FWOOSH—!
Numerous thorns hidden beneath the tentacles instantly pierced towards Nidhogg, forming an encirclement, ensuring all escape routes were blocked for him!
Ha! Die in my embrace! Die!
The Daredevil laughed loudly.
Melina watched coldly. She simply folded her hands, placed them on her chest in a prayer gesture, and quietly closed her eyes.
Nidhogg suddenly spun around. A thick tail lashed out with his movement, scattering golden specks across the sky!
Crucible Tail!
FWOOSH—!
In an instant, most of the thorns that had shot out were swept away by the Crucible Tail. Even his tail whip snapped, flying past the true body of the Daredevil, who was nearby and couldn't dodge in time!
CRASH—!
The Daredevil was struck and sent flying backward!
"Damn..."
Before he could finish his thought, he heard a THUD. Nidhogg was already upon him like a hound that had caught the scent, pouncing and almost flying alongside him!
The Night Devil was suddenly terrified. He extended his few remaining thorns and struck at Nidhogg!
Bloodhound's Fang in Nidhogg's hand slashed first, cleaving the Night Devil in two!
FWOOSH—!
The Night Devil's cloak, cut in two by the sword, fell to the ground, no longer moving. It fell silent, as if dead.
Nidhogg didn't hesitate. He unleashed another Crucible Tail and charged towards the two bulging cloaks on the ground.
One of them immediately burst forth and leaped far away, trying to dissolve into the darkness.
The Night Devil was not one to fight his prey to the death. Once he lost, he would seize the opportunity to escape, find a new opportunity, and meticulously plan the next, more deadly assassination, using the experience gained from the previous time.
This addiction to killing was the eternal source of pleasure he couldn't give up!
For this reason, he also preferred to survive! Only by surviving could he carry out a more perfect killing next time!
FWOOSH—!
The Daredevil was about to escape, but he didn't notice that Melina, who had a close relationship with Nidhogg, was ready.
She released the golden light of the incantation Grace and Blessing!
CLANG—!
The dazzling golden light once again made the Night Devil uncomfortable. It also caused him to appear in the darkness. He suddenly turned to the other side, trying to stay away from Melina's golden prayer light.
However, faster than that was Nidhogg's long-planned sword strike!
FWOOSH—!
Bloodhound's Fang completely pierced the true body of the Night Devil as he leaped. It pierced the reduced flesh and blood of the Night Devil, suddenly releasing a spray of blood!
"Beautiful..." After a moment of silence, the Daredevil laughed grimly. "I didn't expect to suffer here..."
"GRAAAH—!"
Nidhogg watched as the cloak of flesh and blood on Bloodhound's Fang melted into black liquid and, with a sticky sound, fell to the ground.
They were like rain, mixing with a puddle, causing ripples on the ground, and then vanishing in an instant.
He withdrew Bloodhound's Fang, looked at the tip of the sword, and then at the flat stone pavement illuminated by the golden light of Melina's prayer circle.
There was simply nothing there.
Nidhogg couldn't help but frown.
He had just pierced the Night Devil's body with this sword, at least seriously wounding him. But the Night Devil could still vanish without a trace?
After a long silence, Azan and Serpico cautiously approached.
Azan asked, "Gone?"
When Melina saw Azan and Serpico approaching, she didn't intend to stay any longer. With a flick of her cloak, she turned into starlight and vanished in style.
"Defeated." Nidhogg watched Melina leave again. He took out his Flask, replenished his focus points, and answered Azan's question. "However, he probably isn't dead yet."
Wasn't he dead like that?
Azan and Serpico had watched the intense confrontation from a distance under the golden light.
Based on their experience, even the last true body had been cut into so many pieces and pierced. The Night Devil shouldn't have had a way to survive.
Nidhogg put away his Flask, recalling the anomaly he had just seen. The premonition that "the battle is not yet over" grew stronger and stronger.
Clop, clop, clop—
Then the three heard footsteps from the direction of the city gates.
At first, they thought it was Godrick's soldiers returning. But when they turned their heads, they saw a strange group of people.
