggr had pointed out earlier.
After some identification, they were all forced to acknowledge that it was indeed Radahn's pony.
On one hand, Niđhöggr understood that his senses now far exceeded those of Niall and Jerren; on the other hand, it was a simple deduction.
He knew Radahn had a pony that had been by his side constantly since he was infected with the Scarlet Rot. But now Radahn sat cross-legged on the Wailing Dunes, with the pony's corpse lying before him. The logic was clear.
In shock, Jerren recalled Niđhöggr's earlier words and couldn't help but ask, "What exactly did you mean by what you said just now?"
Niđhöggr calmly explained, "I meant that it wasn't that you didn't notice any commotion, but that there truly hasn't been any more earth-shattering movement..."
"In that case, it's reasonable that the pony perished in the aftermath of the battle, which is why General Radahn rampaged for so long, tearing open multiple spatial rifts."
"But after that, something became lodged in that horse's carcass."
"Do you remember what Sellen said about the two monsters? One was an object of worship for the Ancestral Spirit clan. I know of it as well. It's called the 'Ancestral Spirit,' an enigma existing outside the Golden Tree."
"'Life sprouts from death, and life is born from life—such is its nature...' That is the Ancestral Spirit. Perhaps it was the Ancestral Spirit, taking root in the pony's corpse, that calmed General Radahn."
When Niall and Jerren heard this, both stared ahead in astonishment, gazing at the remains of the destroyed pony.
After that, they met Radahn's abruptly raised eyes.
Radahn did not recognize them at all. His eyes held only indifference and ruthlessness.
The "Starscourge" slowly rose to his feet. An invisible, oppressive force spread out like a gust of wind, kicking up a scarlet sandstorm on the Wailing Dunes. The spirit-calling banners shook violently.
The two Redmane veterans knew full well the terrifying power of their king. Even mad and wounded, he was still a "demigod" who made them look up in awe!
They couldn't help but step back under that gaze, but they noticed that Niđhöggr beside them hadn't flinched. Instead, he performed a whole series of actions while they were stunned and frightened.
Niđhöggr produced a Spirit Calling Bell. After its chime, he summoned the Banished Knight Engvall, the Banished Knight Oleg, the Headless Knight Lhutel, the Twin Sorcerers, the Lone Wolf Ashes, and a Spirit Jellyfish.
Immediately after, Niđhöggr stroked the Dark Moon Ring on his finger and heard a dragon's roar from the grey sky.
The Glintstone Dragon Adula, who had remained outside, received the summons from the Dark Moon Ring and, using teleportation sorcery, spread his wings and flew here.
Next, Niđhöggr touched another ring on his hand—the Spectral Steed Whistle. With a whistle, he mounted the suddenly appearing Spectral Steed, Torrent.
Finally, he drew the Dark Moon Greatsword from the golden imprint of the Law of Regression on his chest and cast Golden Vow on Niall, Jerren, and the spirit ashes, enveloping everyone in golden light.
Completing this series of actions, Niđhöggr drank a flask of Cerulean Tears. Then he turned away from his steed to look at Niall and Jerren, a smile on his face: "Cover me. The battle has begun. The Radahn Festival has started."