Clearing Operation (9)

Night fell quietly, and the mountains became silent silhouettes in the twilight. The jagged, rocky terrain seemed to have sunk into slumber without a sound, with only the wind threading through it and occasionally sweeping dust across the ground.

High above, an airship hovered silently at the edge of the clouds. Ang stood at the end of the deck, his gaze as calm as the night.

He took a deep breath, flipped over the side, and plunged through the darkness, landing without a sound.

The instant he touched down, he bent his knees to absorb the impact, moving cleanly and silently as he vanished into the embrace of night.

He took out the Dark Armament and the Dark Greatsword from his Magic Waist Pouch. After equipping the Dark Armament, he slowly circulated his Qi force and activated the summoning runes upon it.

A shadowy figure stepped out from space, its hoofbeats steady and powerful. The Nightmare King appeared beneath the night sky.

Its four hooves touched the ground lightly, making the earth tremble faintly like a heartbeat, as though it sensed the slaughter about to descend.

Its body was slightly more compact than before, its scales denser, while faint yellow and cyan ripples coiled across its wing membranes, flickering like rhythmic wind patterns.

Ang recognized at once that this was a change brought about by devouring the flesh and blood of the Dragon Scale Lion Beast.

Traces of Earth Element and Wind Element flowed through the nightmare's fleshy wings. Though its body had shrunk somewhat, it was clearly sharper and swifter—this was not degeneration, but evolution.

Holding the Dark Greatsword in one hand, he mounted the nightmare. His posture was steady as stone, his gaze cold and stern.

He was no longer disguised as Serl. This time, he was Ang