There were six people, striding towards them. They didn't seem to mind that the three had noticed their presence.
The two at the front: one in Kushan clan attire, with brown skin, sharp eyes, and a fist and sword inserted into leather scabbards on either side of his legs. He looked heroic.
The other wore a wide magic hat that almost covered the upper part of his face. He held a magic wand in his left hand and a longsword in his right, looking friendly.
Behind them stood four bald men, looking exactly alike. Each had a reddish-brown upper body, with knotted muscles. Only the patterns on their foreheads differed.
Nidhogg didn't need much time to match these six people with the images in his memory, one by one. He simply felt that things were getting more and more interesting.
They actually came together. What a strange combination is this?
It seemed that while Nidhogg and the Daredevil were fiercely fighting, they had happened to approach and witness the end of the battle. Only then did they appear.
"A very exciting battle," the young man with the fist and sword at his side said. "I didn't want to eavesdrop, but the guy you were fighting has a connection with us. So I'm a little concerned."
"You just said, 'He probably isn't dead yet'? What does that mean?"
Behind this young man stood four muscular men, clearly led by him.
The man in the magic hat stepped aside, looking thoughtfully at the young man, then at Nidhogg.
Nidhogg didn't answer the young man's question. Instead, he asked knowingly, "In that case, it's better to first state your family and clearly explain your intentions. Then I'll consider whether to tell you more."
"He's right." The man in the magic hat, who had come with the young man, actually spoke for Nidhogg and said this with a smile.
The young man didn't think long and calmly replied, "I am Slan, of the Bakiraka clan from Kusha. The four people behind me are of the same clan as me."
Serpico was the first to react. He was stunned and said, "Bakiraka? The ones exiled from the Kushan Empire hundreds of years ago due to the downfall of the royal family they served?"
"I heard that after that, you became a terrifying family of assassins, with members traveling between countries and carrying out assassinations for various employers."
Azan couldn't help but frown. For him, an old knight, he was deeply ashamed of the despicable act of obeying an employer's orders and secretly assassinating and inciting situations.
However, neither Azan nor Serpico had fully reacted yet. For them, as the vice-commander and herald officer of the Holy Iron Chain Knights of the Holy See, the most notable thing was the opposition between the Holy See and the Kushan Empire.
Perhaps, in the past few days, following Nidhogg as a "pagan," they had experienced too many "pagan journeys" and witnessed too many "pagan deeds." They had become numb to the opposition of the Kushan faith.
"It seems our reputation is still known to many." Slan smiled self-deprecatingly and pointed to the man in the magic hat beside him. "This is Rogier, the 'spellblade.' Just a passerby."
The man known as "Spellblade" Rogier couldn't help but laugh and said:
"You're thinking of burning the bridge after crossing the river like this, aren't you? If it weren't for me, you would have entered this overlapping space and almost walked into the lair of the 'Flying Dragon' Agheel, right?"
Slan shook his head and said, "We're just not familiar with the path. We're not reckless and ignorant. If we saw the flying dragon that was just spewing flames, we would only avoid it from a distance."
"After that, since this city called Stormveil Castle stands on the mountaintop, it's too conspicuous. Sooner or later, it would draw our attention. We would inevitably come here. The result would be the same."
"Of course, I'm not dissatisfied with our previous cooperation. Along the way, we united, and thanks to the wrath of the 'Flying Dragon' Agheel, we were able to arrive here so smoothly."
Rogier didn't argue with Slan either. He simply smiled and shook his head.
"We've stated our families." Slan's snake-like eyes turned to Nidhogg and the others, and he said, "You should be polite too, right?"
Azan and Serpico both looked at Nidhogg.
Nidhogg made a decision. So the names of the three were also given. They said they were a group of wandering knights attempting to overthrow the lord of Stormveil City.
Slan knew they hadn't told the whole truth, but he didn't press for details. He simply asked the question that concerned him most: "The Daredevil—is he really not dead yet?"
╔══════════════════════╗
📘 Want more?
Join me on Patreon for bonus chapters
and early access!
🔗 https://www.patreon.com/cw/OverlordD
╚══════════════════════╝