The rumbling vibrations finally ceased. Those who had fled from the team competition area had scattered cleanly. Those who stayed, driven by excessive curiosity, were also quite far from the smoke on the field.
Jerome stood restlessly in a corner, sneaking glances towards the competition site, waiting for the battle to end.
When Grumblebundo transformed into the fire dragon, Jerome was not only extremely shocked but also decided that Nidhogg would surely die, even though he had seen Nidhogg's bravery.
However, humans and legendary dragons do not belong to the same class, just as commoners and kings do not belong to the same class.
Unexpectedly, Nidhogg showed enough strength to confront the fire dragon next, and even didn't fall behind. This far exceeded Jerome's expectations.
Jerome felt that too many unpredictable events had occurred today. He couldn't judge the direction of the situation for long. He could only remain here silently, watching with his own eyes.
If a fire dragon emerged from there, he would turn and flee without hesitation. If it was Nidhogg emerging from there, then he could breathe a sigh of relief.
He thought he had been cautious enough, hiding here. But he didn't expect a sudden shout from behind.
"You?! You're not..."
Jerome turned in surprise and saw a man with a pot belly and a lute on his back.
This man was the bard.
Although he had fled with the crowd earlier, his passion for poetry still made him quietly return. He hadn't expected to meet Jerome here.
"Right!" Bard pointed at Jerome. "I recognize you. You're Jerome, you're Jerome... However, if you're Jerome, then the one who just fought the monster Grumblebundo at the venue just now was..."
Since all the participants in the team competition were in armor and helmets, Bard had identified their identities by the crests on their cloaks. Naturally, he had decided that it was Jerome confronting Grumblebundo.
But now Jerome was standing here alive, and the vibrations on the other side of the team competition area had just ceased. That meant the one who had fought before was not Jerome, but another person in the Holy Iron Chain Knights cloak.
If so, who was that person?
Jerome hadn't expected a stranger to recognize him at first glance. He was a little embarrassed, stammering and not knowing how to explain, when he heard footsteps nearby.
They looked at each other and saw a knight in armor emerging from the smoke and dust that had not yet cleared from the streets and alleys.
The man raised his visor, revealing a face familiar to them.
"Nidhogg!"
"Nidhogg?"
One was surprised, the other stunned.
Of course, Jerome was surprised. Nidhogg had emerged, not the fierce fire dragon. So he breathed a sigh of relief.
The bard was surprised because he realized that the knight who had just replaced Jerome was actually Nidhogg!
The vagabond knight armor on Nidhogg's body was so unrecognizable that he hadn't recognized it at first. So much so that now he understood: it was Nidhogg who had made this move!
But, but... This is...
This is incredible. Is this still the same knight who had talked and laughed with me on the road?
Turns out he can still kill dragons?
Did the hero from the poem I have been searching for so diligently appear right beside me?
"Jerome, Bard, how do you two know each other?" Nidhogg approached them, looked at the two curiously, and said, "Forget it, it doesn't matter. Let's go find a place to drink and eat."
Both Jerome and the bard were surprised by Nidhogg's calmness at this moment. But he had just fought a fire dragon, and now he suddenly said he wanted to "drink and eat" with them?
At the same time, they both understood the true meaning contained within: the fire dragon had indeed been defeated by him, or at least driven away. Otherwise, Nidhogg wouldn't have been so indifferent.
However, if that was the case, they could clearly see that Nidhogg was almost unharmed, fighting the fire dragon and emerging unscathed. That was truly amazing.
"What? Are you coming or not?"
Jerome and the bard didn't know what to answer for a while. They even looked at each other in confusion and both saw the bewilderment on each other's faces.
At that moment, another group of people emerged from the empty streets. Seeing Nidhogg, they hurried over to this side.
Nidhogg and the other three looked and saw that the man surrounded in the middle was Federigo.
He was surrounded by members of the Vandimion family, the magistrate of Vritannis, Nordic the "Navigation Prince," and heavily armed guards.
Those guards, who had seen Nidhogg fight the huge fire dragon, couldn't help but look warily and tighten their grip on the spears in their hands.
As soon as he saw it was Federigo, Jerome shrank behind him, lowered his head, and tried to make a last-ditch cover-up.
Too bad Federigo immediately recognized Jerome. But now their attention was focused on Nidhogg.
Nidhogg nodded towards Farnese and Serpico.
When they saw Nidhogg, they guessed that he had defeated the fire dragon. Now, seeing Nidhogg nod to them, they were even more certain.
Farnese thought: No wonder Flora and Schierke placed such importance on Nidhogg. The "magic archer" who had been a headache for everyone was also killed by Nidhogg after his return.
He had such power that even the legendary fire dragon was defeated by him.
Farnese updated her understanding of Nidhogg. She knew that as much as she wanted, he would be able to fulfill his promise and get out of here.
Her desire to break free from the family's shackles and leave with them grew stronger.
Serpico showed a similar look.
For him, who had witnessed with his own eyes Nidhogg defeat the "Fell Omen" Margit and Godrick the Grafted, it was only natural that Nidhogg could kill a fire dragon.
Now it seemed his judgment was not wrong.
At the same time, the other members of the Vandimion family, the magistrate of Vritannis, and Nordic the "Navigation Prince" looked at Nidhogg with different expressions and frequently glanced towards the venue, which had calmed down.
None of them were stupid. They could probably guess the outcome of the shocking battle between man and dragon.
But the more they thought about it, the more incredible it seemed. And the more they didn't know how to view the man before them.
Was this man truly human? Or was he, like the fire dragon, some kind of monster? Where did these monsters come from? How were they born?
Was this the result of the evil rituals of pagans? So why had the devout Mozgus and his disciples been unable to do anything against these evil deeds? Don't the believers of the Holy See always claim to have God's protection?
Isn't God's protection supposed to be against evil?
There were too many questions. They poured into their hearts. But no one knew where to begin. And there were questions they couldn't even bear to think about.
Or rather, Federigo, after thinking for a moment, said, "Nidhogg, did you encounter the cultist who killed Mozgus?"
Nidhogg looked at Federigo and quickly replied with understanding: "Correct. I killed him. His body is still in the hall. It can be seen now."
Federigo saw that Nidhogg understood the meaning in his eyes. But he still mentioned the body. In this context, there was only one possibility. So he immediately sent two guards to check.
After a while, the two guards returned with strange expressions and reported to Federigo that among the destroyed and chaotic premises, there was indeed a human corpse, identified as Grumblebundo.
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