Realm of Myths and Legends

'That flame--is it poison?'

In the blink of an eye, Belos was consumed by the light violet flames as his body melted into a puddle of bubbling liquid.

'No... At first glance, it does give off the same impression as poison, but it's slightly different. It rapidly corrodes and liquefies whatever it comes into contact with. It seems that each flame of the Seventh Demon Clan has its own unique characteristics.'

In terms of general combat effectiveness, Izroth determined that Jol'Kil's dark red flames were more versatile. Not only could the dark red flames be used to disrupt enemy movements and provide better odds of landing a killing strike, but they could also subdue enemies without harming them.

That being said, when it came to pure killing potential and what others would rather not fight against, Zel'Kan's light violet flames greatly surpassed the dark red flames.

But, in Izroth's eyes, the most terrifying aspect of both Jol'Kil and Zel'Kan's flames was their ability to use them without any gestures or preemptive actions. This left virtually no window of opportunity for their opponents to defend against their flames or know when it was arriving.

'It looks like they really did intend on taking me alive. I must admit, I didn't expect much seeing how far the Seventh Demon Clan has fallen. But, if this is their strength before recovering their clan's heritage, it's impressive how they've managed to reach this level. It seems Tal'Yah was not lying when she said that they were two of the Seventh Demon Clan's mightiest warriors. Though they are fortunate. If they chose to fight seriously when we first crossed paths, I'm afraid they would have suffered quite a bit.'

Due to the Earthly Golden Bones passive of his Heavenly Golden Body, Izroth's damage and physical strength increased based on his body's total mass.

This meant that if Jol'Kil used the dark red flames against him, Izroth's overall power would skyrocket rather than him being restricted by it!

As for the light violet flames Zel'Kan used, they were exceptional in their own right, but it was still no match for the corrosive effects of something like the Blood of the Immortal Hydra or the Immortal Hydra's poison.

Izroth was confident that since he was able to survive against both of those, he would not have much of a problem enduring the light violet flames.

'With this, I've managed to get a rough understanding of their capabilities. They should prove useful in what's to come.'

Niflheim, "Everyone, we're heading to the entrance! Follow behind me but don't move off in front of me! Our Captain will protect the rear! Move out!"

Niflheim gave the orders over voice chat after organizing the last of the 9th Division that exited the underground tunnel.

Originally, Niflheim thought it would take a few moments for the two cloaked figures to clear the path forward. However, after seeing how quickly they were sweeping through the enemy skounae, Niflheim hastened his plans and got the 9th Division together much faster.

Once Niflheim delivered the order to move out, he ran forward on the same path Jol'Kil and Zel'Kan cleared out. And, not long after Niflheim took action, the rest of the 9th Division followed his lead.

At the same time, the skounae who were close to where Belos perished had a look of horror on their faces. If even a Viscount like Belos was defeated in an instant, what chances did they possibly have of confronting such a terrifying enemy?

"These enemies are too dangerous! Unless the Earl himself is here, there's no way to stop them! We have to fall back and reorganize the forces we have left...!" Saogin thought to himself after he witnessed the fate of his fellow Viscount.

Just now, Belos was right next to Saogin, yet he was still unable to react to it, let alone do anything to prevent Belos' death.

Since he and Belos had a similar level of strength, Saogin was alarmed by how easily he had fallen and knew that there was only one option left.

"Retreat! Fall back and reorganize!" Saogin called out, but it was too late.

A light violet flame encompassed Saogin from head to toe as the skounae Viscount briefly screamed out in pain before meeting the same fate as Belos.

Woosh! Woosh!

Jol'Kil and Zel'Kan stopped on each side of the entrance that led into the Night Lord's Crypt.

The entrance was not a typical door. Instead, it was a flight of stone steps that led down into a darkness where one could not see the end.

"You could have left the other one for me, Zel'Kan. Are you trying to show off alone in front of young master Izroth?" Jol'Kil growled lightly.

"I merely wished to show young master Izroth that I am dependable. It's not my fault that you decided to take your time with the small fries. You will just have to be faster next time, Jol'Kil." Zel'Kan responded casually.

"Stop them! Do not let them enter the Night Lord's Crypt, or it will be the end of us all!" A skounae shouted from the distance.

That particular skounae was a part of the forces that were rushing full speed towards Izroth and the 9th Division in an attempt to encircle them. It was just that none of them expected that the two Viscounts would fall so quickly to the hands of these enemies. But, given the distance between them and the 9th Division, they knew that it was impossible to stop them from entering the Night Lord's Crypt.

Niflheim reached the descending staircase and stared down into its depths.

"The skounae sure has a thing for darkness. Though it's not like we have time to send in a scouting party. Well, here goes nothing." Niflheim said to himself as he began to make his way down the staircase.

Niflheim, "Be sure not to activate any light spells on your way down until I give the okay! Remember to watch your step!"

Niflheim was uncertain what awaited them further down the staircase. However, if there were enemies at the bottom, then using light magic would be the same as loudly announcing their arrival.

Besides, since everyone in the 9th Division had already consumed a Five Cycles Pill, their sense of perception was much higher than that of the average player. Therefore, they should be able to navigate their way through a bit of darkness so long as they were careful.

The others of the 9th Division hurried down the staircase after Niflheim. As this happened, Izroth sensed a heavy dark presence speeding towards their direction from the distance.

Jol'Kil and Zel'Kan also appeared to have noticed the dark presence as they glanced at each other before staring off into the distance.

'Hm? That's...'

"Insolent humans! How dare you set your dirty feet onto the sacred grounds that belong to the exalted Night Lord!" A voice bellowed furiously.

The next moment, a tall and thin skounae with several wounds blew past the skounae that were headed to the Night Lord's Crypt entrance, trampling those that got in his way.

The skounae traveled at incredible speeds and left behind a trail of faint shadow-like afterimages wherever his feet touched.

Izroth placed his hand onto the hilt of his Sword of the Storm as his eyes locked onto the rapidly approaching skounae.

Less than half a breath later, the skounae finally arrived close enough for the Izroth to view his system information.

NPC Name: Earl Tasarin(Rare)

NPC Level: 62

It was an Earl skounae! More importantly, it was the first time Izroth encountered a relatively high-ranked skounae since the start of the assault!

Because of the emergency-type war objective, an Earl's life was currently worth a whopping 450 contribution points per kill. That amount would be the same as eliminating three Viscounts!

Earl Tasarin's gaze locked onto Izroth, who was positioned at the rear of the 9th Division and had his hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

Seeing Izroth's standing there without fear and ready to draw his weapon caused an overwhelming surge of anger to swell up within Earl Tasarin.

A young human brat who was still wet behind the ears dared to block his path so fearlessly? There was a difference between bravery and sheer stupidity!

Earl Tasarin shouted, "Today, all of you must perish by my hand-"

Suddenly, the temperature in the surrounding atmosphere skyrocketed. Then, out of nowhere, a giant hand made of flames appeared next to Earl Tasarin.