The night wind howled, rushing over the peaks and mountains, but the dust rising in the sky did not touch the mountaintop.
"It's in this direction, right?" A young man in a native Kushan hood with brown skin, standing barefoot on the cold stones, looked into the distance. "You haven't lost him, have you?"
From the darkness behind him, four strong men emerged, almost identically resembling evil spirits. They all knelt on one knee behind him, quite respectfully.
All had shaved heads, muscular builds, and dark eyes. Only the different markings on their foreheads could distinguish them from one another.
"Young master," one of the big men said in a deep voice. "There is no mistake. We have followed him to the end and will never lose this man... It is worth mentioning that he seems to want us to follow."
"Oh?" Slan, the young man known as the young master, turned his head. "So he discovered the pursuit of the strongest 'Dabasha' under my command and deliberately left a trail so we could catch up?"
"Yes." The four Dabasha members bowed their heads with some shame.
"That is indeed the style of the 'Night Devil,'" Slan did not want to blame his subordinates. "We encountered him by chance, but now that he's doing this, he probably wants to add a little fun."
"If I'm not mistaken, the Night Devil wouldn't run without a purpose. He must have a target in his sights that he wants to hunt, and he doesn't mind letting us follow and complicate things for him."
"But who does he want to hunt? This is the territory of the Kingdom of Midland. The most valuable targets are nothing more than members of the royal family, generals, and ministers. But judging by his preferences, he shouldn't look down on these mediocre prey."
Slan's eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered.
He and the four Dabasha were members of the Bakiraka clan, exiled from the Kushan Empire, and were without a doubt assassins and killers.
And the "Night Devil" they were currently tracking was also of the Bakiraka clan.
Assassins like Slan and the Dabasha were expert killers who took money for jobs, or at least were hired to restore the Bakiraka clan.
This "Daredevil" Rakshas was different. He didn't ask for money, didn't want fame. He only wanted to kill. And the target he hunted must be "strong" in his eyes.
What was even more frightening was that the legend of Rakshas had been passed down for hundreds of years. He seemed to be an immortal monster, wandering in the darkness and killing people invisibly.
However, Slan was not afraid of this.
Slan thought for a moment and made a decision: "Since he wants us to follow, and then follow, I want to know what he's planning to hunt."
"If you don't have a chance, forget it... However, if he shows weakness, even for a moment, I wouldn't mind seizing the opportunity to kill him and put an end to his evil relationship with the Bakiraka clan."
"Yes!" The four Dabasha replied in unison.
---
Clop, clop, clop—
Nidhogg, Azan, and Serpico rode under the night sky, surrounded by flat wilderness with few trees and weeds, quite desolate.
"Correct." Nidhogg unfolded the map given by Edgar and finally confirmed it.
Serpico breathed a sigh of relief. He was used to riding, but after three consecutive days of riding, only occasionally stopping to rest three or four times a day, he couldn't help but feel a slight pain in his back and numbness in his rear.
Azan, though stout, could still ride like Nidhogg.
"The destination is marked as a cave," Nidhogg reminded. "Later, you will carefully watch the surroundings. If you see a similar place, tell me."
Both Azan and Serpico nodded.
By this time, they were already very confident in Nidhogg.
Although they knew little about Nidhogg's numerous secrets, as well as the "Golden Order" and "Erdtree" mentioned that day, Nidhogg's strength and reliability were evident to all.
Nidhogg had warned them in advance that the next journey would be more difficult than the road to Castle Morne.
They were nervous about this. The monsters they had encountered before were frightening enough. But Nidhogg said the previous trip was just an appetizer, and this trip was the main course. It was impossible not to have psychological fluctuations.
However, thinking that after this trip they would be able to meet Farnese and see wonders and monsters they had never seen before, they had many expectations.
By now, they had set aside the teachings of the Holy See, or more precisely, they were unconsciously walking the path of "pagans" and didn't want to stop.
The three rode forward for a while, passed through this wilderness, and soon saw a deep cave at the foot of a mountain beneath bare mountains.
Nidhogg nodded and said, "It's here... This area is desolate enough, not many people. The entrance is in a cave, so even fewer people would explore it."
They dismounted.
Nidhogg recalled Torrent into the Spirit Steed Whistle.
Azan and Serpico had to tie their horses to nearby tree trunks. Then, to enter the narrow cave, they definitely couldn't ride.
Each lit three torches, entered the cave, and descended. They encountered neither black bears, nor bats, nor bandits. Soon, they reached the end of the cave.
When everyone had some experience, they began to discuss things.
And indeed, after a while, under Azan's touch, an inconspicuous wall glowed.
Then, with a rumble, the stone wall sucked in the unexpectedly caught Azan. He only had time to utter an "Ah" and vanished.
Serpico was stunned and turned to Nidhogg.
"It's alright," Nidhogg waved his hand. "Let's go together. Azan will be fine."
Serpico quickly calmed down, nodded, and reached out to touch the stone wall along with Nidhogg.
Immediately, they too were sucked in.
After a long time, a thin figure in a cloak slowly rose from the darkness of the cave. A pair of eyes opened behind a patterned mask, staring at the stone wall.
"I see. Such a secret is hidden here?"
"Zodd was right. This guy is really interesting."
"But what's even more interesting is that these 'angels' specially allowed me to briefly see his location in my dreams for someone like him, so I could chase him here... This is not common..."
The Daredevil laughed.
First, he rolled up his cloak, revealing a thorn, and drew a secret mark of the Bakiraka clan on the ground. Then he put away the thorns and, without hesitation, touched the stone wall, but was absorbed by it.
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