On the inner and outer outskirts of Stormveil, by the crumbling city walls on the rugged slopes, a gust of wind blew, rustling the nearby trees.
A strange group of people had arrived here. Among them were knights, a mage, and barbaric warriors—quite an odd mix.
Even stranger, they were shooting down strange, dead eagles from the cliffs, and these eagles were, without exception, equipped with sharp longswords instead of claws.
"What were those eagles just now?" Azan raised his visor, revealing his broad face and lion-like nose. "They were very troublesome to deal with. They can fly. It's a pity I didn't bring a bow and arrows; otherwise, I could have shot them down from a distance."
Serpico nodded in agreement.
Rogier had just exerted great effort, and the glintstone magic fired from his magic staff had only compensated for the team's main weakness—a lack of ranged capability.
He held onto his magic hat to keep it from being blown away by the mountain wind and said with a smile, "They are called Stormhawks, also known as Warhawks. They're a bit troublesome, mainly because they're too agile, and their claws are replaced with claw-shaped swords, long and sharp."
It wasn't that Rogier was being abstract; these eagles were indeed called "Stormhawks" and "Warhawks."
After the Storm King, the original owner of "Stormveil City," was defeated by the "First Elden Lord" Godfrey, Stormveil City became a castle within the Erdtree's sphere of influence.
This group of Stormhawks, led by the Ancient Stormhawk King, didn't want to leave. After the Ancient Stormhawk King turned into ashes and spirit, the Stormhawk flock still remained here to attack any invading enemy.
It's just that they were used by Godrick the Grafted, who served in Stormveil City. They actually became his guards, controlling the city.
After dealing with the flock of Stormhawks on the edge of the cliff, they soon noticed a narrow wooden ladder built along the edge of the wall at the end of the slope, leading to a side door above Stormveil City.
At the same time, they noticed several soldiers guarding this wooden ladder.
The soldiers were dressed significantly differently from Godrick's soldiers. They wore crimson hoods and cloaks, hiding their armor and faces.
"Exiled soldiers." This time, Nidhogg pointed out their origin. "They are a group of sinners who came here to serve their sentence. They are forbidden to show their true faces, so they must wear crimson hoods at all times."
Rogier knew this. Slan and the four Dabasha were originally exiles, and Azan and Serpico were used to heresy. They were treated the same way.
Therefore, upon hearing this, they were either familiar with the inside story or felt the same way. They weren't too surprised.
When the exiled soldier saw them from a distance, he sounded a horn, letting out a mournful sound to alert the surrounding soldiers.
Immediately after, more exiled soldiers emerged from the side door.
There were also several people dressed very similarly to the "gatekeeper" Gostoc. They were ordinary residents of the Junction and also wore wooden boards with holes around their necks.
It was said that this symbolized that they were people of the Erdtree. These shackles that bound them could also strengthen their faith.
This group of residents now followed Godrick, so they also came out with daggers to help in the fight.
"It seems if we don't deal with them, we won't survive," Rogier smiled. "No wonder the group at the door let us through the side door so easily. Turns out there are so many soldiers here."
Then he shook his head again and said with a smile, "However, I think they're still not smart enough. If a few ballistae were placed on the high ground here, we could only go up and down this wooden ladder. Wouldn't that make us live targets for the ballistae?"
Everyone turned their heads and looked at Rogier with questioning expressions: Whose side are you on?
Seeing the group of exiled soldiers and residents descending the wooden ladder, Rogier took the initiative to use glintstone magic to prove his "ballista theory."
And indeed, the exiled soldiers and residents walking on the narrow wooden ladder were, one after another, shot by Rogier's glintstone light columns. They screamed and fell from the wooden ladder, plummeting onto the rocks below. They must have been smashed to pieces.
"See?" Rogier said with a smile. "If they had placed a couple of ballistae here, we'd be in trouble."
Seeing this situation, the remaining exiled soldiers and residents behind didn't dare descend. They only guarded the side door.
At this time, Slan ordered his four Dabasha to act as vanguard and clear the path ahead.
So the four burly men stepped onto the wooden ladder and confronted the exiled soldiers and residents at the side door with their bare hands.
However, they were even better, easily knocking the last enemies off the cliff, leaving only their screams echoing at the cliff's edge.
Nidhogg, Rogier, Slan, and the others calmly approached the side door and entered a fairly spacious room.
This was Stormveil City.
Rogier stood still, looked at Nidhogg, and said, "I'm going straight down underground now to look for my old friend. With so many people together, the target is too big. Why don't we split up here?"
"Alright." Nidhogg thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "I'm going up to the top of the city tower. But we're going the same way. We should meet up later."
"Well, that's not bad. With the premise of completing my personal investigation, I'll try to fulfill my promise and persuade my old friend." Rogier emphasized this again.
He pressed his magic hat and was about to turn away when Slan suddenly said, "I'll go with you. The Dabasha and I are assassins. You don't need to worry that we won't be able to keep up with you or that we'll reveal our location."
Rogier was momentarily stunned, turned, and asked, "What are you coming with me for?"
"I'm interested in what you said earlier about the incantation for 'resurrection,'" Slan said. "You're a mage, so you also need human hands to buy you time and space for casting, right?"
Rogier thought for a while and, to be honest, if an enemy got close, even with a thrusting sword in his hand, it was still very dangerous. So he agreed.
As a result, this temporarily formed group split into two teams: one going up, one going down.
Before Rogier and the others left, Nidhogg solemnly reminded them, "Be careful not to 'die suddenly.'"
"Don't worry. I'll play it safe." Rogier nodded and said, "I'm increasingly worried about my old friend. He's a knight, always impulsive, too stubborn. I hope he hasn't been deceived."
After Rogier and the others left, Nidhogg, Azan, and Serpico climbed the wooden ladder. Soon, they saw barrels placed at the ladder's entrance, blocking the way.
Azan was about to go up and move the barrel when Nidhogg reached out to stop him and told him and Serpico to stay put.
Nidhogg climbed the ladder alone. When he was almost at the barrel, he suddenly leaped back and jumped back down to Azan and Serpico.
Azan didn't understand what was happening, but Serpico guessed. His squinting eyes involuntarily opened.
Similar tricks had been used by Serpico before.
And indeed, several fire pots suddenly flew down from above and smashed into the wooden barrels. Several crashes followed. The barrels suddenly exploded and burst into flames.
Azan was shocked to see that these barrels were explosive. Although the power of one was small, several stacked together could explode an unwary person to death, or at least maim them.
Then, on the ladder above, several residents' heads peered out. They had thrown the fire pots.
They hadn't expected to blow up Nidhogg. When they saw Nidhogg alive and well, they all recoiled in terror.
"Be careful. There are ambushes and traps like this here." Nidhogg calmly reminded Azan and Serpico.
Azan was originally an old knight who had survived siege battles, and Serpico was also an adaptable person. After such a scene, they were certainly prepared to heed Nidhogg's reminder and become more cautious.
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