Whoosh, whoosh—
A golden light burst through the crimson sand that filled the sky. In the blink of an eye, it flew towards Niall, then turned and reached Jerren, instantly lifting the two men, who had been blasted into the air, and carrying them to a relatively safe edge of the Wailing Dunes.
After Niall and Jerren froze for a moment, both were stunned. They turned their heads and saw Niđhöggr retracting the flames of the Hundredfold Scar, and it suddenly dawned on them that Niđhöggr had saved them.
However, in truth, they were not that surprised.
After all, from the very beginning of the war, Radahn and the Ancestral Spirit had brought them so much terror, but Niđhöggr had brought them no fewer surprises.
Shaking heaven and earth, slaying the Ancestral Spirit.
In their eyes, the current Niđhöggr was simply a war god—a war god who could be as renowned as Lord Radahn!
No wonder Lady Ranni had chosen him as her consort. It was a perfect match.
Only then did they truly come to their senses and sincerely thank Niđhöggr together.
Niđhöggr was polite, looking with a serious expression towards the place where the meteorite had just fallen.
The sandstorm gradually subsided, and within the settling curtain, the enormous silhouette of a monster slowly appeared.
"Is the Glintstone Dragon Adula alright?" Niall asked at that moment.
"He's fine." Niđhöggr stroked the Dark Moon Ring. "He was only hit by the first strike. He used teleportation sorcery as he fell and fled to another location."
And indeed, as soon as Niđhöggr finished speaking, he saw the Glintstone Dragon reappear at the other end of the Wailing Dunes.
It lay panting on the raised red sand, white steam rising from its back, clearly having been hit hard.
Jerren pointed towards where the meteorite had landed and said, "That's the other giant invader that fought with Lord Radahn before. It turns out the Ancestral Spirit remained in the corpse, and this one was hidden in the sky."
"Summoned by Lord Radahn's gravity magic, this monster also descended," Niall said solemnly. "Niđhöggr, what is it?"
"The 'Fallingstar Beast,' Astel." Niđhöggr spoke the monster's name.
"'A star-born abomination from the far reaches, born in the darkness devoid of light—this is the very meteor that destroyed the Eternal City in ages past, the malice-filled sky that stole away its inhabitants.' That is the 'Fallingstar Beast.'"
The sand and dust completely cleared, and lying on the Wailing Dunes was a monster resembling a giant scorpion.
Astel's head was composed of a cracked skull, a pair of pincer-like jaws, six legs, two pairs of wings, and a scorpion's tail adorned with numerous starry meteorites.
It appeared light and slender, yet was extremely dangerous.
Both Niall and Jerren felt immense pressure.
Especially with the Fallingstar Beast nearby, and Lord Radahn also watching them, and they had temporarily lost the air support of the Glintstone Dragon.
Niđhöggr still appeared calm. He produced the Spirit Calling Bell and shook it with a chime.
Seeing his composure, the two veterans exchanged glances and both let out a breath, calming themselves and preparing for the next battle.
The sound of the Spirit Calling Bell faded, and a spirit appeared before them. It was a spiritual body almost exactly resembling Niđhöggr, holding the Dark Moon Greatsword and clad in Carian Knight armor, standing there.
Niall and Jerren were surprised and looked at the real Niđhöggr.
"Mimic Tear, my simulacrum." Niđhöggr briefly explained, ringing the bell again.
Immediately after, the Banished Knight Engvall, the Banished Knight Oleg, and the Headless Knight Lhutel were resummoned by Niđhöggr.
Niđhöggr used Golden Vow again, granting everyone another buff, and then drank a flask of Crimson and Cerulean Tears.
Seeing this, Niall could not be outdone.
He shook his war banner, and the battle buff under his command also covered all bodies, further enhancing attack and defense.
At this moment, Niđhöggr had no intention of giving up, and the two Redmane veterans were even less inclined to yield.
In any case, they had to win. If they could subdue Lord Radahn, that would be best. If they couldn't, they had to have the resolve to kill Lord Radahn.
