The moonlight was crystal clear, falling upon the Morne Mausoleum.
Nidhogg didn't pay much attention to the level-up, the enhancement of his weapons and spirit ashes, or the progress of the "Golden Tree" quest. Now, all his focus was on the "Junction" quest.
"1 Territory Acquired: Weeping Peninsula"... What does this mean? Does this territory already belong to me? Is that how it works?
Nidhogg thought for a moment and couldn't help but shout, "Sea water near the Mausoleum at Castle Morne on the Weeping Peninsula, recede! Reveal new beaches!"
Nothing happened around him. The waves at the edge of the mausoleum still surged, rumbling as they always had.
Nidhogg deliberately waited a while, but there was no change.
It seemed this clearly wasn't the ability to directly control the Weeping Peninsula... Was it related to the current 40% progress of the "Golden Tree" quest?
He had a hypothesis: when the progress of the "Golden Tree" quest reached 100%, he would be able to plant a real Erdtree somewhere.
Subsequently, the acquired Junction zones would appear around the Erdtree, reuniting into the familiar Junction from the beginning.
Of course, for now, everything was just speculation.
Not getting too caught up in it, Nidhogg walked towards the tombstones before him and, among them, pulled out the Grafted Blade Greatsword that had been casually stuck in the ground.
「Grafted Blade Greatsword」
"Legendary armament, gathered at Castle Morne, bearing countless lamentations and wrathful swords of vengeance."
"One of the 'legendary armaments.' In the past, a hero of a fallen nation lived alone, gathered all the weapons of his clan's warriors, and continued to fight."
「Skill: Oath of Vengeance」
"Swear an oath of vengeance for the greatsword and the clan. For a certain duration, the skill enhances all attributes and also increases power at the moment the oath is sworn."
This Grafted Blade Greatsword was an ultra-greatsword, a full circle larger than Nidhogg's Lordsworn's Greatsword, almost the size of Guts's Dragonslayer.
It was also much more distinctive in form than the greatsword. The blade was forged from countless sword tips, jutting out like terrible thorns.
Similarly, the Grafted Blade Greatsword, like the Golden Halberd, could place a buff on Nidhogg for a certain duration upon activating its skill.
Considering that some buffs couldn't be stacked, Nidhogg also tried using the Golden Halberd and the Grafted Blade Greatsword in sequence and found that their effects could be stacked. This relieved him.
Soon after, Nidhogg took the creaking elevator back to the city center of Castle Morne.
His posture with the Grafted Blade Greatsword slung over his shoulder quickly drew the attention of the people still eliminating winged misbegotten in the atrium.
"Look!" Azan was the first to see Nidhogg and shouted, "Nidhogg is back!"
The others, after dealing with the surrounding winged misbegotten, also looked at Nidhogg in surprise.
Edgar and the soldiers of Castle Morne naturally recognized the sword in Nidhogg's hands at first glance. It was enough to prove that he had killed the culprit, the Lion Misbegotten, and retrieved the relic.
But how long had Nidhogg been gone?
In such a short time, they hadn't even finished eliminating the winged misbegotten here, and Nidhogg had already killed their leader?
This was incredible!
Edgar was shocked, but he quickly reacted and shouted to the winged misbegotten, "Your leader, the Lion Misbegotten, has been killed by us! Look! We have retrieved the Grafted Blade Greatsword, and this is proof!"
The winged misbegotten, still stubbornly resisting throughout Castle Morne, one by one stealthily poked their heads out, staring at the Grafted Blade Greatsword carried by Nidhogg.
After that, they looked at each other and communicated in their vague language. After a while, they shrieked like monkeys, retreated, and found ways to leave Castle Morne.
The Lion Misbegotten was dead. These winged misbegotten certainly couldn't occupy this castle. There was no need to continue the fight. Of course, they scattered and fled.
Thus ended the bloody rebellion.
Nidhogg planted the Grafted Blade Greatsword in the ground. Azan and Serpico curiously approached to look at the strange weapon, amazed by its form.
The blind girl Irina remained under everyone's protection. When she heard that Nidhogg had killed the Lion Misbegotten, retrieved the Grafted Blade Greatsword, and returned alive, she couldn't help but smile happily.
Edgar handed his lost knight's halberd to his subordinates. Then he stepped forward and hugged Nidhogg tightly.
"Thank you so much! Thank you very much! I truly don't know how to repay you!"
Nidhogg, afraid that if this continued, Edgar might betroth Irina to him and then have him inherit the lordship of Castle Morne, gently pushed Edgar away and interrupted:
"Lord Edgar, please gather everyone together."
Trusting Nidhogg, Edgar quickly assembled the surviving soldiers and infantry. There were fewer than twenty people in total.
Seeing so few soldiers left, and each of them wounded, Edgar felt a sense of desolation in his heart and couldn't help but sigh.
Then Edgar saw Nidhogg make a move.
Nidhogg gently touched the brand on his chest and said, "Xiaomei, please pray for us."
Before everyone could react, they saw white light coalesce, and from it emerged a beautiful young woman with chestnut hair and a cloak.
Melina surveyed the crowd, nodded gently to Nidhogg, then closed her right eye, folded her hands, and prayed silently.
Suddenly, a golden ring-shaped prayer circle appeared beneath everyone's feet. It gradually spread, enveloping them all, bathing them in a warm, golden light.
Soon, everyone noticed that they had become much calmer. The pain from some wounds subsided, and even very small wounds healed.
Edgar, well-informed, looked at the runes on the prayer circle at his feet and murmured, "This is one of the ancient Erdtree's incantations of grace... You truly pray like this..."
Then, as if just reacting, Edgar asked with some surprise and anxiety, "Are you connected to the Erdtree? Do you know where the Erdtree is?"
Nidhogg blinked and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"To be honest..." Edgar continued, "about a year ago, Castle Morne and its surrounding areas were pulled out of the Junction and entered another human world."
"After that, we could only sense the power of the Erdtree, but we could no longer see its radiance. Just as we were hesitating, Lord Godrick, who was in a similar situation, and his people found us."
"Lord Godrick promised us that he would return us to the foot of the Erdtree. So we swore allegiance to him, and Castle Morne returned to the rule of Stormveil..."
Before Edgar could finish, he saw Nidhogg again touch his chest, and a familiar golden brand appeared before everyone's eyes.
"I don't know if someone like Godrick can keep his promise," Nidhogg met everyone's astonished gazes and said. "But perhaps I can one day return you to the Erdtree, if all goes well."
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