Samson swung his flail, roaring toward the upper floor. From the second story, there was indeed movement—sounds of someone scrambling, more than one person.
Nidhogg frowned. He had thought only Adam and Samson lived in this house. He hadn't expected others to be here.
But it didn't matter. On the battlefield, the unexpected was the norm. Only those with steady nerves and extensive experience handling surprises could truly be called "generals."
Nidhogg drew several throwing knives from his belt—gifts from Judeau—and hurled them at Samson, who was trying to retreat upstairs to Adam.
Clang!
Samson saw the knives coming. He stopped his retreat and swung his flail to deflect them. The chain ball swept several knives aside, sparks flying.
But the moment he swung the flail, he knew he was in trouble.
Usually, he wielded the flail with both hands, easily controlling its momentum. But now his left hand had just been severed. He couldn't grip properly.
Sure enough, the flail's momentum carried it to the floor. Samson frantically tried to pull it back, but before he could, Nidhogg was already upon him.
Samson had no choice but to abandon the flail. Cornered, he pulled the iron chain taut with his remaining hand, trying to buy even a moment's delay.
Nidhogg swung his greatsword. The blade sheared through the chain effortlessly, without slowing, and split Samson's head in two with a sickening crack.
Thump.
Samson's body crumpled at his feet.
One down.
Nidhogg looked up and met a pair of terrified, furious eyes.
Adam had been upstairs, enjoying himself with two camp followers. He had heard the commotion in the barracks and sent his brother Samson down to check. He had been in the middle of his pleasure when he heard Samson's cry of "Enemy!" from below.
He had quickly pushed the two women aside, grabbed a crossbow from the table, and rushed to the stairs.
But he arrived just in time to see Nidhogg cleave his brother's head in two.
"SAMSON! AAAARGH!"
Nidhogg shoved Samson's tall corpse aside and leaped up the stairs, charging toward the sound.
As the crossbow bolt flew, he produced his brass shield. Clang! The poisoned bolt ricocheted away.
Adam was stunned. He had never seen anyone summon a shield out of thin air. Panicked, he hurled the crossbow aside, turned, and ran back into the room, shoving the two bewildered camp followers toward the door.
When Nidhogg reached the second floor, he found the doorway blocked by the two terrified women. For a moment, he didn't understand what was happening.
He pointed downstairs and grunted. The two women, needing no further encouragement, fled screaming down the stairs.
By then, Adam had retrieved a trident. He had no time to don his heavy armor. A helmet would only hinder his vision in such cramped quarters. He had abandoned his shield—only a two-handed trident could bring his full strength to bear.
He would have to rely on his family's secret technique, the "Stone-Splitting Whirlwind," and fight Nidhogg to the death.
"Who sent you to kill me?" Adam was still incredulous. "The Black Boars? Some other knight coveting my position? It couldn't be Midland, could it?"
Nidhogg still didn't answer. He dismissed his brass shield and charged at Adam. There was no time to waste.
Adam was shocked and enraged. Gripping his trident with both hands, he spun to meet Nidhogg, swinging the weapon in a whirling arc as he screamed:
"Don't think that just because you killed my brother by surprise, you can take me lightly! I am the supreme master of the Green Tiger Rampaging Knights! Witness the greatest secret of my family's 140-year martial tradition!"
"STONE-SPLITTING WHIRLWIND!"
Adam's boast was half-true. The trident spun in his hands, a terrifying display. The weapon swept toward Nidhogg with enough force to shatter a wooden post!
At that moment, Nidhogg suddenly stopped. He hopped back slightly. The trident slammed into the floor, shattering stone tiles!
In that instant, Nidhogg stepped forward. His left foot came down on the trident's shaft. His right foot pinned the three prongs. His weight pressed down, trapping the weapon against the floor.
Adam tried to wrench the trident free. It felt like a mountain was pressing down on it. He couldn't move it an inch.
At the same time, Nidhogg smiled at the stunned Adam. His greatsword swept toward Adam's throat!
Fwoosh!
Adam, frozen in terror, didn't even think to release the trident. Nidhogg's greatsword took his head clean off.
It flew upward, struck the wall, bounced to the floor, and rolled twice like a ball before stopping.
Adam's body crashed to the ground.
「Quest」 Eliminate the Leaders of the Green Tiger Rampaging Knights (2/2, Completed)
「Reward」 Level Up: LV 47 → LV 48. Acquired Weapon: "Trident" (Skill: Stone-Splitting Whirlwind)
「Quest」 Eliminate Governor Gennon / Eliminate General Boscogn
Nidhogg raised an eyebrow. Killing the commander and vice-commander of the Green Tiger Knights had indeed earned him a level. And the new quests had updated.
In all of Doldrey, the Green Tiger Rampaging Knights were second only to the Purple Rhino Knights. Tonight, they would surely be thrown into chaos—which would only help with his next objectives.
Thump thump thump—
"Captain Adam!... Ah! This is... Vice-Commander Samson?! Vice-Commander Samson is dead?! Who did this?!"
Heavy footsteps and shouts of astonishment rose from below.
It seemed the Green Tiger Rampaging Knights had finally realized that the riot outside was just a diversion. Their true target had been their commanders. They had rushed back, but unfortunately, they were too late.
Nidhogg didn't linger. He pushed open a second-story window, confirmed no one was below, vaulted over the sill, and dropped. He landed perfectly, unharmed.
He vanished into the shadows, climbed to the top of another tower, and watched the soldiers below scurry like ants who had lost their queen. Then he turned and slipped away.
Nidhogg moved through the connecting walkways, freezing whenever he heard footsteps, then continuing in silence.
With this stop-and-go rhythm, and the fires and chaos in the outer city drawing most of the attention, he successfully infiltrated the inner city.
But the inner city was far more heavily guarded. The Purple Rhino Knights were much more disciplined. Despite the commotion outside, they all held their posts, awaiting orders from General Boscogn.
Sneaking through the inner city would require far greater caution.
The knights never patrolled alone. The between units was short. If one squad spotted him, others would quickly be alerted.
With movement so restricted, Nidhogg decided to find a hiding place and wait.
He reasoned that with two generals dead in the outer city, following the earlier death of the Black Boar commander, all of Doldrey would soon be swept up in a massive manhunt.
He needed to find a place to lie low until then.
And just at that moment, he spotted a group of figures emerging from the darkness of the night. They didn't look like knights.