At this moment, Niall and Jerren were becoming increasingly clear-headed.
Niđhöggr pointed at Radahn and said, "My spirit knights, including my simulacrum, will follow you. You must hold back General Radahn. I will quickly deal with the Fallingstar Beast."
"Understood!" By this time, Niall and Jerren fully respected Niđhöggr and would not disobey his command.
Niđhöggr spread the flames of the Hundredfold Scar, soared into the air, and flew towards the Fallingstar Beast.
Niall, Jerren, the Mimic Tear, and the other spirit knights turned towards Radahn.
Niđhöggr flew closer and closer.
The Fallingstar Beast immediately turned its head, fixing its gaze on Niđhöggr.
It condensed a dark violet sphere before its skull's pincer-like jaws, then released a beam that nearly pierced halfway across the Wailing Dunes!
Niđhöggr twisted in mid-air, barely evading the piercing beam, and continued flying forward.
Seeing him fly closer, the Fallingstar Beast raised its long meteorite scorpion tail and smashed it down from above, but Niđhöggr evaded it with the extreme agility of the Hundredfold Scar.
The meteorite scorpion tail slammed into the sand dunes, kicking up dust.
A golden light burst from the dust and mist, striking the Fallingstar Beast's skull, causing its enormous body to shudder and retreat.
Niđhöggr and his Dark Moon Greatsword smashed against the Fallingstar Beast's skull.
With the buffs of Golden Vow and the Iron Jar Aromatic, he directly targeted the Fallingstar Beast's head, which was its greatest weak point.
The Fallingstar Beast indeed staggered backward.
Then, it suddenly condensed a massive dark violet sphere above its body.
At that moment, countless starry lights shimmered, but it was a dangerous and lethal beauty.
Boom——
The dark violet sphere exploded. The Fallingstar Beast vanished within the shattering nebula light, and a terrifying shockwave suddenly spread, sending Niđhöggr flying through the air with a sharp impact!
Niđhöggr spread the flames of the Hundredfold Scar before stabilizing his body.
At that moment, the Fallingstar Beast suddenly flickered behind him. A slender arm gathered a gravitational wave and grabbed at Niđhöggr.
Niđhöggr used the Unsheathe skill and also instantly vanished from the Fallingstar Beast's grasp. In the blink of an eye, he appeared on the Fallingstar Beast's head.
A flash of baleful aura, like spirit fire, struck, enveloping the Fallingstar Beast's head and searing through its defenses.
The moment the bewildered Fallingstar Beast looked up, a Lion's Slash struck down onto the skull of its already cracked head!
Crack——
The fierce cleaving wave practically shattered almost the entire skull!
The Fallingstar Beast, having lost most of its face, retreated again, stumbling backward.
In terror, it condensed several dark violet meteorites wrapped in gravity and hurled them at Niđhöggr, who was attempting to pursue.
Niđhöggr spread the flames of the Hundredfold Scar to their fullest, flickering and weaving between the meteorites, and flew towards the Fallingstar Beast's head again without the slightest hindrance.
At this moment, the Fallingstar Beast condensed another dark violet sphere, trying to escape once more via explosion.
Niđhöggr was already within Thops's Barrier, right inside the dark violet sphere. Before the Fallingstar Beast was fully charged, he used Thops's Barrier to prematurely detonate the sphere.
Boom——
This time, the Fallingstar Beast did not escape the explosion. The remaining part of its skull was obliterated!
The behemoth crashed to the ground with a resounding thud, its long meteorite scorpion tail also collapsing onto the earth.
"Level Up! LV149 → LV152"
"Obtained weapon: Fallingstar Beast Jaw. Skill: Nebula. Infuse the Fallingstar Beast Jaw with magic and perform a sweeping attack to create a dark nebula that will explode and vanish after a short time."
"Obtained Ash of War: Dark Wave. Plunge the weapon into the ground, creating three dark waves around you, then perform a spinning, sweeping attack."
Niđhöggr had slain the second monster. Now, only the final monster remained.
He turned his head to look at "Starscourge" Radahn in the distance.