"What… what exactly are you trying to do?"
In the dead of night, Nolan stared wide-eyed at the Valkyrie clone standing silently before him—"Marlene".
"What kind of question is that? Your strength's grown so fast. Don't you need to get used to it?" Malenia rolled her eyes and waved a hand. "We've got time right now. I'll help you, so you don't drag your feet in an actual fight. Come on."
Nolan groaned inwardly.
Unbelievable. After all this time, she still refuses to let me off the hook.
Before he could voice his protest, his collar suddenly tightened. Malenia grabbed him without ceremony.
In the blink of an eye, she flashed out through the open window, dragging Nolan along with her.
The quiet street below was instantly thrown into chaos. Two fully armored knights descended from the sky without warning, sending pedestrians scrambling in panic.
No one knew how strong they were, but the cold gleam of their heavy Knight Armor alone was enough to make hearts tremble.
Whether Cleanrot Knights or Golden Needle Knights, in today's Shaded City they were unquestionable members of the privileged class, figures of high status.
Malenia strode straight down the middle of the street, dragging Nolan along like a corpse. The stunned stares from passersby made her brows knit tightly.
With a knight who loved stirring up trouble in tow, keeping a low profile was simply impossible.
She glanced back at Nolan, who lay stiff as a board with his arms folded across his chest, playing dead with absurd seriousness. A wave of helplessness washed over her. For a moment, she even felt a strange sense of secondhand embarrassment.
Under countless gazes, she hauled him all the way to the city gates and headed toward the vast open ground beyond the gatehouse.
This was the Haligtree garrison's training field. On ordinary days, soldiers sweated here, drilling tactics and honing their skills.
The place was far more expansive than it had seemed in the game—wide enough for thousands of troops to charge across it. In the far distance, towering cliffs rose against the night sky.
No wonder the Haligtree army had chosen this route to march on Leyndell. The broad avenue could easily accommodate a massive force.
But as the front lines continued to push forward, the main Haligtree army stationed here had already set out for the encampment outside Leyndell's outer walls.
In their place, a new batch of Haligtree Guards had taken over the city.
The once lively camp now felt quiet and sparse, with only a handful of soldiers remaining on duty.
Some of those soldiers were training when they noticed a refined, elegant Cleanrot Knight—bearing a striking resemblance to Malenia—approaching with a Golden Needle Knight.
They gradually stopped what they were doing, curiosity written on their faces. Then they silently stepped aside, watching from a distance.
"It's the middle of the night. Making such a spectacle isn't exactly great. How about we just go back and sleep?"
Nolan glanced around, already feeling a headache coming on.
He hadn't even finished speaking when Malenia flicked her arm. The long blade in her hand snapped outward.
A flash of cold light cut across the darkness. The sharp edge scraped along the ground, carving a deep, crescent-shaped mark into the earth.
She turned to Nolan, her gaze sharp and unyielding.
"Come at me with everything you've got. If you want to bring out your full strength as quickly as possible, the best way is to adapt through real combat. Let your body catch up with its growth in the heat of battle."
Honestly, he wanted to say it wasn't necessary at all. Back in the Dark Souls world, he had experienced this level of power more times than he could count.
The instinct for battle was already etched deep into his soul. There was no need to go through all this trouble.
But then he reconsidered. This woman would never let him off that easily. And more than likely, this was also meant as a warning to anyone with ill intentions—to prove her words true.
With the Valkyrie back at the Haligtree, who would still dare to try and snatch someone away? Were they tired of living?
Even knowing it might not change anything, Nolan scratched his head and pulled the Promised Claymore from his spirit ring.
What choice did he have? When it came to this sister-in-law, indulging her was simply part of the deal.
"Watch out!"
The Golden Needle Knight bent his knees, and Nolan shot forward at once.
Though he hadn't used Bloodhound's Step, to the soldiers and knights watching from the sidelines, his figure seemed to vanish on the spot, as if he had teleported.
A thunderous boom followed. Even the solid ground couldn't withstand the impact, splitting apart as deep cracks spread across the earth.
Malenia lifted her arm and swung her long blade with flawless precision, meeting the whistling greatsword head-on and firmly catching the incoming strike.
"Hmm. Not bad."
The moment her words fell, Nolan shifted his footing and unleashed Bloodhound's Step. His figure flashed past, and at the same time his palm drove forward.
A violent surge of air erupted, sweeping up clouds of dust from the training field.
Their silhouettes blurred instantly, as if swallowed by a veil of mist.
A true Demigod clone.
Nolan gave a quiet nod to himself.
She had blocked his two-handed strike with one arm. Though she was momentarily forced back, her raw strength still exceeded his current level.
After all, in Malenia's eyes, the real threats on the main battlefield were Morgott and Margit.
She would never pour too much power into a mere clone.
Nolan narrowed his eyes, locking onto the shadow closing in.
In that split second, he caught a fleeting opening and thrust forward without hesitation.
Shh—
The greatsword tore through layers of dust, driving straight toward its target.
But the charging swordswoman seemed to have anticipated it. She stopped abruptly, halting just outside the greatsword's reach.
Her movements flowed like water as she stepped lightly to the side.
Almost at the same instant, a razor-sharp long blade howled through the air, cleaving down toward Nolan.
His open hand clenched. A brilliant golden Lightning Spear extended outward at astonishing speed, colliding with the descending blade.
Sparks burst in all directions, light flaring dazzlingly bright.
With a deafening crash, the two forces exploded against each other in a shower of fire.
Sunlight Spear!
A powerful gale swelled along the length of the spear as he activated a storm Ash of War, the entire shaft wrapped in violently spinning currents.
Malenia had just completed her swing when she reacted as if struck by lightning. Her expression changed sharply as she yanked her arm back and retreated several meters in quick succession.
In that instant, numbness had already spread through her shoulder.
But she had no time to hesitate.
The razor-sharp spearhead was already tearing toward her with unstoppable force.